url stringlengths 19 730 | title stringlengths 3 700 | text stringlengths 0 130k |
|---|---|---|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Copa_Am%C3%A9rica_finals#Finals | List of Copa América finals#Finals | The Copa América is an international association football competition established in 1916. It is contested by the men's national teams of the members of the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL), the sport's continental governing body.
Early editions of the tournament, then known as the South American Football Championship, consisted of a round-robin group, where the team with the most points was declared the champion (with a play-off to break a tie if necessary). In 1975, when the tournament was rebranded to its current title, a final stage using the single-elimination format was introduced, which culminates with a final match between the last two teams remaining in contention. This type of format has been used ever since, except in 1989 and 1991, which featured a final group stage.
Argentina defeated Colombia in the final of the latest competition, held in 2024.
== Finals ==
Keys
aet: after extra time
p: penalty shoot-out
Final played in two-legged format (with a playoff if necessary).
Defined on penalties after 90 minutes.
Defined on penalties after extra time
Teams in italics are non-CONMEBOL members that participated as invitees.
== Results by nation ==
* Indicates host country |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagitta | Sagitta | Sagitta is a dim but distinctive constellation in the northern sky. Its name is Latin for 'arrow', not to be confused with the significantly larger constellation Sagittarius 'the archer'. It was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. Although it dates to antiquity, Sagitta has no star brighter than 3rd magnitude and has the third-smallest area of any constellation.
Gamma Sagittae is the constellation's brightest star, with an apparent magnitude of 3.47. It is an aging red giant star 90% as massive as the Sun that has cooled and expanded to a radius 54 times greater than it. Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, and Theta Sagittae are each multiple stars whose components can be seen in small telescopes. V Sagittae is a cataclysmic variable—a binary star system composed of a white dwarf accreting mass of a donor star that is expected to go nova and briefly become the most luminous star in the Milky Way and one of the brightest stars in our sky around the year 2083. Two star systems in Sagitta are known to have Jupiter-like planets, while a third—15 Sagittae—has a brown dwarf companion.
== History ==
The ancient Greeks called Sagitta Oistos 'the arrow', and it was one of the 48 constellations described by Ptolemy. It was regarded as the weapon that Hercules used to kill the eagle (Aquila) of Jove that perpetually gnawed Prometheus' liver. Sagitta is located beyond the north border of Aquila, the Eagle. An amateur naturalist, polymath Richard Hinckley Allen proposed that the constellation could represent the arrow shot by Hercules towards the adjacent Stymphalian birds (which feature in Hercules' sixth labour) who had claws, beaks, and wings of iron, and who lived on human flesh in the marshes of Arcadia—denoted in the sky by the constellations Aquila the Eagle, Cygnus 'the Swan', and Lyra 'the Vulture'—and still lying between them, whence the title Herculea. Greek scholar Eratosthenes claimed it as the arrow with which Apollo exterminated the Cyclopes. The Romans named it Sagitta. In Arabic, it became al-sahm 'arrow', though this name became Sham and was transferred to Alpha Sagittae only. The Greek name has also been mistranslated as hó istos 'the loom' and thus in Arabic al-nawl. It was also called al-'anaza 'pike/javelin'.
== Characteristics ==
The four brightest stars make up an arrow-shaped asterism located due north of the bright star Altair. Covering 79.9 square degrees and hence 0.194% of the sky, Sagitta ranks 86th of the 88 modern constellations by area. Only Equuleus and Crux are smaller. Sagitta is most readily observed from the late spring to early autumn to northern hemisphere observers, with midnight culmination occurring on 17 July. Its position in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere means that the whole constellation is visible to observers north of 69°S. Sagitta is bordered by Vulpecula to the north, Hercules to the west, Aquila to the south, and Delphinus to the east. The three-letter abbreviation for the constellation, as adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922, is "Sge"; American astronomer Henry Norris Russell, who devised the code, had to resort to using the genitive form of the name to come up with a letter to include ('e') that was not in the name of the constellation Sagittarius. The official constellation boundaries, as set by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte in 1930, are defined by a polygon of twelve segments (illustrated in infobox). In the equatorial coordinate system, the right ascension coordinates of these borders lie between 18h 57.2m and 20h 20.5m , while the declination coordinates are between 16.08° and 21.64°.
== Features ==
=== Stars ===
Celestial cartographer Johann Bayer gave Bayer designations to eight stars, labelling them Alpha to Theta. English astronomer John Flamsteed added the letters x, mistaken as Chi (χ), y and z to 13, 14, and 15 Sagittae in his Catalogus Britannicus. All three were dropped by later astronomers John Bevis and Francis Baily.
==== Bright stars ====
Ptolemy saw the constellation's brightest star Gamma Sagittae as marking the arrow's head, while Bayer saw Gamma, Eta, and Theta as depicting the arrow's shaft. Gamma Sagittae is a red giant of spectral type M0 III, and magnitude 3.47. It lies at a distance of 258±4 light-years from Earth. With around 90% of the Sun's mass, it has a radius 54 times that of the Sun and is 575 times as bright. It is most likely on the red-giant branch of its evolutionary lifespan, having exhausted its core hydrogen and now burning it in a surrounding shell.
Delta Sagittae is the second-brightest star in the constellation and is a binary. Delta and Zeta depicted the spike according to Bayer. The Delta Sagittae system is composed of a red supergiant of spectral type M2 II that has 3.9 times the Sun's mass and 152 times its radius and a blue-white B9.5V main sequence star that is 2.9 times as massive as the Sun. The two orbit each other every ten years. Zeta Sagittae is a triple star system, approximately 326 light-years from Earth. The primary and secondary are A-type stars.
In his Uranometria, Bayer depicted Alpha, Beta, and Epsilon Sagittae as the fins of the arrow. Also known as Sham, Alpha is a yellow bright giant star of spectral class G1 II with an apparent magnitude of 4.38, which lies at a distance of 382±8 light-years from Earth. Four times as massive as the Sun, it has swollen and brightened to 21 times the Sun's radius and 340 times its luminosity. Also of magnitude 4.38, Beta is a G-type giant located 420±10 light-years distant from Earth. Estimated to be around 129 million years old, it is 4.33 times as massive as the Sun, and has expanded to roughly 27 times its radius. Epsilon Sagittae is a double star whose component stars can be seen in a small telescope. With an apparent magnitude of 5.77, the main star is a 331-million-year-old yellow giant of spectral type G8 III around 3.09 times as massive as the Sun, that has swollen to 18.37+0.65−0.88 its radius. It is 580±10 light-years distant. The visual companion of magnitude 8.35 is 87.4 arcseconds distant, but is an unrelated blue supergiant around 7,000 light-years distant from Earth.
Eta Sagittae is an orange giant of spectral class K2 III with a magnitude of 5.09. Located 155.9±0.9 light-years from Earth, it has a 61.1% chance of being a member of the Hyades–Pleiades stream of stars that share a common motion through space. Theta Sagittae is a double star system, with components 12 arcseconds apart visible in a small telescope. At magnitude 6.5, the brighter is a yellow-white main sequence star of spectral type F3 V, located 146.1±0.2 light-years from Earth. The 8.8-magnitude fainter companion is a main sequence star of spectral type G5 V. A 7.4-magnitude orange giant of spectral type K2 III is also visible 91″ from the binary pair, located 842±9 light-years away.
==== Variable stars ====
Variable stars are popular targets for amateur astronomers, their observations providing valuable contributions to understanding star behaviour. R Sagittae is a member of the rare RV Tauri variable class of star. It ranges in magnitude from 8.2 to 10.4. It is around 8,100 light-years distant. It has a radius 61.2+12.4−9.9 times that of the Sun, and is 2,329+744−638 as luminous, yet most likely is less massive than the Sun. An aging star, it has moved on from the asymptotic giant branch of stellar evolution and is on its way to becoming a planetary nebula. FG Sagittae is a "born again" star, a highly luminous star around 4,000 light-years distant from Earth. It reignited fusion of a helium shell shortly before becoming a white dwarf, and has expanded first to a blue supergiant and then to a K-class supergiant in less than 100 years. It is surrounded by a faint (visual magnitude 23) planetary nebula, Henize 1–5, that formed when FG Sagittae first left the asymptotic giant branch.
S Sagittae is a classical Cepheid that varies from magnitude 5.24 to 6.04 every 8.38 days. It is a yellow-white supergiant that pulsates between spectral types F6 Ib and G5 Ib. Around 6 or 7 times as massive and 3,500 times as luminous as the Sun, it is located around 5,100 light-years from Earth. HD 183143 is a remote highly luminous star around 7,900 light-years away, that has been classified as a blue hypergiant. Infrared bands of ionised buckminsterfullerene molecules have also been found in its spectrum. WR 124 is a Wolf–Rayet star moving at great speed surrounded by a nebula of ejected gas.
U Sagittae is an eclipsing binary that varies between magnitudes 6.6 and 9.2 over 3.4 days, making it a suitable target for enthusiasts with small telescopes. There are two component stars—a blue-white star of spectral type B8 V and an ageing star that has cooled and expanded into a yellow subgiant of spectral type G4 III-IV. They orbit each other close enough that the cooler subgiant has filled its Roche lobe and is passing material to the hotter star, and hence it is a semidetached binary system. The system is 900±10 light-years distant. Near U Sagittae is X Sagittae, a semiregular variable ranging between magnitudes 7.9 and 8.4 over 196 days. A carbon star, X Sagittae has a surface temperature of 2,576 K.
Located near 18 Sagittae is V Sagittae, the prototype of the V Sagittae variables, cataclysmic variables that are also super soft X-ray sources. It is expected to become a luminous red nova when the two stars merge around the year 2083, and briefly become the most luminous star in the Milky Way and one of the brightest stars in Earth's sky. WZ Sagittae is another cataclysmic variable, composed of a white dwarf that has about 85% the mass of the Sun, and low-mass star companion that has been calculated to be a brown dwarf of spectral class L2 that is only 8% as massive as the Sun. Normally a faint object dimmer than magnitude 15, it flared up in 1913, 1946 and 1978 to be visible in binoculars. The black widow pulsar (B1957+20) is the second millisecond pulsar ever discovered. It is a massive neutron star that is ablating its brown dwarf-sized companion which causes the pulsar's radio signals to attenuate as they pass through the outflowing material.
==== Stars with exoplanets ====
HD 231701 is a yellow-white main sequence star hotter and larger than the Sun, with a Jupiter-like planet that was discovered in 2007 by the radial velocity technique. The planet orbits at a distance of 0.57 AU from the star with a period of 141.6 days. It has a mass of at least 1.13 Jupiter masses.
HAT-P-34 is a star 1.392±0.047 times as massive as the Sun with 1.535+0.135−0.102 times its radius and 3.63+0.75−0.51 times its luminosity. With an apparent magnitude of 10.4, it is 819±9 light-years distant. A planet 3.328±0.211 times as massive as Jupiter was discovered transiting it in 2012. With a period of 5.45 days and a distance of 0.06 AU from its star, it has an estimated surface temperature of 1,520±60 K.
15 Sagittae is a solar analog—a star similar to the Sun, with 1.08±0.04 times its mass, 1.115±0.021 times its radius and 1.338±0.03 times its luminosity. It has an apparent magnitude of 5.80. It has an L4 brown dwarf substellar companion that is around the same size as Jupiter but 69 times as massive with a surface temperature of between 1,510 and 1,850 K, taking around 73.3 years to complete an orbit around the star. The system is estimated to be 2.5±1.8 billion years old.
=== Deep-sky objects ===
The band of the Milky Way and the Great Rift within it pass through Sagitta, with Alpha, Beta and Epsilon Sagittae marking the Rift's border. Located between Beta and Gamma Sagittae is Messier 71, a very loose globular cluster mistaken for some time for a dense open cluster. At a distance of about 13,000 light-years from Earth, it was first discovered by the French astronomer Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in the year 1745 or 1746. The loose globular cluster has a mass of around 53,000 M☉ and a luminosity of approximately 19,000 L☉.
There are two notable planetary nebulae in Sagitta: NGC 6886 is composed of a hot central post-AGB star that has 55% of the Sun's mass yet 2,700±850 times its luminosity, with a surface temperature of 142,000 K, and surrounding nebula estimated to have been expanding for between 1,280 and 1,600 years, The nebula was discovered by Ralph Copeland in 1884. The Necklace Nebula—originally a close binary, one component of which swallowed the other as it expanded to become a giant star. The smaller star remained in orbit inside the larger, whose rotation speed increased greatly, resulting in it flinging its outer layers off into space, forming a ring with knots of bright gas formed from clumps of stellar material. It was discovered in 2005 and is around 2 light-years wide. It has a size of 0.35′. Both nebulae are around 15,000 light-years from Earth. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_Alaska_earthquake | 1964 Alaska earthquake | The 1964 Alaska earthquake, also known as the Great Alaska earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 PM AKST on Good Friday, March 27, 1964. Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 139 deaths.
Lasting four minutes and thirty-eight seconds, the magnitude 9.2–9.3 megathrust earthquake remains the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in North America and the second most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the world since modern seismography began in 1900. Six hundred miles (970 km) of fault ruptured at once and moved up to 60 ft (18 m), releasing about 500 years of stress buildup. Soil liquefaction, fissures, landslides, and other ground failures caused major structural damage in several communities and much damage to property. Anchorage sustained great destruction or damage to many inadequately earthquake-engineered houses, buildings, and infrastructure (paved streets, sidewalks, water and sewer mains, electrical systems, and other man-made equipment), particularly in the several landslide zones along Knik Arm. Two hundred miles (320 km) southwest, some areas near Kodiak were permanently raised by 30 feet (9 m). Southeast of Anchorage, areas around the head of Turnagain Arm near Girdwood and Portage dropped as much as 8 feet (2.4 m), requiring reconstruction and fill to raise the Seward Highway above the new high tide mark.
In Prince William Sound, Port Valdez suffered a massive underwater landslide, resulting in the deaths of 32 people between the collapse of the Valdez city harbor and docks and inside the ship that was docked there at the time. Nearby, a 27-foot (8.2 m) tsunami destroyed the village of Chenega, killing 23 of the 68 people who lived there. The survivors outran the wave, climbing to high ground. Post-quake tsunamis severely affected Whittier, Seward, Kodiak, and other Alaskan communities, as well as people and property in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. Tsunamis also caused damage in Hawaii and Japan. Evidence of motion directly related to the earthquake was also reported from Florida and Texas.
== Geology ==
On March 27, 1964, at 5:36 p.m. AKST (March 28, at 3:36 a.m. UTC), a fault between the Pacific and North American plates ruptured near College Fjord in Prince William Sound. The epicenter of the earthquake was 12.4 mi (20.0 km) north of Prince William Sound, 78 miles (126 km) east of Anchorage and 40 miles (64 km) west of Valdez. The focus occurred at a depth of approximately 15.5 mi (24.9 km). Ocean floor shifts created large tsunamis (up to 220 feet (67 m) in height), which resulted in many of the deaths and much of the property damage. Large rockslides were also caused, resulting in great property damage. Vertical displacement of up to 38 feet (12 m) occurred, affecting an area of 100,000 square miles (260,000 km2) within Alaska.
Studies of ground motion have led to a peak ground acceleration estimate of 0.14–0.18 g. The earthquake was assigned a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Shaking was felt across much of Alaska and parts of western Yukon and British Columbia in Canada.
The Alaska earthquake was a subduction zone (megathrust) earthquake, caused by an oceanic plate sinking under a continental plate. The fault responsible was the Aleutian Megathrust, a reverse fault caused by a compressional force. This caused much of the uneven ground which is the result of ground shifted to the opposite elevation. Uplift occurred across 520,000 km2 (200,000 sq mi) from southern Kodiak to Prince William Sound and further east of the sound. The maximum uplift was in Montague Island, where the ground was raised 13–15 m (43–49 ft) relative to sea level. The uplift also affected Kodiak, Sitkalidak, and Sitkinak islands. Subsidence was observed for 285,000 km2 (110,000 sq mi) from north and west of the sound, in Chugach Mountains, most of Kenai Peninsula, and almost all the Kodiak Island group.
== The tsunami ==
Two types of tsunami were produced by this subduction zone earthquake. There was a tectonic tsunami produced in addition to about 20 smaller and local tsunamis. These smaller tsunamis were produced by submarine and subaerial landslides and were responsible for the majority of the tsunami damage. Tsunami waves were noted in over 20 countries, including Peru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Mexico, and in the continent of Antarctica. The largest tsunami wave was recorded in Shoup Bay, near Valdez, Alaska, with a height of about 220 ft (67 m).
== Death toll, damage, and casualties ==
As a result of the earthquake, 139 people are believed to have died: Fifteen died as a result of the earthquake itself and another 124 died from the subsequent tsunamis in Alaska, Oregon, and California. Five died from the tsunami in Oregon, and 13 died from the tsunami in California, mostly in or near Crescent City. Property damage was estimated at $116 million ($894 million in 2024 dollars).
=== Anchorage area ===
Most damage occurred in Anchorage, 75 mi (121 km) northwest of the epicenter. Anchorage was not hit by tsunamis, but downtown Anchorage was heavily damaged, and parts of the city built on sandy bluffs overlying "Bootlegger Cove clay" near Cook Inlet, most notably the Turnagain neighborhood, suffered landslide damage. The neighborhood lost 75 houses in the landslide, and the destroyed area has since been turned into Earthquake Park. The Government Hill school suffered from the Government Hill landslide, leaving it in two jagged, broken pieces. Land overlooking the Ship Creek valley near the Alaska Railroad yards also slid, destroying many acres of buildings and city blocks in downtown Anchorage. Most other areas of the city were only moderately damaged. The concrete control tower at Anchorage International Airport collapsed, killing the controller on the top floor, as well as trapping two cooks on the first floor, who were later rescued.
One house on W. 10th Avenue suffered peripheral damage, but only one block away the recently completed (and still unoccupied) Four Seasons Building on Ninth Avenue collapsed completely, with the concrete elevator shafts sticking up out of the rubble like a seesaw.
The hamlets of Girdwood and Portage, located 30 and 40 mi (48 and 64 km) southeast of central Anchorage on the Turnagain Arm, were destroyed by subsidence and subsequent tidal action. Girdwood was relocated inland and Portage was abandoned. About 20 miles (32 km) of the Seward Highway sank below the high-water mark of Turnagain Arm; the highway and its bridges were raised and rebuilt in 1964–66.
=== Elsewhere in Alaska ===
Most coastal towns in the Prince William Sound, Kenai Peninsula, and Kodiak Island areas, especially the major ports of Seward, Whittier and Kodiak were heavily damaged by a combination of seismic activity, subsidence, post-quake tsunamis and/or earthquake-caused fires. Valdez with 32 dead was not totally destroyed, but after three years, the town relocated to higher ground four miles (6.4 km) west of its original site. Some Alaska Native villages, including Chenega and Afognak, were destroyed or damaged. The earthquake caused the ballistic missile detection radar of Clear Air Force Station to go offline for six minutes, the only unscheduled interruption in its operational history. Near Cordova, the Million Dollar Bridge crossing the Copper River also suffered damage, with Span #4 slipping off its pylon and collapsing. The community of Girdwood was also confined to the southern side of the Seward Highway when water rushed into Turnagain Arm and flooded or destroyed any buildings left standing to the north of the highway. Only the ground immediately along the highway and that on the north side of the road dropped, prompting geologists to speculate that Girdwood may rest upon an ancient cliff face covered by thousands of years of sediment and glacial deposits.
=== Canada ===
A 4.5 ft (1.4 m) wave reached Prince Rupert, British Columbia, just south of the Alaska Panhandle, about three hours after the earthquake. The tsunami then reached Tofino, on the exposed west coast of Vancouver Island, and traveled up a fjord to hit Port Alberni twice, washing away 55 homes and damaging 375 others. The towns of Hot Springs Cove, Zeballos, and Amai also saw damage. The damage in British Columbia was estimated at CA$10 million ($100 million in 2025 Canadian dollars or $96 million in 2025 US dollars).
=== Elsewhere ===
Ten people were killed by the tsunami in Crescent City, California, and one other man was killed near Requa, California after being swept out to sea while fishing in the Klamath River. Four children were killed while camping with their parents on the Oregon coast at Beverly Beach State Park. An additional death that is sometimes attributed to the tsunami took place in Bolinas, California; a fisherman wading into a seaside channel at Duxbury Point was swept into the ocean by a strong surge that took place 13 hours after the initial tidal surge. Crescent City was particularly hard-hit, with 30 blocks destroyed, representing half of the city's waterfront business district. The total damage to Crescent City was estimated at $7.4 million ($76 million in 2025 dollars). Other coastal towns and harbors in the Pacific Northwest, California, and Hawaii were damaged, often extensively. Damage to harbors and boats occurred as far south as Long Beach, California. Effects of the earthquake were even noted as far east as Freeport, Texas, where tide gauges recorded waves similar to seismic surface waves. Seiches were detected in wells in countries around the world, including England, Namibia, and Australia.
== Aftershocks ==
There were hundreds of aftershocks in the first weeks following the main shock. In the first day alone, eleven major aftershocks with a magnitude greater than 6.0 were recorded. Nine more struck over the next three weeks. In all, thousands of aftershocks occurred in the months following the quake, and smaller aftershocks continued to strike the region for more than a year.
== Recovery efforts ==
Alaska had never experienced a major disaster in a highly populated area before, and had very limited resources for dealing with the effects of such an event. In Anchorage, at the urging of geologist Lidia Selkregg, the City of Anchorage and the Alaska State Housing Authority appointed a team of 40 scientists, including geologists, soil scientists, and engineers, to assess the damage done by the earthquake to the city. The team, called the Engineering and Geological Evaluation Group, was headed by Dr. Ruth A. M. Schmidt, a geology professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The team of scientists came into conflict with local developers and downtown business owners who wanted to immediately rebuild; the scientists wanted to identify future dangers to ensure that rebuilt infrastructure would be safe. The team produced a report on May 8, 1964, just a little more than a month after the earthquake.
The United States military, which has a large active presence in Alaska, also stepped in to assist within moments of the end of the quake. The U.S. Army rapidly re-established communications with the lower 48 states, deployed troops to assist the citizens of Anchorage, and dispatched a convoy to Valdez. On the advice of military and civilian leaders, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared all of Alaska a major disaster area the day after the quake.
The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard deployed ships to isolated coastal communities to assist with immediate needs. Bad weather and poor visibility hampered air rescue and observation efforts the day after the quake, but on Sunday the 29th the situation improved and rescue helicopters and observation aircraft were deployed. A military airlift immediately began shipping relief supplies to Alaska, eventually delivering 2,570,000 pounds (1,170,000 kg) of food and other supplies.
Broadcast journalist Genie Chance assisted in recovery and relief efforts, staying on the KENI air waves over Anchorage for more than 24 continuous hours as the voice of calm from her temporary post within the Anchorage Public Safety Building. She was effectively designated as the public safety officer by the city's police chief. Chance provided breaking news of the catastrophic events that continued to develop following the magnitude 9.2 earthquake, and she served as the voice of the public safety office, coordinating response efforts, connecting available resources to needs around the community, disseminating information about shelters and prepared food rations, passing messages of well-being between loved ones, and helping to reunite families.
In the longer term, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers led the effort to rebuild roads, clear debris, and establish new townsites for communities that had been completely destroyed, at a cost of $110 million. The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center was formed as a direct response to the disaster. Federal disaster relief funds paid for reconstruction and financially supported the devastated infrastructure of Alaska's government, spending hundreds of millions of dollars that helped keep Alaska financially solvent until the discovery of significant oil deposits at Prudhoe Bay. At the order of the U.S. Defense Department, the Alaska National Guard established the Alaska Division of Emergency Services to respond to any future disasters. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_V_of_Montpellier | William V of Montpellier | William V (or Guilhem V; died 1121) was the Lord of Montpellier from 1068 until his death. He was the son of William IV.
Soon after his father's death, his mother, Ermengarde, quit Montpellier to marry the Lord of Anduze. William IV had confided the tutelage of his son to the child's grandmother, Beliarde, and to his nearest relatives: William Arnold, Raymond Stephen, and William Aymoin. After a short conflict with the bishop of Maguelonne, William V rendered homage to the bishop on 10 December 1090 and was recognised as lord of Montpellier.
At the call of Pope Urban II, William took up the cross of the First Crusade in the army of Raymond IV of Toulouse. He served notably at the capture of the small Syrian village of Ma'arrat al-Numan in 1098. After the fall of Jerusalem in 1099, William remained in the Holy Land for a while. He remained at the side of Godfrey de Bouillon and accompanied him to the siege of Antioch in December 1097. He did not return to Montpellier until 1103, bringing with him a relic of Saint Cleopas.
When William returned, he found that the Aimoin brothers to whom he had confided the administration of the lordship in his absence had usurped many seigniorial rights and that he was obligated to recognise much of their newfound authority, which diminished his own, in order to retain his position.
William participated in the army of Raymond Berengar III of Barcelona which captured Majorca from the Moors in 1114. The rest of his reign was marked by the important acquisition of nearby territories, which greatly recouped his power: Montarnaud, Cournonsec, Montferrier, Frontignan, Aumelas, Montbazin, Popian.
By his marriage to Ermensenda, daughter of Peter, Count of Mauguio, he had six children:
William VI
William of Aumelas
Bernard, Lord of Villeneuve
Guillelme, married Raymon Bernard, Count of Mauguio
Ermeniarde
Adelaide.
Upon his death, he was succeeded by his son William as Lord of Montpellier.
== Sources ==
Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1998). The First Crusaders, 1095-1131. Cambridge University Press. pp. 158, 226, 266. ISBN 978-0-521-64603-1.
Runciman, Steven, A History of the Crusades, Volume One: The First Crusade and the Foundation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Cambridge University Press, London, 1951, pp. 160, 259 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Gunston | Norman Gunston | Norman Gunston is a satirical TV character performed by Australian actor and comedian Garry McDonald. Norman Gunston was primarily well known in his native Australia, and to a lesser extent, the United States during the mid to late 1970s. He was the only Gold Logie winning fictional character on Australian television, with McDonald collecting the 1976 Gold Logie and the George Wallace Memorial Logie for Best New Talent in character.
== Early years ==
The Gunston character was originally conceived for a sketch by comedy writer Wendy Skelcher in the second series of the cult Australian TV comedy series The Aunty Jack Show in 1973. Cast member Garry McDonald portrayed Gunston as a dull and talentless local TV reporter from the industrial city of Wollongong – a locale that was the butt of many jokes throughout the series. McDonald later claimed that the Gunston character and his show were devised as a parody of an (unintentionally bad) late-night Sydney TV variety show of the early 1970s hosted by expatriate American club entertainer Tommy Leonetti. In 1975, when The Norman Gunston Show was established as a successful comedy program, McDonald said:
I think you can say that Garry McDonald created Norman Gunston, my writer, Bill Harding, filled Gunston out, and our director, John Eastway, put Gunston in the 'Tonight' show concept.
McDonald claimed he'd created the name 'Norman Gunston' from an air stewardess who'd told off David Frost in McDonald's presence, changing it from "Norma Gunston" to Norman Gunston. In 2022 McDonald admitted he'd misheard the name as Norma, and that in reality she was "Lorna Gunston".
The Gunston character made enough of an impression in Aunty Jack for him to be revived in a subsequent comedy mini-series made by the Aunty Jack team, Wollongong the Brave (1974), in which he starred in a satirical mock documentary Norman Gunston: The Golden Weeks. His segments as Norman in What's on in Wollongong became one of the most popular parts of the Aunty Jack Show, and Norman appeared on the Aunty Jack Sings Wollongong album along with McDonald's other character, Kid Eager.
== National fame ==
In his later and most famous incarnation, Gunston had evolved to become the unlikely host of his own national TV variety show, The Norman Gunston Show, which premiered with a live broadcast on ABC television on 18 May 1975. Dubbed "the little Aussie bleeder" (a play on the term "Aussie battler"), he satirised parochial Australian culture, media "personalities" and egocentric talk show hosts.
After a faltering start, the Norman Gunston Show rapidly gained a huge national audience and the series became the pre-eminent Australian TV comedy program of its day, with McDonald winning a Gold Logie and having several pop hits. He is, notably, the only Logie recipient who has received the award in the name of his character rather than in his own name.
The series producer director was John Eastway.
=== Format ===
The Gunston show was a subversive parody of the established variety "Tonight Show" format, centring on a weekly roster of celebrity guests who were 'interviewed' by Norman. Genuine musical performances by guest stars were countered by Norman's own unique interpretations of popular songs – he specialised in portraying his lyrics through mime and sign language and frequently punctuated the song with 'dramatic' interjections. Among his memorable performances were his histrionic rendition of the Tom Jones hit "Delilah", his charades-like version of "Send in the Clowns" and his heroic interpretation of the Liza Minnelli's theme-song "Liza with a Z", which Norman back-announced by guilelessly expressing surprise at the fact that few singers except "Miss Lisa Minnulli" had ever attempted the song. McDonald is in real life an accomplished blues harmonica player (he jammed with Frank Zappa in an interview recording during Zappa's second Australian tour) and many of Norman's musical performances were regularly punctuated by poorly executed and inappropriate harmonica playing, such as in his rendition of the Billy Joel signature tune "Piano Man".
Norman's distinctive interview "shtick" included several recurring features. He habitually presented himself as ill-prepared and under-researched, seeming largely ignorant of and/or uninterested in his guests' achievements, although he was always quick to exploit any chance that their celebrity status might enable him to achieve one of his ambitions, such as being chosen to star in a cigarette ad (which he eventually achieved with 'Dukes' Cigarettes), or winning a Gold Logie.
Norman would further undercut his guests' star status by linking any aspect of their lives and careers to the most mundane features of his own life; he also habitually employed malapropisms and made a particular feature of mis-pronouncing stars' names, or apparently mistaking them for someone else. In his debut show he repeatedly referred to wealthy Sydney socialite Lady Fairfax as "Mrs Lady Fairfax" and in a later show he introduced progressive union leader Jack Mundey as "Mister Jack Mondaay" – a satirical inversion of the Australian habit of pronouncing the morphograph '-day' as '-dee' in the days of the week (e.g. "Sat'dee" for "Saturday").
As the series developed McDonald and his team introduced additional live and pre-taped segments including:
"Norman's Dreamtime" – a mock-fairytale segment in which Gunston regaled a group of increasingly bored children with readings from a book of iconic Australian fables, with titles such as "Why Underpants Ride Up"
"Consumer Straight Talk" – helpful tips on alternative uses for everyday household items, which later evolved into the even more grandiose-sounding "Spaceship Southern Hemisphere"
a weekly review of the show's ratings over previous weeks, with suggestions on how viewers and the studio audience might help them skyrocket; later in Series 1 this focused on Norman's increasingly desperate campaign to win the coveted Gold Logie – which is, ironically, exactly what transpired at the 1976 Logies.
in Series 2 Gunston presented (but did not appear in) a 3-minute satirical 'micro-soap' called Checkout Chicks, which parodied current Australian TV soap operas and starred actresses well known for their appearances in such programs, including Number 96 stars Abigail and Philippa Baker, Class of 74 star Anne Louise Lambert, who went on to star in Picnic at Hanging Rock (in which McDonald also appeared in a 'straight' role).
Stage settings were defiantly downmarket and rooted in Australian suburbia and kitsch RSL club stylings – after being introduced, bemused guests were offered their choice of dubious delicacies (such as pineapple doughnuts or the infamous Chiko Roll) from Norman's hot food bar, before being invited to sit on his vinyl-clad "night-and-day" (an Australian term for sofa bed). Perhaps the most memorable example of this was his interview of Edward Woodward and Michele Dotrice, during which he performed his version of Othello 'for the rugby leagues clubs', which involved him squirting tomato sauce over a ventriloquists's dummy, reducing Woodward to helpless laughter.
Gunston's personal appearance satirised club performers and TV interviewers of the time – for the studio segments he wore an ill-fitting blue lurex tuxedo jacket (wrongly buttoned) and the fly on his (too short) trousers was habitually left undone, with the shirt-tail poking out through the zip. Gunston also adopted a deliberately bad comb over hairstyle to partially cover his balding head. One of his visual trademarks was the small pieces of tissue paper applied to his pasty white face to cover supposed shaving cuts. This comic device led to his memorable exchange with visiting American actress Sally Struthers – noting Norman's apparent shaving cuts, she kindly suggested that perhaps Gunston should use an electric razor; the nonplussed Norman replied "Uh, I do", at which point Struthers collapsed in a fit of laughter.
Gunston performed subversive TV interviews with many major celebrities – during a Wings press conference he quipped to Linda McCartney: 'That's funny, you don't look Japanese.' (referencing Yoko Ono); other famous victims included Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty, Charlton Heston, and Muhammad Ali. Perhaps Norman's most well known interview was with Keith Moon at Charlton stadium in 1976. Moon famously ended his brief encounter with Norman by tipping Vodka over his head and yelling "Piss off, you Australian slag".
McDonald was one of the pioneers of the satirical "ambush" interview technique, which was founded on his considerable improvisational acting skills and precise comic timing. The "Gunston Method" relied on the fact that, especially in the early days of the series, the Norman persona was still relatively unknown in his home country, and completely unknown outside Australia. Thus, he was successfully able to hide behind the guise of a fully rounded and highly plausible character who appears to be stupid in order to throw his otherwise media-savvy quarry off their guard. This caused various results, from hilarity (Sally Struthers and Cheech and Chong), to clever play-alongs like Muhammad Ali ("I'm punchy – what's your excuse?") to bewilderment (Warren Beatty), to complete outrage (Rudolf Nureyev, Michael Cole).
The Gunston technique has since been employed by many comedians. In both style and appearance, Paul Kaye's character Dennis Pennis was strongly reminiscent of Gunston. It later had a very successful revival thanks to the British satirist Sacha Baron Cohen through his characters Ali G, Borat and Brüno. Canadian comedian and actor Martin Short also employed a similar technique with his best-known character, the fawning, morbidly obese celebrity interviewer Jiminy Glick; another notable resemblance between Glick and Norman is the Glick show's "fairytale" segment "Lalawood Fables", which is very similar to the "Norman's Dreamtime" segments of the Gunston show, in which the host reads a satirical mock-fable (intercut with pre-produced vision) to a group of assembled children. The Australian satirical comedy team The Chaser have also frequently used the Gunston Method to ambush unwitting targets—examples include the Julian Morrow character the "Citizens' Infringment Officer", and the team's now-legendary stunt in which they managed to penetrate a tight security cordon around the APEC Forum, despite the fact that Chas Licciardello was masquerading as Osama bin Laden.
Gunston was immortalised in Australian political history when, on the morning of 11 November 1975, McDonald and his film crew found out that the Labor government led by Gough Whitlam had just been dismissed by the Governor-General Sir John Kerr. On hearing the news, McDonald and his crew raced from Sydney to Parliament House in Canberra, where they were able to film McDonald (as Gunston) briefly addressing the assembled crowd, only moments before Whitlam and the Governor-General's Official Secretary David Smith appeared for the reading of the now-famous proclamation announcing Whitlam's dismissal.
In 1976, the ABC aired a third season of The Norman Gunston Show. By this stage, increased production budgets afforded Gunston more opportunities for overseas interviews, including Malcolm Muggeridge, Michael Caine, John Sturges, Glenda Jackson, John Stonehouse, and Rudolph Nureyev. One memorable encounter with Frank Zappa ended with Zappa and Norman duetting respectively on guitar and harmonica in a spontaneous blues jam (McDonald is in fact a proficient harmonica player). As the jam concluded, McDonald threw in a witty musical quote from the well-known ABC news theme, a nod to Zappa's well-known proclivity for inserting musical quotes such as TV themes into his work.
In November 1976, a specially prepared 45-minute UK Gunston TV special was screened on BBC2 TV. Some of Gunston's guests on the show included Diana Dors and Tony Greig.
After the third and final ABC TV season finished in late 1976, Gunston was popular enough to approach commercial TV networks. In particular, the Seven Network showed interest in producing another Norman Gunston series. Because of McDonald's other commitments, the series did not commence production until early 1978.
Between July–September 1977, Norman Gunston was included in the 8-episode ABC TV series, The Garry McDonald Show. Other characters were also played by McDonald, including Harry Butler, and Mo McCackie.
== Channel Seven years ==
In 1978, the Australian Seven Network aired another Norman Gunston series, which continued over an 18-month period till 1979. Ten 60-minute episodes were produced by John Eastway and ATN7. Highlights of this series were also screened on UK Channel 4 TV from November to December 1982.
In February 1981, Channel 7 began airing a program called Gunston's Australia, which intended to show the Gunston character approaching the end of his shelf life. In a satirical reference to personalities like former ABC current affairs host Bill Peach, the series parodied the perennial Australian TV practice of hiring celebrities to host magazine-style programs after leaving the show that had brought them to fame. Wearing a safari jacket and shorts, Gunston travelled around outback Australia, interfering and adventuring in high and low places in his usual cack-handed manner. However, due to underwhelming feedback and ratings, the series was removed from weekly schedules after only two episodes in Sydney, and five episodes in Melbourne. The remainder of the series was shown sporadically over the next two years in Sydney, with the final two episodes being shown in November 1982. In Melbourne, the final three episodes were not shown until four years later, in mid-1985.
Despite this, the series was purchased by the UK’s Channel Four and screened in full in February and March 1983.
In 1985, a 2-hour video was released titled, The Gunston Tapes. This was a compilation of interviews and comic sketches from the first, second and third 1975–1976 ABC TV series. McDonald also temporarily revived the Gunston character for the purpose of narrating the video.
In February and March 1993, McDonald briefly revived the Gunston character for the Channel 7 network. However, by the time the series premiered McDonald was suffering from severe depression, and his much-publicised nervous breakdown and abrupt departure saw the series prematurely terminated. A 3-set DVD compilation of the 1993 series was subsequently released in 2003.
During the late 1990s, Foxtel's The Comedy Channel repeated all but the premiere episode from the 1975–1976 ABC series. (A previously unaired pilot was screened in place of episode one, which is presumed lost.) This marked the first time the series had been aired since the late 1970s. The same episodes have been screened again, albeit in random order, from 2008 as part of the channel's Aussie Gold block hosted by Frank Woodley.
== Discography ==
=== Studio albums ===
=== Singles ===
== Awards ==
=== ARIA Music Awards ===
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony held by the Australian Recording Industry Association. They commenced in 1987.
== Program history ==
1973 The Aunty Jack Show (ABC TV – six black and white episodes)
1974 Wollongong the Brave (ABC TV)
1975 The Norman Gunston Show – season 1 (ABC TV – nine 30-minute colour episodes)
1975 The Norman Gunston Show – season 2 (ABC TV – eight 30-minute colour episodes)
1976 The Norman Gunston Show – season 3 (ABC TV – eight 30-minute colour episodes)
1976 The Norman Gunston Show (UK BBC TV one-off 60-minute special)
1977 The Garry McDonald Show (ABC TV – eight 30-minute colour episodes)
1978–79 The Norman Gunston Show (Seven Network – ten 60-minute episodes)
1981 Gunston's Australia (Seven Network 1981 – eight 30-minute episodes)
1993 The Norman Gunston Show (Seven Network – five 30-minute episodes)
== 1975 season 1 ABC TV episodes ==
Series 1 episode 1 (18 May 1975)
Premier Norman Gunston Show episode filmed at ABN2 Gore Hill, Sydney TV studios. Norman Gunston interviews Mary Fairfax, Kerrie Biddell, and Rolf Harris.
Series 1 episode 2 (May 1975)
Norman Gunston interviews Prince Leonard and Lord Davies from the Hutt River Province, Western Australia; Rick Morosi (Junie Morosi's brother); Colleen Hewett before her departure overseas; Mrs Phillis Johnson; and Edward Woodward. Norman's dreamtime segment. Gunston concludes the show by performing "Keep You Satisfied".
Series 1 episode 3 (June 1975)
Norman Gunston interviews Stratford Johns; Chelsea Brown; Mrs Andrea (local talk back radio personality); and Fred Nile. Norman's dreamtime: "How Josyln Mathew got her spots". Consumer straight talk: Chewing gum special report. Gunston concludes the show by performing "If (They Made Me a King)".
Series 1 episode 4 (June 1975)
Norman Gunston interviews Ray Barrett; Edith Dahl, and Jack Thompson. Australian rock group Skyhooks perform "Horror Movie". Norman's dreamtime segment: "Why underpants ride up". Consumer straight talk: Venus flytrap.
Series 1 episode 5 (June 1975)
Norman Gunston interviews Jack Mundey; Paul Graham, Warren Beatty. Australian harmonica performing trio, The Horrie Dargie Trio, perform Theme From "Shaft" by Isaac Hayes. Paul Graeme wrestles alligator. Gunston performs "Sweet Caroline".
Series 1 episode 6 (June 1975)
Norman Gunston interviews the Carlton Football team in their dressing room; Mike Willesee; Marcia Hines; and Dr. Bertram Wainer. Gunston reports on "The joys of funny business". Gunston concludes show by performing "Liza with a Z".
Series 1 episode 7 (July 1975)
Norman Gunston interviews Al Grassby; Bobbi Sykes; Little Pattie; and Cheech & Chong. Norman's dreamtime segment: "The beach umbrella finds Mr. Right". Consumer straight talk segment. Gunston closes show by performing "I Got You Babe" with Little Pattie.
Series 1 episode 8 (July 1975)
Norman Gunston interviews Michele Dotrice; Edward Woodward; Beatrice Faust, and Peter Wherrett. Consumer straight talk segment: super shopping trolley reviewed by Peter Wherrett. Gunston closes show by performing "Out of Sight, Out of Mind".
Series 1 episode 9 (July 1975)
Norman Gunston interviews Gary Glitter. Norman Gunstan stands outside Parliament House Canberra. Gunston performs "Here Come the Jets". Gunston promotional film for "Something or Other" brand cigarette commercial. Norman's nymphette 1975 competition final. Consumer straight talk – Norman's last eight video tapes. ABC chairman, Professor Downing announces new Norman Gunston series due to commence in early September 1975. Gunston concludes show by performing "Tomorrow Belongs to Me".
== 1975 season 2 ABC TV Episodes ==
Season Two featured recurring sketch, "The Checkout Chicks". This sketch, a send-up of melodramatic soap operas set in a supermarket, mostly featured former cast members of the then-popular serial Number 96: Abigail, Vivienne Garrett, Candy Raymond, Philippa Baker, Judy Lynne, Anne Louise Lambert.
Series 2 episode 1 (September 1975)
Norman Gunston interviews Joe Frazier; Muhammad Ali, Lady Fairfax; and Winifred Atwell. Special report on GI cordial nutrition. Norman's $400,000 slice of the good life competition. Gunston commences show with "Colour my World" and concludes with "Pinball Wizard".
Series 2 episode 2 (September 1975)
Norman Gunston interviews Ray Charles; Junie Morosi; Peter Allen; and Telly Savalas. Episode one of Checkout Chicks. Spaceship Southern Hemisphere incorporating consumer straight talk. Gunston concludes show with "Send in the Clowns".
Series 2 episode 3 (September 1975)
Norman Gunston interviews Australian rock group Ayers Rock; Denise Drysdale; and President Nixon's security guard. Special announcement to the nation regarding Norman's false girlfriend. Norman's dreamtime: "Why the orange juice gets swished around in that glass thing". Junior jaws kitchen tidy bin review.
Series 2 episode 4 (September 1975) (Note: this episode only exists in black and white)
Norman Gunston interviews Hugh Hefner, Don Dunstan, and Barry Crocker.
Series 2 episode 5 (October 1975)
Norman Gunston interviews Renée Geyer; Paul and Linda McCartney; Denny Laine; and radio talk-back priest Fr. Jim McLaren. Special report on keeping pets in units.
Series 2 episode 6 (October 1975)
Norman Gunston interviews John Gorton; The Seekers; and Miss Australia 1975; Sally Struthers. Checkout chicks. Special report on LA smog verses Australia smog. Gunston concludes show by performing Vesti La Giubba.
Series 2 episode 7 (December 1975)
Norman Gunston interviews Debra Byrne; Senator Albert Field; Michael Cole; and Vidal Sassoon. Norman Gunston appears on the steps of Parliament House with Gough Whitlam – 11 November 1975. Gunston concludes show with "Delilah".
Series 2 episode 8 (January 1976)
Norman Gunston interviews Edith Head; and Frank Zappa. Norman's dreamtime: "Why Aunty Pat took the kittens to the vet". Norman look alike awards 1975. Gunston concludes show with "I who have nothing".
== 1976 season 3 ABC TV Episodes ==
Series 3 episode 1 (September 1976)
Norman Gunston interviews Malcolm Muggeridge; Frank Hardie; The Ink Spots; and Rudolf Nureyev. Gunston reports on the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. Gunston concludes show with ABBA melody.
Series 3 episode 2
Norman Gunston interviews Julie Ismay, Miss Australia 1976; Michael Caine; Brenda Kristen; Tim Taylor; and Tony Greig (from BBC2 UK special). Norman attempts to speak with UK prime minister. Special report on Cambridge University life. Gunston concludes show with "A taste of water".
Series 3 episode 3
Norman Gunston interviews Australian Olympic team; Diana Trask; Margaret Fulton; and John Stonehouse. Norman's dreamtime: "How the garden hose got where it is today". Special report on storing food under the house. Gunston concludes show with "Howzat".
Series 3 episode 4
Norman Gunston interviews 1976 ABC chairman; Fred Daley; and Glenda Jackson. 1976 budget report. Royal marines song contest. Norman will do his best segment: "How hundreds and thousands are made". Report on farming in your own flat. Gunston concludes show with "Don't tell me what to say".
Series 3 episode 5
Norman Gunston interviews Leyland Brothers; John Sturgess; Donald Smith; and Mary Whitehouse. Gunston concludes show with "Jailhouse Rock".
Series 3 episode 6
Norman Gunston interviews Jack Brabham; and Malcolm Fraser. Gunston concludes show with "Piano Man".
Series 3 episode 7
Norman Gunston interviews Caroline Jones; Delilah; and Diana Dors (from BBC2 UK special). Marathon telethon 1976. Norman's dreamtime: "How the shaving cream gets in a lather". Gunston concludes show with duet with Delilah.
Series 3 episode 8
Norman Gunston interviews Vera Lynn, Margaret Thatcher, and George Davis. Keith Moon pours vodka bottle over Norman's head.
== BBC2 1976 Norman Gunston special ==
(19 November 1976)
Michael Caine, Diana Dors, Tony Greig, Glenda Jackson, Malcolm Muggeridge, Diane Solomon.
== 1978–1979 ATN7-produced Episodes ==
Series 1 episode 1 (5 April 1978)
Interviews: Henry Winkler, Phil Silvers, Charles Collinson, Billy Carter. Guests include: John Singleton, and Colleen Hewett.
Series 1 episode 2 (1978)
Interviews: James Garner, James Franciscus, Robert Stack, Elke Summer. Guests includes: Bob Simpson, Judy Connelly, 'Saturday Night Fever' take off.
Series 1 episode 3 (1978)
Interviews: Dawn Fraser, Molly Meldrum, John Farnham and Martin Landau.
Series 1 episode 4 (11 October 1978)
Series 1 episode 5 (1978)
Series 2 episode 1 (1979)
Series 2 episode 2 (1979)
Series 2 episode 3 (29 August 1979)
Series 2 episode 4 (1979)
Series 2 episode 5 Xmas special (December 1979)
Summary: Norman Gunston's Christmas special includes take off of Blondies' single "Heart of Glass"; interviews with Karen Black; Lee Marvin; hippies in Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco; Leif Garrett; Elliott Gould; Henry Winkler; Ed Asner; George Segal; Zsa Zsa Gabor; Ricky Schroder; the Bee Gees; Robert Stigwood. Also shows Norman Gunston doing songs "Use Your Hanky" and a take-off of the "Rocky" theme.
== Gunston's Australia 1981 ATN7-produced episodes ==
Series 1 episode 1 (19 February 1981 [Melbourne]; 25 February 1981 [Sydney])
Summary: Norman tries to break into a top-secret Space Research Station - and tries a spot of bush-trekking.
Series 1 episode 2 (26 February 1981 [Melbourne]; 25 February 1981 [Sydney])
Summary: Norman fails to interview his country's Prime Minister but he does meet a royal prince as he continues his zany investigation of his native land.
Series 1 episode 3 (5 March 1981 [Melbourne]; 21 March 1981 [Sydney])
Summary: Our Norm tries a spot of sheep-shearing, goes mining for copper, gets involved with some lady mud-wrestlers, and irons his parachute.
Series 1 episode 4 (12 March 1981 [Melbourne]; 21 March 1981 [Sydney])
Summary: Norman goes crop dusting - with a feather duster, flies to an oil rig for a holiday, attempts the world's land-speed record on foot, and makes an impassioned appeal for conservation.
Series 1 episode 5 (19 March 1981 [Melbourne]; 20 March 1982 [Sydney])
Summary: Norman visits a fake ski-resort, tries to Climb Every Mountain, investigates an opal mine, watches toad racing and takes on cattle drovers in a cowboy epic.
Series 1 episode 6 (22 June 1985 [Melbourne]; 20 March 1982 [Sydney])
Summary: Norm visits some Australian gold fields, oversees a cattle drive in lorries, investigates an inland lake with a difference - no water - and visits a house of ill-repute to get his ironing done.
Series 1 episode 7 (6 July 1985 [Melbourne]; 14 November 1982 [Sydney])
Summary: Norman visits cyclone-torn Darwin, sings his version of the Banana Boat Song, fails to meet Lee Marvin, and tries some wine tasting.
Series 1 episode 8 (13 July 1985 [Melbourne]; 14 November 1982 [Sydney])
Summary: Norman tries to attend the opening of Parliament, gets involved in a rodeo, interviews a mother ant and provides his own version of the song Grease.
== The Norman Gunston Show (1993) ==
(Seven Network – February to March 1993)
Episode 1
Shirley MacLaine, Ian Botham, leader of the opposition Dr John Hewson, musical guest Girlfriend, Gunston sings "Achy Breaky Heart"
Episode 2
Paul Mercurio, Billy Crystal, Julian Clary, musical guest Sonia Dada, Gunston sings "Simply Irresistible"
Episode 3
Guns N' Roses, Lionel Richie, Laurie and Noeline Donaher, musical guest Mahotella Queens, Gunston sings "I Will Always Love You"
Episode 4 (hosted by Mary Coustas as Effie)
Prime minister Paul Keating, Bryan Brown, actor Sam Neill, former prime minister Gough Whitlam, Warwick and Joanne Capper, Brian Austin Green, musical guests The Dukes
Episode 5 (hosted by Mary-Anne Fahey as "Kylie Mole")
Jeff Fenech, Jane Flemming, Corbin Bernsen, Colonel Tom Parker, musical guest Peter Andre
Episode 6 (Top Gunston part 1)
repackaged highlights from previous series
Episode 7 (Top Gunston part 2)
repackaged highlights from previous series |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat_Loaf#Personal_life | Meat Loaf#Personal life | Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), better known by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. His Bat Out of Hell album trilogy—Bat Out of Hell (1977), Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell (1993), and Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose (2006)—has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. The first album stayed on the charts for over nine years and is one of the best-selling albums in history, still selling an estimated 200,000 copies annually as of 2016.
Despite the commercial success of Bat Out of Hell and Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell, and earning a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for the song "I'd Do Anything for Love", Meat Loaf experienced some difficulty establishing a steady career within the United States. However, his career still saw success due to his popularity in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom and Ireland. He received the 1994 Brit Award in the United Kingdom for best-selling album and single, and was ranked 23rd for the number of weeks spent on the UK charts in 2006. He ranks 96th on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".
Meat Loaf also acted in over 50 films and television shows, sometimes as himself or as characters resembling his stage persona. His notable film roles include Eddie in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), the bus driver in Spice World (1997), and Robert Paulson in Fight Club (1999). His early stage work included dual roles in the original Broadway cast of The Rocky Horror Show; he also appeared in the musical Hair, both on and Off-Broadway.
== Early life ==
Marvin Lee Aday was born in Dallas, Texas, on September 27, 1947, the son of Wilma Artie (née Hukel), a schoolteacher and member of the Vo-di-o-do Girls gospel music quartet, and Orvis Wesley Aday, a former police officer who went into business selling a homemade cough remedy with his wife and a friend under the name of the Griffin Grocery Company. He stated in an interview that when he was born, he was "bright red and stayed that way for days"; his father said he looked like "nine pounds of ground chuck" and convinced hospital staff to put the name "Meat" on his crib. He was later called "M.L." in reference to his initials, but when his weight increased, his seventh-grade classmates referred to him as "Meat Loaf", referring to his then 5-foot-2-inch (157 cm), 240-pound (110 kg) stature. He also attributed the nickname to an incident where, after he stepped on a football coach's foot, the coach yelled "Get off my foot, you hunk of meatloaf!"
Meat Loaf's father would binge-drink alcohol for days at a time, a habit he started when he was medically discharged from the U.S. Army during World War II after being wounded by fragments from a mortar shell. Meat Loaf often accompanied his mother in driving to the bars in Dallas to look for his father, and often stayed with his grandmother. He attended church and Bible study every Sunday.
He was 16 years old on November 22, 1963, the day of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. That morning, Meat Loaf had seen the President when he arrived at Dallas Love Field. Later, after hearing of Kennedy's death, he and a friend drove to Parkland Hospital where he witnessed Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, covered in her husband's blood, getting out of the car that brought her to the hospital.
In 1965, Meat Loaf graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, having appeared in school stage productions such as Where's Charley? and The Music Man. He played high school football as a defensive tackle. After attending college at Lubbock Christian College, he transferred to North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas).
In 1967, when Meat Loaf was 19 years old, his mother died of cancer, and his father lunged at him with a knife after falsely accusing the teen of having girls in his bedroom. Meat Loaf used the money his mother left him to rent an apartment in Dallas, where he isolated for three and a half months, at which time a friend found him. Soon after, he went to the airport and caught the next flight to Los Angeles.
Meat Loaf intentionally gained 60 pounds (27 kg) to fail his physical examination for the Vietnam War draft. Despite this strategy, he still received his notice to appear before his local draft board, but chose to ignore it.
== Career ==
=== Early career ===
In Los Angeles, Meat Loaf formed his first band, Meat Loaf Soul. The band received several recording contracts. Meat Loaf Soul's first gig was in Huntington Beach, California in 1968 at the Cave, opening for Van Morrison's band Them and Question Mark and the Mysterians. Meat Loaf later described his early days in the music industry as being treated like a "circus clown."
The band underwent several changes of lead guitarists, changing the name of the band each time, to names including Popcorn Blizzard and Floating Circus. As Floating Circus, they opened for the Who, the Fugs, the Stooges, MC5, the Grateful Dead, and the Grease Band. Their regional success led them to release a single, "Once Upon a Time", backed with "Hello". Meat Loaf then joined the Los Angeles production of the musical Hair.
=== 1970s ===
With the publicity generated from Hair, Meat Loaf accepted an invitation by Motown, in Detroit. In addition to appearing as "Mother" and "Ulysses S. Grant" at Detroit's Vest Pocket Theatre, he recorded the vocals with fellow Hair performer Shaun "Stoney" Murphy on an album of songs written and selected by the Motown production team. The album, titled Stoney & Meatloaf (with Meatloaf spelled as one word), was released in September 1971 and included the single "What You See Is What You Get"; it reached number 36 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart and number 71 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Meat Loaf and Stoney toured with Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers, opening for Richie Havens, the Who, the Stooges, Bob Seger, Alice Cooper, and Rare Earth. Meat Loaf left Motown soon after the label replaced his and Stoney's vocals from the one song he liked, "Who Is the Leader of the People?" with new vocals by Edwin Starr. He moved to Freeland, Michigan, for a year and was the opening act at the Grande Ballroom 80 times.
In December 1972, Meat Loaf was in the original off-Broadway production of Rainbow at the Orpheum Theatre in New York. After the tour, Meat Loaf rejoined the cast of Hair, this time at a Broadway theater. After he hired an agent, he auditioned for the Public Theater's production of More Than You Deserve. During the audition, Meat Loaf met Jim Steinman. He sang a Stoney and Meat Loaf favorite of his, "(I'd Love to Be) As Heavy as Jesus", and subsequently got the part of Rabbit, a maniac that blows up his fellow soldiers so they can "go home." Ron Silver and Fred Gwynne were also in the show. In the summer between the show's workshop production (April 1973) and full production (November 1973 – January 1974), Meat Loaf appeared in a Shakespeare in the Park production of As You Like It with Raul Julia and Mary Beth Hurt.
In late 1973, Meat Loaf was cast in the original L.A. Roxy cast of The Rocky Horror Show, playing the parts of both Eddie and Dr. Scott. The success of the musical led to the filming of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in which Meat Loaf played only Eddie while Jonathan Adams was cast as Dr. Scott, a decision Meat Loaf said made the movie not as good as the musical.
About the same time, Meat Loaf and Steinman started work on Bat Out of Hell. Meat Loaf convinced Epic Records to shoot music videos for four songs, "Bat Out of Hell", "Paradise by the Dashboard Light", "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth", and "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" and convinced Lou Adler, the producer of Rocky Horror, to run the "Paradise" video as a trailer to the movie. During his recording of the soundtrack for Rocky Horror, Meat Loaf recorded two more songs: "Stand by Me" (a Ben E. King cover), and "Clap Your Hands." They remained unreleased for a decade, until 1984, when they appeared as B-sides to the "Nowhere Fast" single.
In 1976, Meat Loaf recorded lead vocals for Ted Nugent's album Free-for-All when regular Nugent lead vocalist Derek St. Holmes temporarily quit the band. Meat Loaf sang lead on five of the album's nine tracks. That same year, Meat Loaf appeared in his final theatrical show in New York City, the short-lived Broadway production of Gower Champion's rock musical Rockabye Hamlet. It closed two weeks into its initial run.
Meat Loaf and Steinman started working on Bat Out of Hell in 1972, but did not get serious about it until the end of 1974. Meat Loaf then decided to leave theater and concentrate exclusively on music. Meat Loaf was cast as an understudy for John Belushi in The National Lampoon Show. It was at the Lampoon show that Meat Loaf met Ellen Foley, the co-star who sang "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" and "Bat Out of Hell" with him on the album Bat Out of Hell.
Meat Loaf and Steinman spent time seeking a record deal; however, their approaches were rejected by each record company, because their songs did not fit any specific recognized music industry style. Todd Rundgren, under the impression that they already had a record deal, agreed to produce the album as well as play lead guitar along with other members of Rundgren's band Utopia and Max Weinberg. They then shopped the record around, but they still had no takers until Steve Popovich's Cleveland International Records took a chance, releasing Bat Out of Hell in October 1977.
Meat Loaf and Steinman formed the band Neverland Express to tour in support of Bat Out of Hell. Their first gig was opening for Cheap Trick in Chicago. Meat Loaf gained national exposure as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on March 25, 1978. Host Christopher Lee introduced him with a groan worthy joke. In 1978, Meat Loaf jumped off a stage in Ottawa, Ontario, breaking his leg. He finished his tour performing in a wheelchair.
Bat Out of Hell has sold an estimated 43 million copies globally, including 15 million in the United States, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. In the United Kingdom alone, its 2.1 million sales put it in 38th place. Despite peaking at No. 9 and spending only two weeks in the top ten in 1981, it has now spent 485 weeks on the UK Albums Chart (May 2015), a figure bettered only by Rumours by Fleetwood Mac with 487 weeks. In Australia, it knocked the Bee Gees off the No. 1 spot and became the biggest-selling album of all time in that country. Bat Out of Hell has, as of December 2020, spent a total of 522 weeks in the Top 200 in the UK chart.
=== 1980s ===
In 1979, Steinman started to work on Bad for Good, the intended follow-up to 1977's Bat Out of Hell. During that time, a combination of touring, drugs and exhaustion had caused Meat Loaf to lose his voice. Without a singer, and pressured by the record company, Steinman decided that he should sing on Bad for Good himself. While Steinman worked on Bad for Good, Meat Loaf played the role of Travis Redfish in the movie Roadie until his singing voice returned. Steinman then wrote a new album for Meat Loaf, Dead Ringer, which was released in September 1981. Steinman had written five new songs which, in addition to the track "More Than You Deserve" (sung by Meat Loaf in the stage musical of the same name) and a reworked monologue, formed the album Dead Ringer, which was produced by Meat Loaf and Stephan Galfas, with backing tracks produced by Todd Rundgren, Jimmy Iovine, and Steinman. In 1976, Meat Loaf appeared on the track "Keeper Keep Us", from the Intergalactic Touring Band's self-titled album, produced by Galfas. The song "Dead Ringer for Love" was the pinnacle of the album, and launched Meat Loaf to even greater success. While it failed to chart in the US, it reached No. 5 in the United Kingdom and stayed in the UK Singles Chart for 19 weeks. Cher provided the lead female vocals in the song.
On December 5, 1981, Meat Loaf and the Neverland Express were the musical guests for Saturday Night Live where he and former fellow Rocky Horror Picture Show actor Tim Curry performed a skit depicting a One-Stop Rocky Horror Shop. Also on the show, Curry performed "The Zucchini Song" and Meat Loaf & the Neverland Express performed "Bat Out of Hell" and "Promised Land."
Following a dispute with his former songwriter Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf was contractually obliged to release a new album, resulting in Midnight at the Lost and Found, released in May 1983. According to Meat Loaf, Steinman had given the songs "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" to Meat Loaf for this album. However, Meat Loaf's record company did not want Meat Loaf to sing Steinman's songs, saying that nobody wanted to hear them. Bonnie Tyler's version of "Eclipse" and Air Supply's version of "Making Love" topped the charts together, holding No. 1 and No. 2 for a period during 1983. Meat Loaf is credited with having been involved in the writing of some of the tracks on the album, including the title track, "Midnight at the Lost and Found."
Poor money management as well as 45 lawsuits totaling US$80 million, including ones from Steinman, resulted in Meat Loaf filing for personal bankruptcy in 1983. The bankruptcy resulted in Meat Loaf losing the rights to his songs, although he received royalties for Bat Out of Hell in 1997.
In 1984, Meat Loaf went to England, where he felt increasingly at home, to record the album Bad Attitude; it was released that year. It features two songs by Steinman, both previously recorded, "Nowhere Fast" and "Surf's Up." The American release on RCA Records was in April 1985 and features a slightly different track list, as well as alternate mixes for some songs. The title track features a duet with the Who's lead singer Roger Daltrey. It was a minor success with a few commercially successful singles, the most successful being "Modern Girl". In 1985, Meat Loaf took part in some comedy sketches in the UK with Hugh Laurie. Meat Loaf also tried stand-up comedy, appearing several times in Connecticut.
Meat Loaf worked with songwriter John Parr on his next album, Blind Before I Stop, which was released in 1986 by Arista Records. It features production, mixing, and general influence by Frank Farian. Meat Loaf was involved in the composition of three of the songs on the album. Meat Loaf performed "Thrashin" for the soundtrack of the 1986 skateboarding film Thrashin' (directed by David Winters and starring Josh Brolin).
=== 1990s ===
Following the success of Meat Loaf's touring in the 1980s, he and Steinman began work during December 1990 on Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell; the album was released in September 1993. The immediate success of Bat Out of Hell II led to the sale of over 15 million copies, and the single "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" reached number one in 28 countries. In March 1994, at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards, Meat Loaf won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo for "I'd Do Anything for Love." This song stayed at No. 1 in the UK chart for seven consecutive weeks. The single featured a female vocalist who was credited only as "Mrs. Loud". She was later identified as Lorraine Crosby, a performer from England. Meat Loaf promoted the song with American vocalist Patti Russo, who performed lead female vocals on tour with him. Also in 1994, he sang the U.S. national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. He released the single "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through", which reached No. 13 in the United States.
In 1995, Meat Loaf released his seventh studio album, Welcome to the Neighborhood. The album went platinum in the United States and the United Kingdom. It included three singles that hit the top 40, including "I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)" (which reached No. 13 in the United States and No. 2 in the UK), and "Not a Dry Eye in the House" (which reached No. 7 in the UK chart). I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth) was a duet with Patti Russo, who had been touring with Meat Loaf and singing on his albums since 1993. Of the twelve songs on the album, two are written by Steinman. Both are cover versions, the "Original Sin" from Pandora's Box's Original Sin album and "Left in the Dark" first appeared on Steinman's own Bad for Good as well as the 1984 album Emotion by Barbra Streisand. His other singles, "I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)" and "Not a Dry Eye in the House", were written by Diane Warren.
In 1998, Meat Loaf released The Very Best of Meat Loaf. The album featured three new songs co-written by Steinman – two with Andrew Lloyd Webber and one with Don Black, "Is Nothing Sacred", released as a single. The single version of this song is a duet with Patti Russo, whereas the album version is a solo song by Meat Loaf.
=== 2000s ===
In 2003, Meat Loaf released his album Couldn't Have Said It Better. For only the third time in his career, Meat Loaf released an album without any songs written by Steinman (not counting live bonus tracks on special edition releases). Although Meat Loaf claimed that Couldn't Have Said It Better was "the most perfect album [he] did since Bat Out of Hell", it was not as commercially successful. The album was a minor commercial success worldwide and reached No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart, accompanied by a sellout world tour to promote the album and some of Meat Loaf's best selling singles. One such performance on his world tour was at the 2003 NRL Grand Final in Sydney. There were many writers for the album including Diane Warren and James Michael, who were both asked to contribute to his 2006 album, Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose. The album featured duets with Patti Russo and Meat Loaf's daughter Pearl Aday.
On November 17, 2003, during a performance at London's Wembley Arena, on his Couldn't Have Said It Better tour, he collapsed of what was later diagnosed as Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome, a condition marked by an extra electrical pathway in the heart which causes symptoms like a rapid heartbeat. The following week, he underwent a surgical procedure intended to correct the problem. As a result, Meat Loaf's insurance agency did not allow him to perform for any longer than one hour and 45 minutes.
From February 20 to 22, 2004, during an Australian tour, Meat Loaf performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, in a set of concerts recorded for the album Bat Out of Hell: Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The performances included the Australian Boys' Choir singing back-up on a Couldn't Have Said It Better track, "Testify."
Meat Loaf and Steinman had begun to work on the third installment of Bat Out of Hell when Steinman suffered a heart attack. According to Meat Loaf, Steinman was too ill to work on such an intense project while Steinman's manager said health was not an issue.
Steinman had registered the phrase "Bat Out of Hell" as a trademark in 1995. In May 2006, Meat Loaf sued Steinman and his manager in federal District Court in Los Angeles, seeking $50 million and an injunction against Steinman's use of the phrase. Steinman and his representatives attempted to block the album's release. An agreement was reached in July 2006. Denying reports in the press over the years of a rift between Meat Loaf and Steinman, in an interview with Dan Rather, Meat Loaf stated that he and Steinman never stopped talking, and that the lawsuits reported in the press were between lawyers and managers, and not between Meat Loaf and Steinman.
The album Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose was released on October 31, 2006, and was produced by Desmond Child. The first single from the album "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" (featuring Marion Raven) was released on October 16, 2006. It entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 6, giving Meat Loaf his highest UK chart position in nearly 11 years. The album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, and sold 81,000 copies in its opening week, but after that did not sell as well in the United States and yielded no hit singles, although it was certified gold. The album also featured duets with Patti Russo and Jennifer Hudson. In the weeks following the release of Bat III, Meat Loaf and the Neverland Express did a brief tour of the U.S. and Europe, known as the Bases are Loaded Tour. In October 2006, Meat Loaf's private jet had to make an emergency landing at London Stansted Airport after the plane's forward landing gear failed.
In 2007, Meat Loaf began The Seize the Night Tour, with Marion Raven, serving as a supporting act. Portions of the tour in February 2007 were featured in the documentary Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise, directed by Bruce David Klein. The film was an official selection of the Montreal World Film Festival in 2007. It opened in theaters in March 2008 and was released on DVD in May 2008.
During a performance at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on October 31, 2007, at the opening of "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" Meat Loaf walked off the stage early in the song and said that it was his last performance. His tour promoter, Andrew Miller, said that it was a result of "exhaustion and stress" and said that Meat Loaf would continue touring after suitable rest. The next two gigs in the tour, at the NEC and Manchester Evening News Arena were canceled because of "acute laryngitis" and were rescheduled for late November. The concert scheduled for November 6, 2007, at London's Wembley Arena was also canceled. Meat Loaf canceled his entire European tour for 2007 after being diagnosed with a cyst on his vocal cords.
On June 27, 2008, Meat Loaf began The Casa de Carne Tour in Plymouth, England alongside his longtime duet partner Patti Russo, who debuted one of her own original songs during the show. The tour continued through July and August with twenty dates throughout England, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. Six U.S. shows were also added for October and December 2008.
In May 2009, Meat Loaf began work on the album Hang Cool Teddy Bear in the studio with Green Day's American Idiot album producer Rob Cavallo, working with such writers as Justin Hawkins, Rick Brantley, Ollie Wride, Tommy Henriksen, and Jon Bon Jovi. The album is based on the story of a fictional soldier, whose "story" furnishes the theme. The album is based on a short story by the Los Angeles-based screenwriter and director Kilian Kerwin, a long-time friend of the singer. Hugh Laurie and Jack Black both perform on the album, Laurie plays piano on the song "If I Can't Have You", while Black sings a duet with Meat Loaf on "Like A Rose". Patti Russo and Kara DioGuardi also duet on the album. Brian May of Queen features on guitar along with Steve Vai. It received positive reviews from critics and fans alike. The first single from the album, "Los Angeloser", was released for download on April 5 with the album charting at number 4 in the UK Albums Chart on April 25, 2010. The Hang Cool Tour followed in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. Patti Russo accompanied him on the tour, continuing through mid-2011.
=== 2010s ===
Hell in a Handbasket, released in October 2011 for Australia and New Zealand, and February 2012 for the rest of the world, was recorded and produced by Paul Crook; Doug McKean did the mix with input from Rob Cavallo. The album features songs called "All of Me", "Blue Sky", "The Giving Tree", "Mad, Mad World", and a duet with Patti Russo called "Our Love and Our Souls."
At the 2011 AFL Grand Final, the pre-match entertainment was headlined by a 12-minute medley performed by Meat Loaf. The performance was panned as the worst in the 34-year history of AFL Grand Final pre-game entertainment in a multitude of online reviews by football fans and Australian sport commentators. Meat Loaf responded by calling online critics "butt-smellers", and the AFL "jerks", vowing to convince other artists not to play at the event.
In 2011, Meat Loaf planned to release a Christmas album called Hot Holidays featuring Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire, but the album was never released.
Meat Loaf collapsed on stage while performing in Edmonton, Canada on June 16, 2016.
In September 2016, Braver Than We Are, a 10-track album created with Jim Steinman, was released. Meat Loaf recorded reworked versions of Steinman's songs "Braver Than We Are", "Speaking in Tongues", "Who Needs the Young", and "More" (previously recorded by the Sisters of Mercy) for the album. Additionally, the song "Prize Fight Lover", originally issued as a download-only bonus track for Hang Cool Teddy Bear, was re-recorded for the album.
=== Later projects and Jim Steinman's death ===
In January 2020, during an interview for The Mirror, Meat Loaf announced, "I'm not old. I've got songs for another record and I'm reading a script." In a February 2020 Facebook post, Meat Loaf announced his intention to record a new album containing 'four or five new tracks', including Steinman's "What Part of My Body Hurts the Most" (a song long requested by fans, but previously under contract restrictions for the Bat Out of Hell musical), along with the original 1975 demo recordings made for the Bat Out of Hell album. Meat Loaf's longtime collaborator Jim Steinman died on April 19, 2021, of kidney failure.
In a Facebook post in November 2021, he further elaborated that he and his band would be returning to the studio in January 2022 to record seven new songs for a forthcoming album, which would also include live tracks from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. However, on January 20, 2022, he died at age 74. At the time of his death, the recording process had not yet begun.
=== Acting ===
In addition to his role in 1975 for Rocky Horror Picture Show, Meat Loaf also had a career as an actor in television and film. 1992 he was a main character in Leap Of Faith where he played as the band director/bus driver/piano player, He also played a small role as a doorman/bouncer in Wayne's World. He appeared as the Spice Girls' bus driver in the 1997 movie Spice World and as Red in the 1998 thriller/drama film Black Dog alongside Patrick Swayze and Randy Travis. In David Fincher's 1999 film Fight Club he played Robert Paulsen, a man who joins a men's self-help group. He also reportedly assisted director David Fincher with the editing of the film.
In 2000, he played a character in the sixth-season episode "Gettysburg" of The Outer Limits. Meat Loaf appears (uncredited) as Jack Black's father in the 2006 film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, providing vocals on the film's opening song "Kickapoo."
In 2009, Meat Loaf acted in House S5 E20 "Simple Explanation", playing Eddie, a husband who is determined to die in order to donate his liver to his wife.
On October 26, 2010, Meat Loaf (credited as Meat Loaf Aday) appeared on the Fox television series Glee in "The Rocky Horror Glee Show", the series' tribute episode to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In 2011, he was a contestant in season 11 of Celebrity Apprentice, during which he was eliminated after task number 12. In the course of the contest he had a notable dramatic showdown with fellow contestant Gary Busey which was then televised.
== Personal life ==
=== Family and residences ===
In December 1978, Meat Loaf went to work with Steinman in Woodstock, New York, where his future wife, Leslie G. Edmonds, was working as a secretary at Bearsville Studios; they were married in early 1979. From a previous marriage, Leslie had a daughter named Pearl, who later married Anthrax rhythm guitarist Scott Ian. Meat Loaf adopted Pearl in 1979, and her last name was changed to Aday.
Also in 1979, he and his family moved to a house on Eagle Drive in Stamford, Connecticut. In 1981, Leslie gave birth to Amanda Aday, who later became a television actress. For a brief time after Amanda's birth, they lived in Westport, Connecticut. He coached children's baseball or softball in each of the Connecticut towns where he lived, including for his daughter's team at Joel Barlow High School. He lived on Orchard Drive in Redding, Connecticut, from 1989 to 1998. He had also lived on Beach Road in Fairfield, Connecticut. In February 1998, the family purchased a house in Beverly Hills, California, for $1.6 million. Meat Loaf and Leslie divorced in 2001.
In 2001, he sold his 5,083-square-foot house in Mandeville Canyon near Los Angeles to Greg Kinnear for $3.6 million. In 2003, the BBC said that he was seeking a residence in Hartlepool; Meat Loaf supported Hartlepool United F.C. In May 2005, he purchased a 7,142-square-foot Spanish-style home off Mulholland Highway in Calabasas, California, for $2,999,000; he sold it for $3,065,000 in May 2011.
Meat Loaf married Deborah Gillespie in 2007. In May 2012, he moved to Austin, Texas, purchasing a newly constructed 5,200-square-foot house at 17701 Flagler Drive for $1,475,000. Before his death, he lived in Brentwood, Tennessee.
=== Name change ===
In 1984, Meat Loaf legally changed his first name from Marvin to Michael because he was "haunted" by a Levi Strauss & Co. commercial which—according to him—contained the line "Poor fat Marvin can't wear Levi's."
=== Sports ===
Meat Loaf was a fan of the New York Yankees. He got Phil Rizzuto to recite the play-by-play of a young man racing around the bases in "Paradise by the Dashboard Light". He participated in multiple fantasy baseball leagues every season. He also expressed support for the English Association football team Hartlepool United F.C. In June 2008, he took part in a football penalty shootout competition on behalf of two cancer charities in Newcastle upon Tyne. He auctioned shots to the 100 highest bidders and then took his place between the goal posts. He also participated in celebrity golf tournaments. In April 2005, he was one of the celebrity drivers in the 2005 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, finishing seventh among the 12 celebrity drivers in the race.
=== Social anxiety ===
He revealed that he had social anxiety and said, "I never meet anybody much in a social situation because when I go into a social situation, I have no idea what to do." He said that he does not "even go anywhere" and that he felt that he led a "boring life", in having said that he "completely freaked" when having to attend a party and that he was "so nervous, so scared" of the idea. He also said that he spent time with fellow musicians mainly in work-related situations rather than social ones. He also said that as a kid, "Being too fat to play with the other children, I had to spend a lot of time alone, which probably has a lot to do with the way I am today. I'm usually alone in my hotel room from right after the show until the next day's sound check. And I'm never bored; I don't get bored. Probably because mothers wouldn't let their kids play with me."
=== Vegetarianism ===
Meat Loaf was a vegetarian from 1981 to 1992. Discussing the confusion caused by his contrasting stage name and dietary habits, he once told Entertainment Weekly, "There've been vegetarians who wouldn't speak to me because of my name. I was sitting with Jon Bon Jovi at one of those awards things, and I say, 'Oh, man, I love k.d. lang. I'd really like to meet her.' They went to find out if it was okay, and she goes, 'No. His name is Meat Loaf.' I stopped being a k.d. lang fan after that." He declared in 2019 that he would try veganism for Veganuary in 2020 and would be partnering with UK restaurant chain Frankie & Benny's to promote its vegan options.
=== Religion ===
Although he did not belong to any faith-based institution, Meat Loaf was religious. While growing up, he attended church with his mother and studied the Bible, which influenced his work. Several of his songs, such as "40 Days" and "Fall from Grace", have religious themes. He prayed every night.
=== Politics ===
==== Political affiliations ====
Meat Loaf was not officially registered with any political party. In 1997, he performed at an inaugural ball during the second inauguration of Bill Clinton, and attended the first inauguration of George W. Bush in 2001. He donated to the presidential campaigns of Republican candidates Rick Santorum and John McCain, the latter of whom became the party's nominee in the 2008 United States presidential election.
On October 25, 2012, Meat Loaf endorsed Mitt Romney for president, citing poor Russia–United States relations as a major reason he had been "arguing for Mitt Romney for a year." He said, "I have never been in any political agenda in my life, but I think that in 2012 this is the most important election in the history of the United States." He then said there are "storm clouds" over the United States and "thunder storms" over Europe: "There are hail storms – and I mean major hail storms! – in the Middle East. There are storms brewing through China, through Asia, through everywhere." The same day, he performed "America the Beautiful" standing next to Romney.
In a 2017 interview with Billboard, he made positive remarks about President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, and Donald Trump Jr.; they had worked together on The Celebrity Apprentice in 2011. When asked during an episode of The Celebrity Apprentice if he would vote for Trump, Meat Loaf said: "I would vote for you. In fact, I'll help you with your campaign." Though months after that, according to a 2020 interview, he had a confrontation with Trump over a response to a journalist implying that Trump would be better as a financial advisor than a president. He recalls saying: "You’re not running for President. Back off, man!" and said of the event "I stood up to him because I’m really not afraid of him".
==== Climate change views ====
Meat Loaf said that he did not believe in climate change. In an interview with the Daily Mail in 2020, he called Greta Thunberg "brainwashed" due to her views on climate change, saying: "I feel for that Greta. She has been brainwashed into thinking that there is climate change and there isn't. She hasn't done anything wrong but she's been forced into thinking that what she is saying is true."
==== Criticism of COVID-19 rules ====
He was critical of the COVID-19 lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, telling the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in August 2021: "I hug people in the middle of COVID ... I understood stopping life for a little while, but they cannot continue to stop life because of politics." He opposed mask mandates and described a person who called for people on airplanes to wear masks as a "Nazi" and "power-mad." Meat Loaf then said: "If I die, I die, but I'm not going to be controlled." While no official cause of death has been announced, it is speculated that he did indeed of COVID-19.
=== Health ===
In 2003, Meat Loaf was diagnosed with Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome, a condition marked by an extra electrical pathway in the heart that causes symptoms like a rapid heartbeat. Meat Loaf had asthma and, in July 2011, he fainted on stage while performing in Pittsburgh due to an asthma attack.
He collapsed again while on stage in Edmonton in June 2016 due to severe dehydration, after having already canceled two other shows due to illness. The playback containing his pre-recorded, voice-over vocal track continued while he lay unconscious on the stage, which caused controversy over lip syncing, claims that Meat Loaf denied, saying that his mic was live. After the incident, Meat Loaf used acupuncture, physical therapy and a trainer for four days a week, an hour and a half each session. Meat Loaf had emergency back surgery in November 2016 including a spinal fusion due to a cyst that was pinching nerves, and in 2019, he was using a cane and a wheelchair to get around.
At the 2019 Texas Frightmare Weekend at the Hyatt Regency DFW hotel, Meat Loaf fell off an interview stage and broke his clavicle. Meat Loaf and his wife sued Texas Frightmare Weekend and Hyatt due to the accident.
=== Death ===
Meat Loaf died in Nashville, Tennessee, on the evening of January 20, 2022, at the age of 74. No official cause of death was released. He was reportedly ill with COVID-19 earlier in January, and reporting by TMZ suggested that he died from COVID-19 complications. As his health rapidly declined, his two daughters rushed to see him in the hospital with his wife beside him as he died. His daughter had posted to Instagram in early January that: "We are not sick, but we have too many friends and family testing positive [for COVID-19] right now, positive but doing OK."
Notable people who posted tributes include Bonnie Tyler, Cher, Brian May, Boy George, Travis Tritt, Marlee Matlin, Stephen Fry, and his Rocky Horror co-star Nell Campbell. The Queen's Guard performed a rendition of "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)."
== Discography ==
== Tours ==
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television ===
== Books ==
Meat Loaf (1999). To Hell and Back: An Autobiography. ReganBooks. ISBN 0-06-039293-2. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_Clairaut#Focus_on_astronomical_motion | Alexis Clairaut#Focus on astronomical motion | Alexis Claude Clairaut (; French: [alɛksi klod klɛʁo]; 13 May 1713 – 17 May 1765) was a French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist. He was a prominent Newtonian whose work helped to establish the validity of the principles and results that Sir Isaac Newton had outlined in the Principia of 1687. Clairaut was one of the key figures in the expedition to Lapland that helped to confirm Newton's theory for the figure of the Earth. In that context, Clairaut worked out a mathematical result now known as "Clairaut's theorem". He also tackled the gravitational three-body problem, being the first to obtain a satisfactory result for the apsidal precession of the Moon's orbit. In mathematics he is also credited with Clairaut's equation and Clairaut's relation.
== Biography ==
=== Childhood and early life ===
Clairaut was born in Paris, France, to Jean-Baptiste and Catherine Petit Clairaut. The couple had 20 children, however only a few of them survived childbirth. His father taught mathematics. Alexis was a prodigy – at the age of ten he began studying calculus. At the age of twelve he wrote a memoir on four geometrical curves and under his father's tutelage he made such rapid progress in the subject that in his thirteenth year he read before the Académie française an account of the properties of four curves which he had discovered. When only sixteen he finished a treatise on Tortuous Curves, Recherches sur les courbes a double courbure, which, on its publication in 1731, procured his admission into the Royal Academy of Sciences, although he was below the legal age as he was only eighteen. He gave a path-breaking formulae called the distance formulae which helps to find out the distance between any 2 points on the cartesian or XY plane.
=== Personal life and death ===
Clairaut was unmarried, and known for leading an active social life. His growing popularity in society hindered his scientific work: "He was focused," says Bossut, "with dining and with evenings, coupled with a lively taste for women, and seeking to make his pleasures into his day to day work, he lost rest, health, and finally life at the age of fifty-two." Though he led a fulfilling social life, he was very prominent in the advancement of learning in young mathematicians.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London on 27 October 1737.
Clairaut died in Paris in 1765.
== Mathematical and scientific works ==
=== The shape of the Earth ===
In 1736, together with Pierre Louis Maupertuis, he took part in the expedition to Lapland, which was undertaken for the purpose of estimating a degree of the meridian arc. The goal of the excursion was to geometrically calculate the shape of the Earth, which Sir Isaac Newton theorised in his book Principia was an ellipsoid shape. They sought to prove if Newton's theory and calculations were correct or not. Before the expedition team returned to Paris, Clairaut sent his calculations to the Royal Society of London. The writing was later published by the society in the 1736–37 volume of Philosophical Transactions. Initially, Clairaut disagrees with Newton's theory on the shape of the Earth. In the article, he outlines several key problems that effectively disprove Newton's calculations, and provides some solutions to the complications. The issues addressed include calculating gravitational attraction, the rotation of an ellipsoid on its axis, and the difference in density of an ellipsoid on its axes. At the end of his letter, Clairaut writes that: "It appears even Sir Isaac Newton was of the opinion, that it was necessary the Earth should be more dense toward the center, in order to be so much the flatter at the poles: and that it followed from this greater flatness, that gravity increased so much the more from the equator towards the Pole."
This conclusion suggests not only that the Earth is of an oblate ellipsoid shape, but it is flattened more at the poles and is wider at the centre.
His article in Philosophical Transactions created much controversy, as he addressed the problems of Newton's theory, but provided few solutions to how to fix the calculations. After his return, he published his treatise Théorie de la figure de la terre (1743). In this work he promulgated the theorem, known as Clairaut's theorem, which connects the gravity at points on the surface of a rotating ellipsoid with the compression and the centrifugal force at the equator. This hydrostatic model of the shape of the Earth was founded on a paper by the Scottish mathematician Colin Maclaurin, which had shown that a mass of homogeneous fluid set in rotation about a line through its centre of mass would, under the mutual attraction of its particles, take the form of an ellipsoid. Under the assumption that the Earth was composed of concentric ellipsoidal shells of uniform density, Clairaut's theorem could be applied to it, and allowed the ellipticity of the Earth to be calculated from surface measurements of gravity. This proved Sir Isaac Newton's theory that the shape of the Earth was an oblate ellipsoid. In 1849 George Stokes showed that Clairaut's result was true whatever the interior constitution or density of the Earth, provided the surface was a spheroid of equilibrium of small ellipticity.
=== Geometry ===
In 1741, Clairaut wrote a book called Éléments de Géométrie. The book outlines the basic concepts of geometry. Geometry in the 1700s was complex to the average learner. It was considered to be a dry subject. Clairaut saw this trend, and wrote the book in an attempt to make the subject more interesting for the average learner. He believed that instead of having students repeatedly work problems that they did not fully understand, it was imperative for them to make discoveries themselves in a form of active, experiential learning. He begins the book by comparing geometric shapes to measurements of land, as it was a subject that most anyone could relate to. He covers topics from lines, shapes, and even some three dimensional objects. Throughout the book, he continuously relates different concepts such as physics, astrology, and other branches of mathematics to geometry. Some of the theories and learning methods outlined in the book are still used by teachers today, in geometry and other topics.
=== Focus on astronomical motion ===
One of the most controversial issues of the 18th century was the problem of three bodies, or how the Earth, Moon, and Sun are attracted to one another. With the use of the recently founded Leibnizian calculus, Clairaut was able to solve the problem using four differential equations. He was also able to incorporate Newton's inverse-square law and law of attraction into his solution, with minor edits to it. However, these equations only offered approximate measurement, and no exact calculations. Another issue still remained with the three body problem; how the Moon rotates on its apsides. Even Newton could account for only half of the motion of the apsides. This issue had puzzled astronomers. In fact, Clairaut had at first deemed the dilemma so inexplicable, that he was on the point of publishing a new hypothesis as to the law of attraction.
The question of the apsides was a heated debate topic in Europe. Along with Clairaut, there were two other mathematicians who were racing to provide the first explanation for the three body problem; Leonhard Euler and Jean le Rond d'Alembert. Euler and d'Alembert were arguing against the use of Newtonian laws to solve the three body problem. Euler in particular believed that the inverse square law needed revision to accurately calculate the apsides of the Moon.
Despite the hectic competition to come up with the correct solution, Clairaut obtained an ingenious approximate solution of the problem of the three bodies. In 1750 he gained the prize of the St Petersburg Academy for his essay Théorie de la lune; the team made up of Clairaut, Jérome Lalande and Nicole Reine Lepaute successfully computed the date of the 1759 return of Halley's comet. The Théorie de la lune is strictly Newtonian in character. This contains the explanation of the motion of the apsis. It occurred to him to carry the approximation to the third order, and he thereupon found that the result was in accordance with the observations. This was followed in 1754 by some lunar tables, which he computed using a form of the discrete Fourier transform.
The newfound solution to the problem of three bodies ended up meaning more than proving Newton's laws correct. The unravelling of the problem of three bodies also had practical importance. It allowed sailors to determine the longitudinal direction of their ships, which was crucial not only in sailing to a location, but finding their way home as well. This held economic implications as well, because sailors were able to more easily find destinations of trade based on the longitudinal measures.
Clairaut subsequently wrote various papers on the orbit of the Moon, and on the motion of comets as affected by the perturbation of the planets, particularly on the path of Halley's comet. He also used applied mathematics to study Venus, taking accurate measurements of the planet's size and distance from the Earth. This was the first precise reckoning of the planet's size.
== Publications ==
Éléments d'algèbre, (In French), 1741.
Theorie de la figure de la terre, tirée des principes de l'hydrostatique (in French). Paris: Laurent Durand. 1743.
Théorie de la figure de la terre, tirée des principes de l'hydrostatique (in French). Paris: Louis Courcier. 1808. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Springs_Walk_of_Stars | Palm Springs Walk of Stars | |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reprise_Records | Reprise Records | Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels.
Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, Enya, Michael Bublé, Eric Clapton, Stevie Nicks, Neil Young, Deftones, Lindsey Buckingham, Josh Groban, Disturbed, Idina Menzel, My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way, Dwight Yoakam, Never Shout Never, and Billy Strings.
== Company history ==
=== Beginnings ===
Reprise Records was formed in 1960 by Frank Sinatra in order to allow more artistic freedom for his own recordings, because of dissatisfaction with Capitol Records, and after trying to buy Norman Granz's Verve Records. The first album Sinatra released on Reprise was Ring-a -Ding-Ding! Soon thereafter, he garnered the nickname "The Chairman of the Board". As CEO of Reprise, Sinatra recruited several artists for the fledgling label, such as fellow Rat Pack members Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. The original roster from 1961 to 1963 included Bing Crosby, Jo Stafford, Rosemary Clooney, Duke Ellington, Nancy Sinatra, Esquivel, and stand-up comedian Redd Foxx. The original Reprise LP label had four different logos, depending on the genre: a riverboat for Pop records (pictured), a cherub for Jazz records, an owl for Spoken Word/Comedy records, and a picture of Sinatra for his records.
One of the label's founding principles under Sinatra's leadership was that each artist would have full creative freedom, and at some point complete ownership of their work, including publishing rights. This is the reason why recordings of early Reprise artists (Dean Martin, Jimi Hendrix, the Kinks, etc.) are (in most cases) currently distributed through other labels. In Martin's case, his Reprise recordings were out of print for nearly 20 years before a deal was struck with Capitol Records. Reprise continued to reissue the Sinatra catalog until 2013 when it was sold to Capitol.
=== Sale to Warner Bros. ===
In August 1963, as part of a film deal, Warner Bros. purchased Reprise (which had been losing money) from Frank Sinatra, who nonetheless retained a 1/3 interest in the label. Many of the older artists on the label were dropped by Warner Bros. Records. Reprise president Mo Ostin was retained as the head of the label and he went on to play a very significant role in the history of the Warner group of labels over the next four decades. Warner-Reprise executives began targeting younger acts, beginning by securing the American distribution rights to the Pye Records recordings by the Kinks in 1964. Reprise soon added teen-oriented pop acts like Dino, Desi & Billy to the roster. As well, Sinatra's own daughter Nancy (who began recording for the label in 1961) was retained by Ostin, becoming a major pop star from late 1965. The label moved almost exclusively to rock-oriented music in the late 1960s, although Frank Sinatra continued to record for the label until the 1980s.
Through direct signings or distribution deals, by the 1970s the Reprise roster grew to include Lee Hazlewood, Jill Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, the early Joni Mitchell recordings, Neil Young, the Electric Prunes, Donna Loren, Arlo Guthrie, Norman Greenbaum, Tom Lehrer, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, Tiny Tim, Ry Cooder, Captain Beefheart, John Sebastian, Family, the early 1970s recordings by Frank Zappa and the Mothers, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Nico's Desertshore, the Fugs, Jethro Tull, Pentangle, T. Rex, the Meters, John Cale, Gordon Lightfoot, Michael Franks, Richard Pryor, Al Jarreau, Fleetwood Mac, Fanny, and the Beach Boys.
=== Dormancy ===
In 1976, the Reprise label was deactivated by Warner Bros. and all of its roster (except Frank Sinatra and Neil Young) were moved to the main Warner Bros. label. Although older catalog albums continued to be manufactured with the Reprise logo, and albums by the Beach Boys on Brother Records were issued in the Reprise catalog numbering sequence, aside from Sinatra and Young (and the Sylvia Syms album Syms by Sinatra, which Sinatra conducted and co-produced) there were no new releases on Reprise for several years.
=== Revival and Reprise today (1985–present) ===
In late 1985, some copies of the Dream Academy's hit single "Life in a Northern Town" were pressed on the Warner Bros. label bearing the Reprise logo. 1986 saw releases bearing Reprise labels from the Dream Academy as well as Dwight Yoakam. In summer 1987, Warner Bros. Records chairman Mo Ostin and label president Lenny Waronker officially announced the reactivation of Reprise, including its own separate promotions department, and former Warner Bros. Vice President of Promotion Rich Fitzgerald was appointed as label vice president. In the time since, Warner Bros. has often elevated the stature of Reprise to the rank of secondary parent label, as many of its subsidiary labels (such as Straight and Kinetic) have had their records released in conjunction with Reprise.
As of 2017, it is home to such artists as Enya, Michael Bublé, Eric Clapton, Green Day, Stevie Nicks, Neil Young, Deftones, Josh Groban, Disturbed, Idina Menzel, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Gerard Way and Never Shout Never.
It was formerly home to Jimi Hendrix and the Barenaked Ladies' catalogs in the U.S. When the Bee Gees back catalog was remastered by Rhino Records in the 2000s, their CDs were issued under the Reprise label (they appeared on sister labels Atco and Warner Bros. in the past).
Neil Young stated in a documentary about his life that Charles Manson was turned down by Reprise.
In 2010, Reprise opened a country music division, operating as part of Warner Music Group Nashville, featuring Blake Shelton, the JaneDear Girls, Michelle Branch and Frankie Ballard as part of its roster.
In September 2011, several layoffs took place at Reprise Records and other Warner labels.
In 2017, Reprise released Enya's albums on vinyl. Some of them were pressed on this format for the first time.
== Reprise Records artists ==
== Labels ==
143 Records (1999–2001)
Bizarre Records (1968–1972)
Big Brother Records (2008–present)
BME Recordings (2004–present)
Brother Records (1970–1977)
Chrysalis Records (1969–1972)
Cold Chillin' Records (1988–1993; select releases)
DiscReet Records (1973–1979)
Elementree Records (1995–2000)
Giant Records (1990–2001; select releases)
Grand Jury Records (1990–1993)
In Bloom Records (1998–2000)
Kinetic Records (1992–2000)
Straight Records (1968–1972)
Sire Records (1977–2000: select releases)
Vapor Records (1995–present; currently active)
== Parent organizations ==
(1960–1968) Independent
(1968–1969) Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
(1969–1972) Kinney National Company
(1972–1990) Warner Communications
(1990–2001) Time Warner
(2001–2003) AOL Time Warner
(2004–present) Warner Music Group |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Award_for_Best_New_Artist#1960s | Grammy Award for Best New Artist#1960s | The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist." Since 2022, the award is presented by the previous year's winner during the televised ceremony.
The Best New Artist award has a reputation for being given to artists whose music industry success ends up being short-lived; it is sometimes asserted, with varying degrees of sincerity, that the award itself brings a curse. This viewpoint was expressed by Taffy Danoff, a former member of Starland Vocal Band (known for "Afternoon Delight"), in an interview for VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders: "We got two of the five Grammys – one was Best New Artist. So that was basically the kiss of death and I feel sorry for everyone who's gotten it since."
The category is also notable for being the only category to date in which a Grammy Award has been revoked: this occurred in 1990, when Milli Vanilli originally won the award, but band members Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus later admitted that they did not contribute their own vocals on their album Girl You Know It's True. The award was subsequently vacated.
== Further information ==
Of the 65 acts who have won the award since its inception, 34 are solo female artists, 19 are duos or groups, and 12 are solo male artists. Of the solo male artists, half were given the award in its first decade; since 1970, only six solo male artists have won the award, the most recent being Chance the Rapper in 2017. From 1997 to 2003, and again from 2018 to 2025, all the winners were solo female artists.
Only five artists have won both Best New Artist and Album of the Year in the same year: Bob Newhart in 1961, Christopher Cross in 1981, Lauryn Hill in 1999, Norah Jones in 2003, and Billie Eilish in 2020. Of these, Cross, Jones, and Eilish had songs winning Record of the Year and Song of the Year for the same year, with Cross as the sole songwriter, Eilish as co-writer, and Jones lacking songwriting credit, which therefore made her miss out on completing the single year big four Grammy achievement, a feat that only Cross and Eilish attained; while Adele was the only artist to win all General field Grammys from separate occasions. Only two artists have lost Best New Artist yet won Album of the Year in the same year: Vaughn Meader in 1963 and Alanis Morissette in 1996.
For the award's first several years of existence, comedians and comic acts were regularly nominated, and one, Bob Newhart, won the award. However, this ended abruptly after 1963, and since then, only one comedian has been nominated for the award: Robin Williams in 1980. (That same year, the semi-comic act The Blues Brothers was also nominated.) Of all the winners, only three have been country artists. In 1997, LeAnn Rimes became the first country artist and (at age 14) the youngest artist to win the award. She was followed by Carrie Underwood in 2007 and Zac Brown Band in 2010. Additionally, 2017 marked the first time that two country artists were nominated in this category in the same year, in which Maren Morris and Kelsea Ballerini were both nominated. In 1990, Tone Lōc became the first rap artist to be nominated. In 2012, Skrillex became the first electronic-music artist to be nominated.
Eleven female rappers have been nominated for the award; Neneh Cherry, Lauryn Hill, Nicki Minaj, Iggy Azalea, Saweetie, Latto, Ice Spice and Doechii; with 2021 marking the first time that multiple female rappers were nominated in the same year, when Chika, Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion were all nominated. Hill and Megan Thee Stallion are the only winners.
The Judds, Indigo Girls, Wilson Phillips, SWV, The Chicks, Haim, Chloe x Halle and Katseye are the only all-female groups to be nominated for the award.
The Beatles, Tom Jones, Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills & Nash; Culture Club, Sade, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Sam Smith, Dua Lipa and Olivia Dean are the only British or English winners. Anne Murray, Men Without Hats, Corey Hart, Glass Tiger, Crash Test Dummies, Shania Twain, Alanis Morrisette, Nelly Furtado, Avril Lavigne, Feist, Drake, Justin Bieber, Alessia Cara and Kaytranada are the only Canadian artists to be nominated with Cara winning in 2018, the only woman to win a major category that year. Sheena Easton and Big Country are the only Scottish artists to bo nominated, with Easton winning in 1981. Lana Cantrell, Men at Work, Natalie Imbruglia, Iggy Azalea, Courtney Barnett and The Kid Laroi are the only Australian artists to be nominated, with Men at Work winning in 1983. The Swingle Sisters and Domi Louna from Domi & JD Beck; are the only French artists to be nominated, with the former winning in 1966, also the first foreign act to do so.
Astrud Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Eumir Deodato, Morris Albert and Anitta are the only Brazilian artists to be nominated. Neneh Cherry and Ace of Base are the only Swedish artists to be nominated. Andrea Bocelli and Måneskin are the only Italian artists to be nominated.
In 1961, Miriam Makeba became the first South African artist to be nominated. In 1969, José Feliciano became the first Puerto Rican and blind artist to be nominated and win the award. In 1986, A-ha became the first Norwegian artists to be nominated while Sade became the first Nigerian to be nominated and win. In 1993, Jon Secada became the first Cuban to be nominated. In 2004, Sean Paul became the first Jamaican to be nominated. In 2012, Nicki Minaj became the first Trinidadian to be nominated. In 2020, Rosalía became the first Spanish and first all Spanish-language artist to be nominated. In 2021, Kaytranada became the first Haitian to be nominated. In 2022, Arooj Aftab became the first Pakistani artist to be nominated. In 2026, Sophia, Yoonchae and Manon from Katseye, became the first Philippine, South Korean and Swiss artists to be nominated.
1984 marked the first time that all of the nominees were from outside the United States (winner Culture Club, Eurythmics, Musical Youth, and Big Country were from the United Kingdom, and Men Without Hats were from Canada).
Natalie Cole, A Taste of Honey, Jody Watley, Tracy Chapman, Mariah Carey, Arrested Development, Toni Braxton, Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Esperanza Spalding, Chance the Rapper, Megan Thee Stallion, Samara Joy and Victoria Monét are the only African Americans to win the award.
Boy George of Culture Club, Tracy Chapman, Sam Smith, Billie Eilish, Megan Thee Stallion, Victoria Monét, and Chappell Roan are the only LGBT+ artists to win the award.
David Crosby and Carl Palmer hold the distinction of being the only artists to be nominated twice for this award. Palmer was nominated both times as a member of a supergroup: Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Asia, while Crosby was nominated as a member of The Byrds and won as a member of the supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Eight artists who have been nominated for Best New Artist have later been awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award: The Beatles (1965, 2014), Chicago (1970, 2020), Cream (1969, 2006), Jefferson Airplane (1968, 2016), Antônio Carlos Jobim (1965, 2012), Led Zeppelin, (1970, 2005), Leontyne Price (1961, 1989), and John Prine (1972, 2020).
== Process ==
From 1995 to 2021, members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences nominated their choices for the best new artist. A list of the top twenty artists was given to the Nominations Review Committee, a specially selected group of anonymous members, who initially selected the top five artists to gain a nomination in the category in a special ballot; the number of nominated artists was increased to eight in 2018. The rest of the members then vote on a winner from the final nominees. In 2021, it was announced that the Nomination Review Committees would be disbanded, and the final nominees for best new artist would be decided by votes from members. Starting in 2022, the number of nominees in the category increased to 10. However, the decision to expand the number of nominees in this category was made 24 hours before the nominees were announced after an early version of the nominations list had already been circulated. This allowed Baby Keem and Arooj Aftab to be nominated as they were the artists who received the most votes besides the other eight nominees. As of the 2024 ceremony, the number of nominees has been reduced to eight.
== Rules changes ==
Over the years, the eligibility rules for this category have changed several times. In 2010, Lady Gaga's exclusion from the Best New Artist category caused the Recording Academy to change eligibility requirements for the next ceremony. She was ineligible for the nomination because her hit "Just Dance" had been nominated in 2008. The new rule stated that an artist may be nominated as long as that artist has not previously released an entire album and has subsequently not won a Grammy. In June 2016, the Grammy organization amended the Best New Artist rules once again, to remove the album barrier "given current trends in how new music and developing artists are released and promoted". To be eligible in the category of Best New Artist, the artist, duo, or group:
Must have released a minimum of five singles/tracks or one album (until 2020 there was a maximum of 30 singles/tracks or three albums, but this maximum limit was removed for the 2021 awards season)
May not have entered into this category more than three times, including as a performing member of an established group.
Must have achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and impacted the musical landscape during the eligibility period.
These new rules were put in effect with the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. The category was then expanded to include eight nominees in 2019. Starting in 2021, screening committees were charged with determining whether the artist had attained a breakthrough or prominence prior to the eligibility year. Such a determination would result in disqualification.
== Recipients ==
Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year.
=== 1960s ===
=== 1970s ===
=== 1980s ===
=== 1990s ===
=== 2000s ===
=== 2010s ===
=== 2020s === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter | Harry Potter | Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's conflict with Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who intends to become immortal, overthrow the wizard governing body known as the Ministry of Magic, and subjugate all wizards and non-magical people, known in-universe as Muggles.
The series was originally published in English by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom and Scholastic Press in the United States. A series of many genres, including fantasy, drama, coming-of-age fiction, and the British school story (which includes elements of mystery, thriller, adventure, horror, and romance), the world of Harry Potter explores numerous themes and includes many cultural meanings and references. Major themes in the series include prejudice, corruption, madness, love, and death.
Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, on 26 June 1997, the books have found immense popularity and commercial success worldwide. They have attracted a wide adult audience as well as younger readers and are widely considered cornerstones of modern literature, though the books have received mixed reviews from critics and literary scholars. As of February 2023, the books have sold more than 600 million copies worldwide, making them the best-selling book series in history, available in dozens of languages. The last four books all set records as the fastest-selling books in history, with the final instalment selling roughly 2.7 million copies in the United Kingdom and 8.3 million copies in the United States within twenty-four hours of its release. It holds the Guinness World Record for "Best-selling book series for children."
Warner Bros. Pictures adapted the original seven books into an eight-part namesake film series. In 2016, the total value of the Harry Potter franchise was estimated at $25 billion, making it one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play based on a story co-written by Rowling. A television series based on the books is in production at HBO.
The success of the books and films has allowed the Harry Potter franchise to expand with numerous derivative works, a travelling exhibition that premiered in Chicago in 2009, a studio tour in London that opened in 2012, a digital platform on which J. K. Rowling updates the series with new information and insight, and a trilogy of spin-off films premiering in November 2016 with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, among many other developments. Themed attractions, collectively known as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, have been built at several Universal Destinations & Experiences amusement parks around the world.
== Plot ==
=== Early years ===
The series follows the life of a boy named Harry Potter. In the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the US), Harry lives in a cupboard under the stairs in the house of the Dursleys, his aunt, uncle and cousin, who all treat him poorly. At the age of 11, Harry discovers that he is a wizard. He meets a half-giant named Hagrid who gives him a letter of acceptance to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry learns that his parents, Lily and James Potter, also had magical powers and were murdered by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort when Harry was a baby. When Voldemort attempted to kill Harry, his curse rebounded, seemingly killing Voldemort, and Harry survived with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. The event made Harry famous among the community of wizards and witches.
Harry becomes a student at Hogwarts and is sorted into Gryffindor House. He gains the friendship of Ron Weasley, a member of a large but poor wizarding family, and Hermione Granger, a witch of non-magical, or Muggle, parentage. The trio develop an enmity with the rich pure-blood student Draco Malfoy. Harry encounters the school's headmaster, Albus Dumbledore; the potions professor, Severus Snape, who displays a dislike for him; and the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Quirinus Quirrell. Quirrell turns out to be allied with Voldemort, who is still alive as a weak spirit. The first book concludes with Harry's confrontation with Voldemort, who, in his quest to regain a body, yearns to possess the Philosopher's Stone, a substance that bestows everlasting life.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets describes Harry's second year at Hogwarts. Students are attacked and petrified by an unknown creature; wizards of Muggle parentage are the primary targets. The attacks appear related to the mythical Chamber of Secrets and resemble attacks fifty years earlier. Harry discovers an ability to speak the snake language Parseltongue, which he learns is rare and associated with the Dark Arts. When Hermione is attacked and Ron's younger sister Ginny Weasley is abducted, Harry and Ron uncover the chamber's secrets and enter it. Harry discovers that Ginny was possessed by an old diary, inside which the memory of Tom Marvolo Riddle, Voldemort's younger self, resides. On Voldemort's behalf, Ginny opened the chamber and unleashed the basilisk, an ancient monster that kills or petrifies those who make direct or indirect eye contact, respectively. With the help of Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, and the Sword of Gryffindor, Harry slays the basilisk and destroys the diary.
In the third novel, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry learns that he is targeted by Sirius Black, an escaped convict who allegedly assisted in his parents' murder. Dementors, creatures that feed on happiness, search for Sirius and guard the school. As Harry struggles with his reaction to the dementors, he reaches out to Remus Lupin, a new professor who teaches him the Patronus charm. On a windy night, Ron is dragged by a black dog into the Shrieking Shack, a haunted house, and Harry and Hermione follow. The dog is revealed to be Sirius Black. Lupin enters the shack and explains that Sirius was James Potter's best friend; he was framed by another friend of James, Peter Pettigrew, who hides as Ron's pet rat, Scabbers. As the full moon rises, Lupin transforms into a werewolf and bounds away, and the group chase after him. They are surrounded by dementors, but are saved by a figure resembling James who casts a stag Patronus. This is later revealed to be a future version of Harry, who travelled back in time with Hermione using a device called a Time Turner. The duo help Sirius escape on a Hippogriff, while Pettigrew escapes.
=== Voldemort returns ===
In Harry's fourth year of school (detailed in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Hogwarts hosts the Triwizard Tournament, a contest between Hogwarts and the schools Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Harry is unwillingly entered into the contest, becoming Hogwarts' second participant after Cedric Diggory, an unusual occurrence that causes his friends to distance themselves from him. Harry claims the Triwizard Cup with Cedric, but he is teleported to a graveyard where Pettigrew kills Cedric, then resurrects Voldemort using Harry's blood. Voldemort convenes his supporters, the Death Eaters, and Harry manages to escape after a duel with Voldemort. Upon returning to Hogwarts, it is revealed that a Death Eater, Barty Crouch, Jr, in disguise as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, engineered Harry's entry into the tournament, secretly helped him, and had him teleported to Voldemort.
In the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the Ministry of Magic refuses to believe that Voldemort has returned. Dumbledore re-activates the Order of the Phoenix, a secret society to counter Voldemort; meanwhile, the Ministry tightens control of Hogwarts by appointing Dolores Umbridge as High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, and she gradually increases her powers. When Umbridge bans practical teaching of Defence Against the Dark Arts, Harry, Ron and Hermione form "Dumbledore's Army", a secret group to continue the teachings. Harry has recurring dreams of a dark corridor in the Ministry of Magic, eventually dreaming that Sirius is being tortured there. He races to the Ministry with his friends, but it is a trap, planted in his head by Voldemort. The group are attacked by Death Eaters and saved by the Order of the Phoenix, but Sirius is killed in the battle. A duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort convinces the ministry of Voldemort's return. A prophecy concerning Harry and Voldemort is revealed: one must die at the hands of the other.
In the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Snape teaches Defence Against the Dark Arts while Horace Slughorn becomes the Potions master. Harry finds an old textbook with annotations by the Half-Blood Prince, due to which he achieves success in Potions class. Harry also takes private sessions with Dumbledore, viewing memories about the early life of Voldemort in a device called a Pensieve. Harry learns from a drunken Slughorn that he used to teach Tom Riddle, and that Voldemort divided his soul into pieces, creating a series of Horcruxes. Harry and Dumbledore travel to a distant lake to destroy a Horcrux; they succeed, but Dumbledore weakens. On their return, they find Draco Malfoy and Death Eaters attacking the school. The book ends with the killing of Dumbledore by Professor Snape, the titular Half-Blood Prince.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final novel in the series, Lord Voldemort gains control of the Ministry of Magic. Harry, Ron and Hermione learn about the Deathly Hallows, legendary items that lead to mastery over death. The group infiltrates the ministry, where they steal a locket Horcrux, and visit Godric's Hollow, where they are attacked by Nagini, Voldemort's snake. A silver doe Patronus leads them to the Sword of Gryffindor, with which they destroy the locket. They steal a Horcrux from Gringotts and travel to Hogwarts, culminating in a battle with the Death Eaters. Snape is killed by Voldemort out of paranoia, but he lends Harry his memories before he dies. Harry learns that Snape was always loyal to Dumbledore, and that Harry is himself a Horcrux. Harry surrenders to Voldemort and is hit with the killing curse; however he is not killed as the protection Lily gave him lives on within Voldemort since he used Harry's blood to resurrect himself. The defenders of Hogwarts continue to fight on; Harry comes back from limbo, faces Voldemort and kills him.
An epilogue titled "Nineteen Years Later" describes the lives of the surviving characters and the impact of Voldemort's death. Harry and Ginny are married with three children, and Ron and Hermione are married with two children.
== Style and allusions ==
=== Genre and style ===
The novels fall into the genre of fantasy literature, and qualify as a type of fantasy called "urban fantasy", "contemporary fantasy", or "low fantasy". They are mainly dramas, and maintain a fairly serious and dark tone throughout, though they do contain some notable instances of tragicomedy and black humour. In many respects, they are also examples of the bildungsroman, or coming of age novel, and contain elements of mystery, adventure, horror, thriller, and romance. The books are also, in the words of Stephen King, "shrewd mystery tales", and each book is constructed in the manner of a Sherlock Holmes-style mystery adventure. The stories are told from a third person limited point of view with very few exceptions (such as the opening chapters of Philosopher's Stone, Goblet of Fire and Deathly Hallows and the first two chapters of Half-Blood Prince).
The series can be considered part of the British children's boarding school genre, which includes Rudyard Kipling's Stalky & Co., Enid Blyton's Malory Towers, St. Clare's and the Naughtiest Girl series, and Frank Richards's Billy Bunter novels: the Harry Potter books are predominantly set in Hogwarts, a fictional British boarding school for wizards, where the curriculum includes the use of magic. In this sense they are "in a direct line of descent from Thomas Hughes's Tom Brown's School Days and other Victorian and Edwardian novels of British public school life", though they are, as many note, more contemporary, grittier, darker, and more mature than the typical boarding school novel, addressing serious themes of death, love, loss, prejudice, coming-of-age, and the loss of innocence in a 1990s British setting.
In Harry Potter, Rowling juxtaposes the extraordinary against the ordinary. Her narrative features two worlds: a contemporary world inhabited by non-magical people called Muggles, and another featuring wizards. It differs from typical portal fantasy in that its magical elements stay grounded in the mundane. Paintings move and talk; books bite readers; letters shout messages; and maps show live journeys, making the wizarding world both exotic and familiar. This blend of realistic and romantic elements extends to Rowling's characters. Their names are often onomatopoeic: Malfoy is difficult, Filch is unpleasant, and Lupin is a werewolf. Harry is ordinary and relatable, with down-to-earth features such as wearing broken glasses; the scholar Roni Natov terms him an "everychild". These elements serve to highlight Harry when he is heroic, making him both an everyman and a fairytale hero.
Each of the seven books is set over the course of one school year. Harry struggles with the problems he encounters, and dealing with them often involves the need to violate some school rules. If students are caught breaking rules, they are often disciplined by Hogwarts professors. The stories reach their climax in the summer term, near or just after final exams, when events escalate far beyond in-school squabbles and struggles, and Harry must confront either Voldemort or one of his followers, the Death Eaters, with the stakes a matter of life and death—a point underlined, as the series progresses, by characters being killed in each of the final four books. In the aftermath, he learns important lessons through exposition and discussions with head teacher and mentor Albus Dumbledore. The only exception to this school-centred setting is the final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in which Harry and his friends spend most of their time away from Hogwarts, and only return there to face Voldemort at the dénouement.
=== Allusions ===
The Harry Potter stories feature imagery and motifs drawn from Arthurian myth and fairytales. Harry's ability to draw the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat resembles the Arthurian sword in the stone legend. His life with the Dursleys has been compared to Cinderella. Hogwarts resembles a medieval university-cum-castle with several professors who belong to an Order of Merlin; Old Professor Binns still lectures about the International Warlock Convention of 1289; and a real historical person, a 14th-century scribe, Sir Nicolas Flamel, is described as a holder of the Philosopher's Stone. Other medieval elements in Hogwarts include coats-of-arms and medieval weapons on the walls, letters written on parchment and sealed with wax, the Great Hall of Hogwarts, which is similar to the Great Hall of Camelot, the use of Latin phrases, the tents put up for Quidditch tournaments, which are similar to the "marvellous tents" put up for knightly tournaments, imaginary animals like dragons and unicorns that exist around Hogwarts, and the banners with heraldic animals for the four Houses of Hogwarts.
Many of the motifs of the Potter stories, such as the hero's quest invoking objects that confer invisibility, magical animals and trees, a forest full of danger and the recognition of a character based upon scars, are drawn from medieval French Arthurian romances. Other aspects borrowed from French Arthurian romances include the use of owls as messengers, werewolves as characters, and white deer. The American scholars Heather Arden and Kathryn Lorenz in particular argue that many aspects of the Potter stories are inspired by a 14th-century French Arthurian romance, Claris et Laris, writing of the "startling" similarities between the adventures of Potter and the knight Claris. Arden and Lorenz noted that Rowling graduated from the University of Exeter in 1986 with a degree in French literature and spent a year living in France afterwards.
Like C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter also contains Christian symbolism and allegory. The series has been viewed as a Christian moral fable in the psychomachia tradition, in which stand-ins for good and evil fight for supremacy over a person's soul. Children's literature critic Joy Farmer sees parallels between Harry and Jesus Christ. Comparing Rowling with Lewis, she argues that "magic is both authors' way of talking about spiritual reality". According to Maria Nikolajeva, Christian imagery is particularly strong in the final scenes of the series: Harry dies in self-sacrifice and Voldemort delivers an "ecce homo" speech, after which Harry is resurrected and defeats his enemy.
Rowling stated that she did not reveal Harry Potter's religious parallels in the beginning because doing so would have "give[n] too much away to fans who might then see the parallels". In the final book of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Rowling makes the book's Christian imagery more explicit, quoting both Matthew 6:21 and 1 Corinthians 15:26 (King James Version) when Harry visits his parents' graves. Hermione Granger teaches Harry Potter that the meaning of these verses from the Christian Bible are "living beyond death. Living after death", which Rowling states "epitomize the whole series". Rowling also exhibits Christian values in developing Albus Dumbledore as a God-like character, the divine, trusted leader of the series, guiding the long-suffering hero along his quest. In the seventh novel, Harry speaks with and questions the deceased Dumbledore much like a person of faith would talk to and question God.
== Themes ==
Harry Potter's overarching theme is death. In the first book, when Harry looks into the Mirror of Erised, he feels both joy and "a terrible sadness" at seeing his desire: his parents, alive and with him. Confronting their loss is central to Harry's character arc and manifests in different ways through the series, such as in his struggles with Dementors. Other characters in Harry's life die; he even faces his own death in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The series has an existential perspective—Harry must grow mature enough to accept death. In Harry's world, death is not binary but mutable, a state that exists in degrees. Unlike Voldemort, who evades death by separating and hiding his soul in seven parts, Harry's soul is whole, nourished by friendship and love.
Love distinguishes Harry and Voldemort. Harry is a hero because he loves others, even willing to accept death to save them; Voldemort is a villain because he does not. Harry carries the protection of his mother's sacrifice in his blood; Voldemort, who wants Harry's blood and the protection it carries, does not understand that love vanquishes death.
Rowling has spoken about thematising death and loss in the series. Soon after she started writing Philosopher's Stone, her mother died; she said that "I really think from that moment on, death became a central, if not the central theme of the seven books". Rowling has described Harry as "the prism through which I view death", and further stated that "all of my characters are defined by their attitude to death and the possibility of death".
While Harry Potter can be viewed as a story about good vs. evil, its moral divisions are not absolute. First impressions of characters are often misleading. Harry assumes in the first book that Quirrell is on the side of good because he opposes Snape, who appears to be malicious; in reality, Quirrell is an agent of Voldemort, while Snape is loyal to Dumbledore. This pattern later recurs with Moody and Snape. In Rowling's world, good and evil are choices rather than inherent attributes: second chances and the possibility of redemption are key themes of the series. This is reflected in Harry's self-doubts after learning his connections to Voldemort, such as Parseltongue; and prominently in Snape's characterisation, which has been described as complex and multifaceted. In some scholars' view, while Rowling's narrative appears on the surface to be about Harry, her focus may actually be on Snape's morality and character arc.
Rowling said that, to her, the moral significance of the tales seems "blindingly obvious". In the fourth book, Dumbledore speaks of a "choice between what is right and what is easy"; Rowling views this as a key theme, "because that ... is how tyranny is started, with people being apathetic and taking the easy route and suddenly finding themselves in deep trouble".
Academics and journalists have developed many other interpretations of themes in the books, some more complex than others, and some including political subtexts. Themes such as normality, oppression, survival, and overcoming imposing odds have all been considered as prevalent throughout the series. Similarly, the theme of making one's way through adolescence and "going over one's most harrowing ordeals—and thus coming to terms with them" has also been considered. Rowling has stated that the books comprise "a prolonged argument for tolerance, a prolonged plea for an end to bigotry" and that they also pass on a message to "question authority and... not assume that the establishment or the press tells you all of the truth".
== Development history ==
In 1990, Rowling was on a crowded train from Manchester to London when the idea for Harry suddenly "fell into" her head. Rowling gives an account of the experience on her website saying:
I had been writing almost continuously since the age of six but I had never been so excited about an idea before. I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain, and this scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who did not know he was a wizard became more and more real to me.
Rowling completed Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1995 and the manuscript was sent off to several prospective agents. The second agent she tried, Christopher Little, offered to represent her and sent the manuscript to several publishers.
=== Publishing history ===
After twelve other publishers had rejected Philosopher's Stone, Bloomsbury agreed to publish the book. Despite Rowling's statement that she did not have any particular age group in mind when beginning to write the Harry Potter books, the publishers initially targeted children aged nine to eleven. On the eve of publishing, Rowling was asked by her publishers to adopt a more gender-neutral pen name in order to appeal to the male members of this age group, fearing that they would not be interested in reading a novel they knew to be written by a woman. She elected to use J. K. Rowling (Joanne Kathleen Rowling), using her grandmother's name as her second name because she has no middle name.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published by Bloomsbury, the publisher of all Harry Potter books in the United Kingdom, on 26 June 1997. It was published in the United States on 1 September 1998 by Scholastic—the American publisher of the books—as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, after the American rights sold for US$105,000—a record amount for a children's book by an unknown author. Scholastic feared that American readers would not associate the word "philosopher" with magic, and Rowling suggested the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the American market. Rowling has later said that she regrets the change.
The second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was originally published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and in the US on 2 June 1999. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was published a year later in the UK on 8 July 1999 and in the US on 8 September 1999. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published on 8 July 2000 at the same time by Bloomsbury and Scholastic. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the longest book in the series, at 766 pages in the UK version and 870 pages in the US version. It was published worldwide in English on 21 June 2003. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was published on 16 July 2005. The seventh and final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was published on 21 July 2007. Rowling herself has stated that the last chapter of the final book (in fact, the epilogue) was completed "in something like 1990".
Rowling retained rights to digital editions and released them on the Pottermore website in 2012. Vendors such as Amazon displayed the ebooks in the form of links to Pottermore, which controlled pricing. All seven Harry Potter novels have been released in unabridged audiobook versions, with Stephen Fry reading the British editions and Jim Dale voicing the series for the American editions. On Audible, the series has been listened to, as of November 2022, for over a billion hours.
=== Translations ===
The series has been translated into more than 80 languages, placing Rowling among the most translated authors in history. The books have seen translations to diverse languages such as Korean, Armenian, Ukrainian, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Bulgarian, Welsh, Afrikaans, Albanian, Latvian, Vietnamese and Hawaiian. The first volume has been translated into Latin and even Ancient Greek, making it the longest published work in Ancient Greek since the novels of Heliodorus of Emesa in the 3rd century AD. The second volume has also been translated into Latin.
Some of the translators hired to work on the books were well-known authors before their work on Harry Potter, such as Viktor Golyshev, who oversaw the Russian translation of the series' fifth book. The Turkish translation of books two to seven was undertaken by Sevin Okyay, a popular literary critic and cultural commentator. For reasons of secrecy, translation on a given book could only start after it had been released in English, leading to a lag of several months before the translations were available. This led to more and more copies of the English editions being sold to impatient fans in non-English speaking countries; for example, such was the clamour to read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that its English language edition became the first English-language book ever to top the best-seller list in France.
The United States editions were adapted into American English to make them more understandable to a young American audience.
=== Cover art ===
For cover art, Bloomsbury chose painted art in a classic style of design, with the first cover a watercolour and pencil drawing by illustrator Thomas Taylor showing Harry boarding the Hogwarts Express, and a title in the font Cochin Bold. The first releases of the successive books in the series followed in the same style but somewhat more realistic, illustrating scenes from the books. These covers were created by first Cliff Wright and then Jason Cockroft.
Due to the appeal of the books among an adult audience, Bloomsbury commissioned a second line of editions in an 'adult' style. These initially used black-and-white photographic art for the covers showing objects from the books (including a very American Hogwarts Express) without depicting people, but later shifted to partial colourisation with a picture of Slytherin's locket on the cover of the final book.
International and later editions have been created by a range of designers, including Mary GrandPré for US audiences and Mika Launis in Finland. For a later American release, Kazu Kibuishi created covers in a somewhat anime-influenced style.
== Reception ==
=== Commercial success ===
The popularity of the Harry Potter series has translated into substantial financial success for Rowling, her publishers, and other Harry Potter related licence holders. This success has made Rowling the first and thus far only billionaire author. The books have sold more than 600 million copies worldwide and have also given rise to the popular film adaptations produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, all of which have been highly successful in their own right. The total revenue from the book sales is estimated, as of November 2018, to be around $7.7 billion. The first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, has sold in excess of 120 million copies, making it one of the bestselling books in history. The films have in turn spawned eight video games and have led to the licensing of more than 400 additional Harry Potter products. The Harry Potter brand has been estimated to be worth as much as $25 billion.
The great demand for Harry Potter novels motivated The New York Times to create a separate best-seller list for children's literature in 2000, just before the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. By 24 June 2000, Rowling's novels had been on the list for 79 straight weeks; the first three novels were each on the hardcover best-seller list. On 12 April 2007, Barnes & Noble declared that Deathly Hallows had broken its pre-order record, with more than 500,000 copies pre-ordered through its site. For the release of Goblet of Fire, 9,000 FedEx trucks were used with no other purpose than to deliver the book. Together, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble pre-sold more than 700,000 copies of the book. In the United States, the book's initial printing run was 3.8 million copies. This record statistic was broken by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, with 8.5 million, which was then shattered by Half-Blood Prince with 10.8 million copies. Within the first 24 hours of its release, 6.9 million copies of Prince were sold in the US; in the UK more than two million copies were sold on the first day. The initial US print run for Deathly Hallows was 12 million copies, and more than a million were pre-ordered through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Fans of the series were so eager for the latest instalment that bookstores around the world began holding events to coincide with the midnight release of the books, beginning with the 2000 publication of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The events, commonly featuring mock sorting, games, face painting, and other live entertainment have achieved popularity with Potter fans and have been highly successful in attracting fans and selling books with nearly nine million of the 10.8 million initial print copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince sold in the first 24 hours. The final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows became the fastest selling book in history, moving 11 million units in the first twenty-four hours of release. The book sold 2.7 million copies in the UK and 8.3 million in the US. The series has also gathered adult fans, leading to the release of two editions of each Harry Potter book, identical in text but with one edition's cover artwork aimed at children and the other aimed at adults.
=== Literary criticism ===
Early in its history, Harry Potter received positive reviews. On publication, the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, attracted attention from the Scottish newspapers, such as The Scotsman, which said it had "all the makings of a classic", and The Glasgow Herald, which called it "Magic stuff". Soon the English newspapers joined in, with The Sunday Times comparing it to Roald Dahl's work ("comparisons to Dahl are, this time, justified"), while The Guardian called it "a richly textured novel given lift-off by an inventive wit".
By the time of the release of the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the books began to receive strong criticism from literary scholars. Yale professor, literary scholar, and critic Harold Bloom raised criticisms of the books' literary merits, saying, "Rowling's mind is so governed by clichés and dead metaphors that she has no other style of writing." A. S. Byatt authored an op-ed article in The New York Times calling Rowling's universe a "secondary secondary world, made up of intelligently patchworked derivative motifs from all sorts of children's literature ... written for people whose imaginative lives are confined to TV cartoons, and the exaggerated (more exciting, not threatening) mirror-worlds of soaps, reality TV and celebrity gossip."
Michael Rosen, a novelist and poet, held the opinion that the books were not suited for children, as they would be unable to grasp the complex themes. Rosen also stated that "J. K. Rowling is more of an adult writer." The critic Anthony Holden wrote in The Observer on his experience of judging Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for the 1999 Whitbread Awards. His overall view of the series was negative—"the Potter saga was essentially patronising, conservative, highly derivative, dispiritingly nostalgic for a bygone Britain", and he speaks of "a pedestrian, ungrammatical prose style". Ursula K. Le Guin said, "I have no great opinion of it [...] it seemed a lively kid's fantasy crossed with a 'school novel,' good fare for its age group, but stylistically ordinary, imaginatively derivative, and ethically rather mean-spirited." By contrast, author Fay Weldon, while admitting that the series is "not what the poets hoped for", nevertheless goes on to say, "but this is not poetry, it is readable, saleable, everyday, useful prose".
The literary critic A. N. Wilson praised the Harry Potter series in The Times, stating, "There are not many writers who have JK's Dickensian ability to make us turn the pages, to weep—openly, with tears splashing—and a few pages later to laugh, at invariably good jokes ... We have lived through a decade in which we have followed the publication of the liveliest, funniest, scariest and most moving children's stories ever written." Charles Taylor of Salon.com, who is primarily a movie critic, took issue with Byatt's criticisms in particular. While he conceded that she may have "a valid cultural point—a teeny one—about the impulses that drive us to reassuring pop trash and away from the troubling complexities of art", he rejected her claims that the series is lacking in serious literary merit and that it owes its success merely to the childhood reassurances it offers. Stephen King called the series "a feat of which only a superior imagination is capable", and declared "Rowling's punning, one-eyebrow-cocked sense of humor" to be "remarkable". However, he wrote that he is "a little tired of discovering Harry at home with his horrible aunt and uncle", the formulaic beginning of all seven books.
Sameer Rahim of The Daily Telegraph disagreed, saying "It depresses me to see 16- and 17-year-olds reading the series when they could be reading the great novels of childhood such as Oliver Twist or A House for Mr Biswas." The Washington Post book critic Ron Charles opined in July 2007 that "through no fault of Rowling's", the cultural and marketing "hysteria" marked by the publication of the later books "trains children and adults to expect the roar of the coliseum, a mass-media experience that no other novel can possibly provide". Jenny Sawyer wrote in The Christian Science Monitor on 25 July 2007 that Harry Potter neither faces a "moral struggle" nor undergoes any ethical growth and is thus "no guide in circumstances in which right and wrong are anything less than black and white". In contrast Emily Griesinger described Harry's first passage through to Platform 9+3⁄4 as an application of faith and hope, and his encounter with the Sorting Hat as the first of many in which Harry is shaped by the choices he makes.
In an 8 November 2002, Slate article, Chris Suellentrop likened Potter to a "trust-fund kid whose success at school is largely attributable to the gifts his friends and relatives lavish upon him". In a 12 August 2007 review of Deathly Hallows in The New York Times, however, Christopher Hitchens praised Rowling for "unmooring" her "English school story" from literary precedents "bound up with dreams of wealth and class and snobbery", arguing that she had instead created "a world of youthful democracy and diversity".
In 2016, an article written by Diana C. Mutz compared the politics of Harry Potter to the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign. She suggests that these themes are also present in the presidential election and it may play a significant role in how Americans have responded to the campaign.
There is ongoing discussion regarding the extent to which the series was inspired by Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books.
=== Thematic critique ===
The portrayal of women in Harry Potter has been described as complex and varied, but nonetheless conforming to stereotypical and patriarchal depictions of gender. Gender divides are ostensibly absent in the books: Hogwarts is coeducational and women hold positions of power in wizarding society. However, this setting obscures the typecasting of female characters and the general depiction of conventional gender roles. According to scholars Elizabeth Heilman and Trevor Donaldson, the subordination of female characters goes further early in the series. The final three books "showcase richer roles and more powerful females": for instance, the series' "most matriarchal character", Molly Weasley, engages substantially in the final battle of Deathly Hallows, while other women are shown as leaders. Hermione Granger, in particular, becomes an active and independent character essential to the protagonists' battle against evil. Yet, even particularly capable female characters such as Hermione and Minerva McGonagall are placed in supporting roles, and Hermione's status as a feminist model is debated. Girls and women are more frequently shown as emotional, more often defined by their appearance, and less often given agency in family settings.
The social hierarchy of wizards in Rowling's world has drawn debate among critics. "Purebloods" have two wizard parents; "half-bloods" have one; and "Muggle-born" wizards have magical abilities, although neither of their parents is a wizard. Lord Voldemort and his followers believe that blood purity is paramount and that Muggles are subhuman. According to the literary scholar Andrew Blake, Harry Potter rejects blood purity as a basis for social division; Suman Gupta agrees that Voldemort's philosophy represents "absolute evil"; and Nel and Eccleshare agree that advocates of racial or blood-based hierarchies are antagonists. Gupta, following Blake, suggests that the essential superiority of wizards over Muggles—wizards can use magic and Muggles cannot—means that the books cannot coherently reject anti-Muggle prejudice by appealing to equality between wizards and Muggles. Rather, according to Gupta, Harry Potter models a form of tolerance based on the "charity and altruism of those belonging to superior races" towards lesser races.
Harry Potter's's depiction of race, specifically the slavery of house-elves, has received varied responses. Scholars such as Brycchan Carey have praised the books' abolitionist sentiments, viewing Hermione's Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare as a model for younger readers' political engagement. Other critics including Farah Mendlesohn find the portrayal of house-elves "most difficult to accept": the elves are denied the right to free themselves and rely on the benevolence of others like Hermione. Pharr terms the house-elves a disharmonious element in the series, writing that Rowling leaves their fate hanging; at the end of Deathly Hallows, the elves remain enslaved and cheerful. The goblins of the world of Harry Potter have also received criticism for following antisemitic caricatures – particularly for their grotesque "hook-nosed" portrayal in the films, an appearance associated with Jewish stereotypes.
=== Controversies ===
The books have been the subject of legal proceedings, stemming from various conflicts over copyright and trademark infringements. The popularity and high market value of the series has led Rowling, her publishers, and film distributor Warner Bros. Pictures to take legal measures to protect their copyright, which have included banning the sale of Harry Potter imitations, targeting the owners of websites over the "Harry Potter" domain name, and suing author Nancy Stouffer to counter her accusations that Rowling had plagiarised her work.
Various religious fundamentalists have claimed that the books promote witchcraft and religions such as Wicca and are therefore unsuitable for children, while critics have criticised the books for promoting various political agendas. The series has landed the American Library Associations' Top 10 Banned Book List in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2019 with claims it was anti-family, discussed magic and witchcraft, contained actual spells and curses, referenced the occult/Satanism, violence, and had characters who used "nefarious means" to attain goals, as well as conflicts with religious viewpoints.
The books also aroused controversies in the literary and publishing worlds. From 1997 to 1998, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone won almost all the United Kingdom awards judged by children, but none of the children's book awards judged by adults, and Sandra Beckett suggested the reason was intellectual snobbery towards books that were popular among children. In 1999, the winner of the Whitbread Book of the Year award children's division was entered for the first time on the shortlist for the main award, and one judge threatened to resign if Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was declared the overall winner; it finished second, very close behind the winner of the poetry prize, Seamus Heaney's translation of the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf.
In 2000, shortly before the publication of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the previous three Harry Potter books topped The New York Times fiction best-seller list and a third of the entries were children's books. The newspaper created a new children's section covering children's books, including both fiction and non-fiction, and initially counting only hardback sales. The move was supported by publishers and booksellers. In 2004, The New York Times further split the children's list, which was still dominated by Harry Potter books, into sections for series and individual books and removed the Harry Potter books from the section for individual books. The split in 2000 attracted condemnation, praise and some comments that presented both benefits and disadvantages of the move. Time suggested that, on the same principle, Billboard should have created a separate "mop-tops" list in 1964 when The Beatles held the top five places in its list, and Nielsen should have created a separate game-show list when Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? dominated the ratings.
== Legacy ==
=== Influence on literature ===
Harry Potter transformed children's literature. In the 1970s, children's books were generally realistic as opposed to fantastic, while adult fantasy became popular because of the influence of The Lord of the Rings. The next decade saw an increasing interest in grim, realist themes, with an outflow of fantasy readers and writers to adult works.
The commercial success of Harry Potter reversed this trend. The scale of its growth had no precedent in the children's market: within four years of the series' inception, it occupied 28% of that field by revenue. Children's literature rose in cultural status, and fantasy became a dominant genre. Older works in the genre, including Diana Wynne Jones's Chrestomanci series and Diane Duane's Young Wizards, were reprinted and rose in popularity; some authors re-established their careers. In the following decades, many Harry Potter imitators and subversive responses grew popular.
Rowling has been compared to Enid Blyton, who also wrote in simple language about groups of children and long held sway over the British children's market. She has also been described as an heir to Roald Dahl. Some critics view Harry Potter's rise, along with the concurrent success of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, as part of a broader shift in reading tastes: a rejection of literary fiction in favour of plot and adventure. This is reflected in the BBC's 2003 "Big Read" survey of the UK's favourite books, where Pullman and Rowling ranked at numbers 3 and 5, respectively, with very few British literary classics in the top 10.
=== Cultural influence ===
Harry Potter has been described as a cultural phenomenon. The word "Muggle" has spread beyond its origins in the books, entering the Oxford English Dictionary in 2003. A real-life version of the sport Quidditch was created in 2005 and featured as an exhibition tournament in the 2012 London Olympics. Characters and elements from the series have inspired scientific names of several organisms, including the dinosaur Dracorex hogwartsia, the spider Eriovixia gryffindori, the wasp Ampulex dementor, and the crab Harryplax severus.
Librarian Nancy Knapp pointed out the books' potential to improve literacy by motivating children to read much more than they otherwise would. The seven-book series has a word count of 1,083,594 (US edition). Agreeing about the motivating effects, Diane Penrod also praised the books' blending of simple entertainment with "the qualities of highbrow literary fiction", but expressed concern about the distracting effect of the prolific merchandise that accompanies the book launches. However, the assumption that Harry Potter books have increased literacy among young people is "largely a folk legend".
Research by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has found no increase in reading among children coinciding with the Harry Potter publishing phenomenon, nor has the broader downward trend in reading among Americans been arrested during the rise in the popularity of the Harry Potter books. The research also found that children who read Harry Potter books were not more likely to go on to read outside the fantasy and mystery genres. NEA chairman Dana Gioia said the series, "got millions of kids to read a long and reasonably complex series of books. The trouble is that one Harry Potter novel every few years is not enough to reverse the decline in reading."
Many fan fiction and fan art works about Harry Potter have been made. In March 2007, "Harry Potter" was the most commonly searched fan fiction subject on the internet.
Jennifer Conn used Snape's and Quidditch coach Madam Hooch's teaching methods as examples of what to avoid and what to emulate in clinical teaching, and Joyce Fields wrote that the books illustrate four of the five main topics in a typical first-year sociology class: "sociological concepts including culture, society, and socialisation; stratification and social inequality; social institutions; and social theory".
From the early 2000s onwards, several news reports appeared in the UK of the Harry Potter book and movie series driving demand for pet owls, and even reports that after the end of the movie series these same pet owls were now being abandoned by their owners. This led J. K. Rowling to issue several statements urging Harry Potter fans to refrain from purchasing pet owls. Despite the media flurry, research into the popularity of Harry Potter and sales of owls in the UK failed to find any evidence that the Harry Potter franchise had influenced the buying of owls in the country or the number of owls reaching animal shelters and sanctuaries.
By 2003, a sign marking Platform 9 3/4 was put up at the London King's Cross railway station, with a trolley fixed to the wall added by the year 2005. The location of the trolley moved after renovations, and a Harry Potter-themed shop opened nearby in 2012. Prince Charles visited the location in 2013.
1 September, the day Harry Potter generally started school at Hogwarts, became known to fans as "Back to Hogwarts Day", gaining more prominence starting in 2015 when J.K. Rowling suggested on social media that it was the year Harry Potter would be starting to send off his own children to Hogwarts, though in 2016 she later acknowledged that she was wrong by a year regarding the King's Cross events in the epilogue. On the date in 2024, fans showed up at King's Cross Station even though no event was held and fans were discouraged from attending, reportedly due to crowding issues the year before, and booed when no Hogwarts Express announcement was made at 11 a.m. as in previous years. Organisers had encouraged fans to participate in virtual events, while in-person events were held at other locations like Grand Central Terminal in New York City and Hamburg, Germany.
British book publisher Bloomsbury announced the launch of "Harry Potter Book Night" and associated promotional events in 2014, first held in February 2015. In 2023, the event was rebranded to "Harry Potter Book Day" and moved to October.
== Awards, honours, and recognition ==
The Harry Potter series has been recognised by a host of awards since the initial publication of Philosopher's Stone, including a platinum award from the Whitaker Gold and Platinum Book Awards (2001), three Nestlé Smarties Book Prizes (1997–1999), two Scottish Arts Council Book Awards (1999 and 2001), the inaugural Whitbread children's book of the year award (1999), and the WHSmith book of the year (2006), among others. In 2000, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Novel, and in 2001, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire won said award. Honours include a commendation for the Carnegie Medal (1997), a short listing for the Guardian Children's Award (1998), and numerous listings on the notable books, editors' choices, and best books lists of the American Library Association, The New York Times, Chicago Public Library, and Publishers Weekly.
In 2002, sociologist Andrew Blake named Harry Potter a British pop culture icon along with the likes of James Bond and Sherlock Holmes. In 2003, four of the books were named in the top 24 of the BBC's The Big Read survey of the best loved novels in the UK. A 2004 study found that books in the series were commonly read aloud in elementary schools in San Diego County, California. Based on a 2007 online poll, the US National Education Association listed the series in its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". Time magazine named Rowling as a runner-up for its 2007 Person of the Year award, noting the social, moral, and political inspiration she has given her fandom. Three of the books placed among the "Top 100 Chapter Books" of all time, or children's novels, in a 2012 survey published by School Library Journal: Sorcerer's Stone ranked number three, Prisoner of Azkaban 12th, and Goblet of Fire 98th.
In 2007, the seven Harry Potter book covers were depicted on a series of UK postage stamps issued by Royal Mail. In 2012, the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London featured a 100-foot tall rendition of Lord Voldemort in a segment designed to showcase the UK's cultural icons. In November 2019, the BBC listed the Harry Potter series on its list of the 100 most influential novels.
== Adaptations ==
=== Films ===
In 1999, Rowling sold the film rights for Harry Potter to Warner Bros. for a reported £1 million (US$2,000,000). Rowling had creative control on the film series, observing the filmmaking process of Philosopher's Stone and serving as producer on the two-part Deathly Hallows, alongside David Heyman and David Barron. Rowling demanded the principal cast be kept strictly British and Irish, nonetheless allowing for the inclusion or French and Eastern European actors where characters from the book are specified as such.
Chris Columbus was selected as the director for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (titled "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in the United States). Philosopher's Stone was released on 14 November 2001. Just three days after the film's release, production for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, also directed by Columbus, began and the film was released on 15 November 2002. Columbus declined to direct Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, only acting as producer. Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón took over the job, and after shooting in 2003, the film was released on 4 June 2004. Due to the fourth film beginning its production before the third's release, Mike Newell was chosen as the director for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, released on 18 November 2005. Newell became the first British director of the series, with television director David Yates following suit after he was chosen to helm Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Production began in January 2006 and the film was released the following year in July 2007. Yates was selected to direct Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which was released on 15 July 2009. The final instalment in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released in two cinematic parts: Part 1 on 19 November 2010 and Part 2 on 15 July 2011.
==== Spin-off prequels ====
A prequel series is planned to consist of five films, taking place before the main series. The first film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was released in November 2016, followed by the second Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald in November 2018 and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore in April 2022. Rowling wrote the screenplays for all three films, marking her foray into screenwriting.
=== Games ===
Several non-interactive media games and board games have been released such as Cluedo Harry Potter Edition, Scene It? Harry Potter and Lego Harry Potter models, which are influenced by the themes of both the novels and films.
There are fourteen Harry Potter video games, eight corresponding with the films and books and six spin-offs. The film/book-based games are produced by Electronic Arts (EA), as was Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup, with the game version of the first entry in the series, Philosopher's Stone, being released in November 2001. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone went on to become one of the best-selling PlayStation games ever. The video games were released to coincide with the films. Objectives usually occur in and around Hogwarts. The story and design of the games follow the selected film's characterisation and plot; EA worked closely with Warner Bros. to include scenes from the films. The last game in the series, Deathly Hallows, was split, with Part 1 released in November 2010 and Part 2 debuting on consoles in July 2011.
The spin-off games Lego Harry Potter: Years 1–4 and Lego Harry Potter: Years 5–7 were developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The spin-off games Book of Spells and Book of Potions were developed by London Studio and use the Wonderbook, an augmented reality book designed to be used in conjunction with the PlayStation Move and PlayStation Eye. The Harry Potter universe, the Wizarding World, is also featured in Lego Dimensions, with the settings and side characters featured in the Harry Potter Adventure World, and Harry, Voldemort, and Hermione as playable characters. In 2017, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment opened its own Harry Potter-themed game design studio, by the name of Portkey Games, before releasing Hogwarts Mystery, developed by Jam City, in 2018 and Hogwarts Legacy, developed by Avalanche Software, in 2023.
=== Stage production ===
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts I and II is a play which serves as a sequel to the books, beginning nineteen years after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was written by Jack Thorne based on an original new story by Thorne, Rowling and John Tiffany. It has run at the Palace Theatre in London's West End since previews began on 7 June 2016 with an official premiere on 30 June 2016. The first four months of tickets for the June–September performances were sold out within several hours upon release. Forthcoming productions are planned for Broadway and Melbourne.
The script was released as a book at the time of the premiere, with a revised version following the next year.
=== Television ===
On 25 January 2021, it was reported that a live-action television series has been in early development at HBO Max. Though it was noted that the series has "complicated rights issues", due to a seven-year rights deal with Warner Bros. Domestic TV Distribution that included US broadcast, cable and streaming rights to the franchise, which ended in April 2025. On 12 April 2023, the series was confirmed to be in development, and will be streamed on the new streaming service Max (formerly known as HBO Max). On 23 February 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced that the series would debut on Max in 2026. On 25 June 2024, it was announced the series was moved from Max to HBO. The series is planned to adapt one book per season, with seven seasons planned.
An open casting call for the three leading young actors in the UK and Ireland was announced in September 2024, with Variety reporting that 32,000 children auditioned for the roles, with filming to start in summer 2025. In November 2024, it was reported that Mark Rylance was the front runner to play Dumbledore in the series. On 25 February 2025, American actor John Lithgow confirmed reports that he had been cast as Dumbledore in the series. He acknowledged there would be controversy over him playing the role as an American, when the film series only cast British or Irish cast members at Rowling's request, and that he would work with a dialect coach. He also suggested filming would start in August after he finished portraying Roald Dahl on stage in London. He said "I don't know the Harry Potter canon by heart as 98% of the world's population seems to," but said that in talks with the producers he was intrigued by how "as the kids grew older [in the books], you learn more and more about Dumbledore, and he became a much more surprising, complicated character." He also said he had started reading the books in preparation.
News reports also speculated in March 2025 that a casting notice seeking children as extras near Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden was for the new series. On 7 March 2025, it was reported that English actor Paapa Essiedu and English actress Janet McTeer were in negotiations to portray Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall respectively in the series. On 27 May 2025, it was announced that Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton were cast as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger respectively. On 9 June 2025, it was revealed that Bel Powley would play Petunia Dursley and Daniel Rigby would play Vernon Dursley. It was also revealed that Lox Pratt would play Draco Malfoy, Johnny Flynn would play Lucius Malfoy, Katherine Parkinson would play Molly Weasley, Leo Earley would play Seamus Finnigan, Alessia Leoni would play Parvati Patil, Sienna Moosah would play Lavender Brown, and Bertie Carvel would play Cornelius Fudge.
=== Full-cast audiobook ===
In 2024, it was announced that the novels would be adapted into full-cast audio productions with a voice cast of over 100 voice actors to be released in late 2025. In August 2025, it was announced that the audio dramas would be released monthly, starting on 4 November 2025.
Cast
== Attractions ==
Universal and Warner Bros. created The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a Harry Potter-themed expansion to the Islands of Adventure theme park at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. It opened to the public on 18 June 2010. It includes a recreation of Hogsmeade and several rides; its flagship attraction is Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, which exists within a recreation of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
In 2014 Universal opened a Harry Potter-themed area at the Universal Studios Florida theme park. It includes a recreation of Diagon Alley. The flagship attraction is the Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts roller coaster ride. A completely functioning full-scale replica of the Hogwarts Express was created for the Diagon Alley expansion, connecting King's Cross Station at Universal Studios to the Hogsmeade station at Islands of Adventure. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park near Los Angeles, California in 2016, and in Universal Studios Japan theme park in Osaka, Japan in 2014. The Osaka venue includes the village of Hogsmeade, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride, and Flight of the Hippogriff roller coaster. Other Harry Potter roller coasters are the Dragon Challenge which closed to make way for Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, at Universal Islands of Adventure.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter is a behind-the-scenes walking tour in London featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the film series. The attraction is located at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, where all eight of the Harry Potter films were made. Warner Bros. constructed two new sound stages to house and showcase the sets from each of the British-made productions, following a £100 million investment. It opened to the public in March 2012. A Japan based version of the studio tour was announced in August 2020 and opened on 16 June 2023.
== Supplementary works ==
Rowling expanded the Harry Potter universe with short books produced for charities. In 2001, she released Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (a purported Hogwarts textbook) and Quidditch Through the Ages (a book Harry reads for fun). Proceeds from the sale of these two books benefited the charity Comic Relief. In 2007, Rowling composed seven handwritten copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a collection of fairy tales that is featured in the final novel, one of which was auctioned to raise money for the Children's High Level Group, a fund for mentally disabled children in poor countries. The book was published internationally on 4 December 2008. Rowling also wrote an 800-word prequel in 2008 as part of a fundraiser organised by the bookseller Waterstones. All three of these books contain extra information about the wizarding world not included in the original novels.
In 2016, she released three new e-books: Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide, Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists and Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies.
Rowling's website Pottermore was launched in 2012. Pottermore allows users to be sorted, be chosen by their wand and play various minigames. The main purpose of the website was to allow the user to journey through the story with access to content not revealed by JK Rowling previously, with over 18,000 words of additional content. The site was redesigned in 2015 as WizardingWorld and it mainly focuses on the information already available, rather than exploration. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Lawton | Tommy Lawton | Thomas Lawton (6 October 1919 – 6 November 1996) was an English football player and manager.
Born in Farnworth and raised in Bolton, he played amateur football at Rossendale United, before he turned professional at Burnley on his 17th birthday. He also played cricket for Burnley Cricket Club before his potential as a footballer won him a £6,500 move to Everton in January 1937. He went on to finish as the First Division's top-scorer in 1938 and 1939, helping Everton to finish as champions of the Football League in the latter campaign. League football was then suspended for seven full seasons due to the outbreak of war in Europe, during which time he scored 24 goals in 23 appearances for England whilst guesting for Everton and some other clubs. In November 1945, he moved to Chelsea for £14,000 and scored a club-record 26 goals in 34 league games in the 1946–47 season.
In November 1947, he made a surprise move to Third Division South club Notts County for a British record transfer fee of £20,000. He helped the club to win promotion as champions in 1949–50 before he moved on to Brentford in March 1952 for a club record £16,000. In January 1953, Brentford appointed him player-manager, though he would only remain in charge for nine months. He joined Arsenal as a player in November 1953 for £10,000, where he saw out the remainder of his playing career. Despite losing much of his best years to World War II, he scored 260 goals in 433 league and cup competitions in 14 full seasons in the Football League.
He had a promising start to his managerial career by leading Kettering Town to the Southern League title in 1956–57, but then only had two more seasons as manager, getting relegated with Notts County in 1957–58 and then relegated with Kettering Town in 1963–64. During the 1970s, he struggled with debt and related legal problems, which were reported in the media as an example of a celebrated person falling from grace.
He scored 22 goals in his 23 England appearances over a ten-year international career from 1938 to 1948, including four against Portugal in May 1947. He helped England to win two British Home Championship titles outright (1946–47 and 1947–48) and to share the Championship in 1938–39. He fell out of international contention at the age of 28 due to his contempt for manager Walter Winterbottom, his decision to drop out of the First Division, and the emergence of Jackie Milburn and Nat Lofthouse. In addition to his England caps, he also represented The Football League XI and played in a special Great Britain game against Europe in 1947. He married twice and had two children and one step-child. His ashes are held in the National Football Museum, and he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003.
== Early life ==
Thomas Lawton was born on 6 October 1919 to Elizabeth Riley and Thomas Lawton Senior in Farnworth, Lancashire. His father was a railway signalman, and his mother worked as a weaver at Harrowby Mill. His father left the family 18 months after Lawton was born, and Elizabeth moved back into her parents' home in Bolton. Elizabeth's father, James Hugh "Jim" Riley, became Lawton's surrogate father. Lawton's natural footballing ability earned him a place on the Bolton Town Schools team in 1930. Lancashire Schools picked him at the age of 13. Despite scoring a hat-trick in a trial game for England Schoolboys, he never earned a full England Schoolboy cap. At the age of 14, he began playing for Hayes Athletic in the Bolton Senior League and went on to score 570 goals in three seasons.
The FA's rules meant he was unable to turn professional at a club until he was 17, and Lawton's grandfather rejected Bolton Wanderers's offer for Lawton to work as a delivery driver for two years before turning professional at the club. Lawton instead played as an amateur for Rossendale United in the Lancashire Combination, scoring a hat-trick on his debut against Bacup. He took up temporary work at a tannery and then joined Burnley as assistant groundsman after his mother rejected an offer from Sheffield Wednesday as she objected to him travelling to Sheffield daily.
== Club career ==
=== Burnley ===
Lawton played his first game for Burnley Reserves against Manchester City Reserves in September 1935. Though he struggled in this game, he became a regular Reserve team player by age 16. After a poor run of form from Cecil Smith, Lawton was selected ahead of Smith for the Second Division game against Doncaster Rovers at Turf Moor on 28 March 1936; aged 16 years and 174 days, this made him the youngest centre-forward ever to play in the Football League. Rovers centre-half Syd Bycroft, also making his league debut, marked Lawton out of the game, which ended in a 1–1 draw. Burnley had played poorly, though Lawton was praised for his "keen and fearless" performance by the Express & News newspaper. He retained his place for the following game, and scored two goals in a 3–1 victory over Swansea Town at Vetch Field. He picked up a groin strain in his third appearance, which caused him to miss two fixtures before he returned to the first team for the final four games of the 1935–36 season; he claimed three more goals to take his season tally to five goals from seven games.
Lawton continued to train his heading skills intensely in the summer of 1936 and also played cricket for Burnley Cricket Club as a batsman in the Lancashire League. He scored a six against both Learie Constantine and Amar Singh. He scored 369 runs in 15 completed innings for an average of 24.06.
He turned professional at Burnley at 17 on wages of £7 a week. His grandfather attempted to negotiate a £500 signing-on fee on his behalf but was rebuffed after the club alerted Charles Sutcliffe, Secretary of the Football League, who informed them that any attempt to circumvent the league's maximum wage was illegal. Lawton scored in his first appearance since signing the contract after just 30 seconds before going on to record a hat-trick in a 3–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur, scoring a goal with either foot and one with his head.
=== Everton ===
In January 1937, First Division club Everton paid Burnley £6,500 to secure Lawton's services and also gave his grandfather a job as deputy groundsman at Goodison Park; the fee was a record for a player under 21. The move to Everton made him a teammate of Dixie Dean, his boyhood idol, who he was expected to gradually replace as first-choice centre-forward. He later recalled that on his way to Goodison Park on his first day as an Everton player, he was told by a tram conductor that "You're that young Lawton, aren't you? You'll never be as good as Dixie." Dean was finally rested on 13 February, which allowed Lawton to make his first team debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux; the match ended in a 6–2 defeat, though Lawton scored a penalty. He spent the rest of the season at inside-left, with Dean at centre-forward, and ended the 1936–37 campaign with four goals in 11 games. He started the 1937–38 season in the Reserves. He was installed as first choice centre-forward in September after Dean was dropped for punching club secretary Theo Kelly. On 2 October, Lawton scored the winning penalty in a 2–1 victory over Merseyside derby rivals Liverpool at Anfield. He ended the campaign with 28 goals in 39 appearances to become the division's top-scorer.
Everton had a young but highly effective team for the 1938–39 campaign, and Lawton was praised for the way he led the attack, with the Evening Standard's Roland Allen describing Lawton as a "clever footballer, bringing his wing men into the game with shrewd flicks and widely flung and accurate passes" after Everton recorded a 2–1 victory over Arsenal at Highbury. The game against Arsenal was part of a run of six wins in the first six games of the campaign, during which time Lawton scored eight goals. Everton lost their lead at the top of the table to Derby County over Christmas, but returned to form and to first position by Easter. They faced a difficult final run of games, but beat Chelsea and recorded two victories over Sunderland to secure the club's fifth league title, finishing four points ahead of second-place Wolverhampton Wanderers. Lawton scored 35 goals in 38 league games to finish as the division's top-scorer for the second successive season. However, in the summer he wrote to Leicester City to request that the club buy him from Everton; it was reported that he reached out to Leicester as they were managed by Tom Bromilow, his former Burnley manager. Everton were fifth in the league and Lawton was the division's top-scorer with four goals when league football was suspended three games into the 1939–40 season due to the outbreak of World War II. Lawton later remarked that "I'm convinced that if it hadn't been for the War, we'd have won the Championship again, the average age of those players was about 24 or 25".
=== World War II ===
Lawton continued to play for both Everton and England during the war. However, the FA decided not to award full caps for England appearances during the war. As a result, his 24 goals in 23 international games were not counted in statistics for the official England team. As was common for footballers during the war, he also made guest appearances for several clubs besides Everton, including Leicester City, Greenock Morton, Chester City, Aldershot, and Tranmere Rovers. He was called up to the British Army in January 1940, and his status as an England international saw him recruited to the Army Physical Training Corps. He also played for the British Army team and his Area Command team. He was posted in Birkenhead, which allowed him to appear for Everton frequently.
On Christmas Day 1940, he played for Everton against Liverpool at Anfield in the morning and Tranmere Rovers at Crewe Alexandra in the afternoon. Explaining this later, he said, 'The Tranmere people came into the dressing room and asked if anyone wanted to play as they were two men short. I said, "Go on, I'll help you out." And I did.' In 1942, he scored a hat-trick for England in a 5–4 win over Scotland at Hampden Park. Later in the year, he scored six goals for Aldershot in a 9–0 win over Luton Town. On 16 October 1943, he scored four goals in an 8–0 victory over Scotland at Maine Road.
=== Chelsea ===
In July 1945, Lawton handed in a transfer request at Everton as he wanted a move to a Southern club to see more of his increasingly estranged wife. In November 1945, he was sold to Chelsea for a fee of £14,000. Chelsea continued to play regional wartime fixtures as national league football had not resumed for the 1945–46 season, and Lawton also continued his uncapped appearances for the England national team. In the summer of 1946, following his demobilisation, he coached for the FA in a summer camp in Switzerland. He scored a club record 26 goals in 34 league games in the 1946–47 season. However, he struggled to settle at Stamford Bridge. He came into conflict with manager Billy Birrell after refusing to go on a pre-season tour of Sweden in 1947, which resulted in him requesting a transfer. He favoured a move to Arsenal, but the Chelsea hierarchy ruled this out. Lawton turned down an approach by Sunderland manager Bill Murray as he held out hope that Chelsea would relent and allow him a move to Arsenal.
=== Notts County ===
In November 1947, Lawton was sold to Notts County of the Third Division South for a British record transfer fee of £20,000 (equivalent to £647,500 in 2023). He made the surprise decision to drop down two divisions to be reunited with manager Arthur Stollery, his former masseur and friend at Chelsea, and because he was promised a job outside of football upon his retirement by vice-chairman Harold Walmsley. Walmsley told the Nottingham Guardian Journal that "we are prepared to spend to the limit to put this old club back where it belongs". He scored two goals on his home debut, a 4–2 win over Bristol Rovers in front of 38,000 spectators at Meadow Lane – a huge increase on previous home games of typically 6,000 to 7,000 supporters. He ended the 1947–48 season with 24 goals in as many games, though he was resented by the club's directors after he insisted on pay rises for his teammates and stopped the practice of director's friends and family travelling to away games on the team coach.
He formed a productive forward partnership with Jackie Sewell in the 1948–49 campaign and scored 23 goals in 40 league and cup appearances. County finished in mid-table despite scoring 102 goals, 15 more than champions Swansea. Stollery was sacked, and upon Lawton's suggestion, the club appointed Eric Houghton as manager after Lawton turned down the role as player-manager. Lawton and Sewell's understanding grew throughout the 1949–50 campaign, and Lawton finished as the division's top-scorer with 31 goals in 37 league games as County won promotion as champions, seven points ahead of second-placed Northampton Town. Promotion was secured with a 2–0 win over local rivals Nottingham Forest at Meadow Lane on 22 April.
However, he struggled with poor form during the 1950–51 season as his first marriage ended, and he came into increasing conflict with his teammates. He was angered when the club sold Jackie Sewell to Sheffield Wednesday in March 1951 – breaking Lawton's own transfer record in the process – as he felt the move showed a lack of ambition from the club's directors. He also found that the well-paid job he was promised outside of football did not transpire. His tally of nine goals in 31 games in 1950–51 and 13 goals in 31 games in 1951–52 was disappointing, and he was made available for transfer. He voluntarily relinquished the captaincy to teammate Leon Leuty in November 1951, expressing that he no longer wanted the responsibility.
=== Brentford ===
In March 1952, Lawton joined Second Division side Brentford for a club record £16,000 fee. Manager Jackie Gibbons left the club at the start of the 1952–53 season and was succeeded by his assistant Jimmy Bain, who proved ill-suited to management, and so in January 1953 Lawton was appointed as player-manager, with Bain as his assistant. However he lost the dressing room due to his excessive demands of the players, and the strains of management were hurting his form. Brentford also lost their best players having sold both Ron Greenwood and Jimmy Hill. He signed two veterans in former Notts County teammate Frank Broome and Ian McPherson to play on the wings, who, with Lawton, formed an attacking trio with a combined age of 104. They got off to a poor start to the 1953–54 season, and Lawton resigned as manager after the Griffin Park crowd began to mock the forward line by singing Dear Old Pals.
=== Arsenal ===
In November 1953, Lawton was traded to First Division champions Arsenal for £7,500 plus James Robertson who was valued at £2,500. He was signed by manager Tom Whittaker, who had previously found success in bringing in veterans such as Ronnie Rooke and Joe Mercer. However Lawton was limited to ten appearances in the 1953–54 campaign after picking up an injury on his debut. He also played in the 1953 Charity Shield, scoring one goal as Arsenal beat Blackpool 3–1. He scored seven goals in 20 appearances throughout the 1954–55 season, including winning goals against Chelsea and Cardiff City. He scored a hat-trick past Cardiff City on the opening day of the 1955–56 season, before he announced his decision to leave Arsenal to pursue a career in management eight games into the campaign.
"More than 20 years of soccer. What glorious years. Years that all the money in the world couldn't buy. I have been lucky. I have played with great clubs; I have escaped serious injury; I have played for my country; I have even captained my country; I have won many of the game's top honours. Soccer has been good to me and I hope that I have repaid the game in some small way. I have had great experiences. I have met some wonderful people. I have memories that nobody can take away from me. If I could turn the clock back 20 years, I would still go into the game as a full-time professional and I can say to any lad who is contemplating a career in football: Go ahead son ... providing you are willing to work and work hard and providing you are willing to learn the craft thoroughly. You will meet some of the grandest fellows you could ever wish to meet and you will have a pleasant, healthy life and be quite well paid for it.
== International career ==
Lawton was called up to play for The Football League XI against a League of Ireland XI at Windsor Park on 21 September 1938, and scored four goals in what finished as an 8–2 win. A month later he went on to win his first cap for England on 22 October, England's first game of the 1938–39 British Home Championship, a 4–2 defeat to Wales at Ninian Park, and converted a penalty kick to mark his first England appearance with a goal. This made him the youngest player to score on his England debut, a record which lasted until Marcus Rashford broke it in 2016. Four days after Lawton's debut, he scored again for England at Highbury in a 3–0 win over 'The Rest of Europe', a team of players selected from Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, Hungary and Norway. Later in the year he also scored in victories over Norway and Ireland. He played in all four games of 1939, scoring against Scotland and Italy; the goal against Scotland secured a 2–1 win in front of 149,269 spectators at Hampden Park.
Newly appointed England manager Walter Winterbottom played Lawton in England's first official match in seven years on 28 September 1946, a 7–2 win over Ireland. He played the remaining three fixtures of 1946 and scored four goals in an 8–2 victory over the Netherlands at Leeds Road on 27 November. On 10 May 1947, he scored two goals playing for the Great Britain XI in a 6–1 victory over a Rest of Europe XI that was billed as the 'Match of the Century'. Five days later he scored four goals in a 10–0 victory over Portugal at Lisbon's Estádio Nacional. On 21 September, he scored after just 12 seconds in a 5–2 win over Belgium at Heysel Stadium.
He retained his place in the England team following his club move to Notts County, and in doing so, became the first Third Division footballer to represent England when he scored from the penalty spot in a 4–2 win over Sweden on 19 November. However, he only won three further caps in 1948, his final appearance coming in a 0–0 draw with Denmark in Copenhagen on 26 September. He had become increasingly disillusioned with the England set-up, and told Winterbottom that "if you think you can teach Stanley Matthews to play on the wing and me how to score goals, you've got another think coming!" Winterbottom was also frustrated by Lawton's smoking habit and preferred Jackie Milburn ahead of Lawton. Hopes of any future comeback were ended by the emergence of powerful centre-forward Nat Lofthouse, who made his England debut in November 1950.
== Style of play ==
Lawton was widely regarded as the finest centre-forward of his generation. He boasted a strong physique and good ball control skills, as well as a great passing range and a powerful shot. He was naturally right-footed, though worked to improve his left foot to a good enough standard to be considered a two-footed player. His greatest strength though was his ability to head the ball with power and accuracy, as he possessed muscular legs to give himself a strong jump and long hang-time, and was also able to time his jumps to perfection. Stanley Matthews surmised that "Quite simply, Tommy was the greatest header of the ball I ever saw." Lawton was never booked throughout his career.
== Coaching career and later life ==
An Arsenal director helped Lawton to secure the position of player-manager at Southern League side Kettering Town. He took up the role at the club on wages of £1,500 a year in the summer of 1956. At the helm he thereafter signed several footballers such as Jim Standen of Arsenal, Amos Moss of Aston Villa, Jack Wheeler who played for Huddersfield Town and Brentford's Jack Goodwin. He was also successful in bringing to Kettering Fulham's Bob Thomas, Harry McDonald who was previously with Crystal Palace and Sunderland's Geoff Toseland. During his debut season as manager, 1956–1957, Kettering found themselves ten points clear at the top of the table by Christmas. As a result of this success, in January 1956, he turned down an approach from Notts County. Lawton then went on to foster Kettering towards their winning of the league title in 1956–57 by eight points. Out of Kettering's 106 league goals, Lawton scored 15.
He was appointed Notts County manager in May 1957, controversially replacing caretaker-manager Frank Broome. Broome, who had steered the club away from being relegated from the Second Division, was installed as his assistant manager. He found it tedious making new signings due to financial constraints on the part of the club. He did though take on forwards Jeff Astle and Tony Hateley as apprentices, who would both go on to have long careers in the First Division. Lawton agreed to go without his wages for six months to improve the club's finances. County were, however, relegated at the end of the 1957–58 season, finishing one point short of safety, and Lawton was sacked. He received a total of just three months' pay for his time at the club, having only a verbal offer of a three-year contract to fall back on and nothing in writing.
After being sacked as Notts County manager, Lawton ran the Magna Charta public house in Lowdham from October 1958. An employee stole £2,500 from the business, and Lawton decided to leave the pub trade after four years. He then took up a job selling insurance.
He returned to football management with Kettering Town for the 1963–64 season as a caretaker following the resignation of Wally Akers. The season ended with Kettering being relegated from the Southern League Premier Division. He was offered the job permanently, but turned it down to concentrate on his job as an insurance salesman. He lost his job in insurance in 1967 and then opened a sporting goods shop that bore his name after going into partnership with a friend, but was forced to close the business after just two months due to poor sales. After a period on unemployment benefits he found work at a betting company in Nottingham.
He returned to Notts County as a coach and chief scout from 1968 to 1970. He was sacked after new manager Jimmy Sirrel decided to appoint his own backroom staff, and Lawton returned to unemployment. In May 1970, he wrote to Chelsea chairman Richard Attenborough asking for a loan of £250 and possible employment; Attenborough lent him £100. He was interviewed by Eamonn Andrews on ITV's Today programme on his fall from England star to the unemployment line. After his financial troubles became public knowledge, a large furnishing company offered him a lucrative job as director of his own subsidiary furniture company on Tottenham Court Road; however the company went into liquidation the following year. He continued to write cheques in the company's name, and in June 1972, pleaded guilty to seven charges of obtaining goods and cash by deception. He was sentenced to three years probation, and ordered to pay £240 compensation and £100 in costs.
In 1972, a testimonial match was organised by Everton on Lawton's behalf to help him pay off his debts of around £6,000. However his financial situation was still bleak, and on two occasions he narrowly avoided a prison sentence for failing to pay his rates after an Arsenal supporters club and later an anonymous former co-worker stepped in to pay the bill for him. In August 1974, he was again found guilty of obtaining goods by deception after failing to repay a £10 debt to a publican. He was sentenced to 200 hours of Community service and ordered to pay £40 costs. In 1984, he began writing a column for the Nottingham Evening Post. Brentford also organised a testimonial match for him in May 1985.
Lawton's health deteriorated in his old age, and he died in November 1996, aged 77, as a result of pneumonia. His ashes were donated to the National Football Museum. He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003.
== Personal life ==
Lawton married Rosaleen May Kavanagh in January 1941; the marriage bore one child, Amanda. Divorce was granted with a decree nisi in March 1951 after Rosaleen was found to have committed adultery with Notts County director Adrian Van Geffen; Lawton never saw Amanda again and was not required to pay child support. Lawton married second wife Gladys Rose in September 1952, who bore him a son, Thomas Junior. Gladys was also divorced, and her ex-husband cited Lawton as a co-respondent in the divorce proceedings as the pair had begun their relationship whilst Gladys was still married; her family were staunch Catholics, and her family ostracised Gladys following her divorce. Gladys had a daughter, Carol, from her previous marriage, who Lawton raised as his own. Thomas Junior went on to play rugby union for Leicester Tigers.
He starred alongside Thora Hird and Diana Dors in the 1953 film The Great Game, playing himself in a cameo role. Throughout the 1950s he went on to appear on What's My Line? amongst other radio and television programmes. He published a total of five books: Football is My Business (1946),Tommy Lawton's all star football book (1950), Soccer the Lawton way (1954), My Twenty Years of Soccer (1955), and When the Cheering Stopped (1973).
== Career statistics ==
=== Club ===
=== International ===
== Managerial statistics ==
== Honours ==
=== Player ===
Everton
Football League First Division: 1938–39
Notts County
Football League Third Division South: 1949–50
Arsenal
Charity Shield: 1953
England
British Home Championship: 1938–39 (shared), 1946–47, 1947–48
=== Managerial ===
Kettering Town
Southern Football League: 1956–57
=== Individual ===
First Division top scorer: 1937–38, 1938–39
Third Division South top scorer: 1949–50
English Football Hall of Fame: 2003
Notts County FC Hall of Fame: 2014 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_(1st_generation) | IPhone (1st generation) | The iPhone is a smartphone developed and marketed by Apple as the first device in the iPhone lineup of smartphones. It features a Samsung S5L8900 SoC (90 nm), a 3.5 in multi-touch display, and a web browser (Safari). After years of rumors and speculation, it was officially announced on January 9, 2007, and was released in the United States on June 29, 2007.
Development of the iPhone began in 2005 and continued in secrecy until its public unveiling at Macworld 2007. The device broke with prevailing mobile phone designs by eliminating most physical hardware buttons, and relying on a finger-friendly touchscreen interface that did not need a stylus. The iPhone featured quad-band GSM cellular connectivity with GPRS and EDGE support for data transfer, and it used continuous internet access and onboard processing to support features unrelated to voice communication.
The iPhone generated much hype before release, and it quickly became Apple's most successful product, although it was met with less enthusiasm in European territories. At the time, the iPhone appealed largely to the general public, as opposed to the business community, upon which BlackBerry and IBM were primarily focused. By integrating existing technology and expanding on usability, the iPhone turned the smartphone industry "on its head", and later generations of the iPhone propelled Apple to become one of the world's most profitable companies. Its successor, the iPhone 3G, was announced on June 9, 2008.
== Development history ==
In 2000, Apple CEO Steve Jobs envisioned an Apple touchscreen product that the user could interact with directly with their fingers rather than using a stylus. The stylus was a common tool for many existing touchscreen devices at the time including Apple's own Newton, launched in 1993. He decided that the device would require a triple layered capacitive multi-touch touch screen, a very new and advanced technology at the time. This helped with removing the physical keyboard and mouse. The same as was common at the time for tablet computers, human machine interfaces, and point of sale systems. Jobs recruited a group of Apple engineers to investigate the idea as a side project. When Jobs reviewed the prototype and its user interface, he saw the potential in developing the concept into a mobile phone to compete with already established brands in the then emerging market for touch screen phones. The whole effort was called Project Purple 2 and began in 2005. Apple had purchased the "iphone.org" domain in December 1999.
Apple created the device in a secretive and unprecedented collaboration with Cingular Wireless, now part of AT&T. The development cost of the collaboration was estimated to have been $150 million over a thirty-month period. Apple rejected the "design by committee" approach that had yielded the Motorola ROKR E1, a largely unsuccessful collaboration with Motorola. Instead, Cingular Wireless gave Apple the liberty to develop the iPhone's hardware and software in-house. The original iPhone was introduced by Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, in a keynote address at the Macworld Conference & Expo held in Moscone West in San Francisco, California. In his address, Jobs said, "This is a day that I have been looking forward to for two and a half years," and that "today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone". Jobs introduced the iPhone as a combination of three devices: a "widescreen iPod with touch controls"; a "revolutionary mobile phone"; and a "breakthrough Internet communicator."
Six weeks prior to the iPhone's release, the plastic screen was replaced with glass. This was after Jobs was upset when he saw that his keys scratched the prototype in his pocket. The fast switch led to a bidding process for a manufacturing contractor that was won by Foxconn, which had just opened up a new wing of its Shenzhen factory complex specifically for this bid. Apple partnered with Corning on the glass.
== Release and performance ==
=== Initial release ===
Six out of ten Americans surveyed said they knew before its release that the iPhone was coming. The iPhone was released in the United States on June 29, 2007, at the price of $499 for the 4 GB model and $599 for the 8 GB model, both requiring a 2-year contract. Thousands of people were reported to have waited outside Apple and AT&T retail stores days before the device's launch; many stores reported stock shortages within an hour of availability.
Sales to the European market started in November 2007, first in Germany, followed by Britain and then France. Reports suggested that these launches were met with less enthusiasm. In France it was sold by Orange for 649 euros. The iPhone was released in Austria and the Republic of Ireland on March 13, 2008.
In Canada, Rogers Wireless announced in April 2008 that a deal was reached with Apple to bring the iPhone to the Canadian market. The original iPhone was eventually not released in Canada in favor of the second-generation iPhone 3G.
=== Post-release ===
The iPhone's main competitors in both consumer and business markets were considered to be the LG Prada, LG Viewty, Samsung Ultra Smart F700, Nokia N95, Nokia E61i, Palm Treo 750, Palm Centro, HTC Touch, Sony Ericsson W960, Sony Ericsson C905 and BlackBerry.
==== Price drops and revisions ====
The iPod Touch, a touchscreen device with the media and internet abilities and interface of the iPhone but without the ability to connect to a cellular network for phone functions or internet access, was released on September 5, 2007. At the same time, Apple significantly dropped the price of the iPhone 8 GB model from $599 to $399 (still requiring a 2-year contract with AT&T) while discontinuing the $499 4 GB model. After receiving "hundreds of emails" upset about the price drop, Apple gave a $100 store credit to early adopters.
A 16 GB model was released on February 5, 2008, for $499, the original launch price of the 4 GB model. Apple released an SDK on March 6, 2008, allowing developers to create the apps that would be available starting in iPhone OS version 2.0, a free upgrade for iPhone users. On June 9, Apple announced the iPhone 3G, which began shipping July 11.
=== Sales ===
In its first week, Apple sold 270,000 iPhones domestically. Apple sold its one millionth iPhone 74 days after release. Apple reported in January 2008 that four million had been sold. By Q4 2007, strong iPhone sales put Apple at second place among U.S. smartphone vendors, behind Research In Motion and ahead of all Windows Mobile vendors.
By October 2007, the iPhone was the fourth-best-selling handset in the U.S., trailing the Motorola Razr V3, the LG Chocolate, and the LG VX8300.
Compared to the United States, European sales were "sluggish". Although Apple partners called its British weekend launch successful, the Register called it a "flop". According to an analyst, iPhone per-capita sales were one quarter that of the United States and it was reportedly outsold by the LG Viewty. In France, the device reportedly sold 30,000 units in its first week, three times as many as were sold in Germany (10,000).
The original iPhone was discontinued on July 11, 2008; total sales volume came to 6,124,000 units.
== Reception and legacy ==
=== Critical reception ===
The original iPhone received largely positive reviews. Only four writers were given review models of the original iPhone: David Pogue of The New York Times, Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal, Steven Levy of Newsweek, and Ed Baig of USA Today. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal published positive, but cautious, reviews of the iPhone, their primary criticisms being the relatively slow speed of AT&T's 2.5G EDGE network and the phone's inability to connect using 3G services. The Wall Street Journal's technology columnist, Walt Mossberg, concluded that "despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer." Time magazine named it the Invention of the Year in 2007.
The British publication Mobile Phones UK (later S21) reviewed the iPhone upon its local launch in November 2007 and gave it a rating of 5 out of 5, having been "blown away" by the phone's user interface. However the review was lambasted by many readers who felt that it was unbalanced. Taking the feedback on board, the site revised the rating to a final 3 out of 5, commenting "With hindsight, 5 stars was wrong." Another UK-based publication, Mobile Gazette, wrote that "Although it has many good points, the list of bad points is equally impressive." It also added "Although the iPhone sold well in the US, when it finally hit Europe sales were not as high as expected, to an extent because European consumers could understand the drawbacks due to a more competitive marketplace." Ars Technica wrote an early review as well, in which it expresses optimism for the technology, the touchscreen experience, the web browsing and the music player functionality, but also highlights the lack of some features like GPS, a decent email client, limited connectivity and no third-party SDK.
Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft, argued in 2007 that the first-generation iPhone “is the most expensive phone in the world and it doesn't have a keyboard”.
=== Legacy ===
The iPhone was the first of the long-running iPhone line of products that continue to this day, which have been successful and helped Apple to become one of the world's most profitable companies. The first generation iPhone's successor, iPhone 3G, was announced on June 9, 2008. On the same day, Apple also introduced the App Store which allowed established companies and startup developers to build careers and earn money, via the platform, while providing retail consumers with new ways to access information and connect with other people.
While it was marketed as a smartphone by Apple, a number of publications at the time and in retrospect have stated that the first generation iPhone was in essence not a smartphone due to the fact that it did not feature the ability to install new software. The technology market intelligence firm ABI Research had stated, after the iPhone's announcement: "we must conclude at this point that based on our current definition of a smartphone that the Apple iPhone is not a smartphone. It is a very high-end feature phone." The App Store download marketplace, which opened a third-party ecosystem, did not release until the next year alongside the second generation iPhone, iPhone 3G.
In July 2023, an unopened, first edition model of the 2007 iPhone was sold at auction in the US for $190,372.80, nearly 400 times the original price.
== Hardware ==
=== External hardware (screens, materials, etc) ===
The iPhone's back cover is made out of aluminum, a soft metal. The iPhone's screen is a 320×480-resolution LCD screen at 163 ppi that measures about 3.5 inches diagonally, much bigger than most other phones at the time, and the iPhone was the first mobile phone with multi-touch technology. The screen's refresh rate is 60 Hz. The rear camera on the iPhone has a resolution of 2 megapixels and also features geotagging. The iPhone has four total buttons and a single switch: a power and sleep button, a volume up and volume down button, a silent/ringer switch, and a home button positioned in the bottom center of the face of the phone. The home button, when pressed, would send the user back to the home screen from whatever app they were currently using.
=== Internal hardware (motherboard, system-on-chip, etc.) ===
The iPhone features a Samsung 32-bit ARM microprocessor, underclocked from its stock 620 MHz to a slower 412 MHz to increase battery life. Its GPU is the PowerVR MBX Lite 3D.
The iPhone also includes several sets of sensors, including an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, and an ambient light sensor. Similar to the iPod Touch, the iPhone also features a 3.5 millimeter auxiliary headphone jack. The phone has a 3.7 V 1400 mAh lithium-ion battery built in it.
== Software ==
At the time of its unveiling in January, Steve Jobs claimed: "iPhone runs OS X" and runs "desktop-class applications", but at the time of the iPhone's release, the operating system was renamed "iPhone OS".
The original iPhone supported three major versions of the operating system before it was discontinued: iPhone OS 1, 2, and 3. The last update the original iPhone received was iPhone OS 3.1.3, as iPhone OS 3.2 was intended for the iPad.
=== Software history ===
The original operating system for the original iPhone, iPhone OS 1, featured Visual Voicemail, multi-touch gestures, HTML email, Apple's Safari web browser, threaded text messaging, an "iPod" music and video player app, a dedicated YouTube app and a Maps app powered by Google Maps, however without proper GPS support. It also included basic Phone/contacts, Calendar, Photos, Stocks, Weather, Clock, Calculator, Notes, and Settings apps. However, many features like MMS, apps, and copy and paste were not supported at release, leading hackers to jailbreak their phones to add these features. By jailbreaking, it was also possible to overcome the lack of a native GPS module with the Navizon app, which used WiFi and cell-tower positioning, to give users access to real time location, otherwise impossible. Software updates from Apple gradually added these functions.
A v1.1 update alongside the introduction of the iPod Touch in September 2007 included an iTunes Store app that was the first new app to be added to the system.
iPhone OS 2 was released on July 11, 2008, at the same time as the release of the iPhone 3G, and introduced Apple's App Store supporting native third-party applications (that were developed with the iPhone SDK), Microsoft Exchange support, push e-mail, and other enhancements.
iPhone OS 3 was released on June 17, 2009, alongside the iPhone 3GS, and introduced copy and paste support, Spotlight search for the home screen, and new features for the YouTube app. iPhone OS 3 was available for the original iPhone as well as the iPhone 3G and 3GS. However, not all features of iPhone OS 3 (such as MMS in the Messages app) were supported on the original iPhone.
iPhone OS 3.1.3 was the last version of iPhone OS (now iOS) to be released for the phone in February 2010, which never got the full iPhone OS 3 feature set because iPhone OS 3.2 was intended for the iPad.
Almost all apps released after the release of iOS 6 in late September 2012 do not run on the original iPhone, as the software development kit (SDK) was changed to no longer allow the "targeting" (minimum) of iOS versions older than 4.3 (including 3.x), or ARMv6 devices (first two generations). |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfie_Hewett | Alfie Hewett | Alfie Hewett (born 6 December 1997) is a British professional wheelchair tennis player. He is the current world No. 2 in singles and world No. 1 in doubles.
Hewett has won a total of 33 major titles: ten in singles and 23 in doubles, partnering Gordon Reid for all of the latter. The pair completed the Grand Slam in 2021 (the first to do so since Stéphane Houdet first achieved the feat in 2014 with multiple partners), and won Paralympic gold in men's doubles at the 2024 Summer Paralympics, having been silver medalists in the two previous Games. Hewett is also a two-time Paralympic silver medalist in singles (in 2016 and 2024). He won the Wheelchair Tennis Masters in both singles and doubles in 2017, 2021, and 2023.
Hewett was born with a congenital heart defect that required surgery at six months, and suffered from Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease, a condition that inhibits blood flow from the pelvis to the hip joint. His ability to walk was severely impaired and from the age of six he has been a wheelchair user. Though able to walk, Hewett is not fully mobile in the conventional sense and cannot do able-bodied sports.
== Tennis career ==
Hewett attended Acle High School and went on to study Sport and Exercise Science at City College Norwich.
In July 2016 Hewett won the 2016 Wimbledon Championships – Wheelchair men's doubles, alongside Gordon Reid, coming back from a set down to win against the French pair Stéphane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer.
He won a silver medal in the men's singles event at Rio 2016 and silver in the doubles event with Reid, who beat him in the singles final.
In May 2017 Hewett won his first Grand Slam in singles at the French Open, beating Gustavo Fernández of Argentina in three sets, despite losing the first to love.
In July 2017, in a repeat of the final a year earlier, Hewett won the 2017 Wimbledon Championships – Wheelchair men's doubles, alongside Reid, winning in three sets against Houdet and Peifer.
Hewett won the 2017 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters in Loughborough, UK. He ended 2017 ranked No 2 in the world, then a career-high.
On 29 January 2018 Hewett became the world number 1.
In March 2018 Hewett won his first Super Series singles title at the Cajun Classic in Baton Rouge, USA.
On 2 September 2018 he claimed his second Super Series title at the US Open USTA Wheelchair Championships in St. Louis. Later that month Hewett won the singles title at the US Open as well as the doubles title with Reid.
In September 2019 he successfully defended both his singles and, with Reid, doubles titles at the US Open.
In 2020 Hewett won the French Open singles title in three sets against Joachim Gérard and partnered Reid to win all three available Grand Slam doubles titles at the Australian Open, US Open and French Open, with the Wimbledon Championships cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After winning a silver medal in the men's doubles with Reid at the 2020 Summer Paralympics and losing the bronze medal singles match to Reid, world number 2 Hewett spoke about his Paralympic future being "out of his hands", due to a review into whether his disability is severe enough to qualify him to play in a wheelchair under the 2019 revision of International Tennis Federation rules. Hewett was allowed to continue his tennis career after an alteration to the new ITF rules in November 2021.
Hewett was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to tennis.
Hewett kicked off 2024 by winning a fifth Australian Open doubles title in a row with Reid. In May 2024 Hewett was part of the Great Britain team which won the World Team Cup for a second successive year beating Spain 2-0 in the final of the event held in Turkey. It was the team's fourth win in the competition since 2015.
Hewett and Reid won a fifth straight French Open in June with a 6-1 6-4 victory over second-seeded Japanese duo Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda in the final.
At the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, Hewett defeated Martín de la Puente in the final, 6–2, 6–3, to complete the singles career Grand Slam. He and Reid also won doubles title, defeating Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda in the final, 6–4, 7–6(7–2).
Hewett won the doubles gold medal at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, France. He lost in Paralympic wheelchair tennis men's singles final.
== Career statistics ==
=== Grand Slam performance timelines ===
==== Wheelchair singles ====
==== Wheelchair doubles ====
==== Grand Slam tournament finals ====
===== Wheelchair singles: 21 (10 titles, 11 runner-ups) =====
===== Wheelchair doubles: 30 (23 titles, 7 runner-ups) ===== |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grateful_Dead_discography | Grateful Dead discography | The discography of the rock band the Grateful Dead includes more than 200 albums, the majority of them recorded live in concert. The band has also released more than two dozen singles and a number of videos.
The Grateful Dead formed in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1965 amid the counterculture of the 1960s. They had many musical influences, and their music evolved to a great degree over time. They made extensive use of improvisation, and are considered one of the originators of jam band music. The founding members were Jerry Garcia on guitar and vocals, Bob Weir on guitar and vocals, Phil Lesh on bass and vocals, Bill Kreutzmann on drums, and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan on organ, harmonica, percussion, and vocals. Pigpen died in 1973, but the other four remained with the band for its entire 30-year history. Second drummer Mickey Hart was also in the band for most of that time. Others who were band members at different times were keyboardists Tom Constanten, Keith Godchaux, Brent Mydland, Vince Welnick, and Bruce Hornsby, and vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux.
While they were together, from 1965 to 1995, the Grateful Dead released thirteen studio albums and nine contemporary live albums. The nine live albums were recently recorded and mostly contained previously unreleased original material. They filled the role of traditional studio albums, and were an integral part of the contemporaneous evolution of the band. (The Dead's second album, Anthem of the Sun, was an experimental amalgam of studio and live material.)
In 1991, the band started releasing retrospective live albums, a practice that has continued to the present time. There are several series of these albums. The "traditional" live releases were created by remixing multitrack recordings of concerts. A second series of live albums, from 1993 to 2005, was Dick's Picks, concert recordings selected for their musical excellence but made using stereo recordings that did not allow the different musical parts to be remixed. Another series of albums was released in 2005 and 2006 in the form of digital downloads. This was followed by a series from 2007 to 2011 called Road Trips, and then, starting in 2012, by Dave's Picks.
The Grateful Dead's video albums include some albums that were released as both audio CDs and concert DVDs, either separately or together, and some that were released only on video, as well as two theatrical films. The band has also released several compilation albums and box sets.
== Studio and contemporary live albums ==
Unconventionally, the Grateful Dead made the release of live albums a common occurrence throughout their career. Because many were recently recorded and included previously unreleased original material, they often filled the role of traditional studio albums. An integral part of the contemporaneous evolution of the band, such live albums are included in this section.
== Retrospective live albums ==
=== Traditional releases ===
=== Dick's Picks ===
In the 1990s and 2000s, the Grateful Dead released numerous live concert recordings from their archives in three concurrent series. The "From the Vault" series are remixes of multi-track recordings made at the time of the concerts. The "View from the Vault" series are also multi-track remixes, but are released simultaneously as albums on CD and as concert performance videos on DVD. (The first three volumes were also released on VHS videotape.) Both of these series are included in the "Retrospective" live albums list above.
The third series of concert releases is Dick's Picks, which are based on two-track concert recordings. Unlike multi-track recordings, two-track recordings cannot be remixed, only remastered. Therefore, the sound quality of the Dick's Picks series, while generally very good, is not quite as high as that of the other official releases of live recordings, as explained in the various "caveat emptor" notices on the CD boxes.
The Dick's Picks series, which started in 1993, was named after Grateful Dead tape vault archivist Dick Latvala. Latvala selected shows with the band's approval and oversaw the production of the albums. After Latvala's death in 1999, David Lemieux became the Dead's tape archivist and took over responsibility for producing subsequent Dick's Picks releases, as well as his own Dave's Picks series. Latvala and Lemieux worked with recording engineer Jeffrey Norman, who was in charge of mastering the CDs. The last Dick's Pick's compilation was released in 2005.
Volume 15 and later were released in HDCD format. This provides enhanced sound quality when played on CD players with HDCD capability, and is fully compatible with regular CD players.
=== Digital downloads ===
In the summer of 2005 the Dead began offering download versions of both their existing live releases, and a new Internet-only series, The Grateful Dead Download Series, that was available through their own online store (which offered the albums in both 256 kbit/s mp3 files and FLAC files – a preferred audio standard for those who archive Dead and other fan-made live recordings on the Internet) and the iTunes Music Store (which offered them in their 256 kbit/s AAC format). Not surprisingly, these Internet-only albums have met with the same success as their CD-based brethren. The Download Series is no longer available for purchase on the Grateful Dead's website. However, they are still available for purchase from the iTunes Music Store as well as from Nugs.net, which offer them in FLAC, Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC) and mp3 formats. Amazon also has them available in mp3 format.
=== Road Trips ===
The Road Trips series of albums is the successor to Dick's Picks. The series started after the Grateful Dead signed a ten-year contract with Rhino Records to release the band's archival material. The Road Trips releases are created using two-track concert recordings, but unlike Dick's Picks they each contain material from multiple concerts of a tour. The production of the CDs is supervised by vault archivist David Lemieux, with mastering by sound engineer Jeffrey Norman. Like the later Dick's Picks, the Road Trips albums are released in HDCD format.
=== Dave's Picks ===
The Dave's Picks albums followed the Road Trips series. They are named after Grateful Dead tape archivist David Lemieux.
=== Unauthorized legal releases ===
These albums are not bootlegs. They were released legally, but without the band's consent or cooperation.
== Box sets ==
=== Concert box sets ===
=== Album box sets ===
== Compilation albums ==
== Live albums by recording date ==
Following is a list of Grateful Dead live albums in recording date order. The dates listed are the principal recording dates and do not include bonus tracks or bonus discs.
== Videos ==
This section does not include the following videos which were also released as audio CDs and are listed in "Retrospective live albums" above:
View from the Vault, Volume One
View from the Vault, Volume Two
View from the Vault, Volume Three
View from the Vault, Volume Four
The Closing of Winterland
Truckin' Up to Buffalo
Rocking the Cradle: Egypt 1978
Crimson White & Indigo
Giants Stadium: June 17, 1991
== Singles ==
=== 7" Singles Collection ===
In 2017, the Grateful Dead began offering the 27 singles released throughout the band's history on 7-inch colored vinyl, for sale exclusively on their website, dead.net. Each 7-inch vinyl features remastered audio, and packaging designed by artists for each single and B-side.
== Albums and concert films by various artists ==
Performances by the Grateful Dead are included in these albums and concert films by various artists. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_National_Park | Komodo National Park | Komodo National Park (Indonesian: Taman Nasional Komodo) is a national park in Indonesia located within the Lesser Sunda Islands in the border region between the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara. The park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Padar and Rinca, and 26 smaller ones, with a total area of 1,733 km2 (669 sq mi), with 603 km2 (233 sq mi) of it land. The national park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon, the world's largest lizard. Later it was dedicated to protecting other species, including marine species. In 1991 the national park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve. It is considered one of the world's 25 biodiversity hotspots.
Komodo National Park has been selected as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The waters surrounding Komodo island contain rich marine biodiversity. Komodo islands is also a part of the Coral Triangle, which contains some of the richest marine biodiversity on Earth.
It is also a WWF Global 200 Marine Eco-region, a WWF/IUCN Centre of Plant Diversity, one of the world's Endemic Bird Areas and an ASEAN Heritage Park.
== History ==
The island of Padar and part of Rinca were established as nature reserves in 1938.
Komodo Island was declared a nature reserve in 1965, and in January 1977 as a biosphere reserve under the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme.
In 1980 the islands of Komodo, Padar, Rinca and Gili Motong and the surrounding waters were declared a national park, for a total of 75,000 ha (190,000 acres; 750 km2).
In 1984 the national park was extended to 219,322 ha (541,960 acres) in order to include the marine area Mbeliling / Ngorang (31,000 ha or 77,000 acres), and Wae Wuul / Mburak Recreation Parks (3,000 ha or 7,400 acres) on mainland Flores. The marine zone covers 60% of the national park area.
In 1991 the national park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In 2005 it was designated an ASEAN Heritage Park.
The park was initially established to conserve the unique Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), first discovered by the scientific world in 1912 through Lieutenant J. K. H. van Steyn van Hensbroek, the Civil Administrator in Reo, Flores Island. Since then conservation goals have expanded to protecting the entire biodiversity of the region, both marine and terrestrial.
It is considered one of the world's 25 biodiversity hotspots - a Conservation International designation. It is also one of the WWF Global 200 Marine Eco-regions, a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve, a WWF/IUCN Centre of Plant Diversity and one of the world's Endemic Bird Areas.
== Geography and climate ==
The park comprises a coastal section of western Flores, the three larger islands of Komodo, Padar and Rinca, 26 smaller islands and the surrounding waters of the Sape Straights. The islands of the national park are of volcanic origin. The terrain is generally rugged, characterized by rounded hills, with altitudes up to 735 m (2,411 ft). The climate is one of the driest of Indonesia with annual rainfall of 800 to 1,000 mm (31 to 39 in). Temperatures in the dry season from May to October are around 40 °C (104 °F).
== Human settlements ==
=== Population history ===
Little is known of the early history of the Komodo islanders. They were subjects of the Sultanate of Bima, although the island's remoteness from Bima meant its affairs were probably little troubled by the Sultanate other than by occasional demands for tribute.
The majority of the people in and around the park are fishermen, originally from Bima (Sumbawa), Manggarai, South Flores, and South Sulawesi. Those from South Sulawesi are from the Sama-Bajau or Bugis ethnic groups. The Sama-Bajau were originally nomadic and moved from location to location in the region of Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara and Maluku, to make a living. Descendants of the original people of Komodo, the Ata Modo, still live in Komodo, but there are no full-blooded Ata Modo left, and their culture and language is slowly being integrated with the recent migrants.
The human population within the park spread out over four settlements (Komodo, Rinca, Kerora, and Papagaran), all of which existed before 1980 when the area was declared a national park. In 1928 there were only 30 people living in Komodo Village (known locally as Kampung Komodo), and approximately 250 people on Rinca Island in 1930. The population increased rapidly, and by 1999, there were 281 families numbering 1,169 people on Komodo Island.
Komodo Village has had the highest population within the park, mostly due to migration by people from Sape, Manggarai, Madura, and South Sulawesi. The number of buildings in Komodo Village has increased rapidly from 30 houses in 1958, to 194 houses in 1994, and 270 houses in 2000. Papagaran Village is similar in size, with 258 families totaling 1,078 people.PKA & TNC 2000, p. 13
At the 2010 Census, Komodo Village had 1,508 inhabitants and Papagaran Village had 1,262 inhabitants.
As of 1999, Rinca's population was 835, and Kerora's population was 185 people.PKA & TNC 2000, p. 13
In 2004, the total population living in the park was 3,267 people while 16,816 people lived in the area immediately surrounding the park.
=== Economy ===
As of 2007, 97% of the people living within the park rely on marine resources as their only source of income. They are pauperised by the restrictions on access to resources coupled with rising costs of living, a growing population and the lack of sustainable livelihood alternatives, all of which increasing the pressure on resources.
Tourism revenue and local communities
Locally, tourism has become a major industry since the late 1980s and the 1990s; but this development brought little benefit to the local communities within the park. Not only this industry is mainly based outside the park in Labuan Bajo; moreover most of the benefits thusly generated are leaked outside the region to large national or international tourism operators.
=== Education ===
The average level of education in the villages of Komodo National Park is grade four of elementary school. There is an elementary school located in each of the villages but new students are not admitted each year. On average, each village has four classes and four teachers. Most of the children from the small islands in the Kecamatan Komodo (Komodo, Rinca, Kerora, Papagaran, Mesa) do not finish elementary school. Less than 10% of those who do graduate from elementary school continue to high school since the major economic opportunity (fishing) does not require further education. Children must be sent to Labuan Bajo to attend high school, but this is rarely done in fishermen's families.
=== Health ===
Most of the villages located in and around the park have few fresh water facilities available, if any, particularly during the dry season. Water quality declines during this time period and many people become ill. Businesses also take up large amounts of water for tourism uses, often getting a lower per-unit cost than locals. Malaria and diarrhea are rampant in the area. On Messah island, with a population of 1,969 people, there is no fresh water available. Fresh water has to be brought in jerrycans by boat from the mainland. The cost for each family for fresh water is Rp100,000 per month. Almost every village has a local medical facility with staff, and at least a paramedic. The quality of medical care facilities is low.
=== Socio-cultural and anthropologic conditions ===
Traditional communities in Komodo, Flores and Sumbawa have been subjected to outside influences and the influence of traditional customs is dwindling. Television, radio, and increased mobility have all played a part in accelerating the rate of change. There has been a steady influx of migrants into the area. At the moment nearly all villages consist of more than one ethnic group.
=== Religion ===
The Manggarai are mostly Christians. The majority of fishermen living in the villages in the vicinity of the park are Muslims. Hajis have a strong influence in the dynamics of community development. Fishermen hailing from South Sulawesi (Bajau, Bugis) and Bima are mostly Muslims.
=== Anthropology and language ===
There are several cultural sites within the park, particularly on Komodo Island. These sites are not well documented, however, and there are many questions concerning the history of human inhabitance on the island. Outside the park, in Warloka village on Flores, there is a Chinese trading post remnant of some interest. Archeological finds from this site have been looted in the recent past. Most communities in and around the park can speak Indonesian. Bajo language is the language used for daily communication in most communities.
== Flora and fauna ==
The hot and dry climate of the park, characterized by savannah vegetation, makes it a good habitat for the endemic Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). Their populations are restricted to the islands of Komodo (1,700), Rinca (1,300), Gili Motang (100), Gili Dasami (100), and Flores (c. 2,000), while extinct on Padar.
The park also has areas of rainforest, deciduous forest and mangroves. The parks's savannah vegetation features lontar palm (Borassus flabellifer) and grass species including Chloris barbata, Heteropogon contortusand Themeda triandra. Deciduous forests feature species including Cassia javanica, Diospyros javanica, Harrisonia brownii, Murraya paniculata, Oroxylum indicum, Piliostigma malabaricum, Schleichera oleosa, Sterculia foetida and Tamarindus indica.
Cloud forests appear only in few areas above 500 metres but they provide habitat to species, some endemic, including Ficus drupacea, Glycosmis pentaphylla, Podocarpus neriifolius, Terminalia zollingeri and Uvaria rufa. Coastal vegetation includes mangrove forest, which generally appear in the sheltered bays of the three larger islands. Mangrove species include Avicennia marina, Bruguiera gymnorhiza, Rhizophora stylosa and red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle).
Fringing and patch coral reefs are extensive and best developed on the north-east coast of Komodo. The park is rich in marine life, including whale sharks, ocean sunfish, manta rays, eagle rays, pygmy seahorse, false pipefish, clown frogfish, nudibranchs, blue-ringed octopus, sponges, tunicates, and coral.
Varieties of cetaceans inhabit in adjacent waters from smaller sized dolphins to sperm whales and even blue whales. Omura's whales, one of the least known of rorquals have been confirmed to range waters within the park. Endangered dugongs still live in Komodo areas as well.
The terrestrial fauna is of rather poor diversity in comparison to the marine fauna. The number of terrestrial animal species found in the park is not high, but the area is important from a conservation perspective as some species are endemic. Many of the mammals are Asiatic in origin, including the rusa deer, wild boar, water buffalo, crab-eating macaque and civet. Several of the reptiles and birds are Australian in origin, such as the orange-footed scrubfowl, the lesser sulphur crested cockatoo, and the helmeted friarbird.
The most famous of Komodo National Park's reptiles is the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). It is the world's largest lizard and is among the world's largest reptiles; the females can reach a length of 2 to 2.5 m (6.6–8 ft) and a 70 kg weight, the males a length of 3 m (10 ft) and up to 136 kg (300 lb) weight, but the average is respectively of 68 to 73 kg (150 to 161 lb) weight for a 2.29 m (7.5 ft) length and 79 to 91 kg (174 to 201 lb) weight for a 2.59 m (8.5 ft) length.
Twelve terrestrial snake species are found on the island in addition to marine species. Snakes include the Javan spitting cobra (Naja sputatrix), eastern Russell's viper (Daboia siamensis), Lesser Sunda Islands pit viper (Trimeresurus insularis), blue lipped sea krait (Laticauda laticaudata), and Timor python (Python timoriensis). Lizards include nine skink species (Scinidae), geckos (Gekkonidae), limbless lizards (Dibamidae), and the monitor lizards such as the Komodo dragon (Varanidae). Frogs include the Asian bullfrog (Kaloula baleata), the endemic Komodo cross frog (Oreophryne jeffersoniana) and Oreophryne darewskyi. Frogs are typically found at higher, moister altitudes. The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) was once present within the park in coastal areas including mangrove swamps but is now extinct within the area.
Mammals found within the park include the Timor rusa deer (Cervus timorensis), the main prey of the Komodo dragon, horses (Equus sp.), water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), wild boar (Sus scrofa vittatus), crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis), Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus lehmanni), the endemic Rinca rat (Rattus rintjanus), and fruit bats. Domestic mammals on within the park include goats, cats and dogs which are feral.
One of the main bird species is the orange-footed scrubfowl (Megapodius reinwardti), a ground dwelling bird. In areas of savanna, 27 species were observed. The zebra dove (Geopelia striata) and spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis) were the most common species. In mixed tropical deciduous habitat, 28 bird species were observed, and helmeted friarbird (Philemon buceroides), green imperial pigeon (Ducula aenea), and lemon-bellied white-eye (Zosterops chloris) were the most common. Other birds include vibrantly coloured species such as green junglefowl (Gallus varius), great-billed parrot (Tanygnathus megalorynchos), and the critically endangered lesser sulpher crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea). Two eagle species are found in the park, the white-bellied sea eagle and the extremely rare Flores hawk-eagle which is present on Rinca and Flores and reported but unconfirmed on Komodo Island.
== Management ==
Komodo National Park (KNP) was set up as a Technical Implementation Unit of the Directorate-General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation (PHKA), of the Ministry of Forestry. Its management is headed by the Komodo National Park Authority, in West Flores. Also in West Flores - but as a separate unit - is the Directorship of Conservation Areas. The Nature Conservancy (TNC, an American environmental organization), is director for the Coastal and Marine Program.
The Nature Conservancy entered into a partnership with the Department of Forestry and Conservation (Perlindungan Hutan dan Pelastrian Alam/PHPA) in 1995, to manage the Komodo National Park for 25 years.
A management plan was co-authored with TNC and implemented in 2000 to address problem of increasing resource exploitation, both marine and terrestrial. The plan was supported by the World Bank but faced objections from some local people and local NGOs who argued that they had not been consulted by the plan and would not share in the benefits. Most pressure on marine resources originates from fishing communities and commercial enterprises from outside the park. However, regulations and restrictions on resource use impact mostly on park residents, who have few options to make a living but rely on what the park has to offer. The provision of alternative livelihoods is part of the overall management strategy, but communities within the park are yet to benefit from appropriate measures addressing their needs.
A non-profit joint venture company, PT Putri Naga Komodo (PT PNK), was established to operate tourist facilities in the hope of eventually making the park financially self-sustaining. PT PNK was partially funded by the TNC and the World Bank. After 5 years operation, in 2010 Putri Naga Komodo's (PNK) permit was compromised. After that, more illegal fishermen arrived as enforcement declined greatly following the exit of TNC which had helped fight destructive fishing practices. In early 2012, dive operators and conservationists found many desolate coral sites, reminiscent of grey moonscapes. Illegal fishermen continue to blast sites with 'bombs' in a process known as blast fishing. The fisherman use a mixture of fertilizer and kerosene in beer bottles as explosives, or use squeeze bottles to squirt cyanide into the coral in order to stun and capture fish. In the past two years more than 60 illegal fishermen have been arrested. One of the suspects was shot and killed after he tried to evade capture by throwing fish bombs at the rangers.
Park managers have been conducting demographic status of the current living Komodo dragon populations across Komodo National Park. Komodo National Park contains five islands that inhabit Komodo dragons populations which hold the most desirable resources for the protected species. Two of the large islands, Komodo and Rinca, hold two of the largest populations on the island with three smaller ones being Padar, Gili Motang, and Nusa Kode. To help increase the population of Komodo dragons in the park, habitat management focuses on maintaining the environments on Komodo Island like the savannah grasslands and forests. This increases the population of prey species like the Timor deer for the Komodo by maintaining the favored habitat. The results of the two populations here have shown to have almost stable or stable time average population growth rates. Conservation efforts on smaller islands have increased due to having smaller populations, which have increased extinction rates.
=== Conflicts between conservation authorities and local community ===
Controversy surrounds the death of several fishermen since the 1980s. The circumstances of the fishermen's deaths are contested. While park patrols (including, at the time, police and navy personnel) claim they acted in self-defense, fishing communities accuse park management of having deliberately killed the fishermen.
In late February 2014, Brimob Special Police shot dead two deer poachers, when they opened fire with their homemade firearms.
== Tourism ==
Scuba diving is popular because of the park's high marine biodiversity. Six well-known diving sites are Manta Alley, Crystal Rock and Castle Rock, Batu Bolong, Yellow Wall, the Cauldron and Tatawa Besar.
The development of ecotourism, largely marine-based, is the main strategy to make the park self-financing and generate sufficient revenue through entrance fees and tourism licenses to cover operational and managerial costs. To this end, a joint venture between TNC and a tourism operator were granted a tourism concession, that also entails extensive park management rights. This concession has generated an ongoing controversy. The joint venture has been accused of making decisions behind closed doors, and many people in and around Komodo claim that they have not been consulted regarding decisions that ultimately affect their lives. The growth of the tourism sector has also led to extensive land grabbing in the areas surrounding the park as poorer people sell their lands to foreign business investors.
Komodo Island and Rinca were once part of Flores and they are separated from the large Island of Sumbawa to the West by the Sape Strait. The ocean in the Strait drops hundreds of meters. The Pacific Ocean to the north and the Indian Ocean to the south are actually at different heights – so the flow of currents from the Pacific to the Indian during tidal exchanges makes the currents among the strongest in the world. In the (relatively) shallow waters along the east coast of Komodo towards Labuan Bajo, these currents can be extremely dangerous with inexperienced guides.
The number of visitors to the park increased from 36,000 in 2009 to 45,000 in 2010. Most of the visitors were foreign tourists as the high transport cost to this remote location is less affordable for local visitors. The park can accommodate up to 60,000 visitors a year according to the local tourism agency.
Several types of boat tours run through the national park including upscale scuba liveaboards, short daily snorkel trips and 4 day, 3 night 'tourist boats' between Lombok and Flores. The tourist boats run very frequently, but have uncertain safety records. In an August 2014 incident one of these tourist boats sank, and 2 tourists were lost. Strong currents and waves separated the stranded passengers and crew who were floating at sea in life jackets.
Impact on local people
The Indonesian government's tourism development has focused on making Komodo National Park a "super-premium tourist destination” (since 2019), to attract wealthier visitors. This has resulted in zoning changes which reduce land access to local people and have resulted in deforestation. Additionally, the government’s policy supports corporate tourist organizations, as a way to help develop the “super-premium tourist destination” status. One of the local tribes the Ata Modo, has deep cultural ties with the Komodo dragon, with one myth even stating they are twins. The tribe has tried establishing local culturally relevant tourist options, leaning into their connection with the Komodo dragon as a way to compete with foreign tourism operators. In 2019, the governor of the East Nusa Tenggara province, made a press announcement, about relocating indigenous people from Komodo Island to some of the surrounding areas, which was met with large protests by the local people. As of 2021, the government has seemed to back down from this claim.
Closure of the park
In early 2019, the Nusa Tenggara Timor (NTT) provincial governor Viktor Laiskodat announced a plan to close a section of the park (a main section on Komodo Island) for a year in order to make improvements. The suggestion was that other parts of the park, including Rinca and Padar Islands and certain parts of Komodo Island, would remain open. The governor's plan met with opposition from the local community and some parts of the wider public. In response, the Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister, Siti Nurbaya said that she would summon representatives from the NTT administration for discussions, noting that decisions about conservation areas were under the jurisdiction of the central government. A final decision about the proposed closure was expected to be announced by the central government around mid-2019.
In July 2019, it was confirmed that Komodo Island would be closed for around one year from the beginning of 2020. Governor Laiskodat said that a budget of Rp 100 billion (around $US 7.2 million) would be provided to support the conservation program. The plan is controversial: Governor Laiskodat has suggested that an expensive entrance fee be charged to foreign tourists while local villagers who live on Komodo Island are worried about the possible loss of income. The park was closed for almost six months because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but was reopened to local tourists on 6 July 2020, then to domestic tourists in August 2020 and subsequently to foreign tourists. In December 2022, it was confirmed that the planned controversial increase in entrance fees, which had already been postponed by 5 months, was being canceled by the Indonesian government.
Periodic closures of the park are expected to take place in mid-2025, to help ease the strain on the park's fragile ecosystem. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babes_in_Toyland_(1961_film) | Babes in Toyland (1961 film) | Babes in Toyland is a 1961 American Christmas musical fantasy film directed by Jack Donohue and produced by Walt Disney Productions. It stars Ray Bolger as Barnaby, Tommy Sands as Tom Piper, Annette Funicello as Mary Contrary, and Ed Wynn as the Toymaker.
The film is based on Victor Herbert's 1903 operetta Babes in Toyland. There had been a 1934 film also titled Babes in Toyland starring Laurel and Hardy, and three television adaptations prior to the Disney film, but Disney's was only the second film version of the operetta released theatrically and the first in Technicolor. The plot, and in some cases the music, bear little resemblance to the original, as Disney had most of the lyrics rewritten and some of the song tempos drastically changed, including the memorable song "Toyland", a slow ballad, which was sped up with only the chorus sung in a march-like rhythm.
The toy soldiers later appeared in Christmas parades at the Disney theme parks around the world.
Funicello said it was her favorite filmmaking experience.
== Plot ==
The inhabitants of Mother Goose Village celebrate the upcoming marriage of Tom Piper and Mary Contrary. The miserly and villainous Barnaby recruits two henchmen, dimwitted Gonzorgo and silent Roderigo, to throw Tom into the sea and steal Mary's sheep, depriving her of her means of support, to force her to marry Barnaby. Mary is unaware that she is the heiress to a fortune, but Barnaby is aware and wants it all for himself. After knocking Tom out, Gonzorgo and Roderigo decide to sell him to Gypsies instead of drowning him, in order to collect a double payment.
The next day, Gonzorgo and Roderigo tell Mary, Barnaby, and the villagers that Tom has accidentally drowned. They show Mary a forged letter in which Tom tells Mary he is abandoning her, and she would be better off marrying Barnaby. Mary, believing she is destitute, reluctantly accepts Barnaby's proposal. Barnaby unknowingly arranges for the same Gypsies who have Tom to provide entertainment for the wedding. Tom, disguised as the Gypsy Floretta, reveals himself, and Barnaby berates Gonzorgo and Roderigo for their deception.
One of the children who live with Mary informs her of some sheep tracks leading into the Forest of No Return. The children sneak away into the forest to search for the missing sheep. The trees of the forest awaken and capture them. When Tom and Mary find the children in the forest, the trees instantly return to their motionless state. Tom, Mary, and the children camp for the night. In the morning, the trees once again come to life and explain that they are on private Toyland property and must appear before the Toymaker, the Mayor and Chief of Police of Toyland. Tom, Mary, and the children happily continue on, escorted part of the way by the trees.
Through the windows of the Toymaker's house, they watch the Toymaker's brilliant apprentice, Grumio, present a new machine that makes toys without any manual labor. Overjoyed, the Toymaker speeds up the machine to such a high rate that it explodes, destroying every toy in the factory. Tom, Mary, and the children offer to help make more toys in time for Christmas.
Grumio presents a shrinking "gun" filled with red liquid that reduces everyday objects to toy size. He warns that two doses of the red liquid will cause the shrunken object to disappear completely. The Toymaker is initially delighted, until Tom points out the impossibility of finding enough life-sized objects to shrink down into the large quantity of toys needed for Christmas. The Toymaker berates Grumio for his stupidity and throws the shrinking gun out the window in disgust.
Barnaby, who has been spying on them, uses the discarded shrinking gun to shrink the Toymaker. As Barnaby plans to shrink Tom, Gonzorgo and Roderigo attempt to defect from Barnaby, but Barnaby shrinks the two and imprison them in a birdcage. Barnaby then shrinks Tom and forces Mary to marry him by threatening to eliminate Tom, while the Toymaker is forced to preside over the wedding ceremony.
During the ceremony, Tom slips away and returns with an army of toy soldiers to fight Barnaby. Barnaby easily defeats the toy soldiers with a toy cannon. He prepares to obliterate Tom with another dose from the shrinking gun, but Mary destroys it with the toy cannon. The liquid splatters all over Barnaby and shrinks him to toy size. Tom challenges Barnaby to a sword duel and ultimately knocks him into an empty toybox.
Grumio rushes in with a new invention that returns miniaturized people and objects to their original size. He immediately uses it on the Toymaker, Gonzorgo, and Roderigo. Grumio is about to use it on Tom, but after reminding Grumio that he is the head toymaker and that Grumio is just his assistant, the Toymaker uses the invention himself to return Tom to his natural size.
Some time later, Tom and Mary's wedding is attended by all of Mother Goose Village, including the trees from the Forest of No Return. The newlyweds then drive off in a horse-drawn sleigh.
== Cast ==
Uncredited
== Production ==
=== Development ===
In 1934, Walt Disney previously approved the appearance of Mickey Mouse in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 1934 film along with the use of the song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?", but was otherwise not involved in that adaptation.
In May 1955, announced that he would produce Babes in Toyland as an animated feature. By October 1956, Disney had assigned Bill Walsh to produce and Sidney Miller to direct the project. However, filming was delayed, and by August 1959, the project was retooled as a live-action television movie, making it Disney's first live-action musical. Ward Kimball had been tapped to produce and direct the project, while Mel Leven would write new lyrics.
With Kimball in charge, he reviewed the three scripts that had been written, all of which he found to be "terrible, absolutely nothing". Kimball had found the 1903 operetta script to be too complicated. In his script, he excised the orphans subplot and focused the story on a love triangle between Tom, Mary Contrary, and Barnaby. In the following months, Kimball worked alongside story artist Joe Rinaldi and effects animator Joshua Meador to ensure the film would be visually interesting. In June 1960, Disney told the Los Angeles Times: "We're updating the lyrics; the music, of course, is Victor Herbert's. March of the Toys will be done in animation. I'll be using fantasy with 'live' more and more. I've decided people should play people and shouldn't be animated – only the effects should."
While Disney was vacationing in Europe, Kimball was finalizing set designs and casting decisions, the latter of which required Disney's approval. "We decided on Ray Bolger, things like that, and [such decisions usually] were the provinces of Walt," Kimball later explained. Furthermore, with the studio's option on the film rights set to expire within a year, a studio publicist placed trade advertisements that promoted Kimball's work on the film, leading to Disney deciding that Kimball had got above himself. Kimball was also traveling to New York to scout for Broadway actors to cast in the film. According to Joe Hale, Kimball had wanted one actress for Mary, but Disney had insisted on Annette Funicello. Further casting disagreements led to Kimball being kicked off the film.
In January 1961, Jack Donohue was signed to direct, following his success on Broadway directing Top Banana and Mr. Wonderful, and for his work on TV specials for Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. While Kimball would still be credited as the screenwriter, he was relegated to directing the 15-minute toy soldier sequence. In March 1961, Disney said he wanted to create a film of the standard of The Wizard of Oz (1939). "It's like a Disney cartoon only with live actors", said one Disney executive.
=== Casting ===
In September 1960, it was reported that Disney had wanted to discuss Dean Jones for the lead role as Tom. By January 1961, Ray Bolger was cast as a villain for the first time in his career. Gene Sheldon, best known for his role of Bernardo in the Spanish Western television series Zorro, appeared alongside his Zorro co-star, Henry Calvin. Tommy Kirk played a supporting role. According to Annette Funicello, Tommy Sands beat out Michael Callan and James Darren to play the male lead.
=== Filming ===
Principal photography started on March 13, 1961, and was scheduled for three months. Preparation, rehearsing and pre-recording took three months. Tommy Kirk said he enjoyed making the film because of the opportunity to work with Ed Wynn:
I thought he was delightful and so did everyone else. You couldn't not like him. He was completely crazy and he was just as crazy offscreen as he was on. But it was all, of course, an act. He was a very serious, religious man in his own way, but he loved playing Ed Wynn, the perfect fool, the complete nut. And he was good at it. Actually I think the movie is sort of a klunker, especially when I compare it to the Laurel and Hardy Babes in Toyland. It's not a great film but it has a few cute moments. It's an oddity. But I'm not embarrassed about it like I am about some other movies I've made.
Funicello had a bad experience with William Fairchild, who had directed her in The Horsemasters (1961), but found Jack Donahue to be "simply wonderful." She also enjoyed the fact "it was the first, and unfortunately, I think, the last time I made a movie in which I actually danced something besides the Watusi or the swim."
Kirk said: "The whole movie is, to me, lopsided. It's not a good film; it doesn't quite come off. It has cute stuff in it, but a lot of it's a mess."
== Songs ==
== Release ==
In conjunction with the film's release, Babes in Toyland was prominently featured on the television series The Wonderful World of Color, with an episode titled "Backstage Party" airing on December 17, 1961. It was presented in two parts on The Wonderful World of Disney on December 21 and December 27, 1969.
=== Home media ===
The film was released on DVD on September 3, 2002, by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. It was released on Blu-ray on December 11, 2012. It’s also available on Disney+ as of 2025.
== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
Babes in Toyland earned $4.6 million in rentals from the United States and Canada.
=== Critical response ===
A. H. Weiler of The New York Times wrote in his review: "Let us say that Walt Disney's packaging of Victor Herbert's indestructible operetta is a glittering color and song and dance-filled bauble artfully designed for the tastes of the sub-teen set. Adults would have to be awfully young in mind to accept these picture-book caperings of the Mother Goose coterie as stirring stuff. This Toyland is closer to Disneyland, but who ever heard of an adult winning an argument on that issue?" Variety described the film as "an expensive gift, brightly-wrapped and intricately-packaged and is certain to be a fast-selling item in the Yuletide marketplace. A choice attraction for the pre-teen set, it will be an especially big draw among those in the five-to-ten age bracket." However, the review cautioned that older audiences "may be distressed to discover that quaint, charming 'Toyland' has been transformed into a rather gaudy and mechanical 'Fantasyland.' What actually emerged is 'Babes in Disneyland.'"
John L. Scott, reviewing for the Los Angeles Times, felt the film was "considerably more showy than either Herbert's stage original or the first film version done in the middle 30's; and older patrons may resent a loss of quaintness and a surplus of fantasy-whimsy. Nevertheless, the lavish, tinseled picture is a fine, appropriate holiday attraction for all but the sophisticated moviegoer." Harrison's Reports praised the film as "VERY GOOD", and further acknowledged Walt Disney for having "wrapped this one up in gay silk ribbons, beautiful costumes and brilliant splashes of color the envy of the rainbow rangers. Like a tender father, Disney has put this together with the soft sensitivity of a man in whose trust has been placed the dream world of trusting youngsters everywhere." Time wrote Babes in Toyland was "a wonderful piece of entertainment for children under five, but children over five who plan to see it will be well advised to take some Berlitz brushup lessons in baby talk." Additionally, the review was also critical for the modernized music, but praised the March of the Toys sequence.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 36% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10.
=== Disney's "Babes in Toyland Soldiers" ===
Among the most significant legacies of the film has been its influence on Disney's theme parks worldwide. The Babes in Toyland sets were showcased in Disneyland Park as an attraction following the film's release and the Toy Soldiers became an iconic symbol of the holidays at Disneyland, Walt Disney World Resort and other Disney Parks around the world, considered a "draw" and featured heavily in television, online and print advertising rivaling the castles and the famous Disney characters in appearances. Disney's Babes in Toyland Soldiers are the equivalent of the Rockettes' appearance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in that park guests and TV viewers expect to see them every year.
The soldiers also appear in the stop-motion nursery sequence in Walt Disney's 1964 film Mary Poppins. They were designed by Disney animator and Imagineer Bill Justice, who with fellow Imagineer X Atencio, created the sequence in the film. Justice designed the park soldiers to match the Babes in Toyland movie soldiers exactly as they appeared in the 1961 film. They made their television debut on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color when Walt Disney presented the Disneyland Christmas parade in the episode "Holiday Time at Disneyland". |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Transmigration_of_Timothy_Archer | The Transmigration of Timothy Archer | The Transmigration of Timothy Archer is a 1982 novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. As his final work, the book was published shortly after his death in March 1982, although it was written the previous year.
The novel draws on autobiographical details of Dick's friendship with the controversial Episcopal bishop James Pike, on whom the title character is loosely based. It continues Dick's investigation into the religious and philosophical themes of VALIS.
The novel was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1982.
== Plot ==
Set in the late 1960s and 1970s, the story describes the efforts of Episcopal bishop Timothy Archer, who must cope with the theological and philosophical implications of the newly discovered Gnostic Zadokite scroll fragments. The character of Bishop Archer is loosely based on the controversial, iconoclastic Episcopal bishop James Pike, who in 1969 died of exposure while exploring the Judean Desert near the Dead Sea in the West Bank.
As the novel opens, it is 1980. On the day that John Lennon is shot and killed, Angel Archer visits the houseboat of Edgar Barefoot, (a guru based on Alan Watts), and reflects on the lives of her deceased relatives. During the sixties, she was married to Jeff Archer, son of the Episcopal Bishop of California Timothy Archer. She introduced Kirsten Lundborg, a friend, to her father-in law, and the two began an affair. Kirsten has a son, Bill, from a previous relationship, who has schizophrenia, although he is knowledgeable as an automobile mechanic. Tim is already being investigated for his allegedly heretical views about the Holy Ghost.
Jeff commits suicide due to his romantic obsession with Kirsten. However, after poltergeist activity, he manifests to Tim and Kirsten at a seance, also attended by Angel. Angel is skeptical about the efficacy of astrology, and believes that the unfolding existential situation of Tim and Kirsten is akin to Friedrich Schiller's German Romanticism era masterpiece, the Wallenstein trilogy (insofar as their credulity reflects the loss of rational belief in contemporary consensual reality).
The three are told that Kirsten and Tim will die. As predicted, Kirsten loses her remission from cancer, and also commits suicide after a barbiturate overdose. Tim travels to Israel to investigate whether or not a psychotropic mushroom was associated with the resurrection, but his car stalls, he becomes disoriented, falls from a cliff, and dies in the desert.
On the houseboat, Angel is reunited with Bill, Kirsten's son who has schizophrenia. He claims to have Tim's reincarnated spirit within him, but is soon institutionalized. Angel agrees to care for Bill, in return for a rare record (Koto Music by Kimio Eto) that Edgar offers her.
The Transmigration of Timothy Archer is one of Dick's most overtly philosophical and intellectual works. While Dick's novels usually employ multiple narrators or an omniscient perspective, this story is told in the first person by a single narrator: Angel Archer, Bishop Archer's daughter-in-law.
== Characters ==
Angel Archer: Narrator, manager of a Berkeley record store, widow of Jeff Archer.
Timothy Archer: Bishop of California; father of the late Jeff Archer and father-in-law of Angel. Dies in Israel, searching for psychotropic mushroom connected with Zadokite sect. Based on James Albert Pike, Dick's personal friend, who was an American Episcopalian bishop.
Kirsten Lundborg: Timothy Archer's secretary and lover. Dies from barbiturate overdose after loss of remission from cancer.
Bill Lundborg: Kirsten's son who has schizophrenia, and who is obsessed with cars.
Edgar Barefoot: Houseboat guru, radio personality, lecturer. Based on Alan Watts.
Jeff Archer: Son of Timothy Archer, and deceased husband of Angel. A professional student who was romantically obsessed with Kirsten.
== Other works ==
The Transmigration of Timothy Archer is thematically related to Dick's unfinished VALIS trilogy of novels:
VALIS (1981)
The Divine Invasion (1981)
The novel has been included in several omnibus editions of the trilogy as a stand-in for the unwritten final volume. The Transmigration of Timothy Archer was not intended by Dick to be part of the trilogy; however, the book fits with the two finished volumes and Dick himself called the three novels a trilogy, saying "the three do form a trilogy constellating around a basic theme."
The book was originally titled Bishop Timothy Archer.
== Criticism ==
Frasca, Gabriele, “Come rimanere rimasti: La trasmigrazione di Timothy Archer”, Trasmigrazioni: I mondi di Philip K. Dick, eds. De Angelis and Rossi, Firenze, Le Monnier, 2006, pp. 237–60.
Zaleski, Philip (August 10, 1982). "Getting metaphysical: The transcendental world of Philip Kendred Dick". The Boston Phoenix. Retrieved September 13, 2024. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulldog | Bulldog | The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a relatively flat face with a protruding lower jaw. Selective breeding for appearance has led to the Bulldog's increased susceptibility to various health problems including brachycephaly, hip dysplasia and heat sensitivity. The dogs are illegal to breed in the Netherlands because of concerns about their quality of life.
The modern Bulldog was bred as a companion dog from the Old English Bulldog, a now-extinct breed used for bull-baiting until that was outlawed under the Cruelty to Animals Act of 1835. The Bulldog Club (in England) was formed in 1878, and the Bulldog Club of America was formed in 1890. While often used as a symbol of ferocity and courage, the modern Bulldog is generally a friendly, amiable dog. It is commonly kept as a pet; in 2013 it was the twelfth-most-frequently registered breed worldwide.
== History ==
The first reference to the word "Bulldog" is dated 1631 or 1632 in a letter by a man named Preswick Eaton where he writes: "procuer mee two good Bulldogs, and let them be sent by ye first shipp". In 1666, English scientist Christopher Merret applied: "Canis pugnax, a Butchers Bull or Bear Dog", as an entry in his Pinax Rerum Naturalium Britannicarum.
The designation "bull" was applied because of the dog's use in the sport of bull-baiting. This entailed the setting of dogs (after placing wagers on each dog) onto a tethered bull. The dog that grabbed the bull by the nose and pinned it to the ground would be the victor. It was common for a bull to maim or kill several dogs at such an event, either by goring, tossing, or trampling over them. Over the centuries, dogs used for bull-baiting developed the stocky bodies and massive heads and jaws that typify the breed, as well as a ferocious and savage temperament. Bull-baiting was made illegal in England by the Cruelty to Animals Act 1835. Therefore, the Old English Bulldog had outlived its usefulness in England as a sporting animal and its "working" days were numbered. However, emigrants did have a use for such dogs in the New World. In mid-17th century New York, Bulldogs were used as a part of a citywide roundup effort led by Governor Richard Nicolls. Because cornering and leading wild bulls was dangerous, Bulldogs were trained to seize a bull by its nose long enough for a rope to be secured around its neck.
Bulldogs as pets were continually promoted by dog dealer Bill George.
In 1864, a group of Bulldog breeders under R. S. Rockstro founded the first Bulldog Club. Three years after its opening the Club ceased to exist, not having organised a single show. The main achievement of the Rockstro Bulldog Club was a detailed description of the Bulldog, known as the Philo-Kuan Standard. Samuel Wickens, treasurer of the club, published this description in 1865 under the pseudonym Philo-Kuan.
On 4 April 1873, The Kennel Club was founded, the first dog breeding club dealing with the registration of purebred dogs and dog breeds. Bulldogs were included in the first volume of the Kennel Club Stud Book, which was presented at the Birmingham Show on 1 December 1874. The first English Bulldog entered into the register was a male dog named Adam, born in 1864.
In March 1875, the third Bulldog Club was founded, which still exists today. Members of this club met frequently at the Blue Post pub on Oxford Street in London. The founders of the club collected all available information about the breed and its best representatives and developed a new standard for the English Bulldog, which was published on 27 May 1875, the same year they held the first breed show. Since 1878, exhibitions of the club were held annually, except during the Second World War. On 17 May 1894, the Bulldog Club was granted the status of a corporation and since then has carried the official name "The Bulldog Club, Inc.". It is the oldest mono-breed dog kennel club in the world.
The Bulldog was officially recognised by the American Kennel Club in 1886.
In 1894, the two top Bulldogs, King Orry and Dock Leaf, competed in a contest to see which dog could walk 20 miles (32 km). King Orry was reminiscent of the original Bulldogs, lighter-boned and very athletic. Dock Leaf was a smaller and heavier set, more like modern Bulldogs. King Orry was declared the winner that year, finishing the 20-mile (32 km) walk while Dock Leaf collapsed and expired. Though today Bulldogs look tough, they cannot perform the job they were originally bred for, as they cannot withstand the rigours of running after and being thrown by a bull, and also cannot grip with such a short muzzle.
== Description ==
=== Appearance ===
Bulldogs have characteristically wide heads and shoulders along with a pronounced mandibular prognathism. There are generally thick folds of skin on the brow; round, black, wide-set eyes; a short muzzle with characteristic folds called a rope or nose roll above the nose; hanging skin under the neck; drooping lips and pointed teeth, and an underbite with an upturned jaw. The coat is short, flat, and sleek with colours of red, fawn, white, brindle, and piebald. Bulldogs have short tails that can either hang down straight or be tucked in a coiled "corkscrew" into a tail pocket.
Dogs weigh approximately 25 kg (55 lb), bitches about 23 kg (50 lb). Standard weights in the United States are lower, approximately 50 lb (23 kg) for dogs and 40 lb (18 kg) for bitches.
=== Temperament ===
According to the American Kennel Club, a Bulldog's disposition should be "equable and kind, resolute, and courageous (not vicious or aggressive), and demeanour should be pacifist and dignified. These attributes should be countenanced by the expression and behaviour".
Bulldogs are known for getting along well with children, other dogs, and other pets.
== Health ==
=== Lifespan ===
A 2022 study in the UK of veterinary data found a life expectancy of 7.39 years, the second lowest of all breeds in the study. A 2024 UK study found a life expectancy of 9.8 years for the breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds.
A 2004 UK survey found the leading cause of death of Bulldogs to be cardiac-related (20%), cancer (18%), and old age (9%).
=== Brachycephaly ===
The shortened snout and pushed in face of the Bulldog is known as brachycephaly. Brachycephaly results in deformation of the upper airway tract and leads to obstruction of breathing. Effects of brachycephaly are stridor, stertorous breathing, emesis, skin fold dermatitis, brachycephalic airway obstructive syndrome, exophthalmos, pharyngeal gag reflex, cyanosis, and laryngeal collapse. Other issues arising from brachycephaly are risk of complications while under anaesthesia, and hyperthermia — with the latter caused due to an inability to effectively reduce body temperature via panting. Many airlines ban the breed from flying in the cargo hold due to a high rate of deaths from air pressure interacting poorly with their breathing problems.
=== Other conditions ===
A study by the Royal Veterinary College found that Bulldogs are a much less healthy breed than average, with over twice the odds of being diagnosed with at least one of the common dog disorders investigated in the study.
Statistics from the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals indicate that of the 467 Bulldogs tested between 1979 and 2009 (30 years), 73.9% were affected by hip dysplasia, the highest among all breeds. Similarly, the breed has the worst score in the British Veterinary Association/Kennel Club Hip Dysplasia scoring scheme, although only 22 Bulldogs were tested in the scheme. A study in England found the Bulldog to have a nearly three times greater risk of patellar luxation, with 2.9% of all Bulldogs having the condition. It is the dog breed that has been found to most often suffer from swimmer puppy syndrome, where the back legs are spread-eagled.
In a 1963 UK study, 17% of Bulldogs surveyed had skin fold dermatitis. The breed is also predisposed to atopic dermatitis. A British study found demodicosis to be more prevalent in the Bulldog than other breeds. The overall prevalence was 1.5% in the breed compared to the 0.17% rate for all dogs. For dogs aged under 2 years, the prevalence was 3.6% compared to 0.48%.
Over 80% of Bulldog litters are delivered by Caesarean section because their characteristically large heads can become lodged in the mother's birth canal and to avoid potential breathing problems for the mother during labour.
The Bulldog is one of the two most commonly affected breeds for hiatal hernia.
=== Controversies and legal status ===
In January 2009, after the BBC documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed, The Kennel Club introduced revised breed standards for the British Bulldog, along with 209 other breeds, to address health concerns. Opposed by the British Bulldog Breed Council, it was speculated by the press that the changes would lead to a smaller head, fewer skin folds, a longer muzzle, and a taller thinner posture, to combat problems with respiration and breeding due to head size and width of shoulders. In 2019 the Dutch Kennel Club implemented some breeding rules to improve the health of the Bulldog. Among these is a fitness test where the dog has to walk 1 km (0.62 miles) in 12 minutes. Its temperature and heart rate have to recover after 15 minutes.
In 2014, the Dutch government forbade the breeding of dogs with a snout shorter than a third of the skull, including Bulldogs, a law that it began enforcing in 2019. In 2022, the Oslo District Court made a ruling that banned the breeding of Bulldogs in Norway due to their propensity for developing health problems. In its verdict the court judged that no dog of this breed could be considered healthy, therefore using them for breeding would be a violation of Norway's Animal Welfare Act. The ban on breeding Bulldogs was overturned by Norway's Borgarting Court of Appeal, which ruled that it was legal to breed English bulldogs in Norway.
== Cultural significance ==
Bulldogs are often associated with determination, strength, and courage due to their historical occupation, though the modern-day dog is bred for appearance and friendliness and not suited for significant physical exertion. They are often used as mascots by universities, sports teams, and other organisations. Some of the better-known Bulldog mascots include the University of Georgia's Uga, Mississippi State's Bully, Georgetown's Jack, Butler's Blue IV, Yale's Handsome Dan, and the United States Marine Corps' Chesty.
The Bulldog originated in England and has a longstanding association with British culture; the BBC wrote: "To many the Bulldog is a national icon, symbolising pluck and determination". During the Second World War, the Prime Minister Winston Churchill was likened to a Bulldog for his defiance of Nazi Germany. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Monona | Lake Monona | Lake Monona ( mih-NOH-nə) is a freshwater drainage lake in Dane County, Wisconsin, surrounded on three sides by the city of Madison, Wisconsin, and on the south east side by the city of Monona, Wisconsin. It is the second-largest of a chain of four lakes along the Yahara River (also including Mendota, Kegonsa, and Waubesa) in the area and forms the south shore of the isthmus that forms downtown Madison. The name 'Monona' is a word believed to mean 'beautiful', although the lake was originally named by the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) 'Tchee-ho-bo-kee-xa-te-la' or 'Teepee Lake'.
== Description ==
Lake Monona rests at 43°4′9″N 89°21′34″W. It measures 3,274 acres (13.25 km2), has a mean depth of 27 ft (8.2 m) and a maximum depth of 74 ft (23 m). Its volume is approximately 28 billion US gal (110 million m3) and it has 13 miles (21 km) of shoreline, about 40% of which is publicly owned. The elevation of the lake is 845', regulated by locks at the mouth of the Yahara River at Lake Mendota. Monona is fed by three tributaries: the Yahara River (from Lake Mendota), Starkweather Creek, and Wingra Creek. Lake Monona is typically frozen for 107 days a year, give or take 10 days depending on the season. Access to the lake is by boat ramp.
Monona is home to many species of fish and is a popular lake for fishing. Sport fish species include bluegill, lake sturgeon, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, muskellunge (muskie), northern pike, and walleye.
Twenty-six-year-old soul singer Otis Redding died when his plane crashed in Lake Monona on December 10, 1967, during a storm en route to a concert in Madison. The pilot, who was Redding's manager, and four out of the five members of the Bar-Kays (then Otis's backup band) who were on the plane, also died, with the sole survivor being trumpeter Ben Cauley. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfast | Belfast | Belfast ( , BEL-fast, , -fahst; from Irish: Béal Feirste [bʲeːlˠ ˈfʲɛɾˠ(ə)ʃtʲə]) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel. It is the largest city in Northern Ireland and the second-largest city in Ireland (after Dublin), with an estimated population of 352,390 in 2024, and its metropolitan area has a population of 671,559.
While chartered as an English settlement in 1613, the town's early growth was driven by an influx of Scottish Presbyterians. Their descendants' disaffection with Ireland's Anglican establishment contributed to the rebellion of 1798, and to the union with Great Britain that followed in 1801—later regarded as a key to the town's industrial transformation. When granted city status in 1888, Belfast was the world's largest centre of linen manufacture, and by the 1900s its shipyards were building up to a quarter of total United Kingdom tonnage.
Sectarian tensions existed with the Irish Catholic population that was drawn by mill and factory employment from western counties. Heightened by division over Ireland's future in the United Kingdom, these twice erupted in periods of sustained violence: in 1920–22, as Belfast emerged as the capital of the six northeast counties retaining the British connection, and over three decades from the late 1960s during which the British Army was continually deployed on the streets. A legacy of conflict is the barrier-reinforced separation of Protestant and Catholic working-class districts.
Since the Good Friday Agreement, the electoral balance in the once unionist-controlled city has shifted, albeit with no overall majority, in favour of Irish nationalists. At the same time, new immigrants are adding to the growing number of residents unwilling to identify with either of the two communal traditions.
Belfast has seen significant services sector growth, with important contributions from financial technology (fintech), tourism and, with facilities in the redeveloped Harbour Estate, film. It retains a port with commercial and industrial docks, including a reduced Harland & Wolff shipyard and aerospace and defence contractors. Under the Windsor Framework, Belfast and Northern Ireland remain within the United Kingdom’s internal market while continuing to apply aspects of the EU single market rules for goods.
The city is served by two airports: George Best Belfast City Airport, located on the Lough shore, and Belfast International Airport (also known as Aldergrove), located 15 miles (24 kilometres) west of the city. Belfast supports two universities: Ulster University in the city centre, and in the Botanic area in the south of the city, Queen's University Belfast. Since 2021, Belfast has been a UNESCO designated City of Music.
== History ==
=== Name ===
The name Belfast derives from the Irish Béal Feirste (Irish pronunciation: [bʲeːlˠ ˈfʲɛɾˠ(ə)ʃtʲə]), "Mouth of the Farset", a river whose name in the Irish, Feirste, refers to a sandbar or tidal ford. This was formed where the river ran—until culverted late in the 18th century, down High Street— into the Lagan. It was at this crossing, located under or close to the current Queen's Bridge, that the early settlement developed.
The compilers of Ulster-Scots use various transcriptions of local pronunciations of "Belfast" (with which they sometimes are also content) including Bilfawst, Bilfaust or Baelfawst.
As a legacy of emigration, Belfast has lent its name to more than a dozen settlements in the United States, of which the largest is Belfast, Maine, and to one each in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.
=== Early settlements ===
The site of Belfast has been occupied since the Bronze Age. The Giant's Ring, a 5,000-year-old henge, is located near the city, and the remains of Iron Age hill forts can still be seen in the surrounding hills. At the beginning of the 14th century, Papal tax rolls record two churches: the "Chapel of Dundela" at Knock (Irish: cnoc, meaning "hill") in the east, connected by some accounts to the 7th-century evangelist St. Colmcille,and, the "Chapel of the Ford", which may have been a successor to a much older parish church on the present Shankill (Seanchill, "Old Church") Road, dating back to the 9th, and possibly to St. Patrick in the mid 5th, century.
A Norman settlement at the ford, comprising the parish church (now St. George's), a watermill, and a small fort, was an outpost of Carrickfergus Castle. Established in the late 12th century, 11 miles (18 km) out along the north shore of the Lough, Carrickfergus was to remain the principal English foothold in the north-east until the scorched- earth Nine Years' War at the end of the 16th century broke the remaining Irish power, the O'Neills.
=== Developing port, radical politics ===
With a commission from King James VI and I, in 1613 Sir Arthur Chichester undertook the Plantation of Belfast and the surrounding area, attracting mainly English and Manx settlers. The subsequent arrival of Scottish Presbyterians embroiled Belfast in its only recorded siege: denounced from London by John Milton as "ungrateful and treacherous guests", in 1649 the newcomers were temporarily expelled by an English Parliamentarian army. In 1689, Catholic Jacobite forces, briefly in command of the town, abandoned it in advance of the landing at Carrickfergus of William, Prince of Orange, who proceeded through Belfast to his celebrated victory on 12 July 1690 at the Boyne.
Together with French Huguenots, the Scots introduced the production of linen, a flax-spinning industry that in the 18th century carried Belfast trade to the Americas. Fortunes were made carrying rough linen clothing and salted provisions to the slave plantations of the West Indies; sugar and rum to Baltimore and New York City; and for the return to Belfast flaxseed and tobacco from the colonies. From the 1760s, profits from the trade financed improvements in the town's commercial infrastructure, including the Lagan Canal, new docks and quays, and the construction of the White Linen Hall which together attracted to Belfast the linen trade that had formerly gone through Dublin. Abolitionist sentiment, however, defeated the proposal of the greatest of the merchant houses, Cunningham and Greg, in 1786 to commission ships for the Middle Passage.As "Dissenters" from the established Anglican church (with its episcopacy and ritual), Presbyterians were conscious of sharing, if only in part, the disabilities of Ireland's dispossessed Roman Catholic majority; and of being denied representation in the Irish Parliament. Belfast's two MPs remained nominees of the Chichesters (Marquesses of Donegall). With their emigrant kinsmen in America, the region's Presbyterians were to share a growing disaffection from the Crown.
When early in the American War of Independence, Belfast Lough was raided by the privateer John Paul Jones, the townspeople assembled their own Volunteer militia. Formed ostensibly for defence of the Kingdom, Volunteer corps were soon pressing their own protest against "taxation without representation". Further emboldened by the French Revolution, a more radical element in the town, the Society of United Irishmen, called for Catholic emancipation and a representative national government. In hopes of French assistance, in 1798 the Society organised a republican insurrection. The rebel tradesmen and tenant farmers were defeated north of the town at the Battle of Antrim and to the south at the Battle of Ballynahinch.
Britain seized on the rebellion to abolish the Irish Parliament, unlamented in Belfast, and to incorporate Ireland in a United Kingdom. In 1832, British parliamentary reform permitted the town its first electoral contest – an occasion for an early and lethal sectarian riot.
=== Industrial expansion, sectarian division ===
While other Irish towns experienced a loss of manufacturing, from the 1820s Belfast underwent rapid industrial expansion. After a cotton boom and bust, the town emerged as the global leader in the production of linen goods (mill, and finishing, work largely employing women and children), winning the moniker "Linenopolis". Shipbuilding led the development of heavier industry. By the 1900s, her shipyards were building up to a quarter of the total United Kingdom tonnage, and on the eve of the Great War, in 1914, close one eighth of world production. This included from the yard of Harland & Wolff the ill-fated RMS Titanic, at the time of her launch in 1911 the largest ship afloat. Other major export industries included textile machinery, rope-making, tobacco and mineral waters.
Industry drew in a new Catholic population settling largely in the west of the town—refugees from a rural poverty intensified by Belfast's mechanisation of spinning and weaving and, in the 1840s, by famine. The plentiful supply of cheap labour helped attract English and Scottish capital to Belfast, but it was also a cause of insecurity. Protestant workers organised and dominated the apprenticed trades and gave a new lease of life to the once largely rural Orange Order. Sectarian tensions, which frequently broke out in riots and workplace expulsions, were also driven by the "constitutional question": the prospect of a restored Irish parliament in which Protestants (and northern industry) feared being a minority interest.
On 28 September 1912, unionists massed at Belfast's City Hall to sign the Ulster Covenant, pledging to use "all means which may be found necessary to defeat the present conspiracy to set up a Home Rule Parliament in Ireland". This was followed by the drilling and eventual arming of a 100,000-strong Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). The immediate crisis was averted by the onset of the Great War. The UVF formed the 36th (Ulster) Division whose sacrifices in the Battle of the Somme continue to be commemorated in the city by unionist and loyalist organisations.
In 1920–22, as Belfast emerged as the capital of the six counties remaining as Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom, there was widespread violence. 8,000 "disloyal" workers were driven from their jobs in the shipyards: in addition to Catholics, "rotten Prods" – Protestants whose labour politics disregarded sectarian distinctions. Gun battles, grenade attacks and house burnings contributed to as many as 500 deaths. A curfew remained in force until 1924.
The lines drawn saw off the challenge to "unionist unity" posed by labour. Industry had been paralysed by strikes in 1907 and again in 1919 (when the city was effectively policed by strikers). Until "troubles" returned at the end of the 1960s, it was not uncommon in Belfast for the Ulster Unionist Party to have its council and parliamentary candidates returned unopposed.
In 1932, the opening of the new buildings for Northern Ireland's devolved Parliament at Stormont was overshadowed by the protests of the unemployed and ten days of running street battles with the police. The government conceded increases in Outdoor Relief, but labour unity was short lived. In 1935, celebrations of King George V's Jubilee and of the annual Twelfth were followed by deadly riots and expulsions, a sectarian logic that extended itself to the interpretation of darkening events in Europe. Labour candidates found support for the anti-clerical Spanish Republic (marked today by a No Pasaran! stained glass window in City Hall) characterised as another instance of No-Popery.
In 1938, nearly a third of industrial workers were unemployed, malnutrition was a major issue, and at 9.6% the city's infant mortality rate (compared with 5.9% in Sheffield, England) was among the highest in United Kingdom.
=== The Blitz and post-war development ===
In the spring of 1941, the German Luftwaffe appeared four times over Belfast. In addition to the shipyards and the Short & Harland aircraft factory, the Belfast Blitz severely damaged or destroyed more than half the city's housing stock, and devastated the old town centre around High Street. In the greatest loss of life in any air raid outside of London, more than a thousand people were killed.
At the end of the Second World War, the Unionist government undertook programmes of "slum clearance" (the Blitz had exposed the "uninhabitable" condition of much of the city's housing) which involved decanting populations out of mill and factory built red-brick terraces and into new peripheral housing estates. At the same time, a British-funded welfare state "revolutionised access" to education and health care. The resulting rise in expectations; together with the uncertainty caused by the decline of the city's Victorian-era industries, contributed to growing protest, and counter protest, in the 1960s over the Unionist government's record on civil and political rights.
=== The Troubles ===
For reasons that nationalists and unionists dispute, the public protests of the late 1960s soon gave way to communal violence (in which as many as 60,000 people were intimidated from their homes) and to loyalist and republican paramilitarism. Introduced onto the streets in August 1969, the British Army committed to the longest continuous deployment in its history, Operation Banner. Beginning in 1970 with the Falls curfew, and followed in 1971 by internment, this included counterinsurgency measures directed chiefly at the Provisional Irish Republican Army. The PIRA characterised their operations, including the bombing of Belfast's commercial centre, as a struggle against British occupation.
Preceded by loyalist and republican ceasefires, the 1998 "Good Friday" Belfast Agreement returned a new power-sharing legislative assembly and executive to Stormont. In the intervening years in Belfast, some 20,000 people had been injured, and 1,500 killed.
Eighty-five percent of the conflict-related deaths had occurred within 1,000 metres of the communal interfaces, largely in the north and west of the city. The security barriers erected at these interfaces are an enduring physical legacy of the Troubles. The 14 neighbourhoods they separate are among the 20 most deprived wards in Northern Ireland. In May 2013, the Northern Ireland Executive committed to the removal of all peace lines by mutual consent. The target date of 2023 was passed with only a small number dismantled.
The more affluent districts escaped the worst of the violence, but the city centre was a major target. This was especially so during the first phase of the PIRA campaign in the early 1970s, when the organisation hoped to secure quick political results through maximum destruction. Including car bombs and incendiaries, between 1969 and 1977 the city experienced 2,280 explosions. In addition to the death and injury caused, they accelerated the loss of the city's Victorian fabric.
=== 21st century ===
Since the turn of the century, the loss of employment and population in the city centre has been reversed. This reflects the growth of the service economy, for which a new district has been developed on former dockland, the Titanic Quarter. The growing tourism sector paradoxically lists as attractions the murals and peace walls that echo the violence of the past. In recent years, "Troubles tourism" has presented visitors with new territorial markers: flags, murals and graffiti in which loyalists and republicans take opposing sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The demographic balance of some areas has been changed by immigration (according to the 2021 census just under 10% of the city's population was born outside the British Isles), by local differences in births and deaths between Catholics and Protestants, and by a growing number of, particularly younger, people no longer willing to self-identify on traditional lines.
In 1997, unionists lost overall control of Belfast City Council for the first time in its history. The election in 2011 saw Irish nationalist councillors outnumber unionist councillors, with Sinn Féin becoming the largest party, and the cross-community Alliance Party holding the balance of power.
In the 2016 Brexit referendum, Belfast's four parliamentary constituencies returned a substantial majority (60 percent) for remaining within the European Union, as did Northern Ireland as a whole (55.8), the only UK region outside London and Scotland to do so. In February 2022, the Democratic Unionist Party, which had actively campaigned for Brexit, withdrew from the power-sharing executive and collapsed the Stormont institutions to protest the 2020 UK-EU Northern Ireland Protocol. With the promise of equal access to the British and European markets, this designates Belfast as a point of entry to the European Single Market within whose regulatory framework local producers will continue to operate. After two years, the standoff was resolved with an agreement to eliminate routine checks on UK-destined goods.
== Cityscape ==
=== Location and topography ===
Belfast is at the mouth of the River Lagan at the head of Belfast Lough open through the North Channel to the Irish Sea and to the North Atlantic. In the course of the 19th century, the location's estuarine features were re-engineered. With dredging and reclamation, the lough was made to accommodate a deep sea port, and extensive shipyards. The Lagan was banked (in 1994 a weir raised its water level to cover what remained of the tidal mud flats) and its various tributaries were culverted On the model pioneered in 2008 by the Connswater Community Greenway some, including the course of the Farset, are now being considered for "daylighting".
It remains the case that much of the city centre is built on an estuarine bed of "sleech": silt, peat, mud and—a source the city's ubiquitous red brick— soft clay, that presents a challenge for high-rise construction. (In 2007 this unstable foundation persuaded St Anne's Cathedral to abandon plans for a bell tower and substitute a lightweight steel spire). The city centre is also subject to tidal flood risk. Rising sea levels could mean, that without significant investment, flooding in the coming decades will be persistent.
The city is overlooked on the County Antrim side (to the north and northwest) by a precipitous basalt escarpment—the near continuous line of Divis Mountain (478 m), Black Mountain (389 m) and Cavehill (368 m)—whose "heathery slopes and hanging fields are visible from almost any part of the city". From County Down side (on the south and south east) it is flanked by the lower-lying Castlereagh and Hollywood hills. The sand and gravel Malone Ridge extends up river to the south-west.
=== North Belfast and Shankill ===
From 1820, Belfast began to spread rapidly beyond its 18th century limits. To the north, it stretched out along roads which drew into the town migrants from Scots-settled hinterland of County Antrim. Largely Presbyterian, they enveloped a number of Catholic-occupied "mill-row" clusters: New Lodge, Ardoyne and "the Marrowbone". Together with areas of more substantial housing in the Oldpark district, these are wedged between Protestant working-class housing stretching from Tiger's Bay out the Shore Road on one side, and up the Shankill (the original Antrim Road) on the other.
The Greater Shankill area, including Crumlin and Woodvale, is over the line from the Belfast North parliamentary/assembly constituency, but is physically separated from the rest of Belfast West by an extensive series of separation barriers—peace walls—owned (together with five daytime gates into the Falls area) by the Department of Justice. These include Cupar Way where tourists are informed that, at 45 feet, the barrier is "three times higher than the Berlin Wall and has been in place for twice as long".
With other working-class districts, Shankill suffered from the "collapse of old industrial Belfast". But it was also greatly affected from the 1960s by the city's most ambitious programme of "slum clearance". Red-brick, "two up, two down" terraced streets, typical of 19th century working-class housing, were replaced with flats, maisonettes, and car parks but few facilities. In a period of twenty years, due largely to redevelopment, 50,000 residents left the area leaving an aging population of 26,000 and more than 100 acres of wasteland.
Meanwhile, road schemes, including the terminus of the M1 motorway and the Westlink, demolished a mixed dockland community, Sailortown, and severed the streets linking the Shankill area and the rest of both north and west Belfast to the city centre.
New "green field" housing estates were built on the outer edges of the city. The onset of the Troubles overwhelmed attempts to promote these as "mixed" neighbourhoods so that the largest of these developments on the city's northern edge, Rathcoole, rapidly solidified as a loyalist community. In 2004, it was estimated that 98% of public housing in Belfast was divided along religious lines.
Among the principal landmarks of north Belfast are the Crumlin Road Gaol (1845) now a major visitor attraction, Belfast Royal Academy (1785) - the oldest school in the city, St Malachy's College (1833), Holy Cross Church, Ardoyne (1902), Waterworks Park (1889), and Belfast Zoo (1934).
=== West Belfast ===
In the mid-19th century rural poverty and famine drove large numbers of Catholic tenant farmers, landless labourers and their families toward Belfast. Their route brought them down the Falls Road and into what are now remnants of an older Catholic enclave around St Mary's Church, the town's first Catholic chapel (opened in 1784 with Presbyterian subscriptions), and Smithfield Market. Eventually, an entire west side of the city, stretching up the Falls Road, along the Springfield Road (encompassing the new housing estates built 1950s and 60s: Highfield, New Barnsley, Ballymurphy, Whiterock and Turf Lodge) and out past Andersonstown on the Stewartstown Road toward Poleglass, became near-exclusively Catholic and, in political terms, nationalist.
Reflecting the nature of available employment as mill workers, domestics and shop assistants, the population, initially, was disproportionately female. Further opportunities for women on the Falls Road arose through developments in education and public health. In 1900, the Dominican Order opened St Mary's [Teacher] Training College, and in 1903 King Edward VII opened the Royal Victoria Hospital at the junction with the Grosvenor Road. Extensively redeveloped and expanded, the hospital has a staff of more than 8,500.
Landmarks in the area include the Gothic-revival St Peter's Cathedral (1866, signature twin spires added in 1886); Clonard Monastery (1911), the Conway Mill (1853/1901, re-developed as a community enterprise, arts and education centre in 1983); Belfast City Cemetery (1869) and, best known for its republican graves, Milltown Cemetery (1869).
The area's greatest visitor attractions are its wall and gable-end murals. In contrast to those in loyalist areas, where Israel is typically the only outside reference, these range more freely beyond the local conflict frequently expressing solidarity with Palestinians, with Cuba, and with Basque and Catalan separatists.
=== South Belfast ===
West Belfast is separated from South Belfast, and from the otherwise abutting loyalist districts of Sandy Row and the Donegall Road, by rail lines, the M1 Motorway (to Dublin and the west); industrial and retail parks, and the remnants of the Blackstaff (Owenvarra) bog meadows.
Belfast began stretching up-river in the 1840s and 50s: out the Ormeau and Lisburn roads and, between them, running along a ridge of higher ground, the Malone Road. From "leafy" avenues of increasingly substantial (and in the course of time "mixed") housing, the Upper Malone broadened out into areas of parkland and villas.
Further out still, where they did not survive as public parks, from the 1960s the great-house demesnes of the city's former mill-owners and industrialists were developed for public housing: loyalist estates such as Seymour Hill and Belvoir. Meanwhile, in Malone and along the river embankments, new houses and apartment blocks have been squeezed in, increasing the general housing density.
Beyond the Queen's University area the area's principal landmarks are the 15-storey tower block of Belfast City Hospital (1986) on the Lisburn Road, and the Lagan Valley Regional Park through which a towpath extends from the City-centre quayside to Lisburn.
Northern Ireland's three permanent diplomatic missions are situated on the Malone Road, the consulates of China, Poland and the United States.
=== East Belfast ===
The first district on the right bank of the Lagan (the County Down side) to be incorporated in Belfast was Ballymacarrett in 1853. Harland & Wolff, whose gantry cranes, Samson & Goliath, tower over the area, was long the mainstay of employment — although less securely so for the townland's Catholics (In 1970, when the yard still had a workforce of 10,000, only 400 Catholics were employed). Tolerated in periods of expansion as navvies and casual labourers, they concentrated in a small enclave, the Short Strand, which has continued into this century to feature as a sectarian flashpoint. Home to around 2,500 people, it is the only distinctly nationalist area in the east of the river.
East Belfast developed from the Queens Bridge (1843), through Ballymacarrett, east along the Newtownards Road and north (along the east shore of the Lough) up the Holywood Road; and from the Albert Bridge (1890) south east out the Cregagh and Castlereagh roads. The further out, the more substantial, and less religiously segregated, the housing until again encountering the city's outer ring of public housing estates: loyalist Knocknagoney, Lisnasharragh, and Tullycarnet.
This century, efforts have been made to add to East Belfast's two obvious visitor attractions: Samson & Goliath (the "banana yellow" Harland & Wolff cranes date only from the early 1970s) and the Parliament Buildings at Stormont. What is marketed now as EastSide, features, at the intersection of the Connswater and Comber Greenways and next to the EastSide Visitor Centre, CS Lewis Square (2017), named and themed in honour of the local author of The Chronicles of Narnia. Next to the former the Harland & Wolff Drawing Offices (now an hotel), stands the "cultural nucleus to Titanic Quarter", Titanic Belfast (2012) whose interactive galleries tell the liner's ill-fated story.
In 2015, the Orange Order opened the Museum of Orange Heritage on the Cregagh Road with the aim of educating the wider public about "the origins, traditions and continued relevance" of the parading institution.
=== City Centre ===
Belfast City Centre is roughly bounded by the ring roads constructed since the 1970s: the M3 which sweeps across the dockland to the north; the Westlink that connects to the M1 for points south and west; and, with less certainty, the Bruce Street and Bankmore connectors that tie back toward the Lagan at the Gasworks Business Park and the beginning of the Ormeau Road. This embraces "the Markets", the one remaining inner-city area of housing. Of the various markets, including those for the sale and shipping of livestock, from which it derives its name, only one survives, the former produce market, St George's Market, now a food and craft market popular with visitors to the city.
==== Architectural heritage ====
Among surviving elements of the pre-Victorian town are the Belfast Entries, 17th-century alleyways off High Street, including, in Winecellar Entry, White's Tavern (rebuilt 1790); the elliptical First Presbyterian (Non-Subscribing) Church (1781–83) in Rosemary Street (whose members led the abolitionist charge against Greg and Cunningham); the Assembly Rooms (1769, 1776, 1845) on Bridge Street; St George's Church of Ireland (1816) on the High Street site of the old Corporation Church; St Mary's Church (1782) in Chapel Lane, which is the oldest Catholic church in the city. The oldest public building in Belfast, Clifton House (1771–74), the Belfast Charitable Society poorhouse, is on North Queen Street. It is now partly cut off from the city centre by arterial roads. In addition there are small sets of city-centre Georgian terraces.
Of the much larger Victorian city a substantial legacy has survived the Blitz, The Troubles and planning and development. Among the more notable examples are St Malachy's Roman Catholic Church (1844) and the original college building of Queen's University Belfast (1849), both in a Tudor style; the Palm House in the Botanic Gardens (1852); the Renaissance revival Union Theological College (1853) and Ulster Bank (now Merchant Hotel) (1860); the Italianate Ulster Hall (1862), and the National Trust restored ornate Crown Liquor Saloon (1885, 1898) (a setting for the classic film, Odd Man Out, starring James Mason); the oriental-themed Grand Opera House (1895) (bombed several times during the Troubles), and the Romanesque revival St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Donegall Street (1877).
The Baroque revival City Hall was finished in 1906 on the site of the former White Linen Hall, and was built to reflect Belfast's city status, granted by Queen Victoria in 1888. Its Edwardian design influenced the Victoria Memorial in Calcutta, India, and Durban City Hall in South Africa. The dome is 173 ft (53 m) high and figures above the door state "Hibernia encouraging and promoting the Commerce and Arts of the City".
Across from the City Hall, on Donegall Sq. West, is the Renaissance and Baroque revival Scottish Provident Institution (1902). On the east side, a branch of the Ulster Bank is built behind the classical portico of a former Methodist church dating from 1846. On the north side, facing the City Hall is the once palatial, copper-domed, "Royal Irish Linen Warehouse" of Robinson & Cleaver (1888), until its closure in 1984, the city's premier department store. Next door, its successor, Marks and Spencers, is housed behind the red sandstone, Florentine Gothic, facade (1869) of a rival linen business that was burned out in the Blitz.
Built in the Romanesque-style on the site of an earlier neo-classical church, St Anne's Church of Ireland Cathedral was consecrated in 1904. The north transept, featuring on its exterior "the largest Celtic cross in Ireland", was completed in 1981, and a final addition, a 40-metre stainless steel "Spire of Hope" was installed in 2007.
The neoclassical Royal Courts of Justice were opened on Oxford Street in 1933.
==== Redevelopment ====
The opening Victoria Square Shopping Centre in 2008 was to symbolise the rebound of the city centre since its days as a restricted security zone during the Troubles. But retail footfall in the centre is limited by competition with out-of-town shopping centres and with internet retailing. As of November 2023, footfall had not recovered pre-COVID pandemic levels. There are compensating trends: the growth in tourism and hospitality which has included a sustained boom in hotel construction.
The City Council also talks of a "residential-led regeneration". New townhouse and apartments schemes are being developed for the city's quays, and for Titanic Quarter. The completion in 2023 of Ulster University's enhanced Belfast campus (in "one of the largest higher education capital builds in Europe") and the determination of Queen's University to compete with the private sector in the provision of student housing, has fostered the construction downtown of multiple new student residences.
==== Rough sleeping and homelessness ====
People can be found sleeping rough on the streets of the city centre. Numbers, while growing, may be comparatively small for a city of its size in the British Isles. In 2022, counts and estimates by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive identified a total of 26 rough sleepers in Belfast. This is against a background (in 2023) of 2,317 people (0.67% of residents) presenting as homeless, many of whom are in temporary accommodation and shelters. Such figures, however, do not include all those living in severely overcrowded conditions, involuntarily sharing with other households on a long-term basis, or sleeping rough in hidden locations.
=== The "Quarters" ===
Since 2001, buoyed by increasing numbers of tourists, the city council has promoted a number of cultural quarters.
The Cathedral Quarter comprises much of Belfast's old trade and warehousing district in the narrow streets and entries around St Anne's Cathedral, with a concentration of bars, beer gardens, clubs and restaurants (including two establishments claiming descent from the early town, White's and The Duke of York) and performance spaces (most notably the Black Box and Oh Yeah). It hosts a yearly visual and performing arts festival. The adjoining Custom House Square is one of the city's main outdoor venues for free concerts and street entertainment.
Without defined geographical boundaries, the Gaeltacht Quarter encompasses Irish-speaking Belfast. (According to the 2021 census, 15.5% of people in the city have some knowledge of Irish, 4% speak it daily). It is generally understood as an area around the Falls Road in west Belfast served by the Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich cultural centre. It can be said to include, at the Skainos Centre in unionist east Belfast, Turas, a project that promotes Irish through night classes and cultural events in the belief that "the language belongs to all".
The Linen Quarter', an area south of City Hall once dominated by linen warehouses, now includes, in addition to cafés, bars and restaurants, a dozen hotels (including the 23-storey Grand Central Hotel), and the city's two principal Victorian-era cultural venues, the Grand Opera House and the Ulster Hall.
Moving further south along the so-called "Golden Mile" of bars and clubs through Shaftesbury Square, there is the Queen's [University] Quarter. In addition to the university (spread over 250 buildings, of which 120 are listed as being of architectural merit), it is home to Botanic Gardens and the Ulster Museum.
Finally, the Titanic Quarter covers 0.75 km2 (185 acres) of reclaimed land adjacent to Belfast Harbour, formerly known as Queen's Island. Named after RMS Titanic, launched here in 1911, work began in 2003 to transform some former shipyard land into "one of the largest waterfront developments in Europe". The current area houses Titanic Belfast, the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), two hotels, and multiple condo towers and shops, and the Titanic [film] Studios.
== Culture ==
=== Arts venues and festivals ===
From Georgian Belfast, the city retains a civic legacy. In addition to Clifton House (Belfast Charitable Society, 1774), this includes the Linen Hall Library (Belfast Society for Promoting Knowledge, 1788), the Ulster Museum (founded in 1833 by the Belfast Natural History Society as the Belfast Municipal Museum and Art Gallery), and the Botanic Gardens (established in 1828 by the Belfast Botanic and Horticultural Society). These remain important cultural venues: in the case of the Gardens, for outdoor festivities including the Belfast Melā, the city's annual August celebration of global cultures.
Of the many stage venues built in the nineteenth century, and film theatres built in the twentieth, there remains the Ulster Hall (1862), which hosts concerts (including those of the Ulster Orchestra), classical recitals and party-political meetings; the Grand Opera House (1895) badly damaged in bomb blasts in the early 1990s, restored and enlarged 2020; the Strand Cinema (1935) now being developed as an arts centre; and the Queens Film Theatre (QFT) (1968) focussed on art house and world cinema. The two independent cinemas offer their screens for the Belfast Film Festival and the Belfast International Arts Festival.
The principal stage for drama remains the Lyric Theatre (1951, 2011), the largest employer of actors and other theatre professionals in the region. At Queens University, drama students stage their productions at the Brian Friel Theatre, a 120-seat studio space (named after the renowned playwright).
In November 2011, Belfast became the smallest city to host the MTV Europe Music Awards. The event was made possible by the 11,000-seat Odyssey Arena (today the SSE Arena) which opened in 2000 at the entrance to the Titanic Quarter Among other annual events, the SSE Arena hosts the Belfast International Tattoo which aims to showcase Ulster-Scots heritage alongside international acts, including pipe bands, military and civilian musicians, and dancers. A further large-scale venue is the Waterfront Hall, a multi-purpose conference and entertainment centre that first opened in 1997. The main circular Auditorium seats 2,241 and is modelled on the Berlin Philharmonic Hall. In 2012, the Metropolitan Arts Centre, the "MAC", was opened in the Cathedral Quarter, offering a performance mix of music, theatre, dance and visual art.
The Belfast International Tattoo is an annual music and dance event held at the Odyssey Arena, Belfast. Inspired by the tradition of military tattoos, it features performances from pipe bands, military and civilian musicians, dancers, and cultural groups from Northern Ireland and around the world. Established in 2013, the event aims to showcase Ulster-Scots heritage alongside international acts, attracting large audiences from across the region and beyond.
The city has a number of community arts, and arts education, centres, among them the Crescent Arts Centre in south Belfast, the Irish-language Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich in west Belfast, The Duncairn in north Belfast and, in the east of the city, EastSide Arts.
Féile an Phobail, a community arts organisation born out of the Internment Commemorations in the west of the city, stages one of the largest community festivals in Europe. It has grown from its original August Féile on the Falls Road, to a year-round programme with a broad range of arts events, talks and discussions.
=== UNESCO City of Music ===
In November 2021, Belfast became the third city in the British Isles to be designated by UNESCO as City of Music (after Glasgow in 2008 and Liverpool in 2016) and is one of 59 cities worldwide participating in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
The greater part of Belfast's music scene is accommodated in the city's pubs and clubs. Irish traditional music ("trad") is a staple, and is supported, along with Ulster-Scots snare drum and pipe music, by the city's TradFest summer school.
Music offerings also draw on the legacy of the punk and the underground club scene that developed during The Troubles (associated with the groups Stiff Little Fingers and The Undertones, and celebrated in the award-winning 2013 film, Good Vibrations). Snow Patrol's frontman Gary Lightbody led a line up of private donors that together with public funders established the Oh Yeah music centre in 2008. The Cathedral Quarter non-profit supports young musicians and these have engaged with a range of genres including Alternative rock, Indie rock, Electronica, Post rock, Post punk, Crossover, and Experimental rock.
Queens University hosts the Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC), an institute for music-based practice and research. Its purpose designed building, Sonic Laboratory and multichannel studios were opened by Karlheinz Stockhausen, the German composer and "father of electronic music", in 2004.
=== Media ===
Belfast is the home of the Belfast Telegraph, Irish News and, first printed in 1737,The News Letter, the oldest English-language daily newspaper in the world still in publication.
The city is the headquarters of BBC Northern Ireland, and ITV station UTV. The Irish public service broadcaster, RTÉ has a studio in the city. The national radio station is BBC Radio Ulster with commercial radio stations such as Q Radio, U105, Blast 106 and Irish-language station Raidió Fáilte. Queen's Radio, a student-run radio station broadcasts from Queen's University Students' Union.
One of Northern Ireland's two community TV stations, NvTv, is based in the Cathedral Quarter of the city. Broadcasting only over the Internet is Homely Planet, the Cultural Radio Station for Northern Ireland, supporting community relations.
=== Parades ===
Since the lifting in 1872 of a twenty-year party processions ban, Orange parades in celebration of "the Twelfth" [of July] and the bonfires of the previous evening, the eleventh, have been a fixed fixture of the Belfast calendar. On what became a public holiday in 1926, Belfast and guest Orange lodges (from both across Ulster and Scotland) with their pipe, flute, drum and accordion bands muster at Carlisle Circus, and parade through the city centre past the City Hall and out the Lisburn Road to a gathering in "the field" at Barnett Demesne. While some local feeder and return marches have a history of sectarian disturbance, in recent years, events have generally passed off without serious incident. The tradition is documented and celebrated in the Museum of Orange Heritage on the Cregagh Road in East Belfast.
What is sometimes referred to as the Catholic equivalent of the Orangemen, the much smaller Ancient Order of Hibernians, confines its parades to nationalist areas in west and north Belfast, as do republicans commemorating the Easter Rising. In August 1993, in a break with a history of nationalist exclusion from the city centre, a parade marking the introduction of internment in the 1971 proceeded up Royal Avenue toward the City Hall, where it was addressed by Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams, in front of the statue of Queen Victoria.
Since 1998, the Belfast City Council has funded a city-centre St. Patrick's Day (17 March) celebration. It is organised by Féile an Phobail as a "carnival" complete with a parade featuring dancers, circus entertainers, floats, and giant puppets. Critical of what they perceive as an evolving nationalist festival, unionists on the City Council observe that "a lot of the Protestant Unionist Loyalist (PUL) community will stay away from the city centre on St Patrick's Day, the same as some stay away on the Twelfth of July".
In 1991, Belfast hosted its first gay pride event. Belfast Pride, culminating in a city-centre parade at the end of July, is now one of the biggest annual festivals in the city and, according to its organisers, the largest LGBT+ festival in Ireland.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions organises an annual city-centre May Day march and rally. The International Workers Day has been a public holiday since 1978.
== Demography ==
In 2021, there were 345,418 residents within the expanded 2015 Belfast local government boundary and 634,600 in the Belfast Metropolitan Area, approximately one third of Northern Ireland's 1.9 million population.
As with many cities, Belfast's inner city is currently characterised by the elderly, students and single young people, while families tend to live on the periphery. Socio-economic areas radiate out from the Central Business District, with a pronounced wedge of affluence extending out the Malone Road and Upper Malone Road to the south. Deprivation levels are notable in the inner parts of the north and the west of the city. The areas around the Falls Road, Ardoyne and New Lodge (Catholic nationalist) and the Shankill Road (Protestant loyalist) experience some of the highest levels of social deprivation including higher levels of ill health and poor access to services. These areas remain firmly segregated, with 80 to 90 percent of residents being of the one religious designation.
Consistent with the trend across all of Northern Ireland, the Protestant population within the city has been in decline, while the non-religious, other religious and Catholic population has risen. The 2021 census recorded the following: 43% of residents as Catholic, 12% as Presbyterian, 8% as Church of Ireland, 3% as Methodist, 6% as belonging to other Christian denominations, 3% to other religions and 24% as having either no religion or no declared religion.
In terms of community background, 47.93% were deemed to belong to, or to have been brought up in, the Catholic faith and 36.45% in a Protestant or other Christian-related denomination. The comparable figures in 2011 were 48.60% Catholic and 42.28% Protestant or other Christian-related denomination.
With respondents free to indicate more than one national identity, in 2021 the largest national identity group was "Irish only" with 35% of the population, followed by "British only" 27%, "Northern Irish only" 17%, "British and Northern Irish only" 7%, "Irish and Northern Irish only" 2%, "British, Irish and Northern Irish only" 2%, British and Irish less than 1% and Other identities with 10%.
Insofar as the city's two indigenous minority languages (Irish and Ulster Scots) are concerned, figures are made available from the decennial UK census. On census day, 21 March 2021, 14.93% (43,798) in Belfast claimed to have some knowledge of the Irish language, whilst 5.21% (15,294) claimed to be able to speak, read, write and understand spoken Irish. 3.74% (10,963) of residents claimed to use Irish daily and 0.75% (2,192) claimed Irish is their main language. 7.17% (21,025) of people in the city claimed to have some knowledge of Ulster Scots, whilst 0.75% (2,207) claimed to be able to speak, read, write and understand spoken Ulster Scots. 0.83% (2,430) claimed to use Ulster Scots daily.
From the mid to late 19th century, there was a community of central European Jews (among its distinguished members, two-time Lord Mayor Otto Jaffe) and of Italians in Belfast. Today, the largest immigrant groups are Poles, Chinese and Indians. The 2011 census figures recorded a total non-white population of 10,219 or 3.3%, while 18,420 or 6.6% of the population were born outside the UK and Ireland. Almost half of those born outside the British Isles lived in south Belfast, where they comprised 9.5% of the population. The majority of the estimated 5,000 Muslims and 200 Hindu families living in Northern Ireland resided in the Greater Belfast area. In the 2021 census the percentage of the city's residents born outside the United Kingdom had risen to 9.8.
== Economy ==
=== Employment profile ===
Services (including retail, health, professional & scientific) account for three quarters of jobs in the Belfast. Only 6% remain in manufacturing. The balance is in distribution and construction. In recent years, unemployment has been comparatively low (under 3% in the summer of 2023) for the UK. On the other hand, Belfast has a high rate of people economically inactive (close to 30%). It is a group, encompassing homemakers, full-time carers, students and retirees, that in Belfast has been swollen by the exceptionally large proportion of the population (27%) with long-term health problems or disabilities (and who, in Northern Ireland generally, are less likely to be employed than in other UK regions).
An early report on the post-Belfast Agreement prospects for the city economy underscored another distinctive feature of its working-age population. While it appeared well qualified, with 24 per cent educated to degree level, at "the other end of the educational spectrum", 26 per cent had no qualifications at all, a much higher share than in English cities.
=== Shipbuilding and engineering ===
Of Belfast's Victorian-era industry, little remains. The last working linen factory—Copeland Linens Limited, based in the Shankill area—closed in 2013. In recent years Harland & Wolff, which at peak production in the Second World War had employed around 35,000 people, has had a workforce of no more than two or three hundred refurbishing oil rigs and fabricating off-shore wind turbines. A £1.6 billion Royal Navy contract has offered the yard a new lease, returning it to shipbuilding in 2025, a prospect secured by the purchase of insolvent yard by Spain's state-owned shipbuilder, Navantia.
In 1936, Short & Harland Ltd, a joint venture of Short Brothers and Harland & Wolff, began the manufacture of aircraft in the docks area. In 1989, the British government, which had nationalised the company during the Second World War, sold it to the Canadian aerospace company Bombardier. In 2020, it was sold on to the American aerostructure company Spirit AeroSystems. Producing aircraft components, it remains the largest manufacturing concern in Northern Ireland.
Originating in the Short Brothers' missile division, since 2001 the Thales Group (owned by the French defense contractor Thales Air Defence Limited) has been producing short range air defence and anti-tank missiles including the NLAW shoulder-launched system and, from 2025, lightweight multirole missiles (LMMs), deployed in the Russo-Ukrainian war by Ukraine.
In 2025, the Belfast Port and Harbour Estate announced capital projects amounting to than £313m over five years. These include a new deepwater quay to accommodate, in addition to larger cruise liners, an expansion the port’s capacity for offshore wind turbine assembly and installation.
=== Fintech and cybersecurity ===
From the 1990s, Belfast established itself as a significant location for call centres and for other back-office services. Attracting U.S. operators such as Citi, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, Aflac and FD Technologies (Kx Systems) and most recently Bank of America, it has since been identified by the UK Treasury as "key fintech [financial technology] hub". Fintech's key areas (its "ABCD") are artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, and big data.
The sector's principal constraint, cyber security, has been addressed since 2004 by the Queens University Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (IECIT), and its Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT). The IECIT is the anchor tenant at Catalyst (science park) in the Titanic Quarter, which hosts a cluster of cyber-security companies.
=== Film ===
Between 2018 and 2023, film and television production based largely in Belfast, and occupying significant new studio capacity in the ports area, contributed £330m to Northern Ireland's economy. There are two 8-acre media complexes (serviced by the adjacent City Airport): the Titanic Studios on Queen's Island (the Titanic Quarter) and across the Victoria Channel in Giant's Park on the Lough's north foreshore, the Belfast Harbour Studios. Together they offer 226,000 ft2 of studio space, plus offices and workshops, and have attracted U.S. production companies such as Amazon, HBO (including all eight series of its fantasy drama Game of Thrones), Paramount, Playtone, Universal, and Warner Bros.
At the beginning of 2024, Ulster University, in partnership with Belfast Harbour and supported by Northern Ireland Screen, announced an £72m investment to add to the complex a new virtual production, research and development, facility, Studio Ulster. Additional studio space is available at Loop Studios (formerly Britvic) on the Castlereagh Road in East Belfast.
In May 2025, Belfast was named "City of Film’"at the Global Production Awards ceremony held during the Cannes Film Festival in France.
=== Tourism and hospitality ===
Northern Ireland's peace dividend since the 1990s, which includes a marked increase in inward investment, has contributed to a large-scale redevelopment of the city centre. Significant projects included Victoria Square, the Cathedral Quarter, Laganside with the Odyssey complex and the landmark Waterfront Hall, the new Titanic Quarter with its Titanic Belfast visitor attraction, and the development of the original Short's harbour airfield as George Best Belfast City Airport.
These developments reflect a boom in tourism (32 million visitors between 2011 and 2018), and related hotel construction.
This has included an entirely new phenomenon for Belfast: in 1996, the port received its first cruise ship. In 2023, Belfast welcomed 153 calls, 8% up from the pre-pandemic record set in 2019. Ships from 32 different countries landed 320,000 passengers. By 2028, there is to be a new a £90 million deep-water quay capable of accommodating the world’s largest cruise liners.
Belfast has also seen growth of "conflict tourism". To the dismay of some, "tourists take photos of the division lines that are not consigned to history, but are a part of living Belfast: children play football against the walls that tourists flock to. The places and the people themselves have become a spectacle, an attraction." Tourist bosses and guides, however, are satisfied that the greater draw is city's other "must-see attractions", and its "convivial food and nightlife scene".
=== EU/GB Trade ===
Invest NI, Northern Ireland's economic development agency is pitching Belfast and its hinterland to foreign investors as "only region in the world able to trade goods freely with both GB and EU markets". This follows the 2020 Northern Ireland Protocol and the 2023 Windsor Framework, agreements between the British government and European Union, whereby, post-Brexit, Northern Ireland would effectively remain within the European Single Market for goods while, in principle, retaining unfettered access to the British domestic market. Despite the DUP's derailment of devolved government in protest, local business leaders largely welcomed the new trade regime, hailing the promise of dual EU-GB access as a critical opportunity.
In February 2024, the DUP consented to a return of the devolved Assembly and Executive on the understanding that neither the EU nor the British government would defend the integrity of their respective internal markets by conducting routine checks on the bulk of goods passing through Belfast, or other Northern Ireland, ports.
== Education ==
=== Primary and secondary education ===
Children from Catholic and Protestant homes in Belfast are taught, for the most part, separately on a pattern that, by the mid-nineteenth century, had been established throughout Ireland. Primary and secondary education is divided between (Catholic) Maintained Schools and (non-Catholic/ "Protestant") Controlled Schools. They are bound by the same curriculum, but their teaching staff are trained separately (in the university colleges of St Mary's and Stranmillis).
Since the 1980s, two smaller school sectors have emerged: grant-maintained Integrated schools, which by design bring together children and staff from both communities, and Irish language medium schools
The Belfast [later Royal Belfast] Academical Institution, opened its doors in 1810 with the intention, in the words of its founder, former United Irishman William Drennan, of being "perfectly unbiased by religious distinctions". The principle was not embraced by the town's middle-classes. In practice, "Inst" provided a grammar education to the town's Presbyterian families while Anglicans favoured the older Royal Belfast Academy (1785); Catholics, St Malachy's diocesan college (1833) and Wesleyans, Methodist College Belfast (1865).
Denominational lines have since blurred, with Catholics in particular moving into the controlled grammars. But the presence of 18 selective grammar schools in Belfast is a further feature of post-primary education in Belfast that distinguishes it from that of comparable cities in Great Britain where academic selection was abandoned in the 1960s and 70s. Partly prompted by the COVID disruption of external testing in 2021/22, some the city's grammars have begun to review and amend the practice. It is not clear that this will be on terms that reduce the degree of social segregation they have represented within the system.
In 2006, the Belfast Education and Library Board became part of the consolidated Education Authority for Northern Ireland. In Belfast, the Authority has responsibility for 156 primary, and 48 secondary schools (including the 18 grammars). The system is marked by stark inequalities in outcome. Around 30% of school leavers in the city do not attain 5 GCSEs, A* - C (including Maths and English). For those in receipt of free school meals, the figure rises to over 50%.
=== Further and Higher education ===
Belfast Metropolitan College ("Belfast Met") is a further education college with three main campuses around the city, including several smaller buildings. Formerly known as Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education, it specialises in vocational education. The college has over 53,000 students enrolled on full-time and part-time courses, making it one of the largest further education colleges in the UK and the largest in the island of Ireland.
Belfast has two universities. Queen's University Belfast was founded as a college in 1845. In 1908, the Catholic bishops lifted their ban on attendance and Queen's was granted university status. It is a member of the Russell Group, an association of 24 leading research-intensive universities in the UK, and is one of the largest universities in the UK with over 25,000 students – among them over 4,000 international students.
Ulster University, created in its current form in 1984, is a multi-centre university with a campus on the edge of the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast. Since 2021, this original "Arts College" campus has undergone a £1.4bn expansion to accommodate offerings across all departments. The project promises to bring 15,500 staff and students into the city, and to generate 5,000 new jobs.
== Governance ==
Belfast was granted borough status by James VI and I in 1613 and official city status by Queen Victoria in 1888. Since 1973 it has been a local government district under local administration by Belfast City Council.
Belfast has been represented in the British House of Commons since 1801, and in Northern Ireland Assembly, as presently constituted, since 1998.
=== Local government ===
Belfast City Council is responsible for a range of powers and services, including land-use and community planning, parks and recreation, building control, arts and cultural heritage. The city's principal offices are those of the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Deputy Lord Mayor and High Sheriff. Like other elected positions within the Council such as Committee chairs, these are filled since 1998 using the D'Hondt system so that in recent years the position has rotated between councillors from the three largest factions, Sinn Féin, the Democratic Unionist Party and the Alliance Party.
The first Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1892, Daniel Dixon, like every mayor but one until 1997 (Alliance in 1979), was a unionist. The first nationalist Lord Mayor of Belfast was Alban Maginness of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in 1997. The current Lord Mayor is Councillor Tracy Kelly of the DUP, who has been in the position of Lord Mayor since 2 June 2025. Her duties include presiding over meetings of the council, receiving distinguished visitors to the city, representing and promoting the city on the national and international stage.
In 1997, unionists lost overall control of Belfast City Council for the first time in its history, with the Alliance Party holding the balance of power. In 2023, unionists retained just 17 of 60 seats on the council, leaving nationalists (Sinn Féin and the SDLP) just 4 seats short of a majority. In addition to the 11 Alliance members there are four other councillors, 3 Green and 1 People Before Profit (PBP), who refuse a nationalist/unionist designation.
=== Northern Ireland Assembly and Westminster elections ===
As Northern Ireland's capital city, Belfast is host to the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont, the site of the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. Belfast is divided into four Northern Ireland Assembly and UK parliamentary constituencies: Belfast North, Belfast West, Belfast South and Mid Down and Belfast East. All four extend beyond the city boundaries to include parts of Antrim and Newtownabbey and Lisburn and Castlereagh districts. In United Kingdom elections, each constituency returns one MP, on a "first past the post" basis to Westminster. In NI Assembly elections each returns, on the basis of proportional representation, five MLAs to Stormont.
In the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections in 2022, Belfast elected 7 Sinn Féin, 5 DUP, 5 Alliance Party, 1 SDLP, 1 UUP and 1 PBP MLAs. In the 2017 UK general election, the DUP won all but the Sinn Féin stronghold of Belfast West. In the 2019 and 2024 UK general elections, they retained only Belfast East, losing Belfast North to Sinn Féin and Belfast South to the SDLP.
== Infrastructure ==
=== Hospitals ===
The Belfast Health & Social Care Trust is one of five trusts that were created on 1 April 2007 by the Department of Health. Belfast contains most of Northern Ireland's regional specialist centres.
The Royal Hospitals site in west Belfast (junction of Grosvenor and Falls roads) contains two hospitals. The Royal Victoria Hospital (its origins in a number of successive institutions, beginning in 1797 with The Belfast Fever Hospital) provides both local and regional services. Specialist services include cardiac surgery, critical care and the Regional Trauma Centre. The Children's Hospital (Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children) provides general hospital care for children in Belfast and provides most of the paediatric regional specialities.
The Belfast City Hospital (evolved from the 1841 Belfast Union Workhouse and infirmary) on the Lisburn Road is the regional specialist centre for haematology and is home to a major cancer centre. The Mary G McGeown Regional Nephrology Unit at the City Hospital is the kidney transplant centre and provides regional renal services for Northern Ireland.
Musgrave Park Hospital (1920) in south Belfast specialises in orthopaedics, rheumatology, sports medicine and rehabilitation. It is home to Northern Ireland's first Acquired Brain Injury Unit.
The Mater Hospital (founded in 1883 by the Sisters of Mercy) on the Crumlin Road provides a wide range of services, including acute inpatient, emergency and maternity services, to north Belfast and the surrounding areas.
The Ulster Hospital, Upper Newtownards Road, Dundonald, on the eastern edge of the city, first founded as the Ulster Hospital for Women and Sick Children in 1872, is the major acute hospital for the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust. It delivers a full range of outpatient, inpatient and daycare medical and surgical services.
=== Transport ===
Belfast is a relatively car-dependent city by European standards, with an extensive road network including the 22.5 miles (36 km) M2 and M22 motorway route. Reflecting this high volume of traffic, a 2025 study ranked Belfast as the 15th noisiest city in the United Kingdom.
Black taxis are common in the city, operating on a share basis in some areas. These are outnumbered by private hire taxis. Bus and rail public transport in Northern Ireland is operated by subsidiaries of Translink. Bus services in the city proper and the nearer suburbs are operated by Translink Metro, with services focusing on linking residential districts with the city centre on 12 quality bus corridors running along main radial roads,
More distant suburbs are served by Ulsterbus. Northern Ireland Railways provides suburban services along three lines running through Belfast's northern suburbs to Carrickfergus, Larne and Larne Harbour, eastwards towards Bangor and south-westwards towards Lisburn and Portadown. This service is known as the Belfast Suburban Rail system. Belfast is linked directly to Coleraine, Portrush and Derry. Belfast has a direct rail connection with Dublin called Enterprise operated jointly by NIR and the Irish rail company Iarnród Éireann.
In 2024, the city's Europa Bus Centre and Great Victoria Street rail station, was replaced by a new Belfast Grand Central Station. It is "the largest integrated transport facility on the island of Ireland" with bus stands, railway platforms, and facilities for taxis and bicycles.
The city has two airports: George Best Belfast City Airport, close to the city centre on the eastern shore of Belfast Lough and Belfast International Airport 30–40 minutes to the west on the shore of Lough Neagh. Both operate UK domestic and European flights. The city is also served by Dublin Airport, two hours to the south, with direct inter-continental connections.
In addition to its extensive freight business, the Belfast Port offers car-ferry sailings, operated by Stena Line, to Cairnryan in Scotland (5 Sailings Daily. 2 hours 22 minutes) and to Liverpool-Birkenhead (14 sailings weekly. 8 hours). The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company provides a seasonal connection to Douglas, Isle of Man.
The Glider bus service is a new form of transport in Belfast. Introduced in 2018, it is a bus rapid transit system linking East Belfast, West Belfast and the Titanic Quarter from the City Centre. Using articulated buses, the £90 million service saw a 17% increase in its first month in Belfast, with 30,000 more people using the Gliders every week. The service is being recognised as helping to modernise the city's public transport.
National Cycle Route 9 to Newry, which will eventually connect with Dublin, starts in Belfast.
=== Utilities ===
Half of Belfast's water is supplied via the Aquarius pipeline from the Silent Valley Reservoir in County Down, created to collect water from the Mourne Mountains. The other half is now supplied from Lough Neagh via Dunore Water Treatment Works in County Antrim. The citizens of Belfast pay for their water in their rates bill. Plans to bring in additional water tariffs were deferred by devolution in May 2007.
Power is provided from a number of power stations via NIE Networks Limited transmission lines. (Just under a half of electricity consumption in Northern Ireland is generated from renewable sources). Phoenix Natural Gas Ltd. started supplying customers in Larne and Greater Belfast with natural gas in 1996 via the newly constructed Scotland-Northern Ireland pipeline. Rates in Belfast (and the rest of Northern Ireland) were reformed in April 2007. The discrete capital value system means rates bills are determined by the capital value of each domestic property as assessed by the Valuation and Lands Agency.
== Recreation and sports ==
=== Leisure centres ===
Belfast City Council owns and maintains 17 leisure centres across the city, run on its behalf by the non-profit social enterprise GLL under the 'Better' brand. These include eight large multipurposed centres complete with swimming pools: Ballysillan Leisure Centre and Grove Wellbeing Centre in North Belfast; the Andersonstown, Falls, Shankill and Whiterock leisure centres in West Belfast; Templemore Baths and Lisnasharragh Leisure Centre in East Belfast, and close to the city centre in South Belfast, the Olympia Leisure Centre and Spa,
=== Parks and gardens ===
Belfast has over forty parks. The oldest (1828) and one of the most popular parks Botanic Gardens in the Queen's Quarter. Built in the 1830s and designed by Sir Charles Lanyon, its Palm House is one of the earliest examples of a curvilinear and cast iron glasshouse. Other attractions in the park include the recently restored Tropical Ravine, a humid jungle glen built in 1889, rose gardens and public events ranging from live opera broadcasts to pop concerts.
The largest municipal park in the city, and closest to the city centre, lies on the right bank of Lagan. The 100-acres of Ormeau Park were opened to the public in 1871 on what was the last demesne of the town's former proprietors, the Chichesters, Marquesses of Donegall.
In north Belfast, the Waterworks, two reservoirs to which the public have had access since 1897, are features of a park supporting angling and waterfowl. In 1906, a further water park, Victoria, opened behind industrial dockland on what had been the eastern shore of the Lough. It is now connected through east Belfast by the Connswater Community Greenway which offers 16 km of continuous cycle and walkway through east Belfast.
The largest green conservation area within the city's boundaries is a 2,116 hectares patchwork of "parks, demesnes, woodland and meadows" stretching upriver along the banks of the Lagan river and canal; Established in 1967, the Lagan Valley Regional Park envelopes in its course, Belvoir Park Forest, which contains ancient oaks and a 12th-century Norman Motte, and Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park, whose International Rose Garden attracts thousands of visitors each July.
Colin Glenn Forest Park, the National Trust Divis and the Black Mountain Ridge Trail, and Cave Hill Country Park. offer panoramic views over Belfast and beyond from the west. Climbing the Castlereagh Hills, the National Trust Lisnabreeny Cregagh Glen does the same from the east.
Below Cave Hill, the council maintains one of the few local government-funded zoos in the British Isles. The Belfast Zoo houses more than 1,200 animals of 140 species including Asian elephants, Barbary lions, Malayan sun bears (one of the few in the United Kingdom), two species of penguin, a family of western lowland gorillas, a troop of common chimpanzees, a pair of red pandas, a pair of Goodfellow's tree-kangaroos and Francois' langurs. It carries out important conservation work and takes part in European and international breeding programmes which help to ensure the survival of many species under threat.
=== Sports ===
Belfast has several notable sports teams playing a diverse variety of sports such as football, Gaelic games, rugby, cricket, and ice hockey. The Belfast Marathon is run annually on May Day, The 41st Marathon in 2023, with related events (Wheelchair Race, Team Relay and 8 Mile Walk) attracted 15,000 participants.
The Northern Ireland national football team plays its home matches at Windsor Park. Football clubs with stadia and training grounds in the city include: Linfield, Glentoran, Crusaders, Cliftonville, Donegal Celtic, Harland & Wolff Welders, Dundela, Knockbreda, PSNI, Newington, Sport & Leisure and Brantwood.
Belfast is home to over twenty Gaelic football and hurling clubs. Casement Park in west Belfast, home to the Antrim county teams, had a capacity of 31,500 making it the second largest Gaelic Athletic Association ground in Ulster. Listed as one of the venues for the UK and Ireland's successful UEFA Euro 2028 bid, with co-funding from the Irish government there are plans for a complete rebuild. In May 2020, the foundation of East Belfast GAA returned Gaelic Games to East Belfast after decades of its absence in the area. The current club president is Irish-language enthusiast Linda Ervine who comes from a unionist background in the area. The team currently plays in the Down Senior County League.
The 1999 Heineken Cup champions Ulster Rugby play at Ravenhill Stadium in the south of the city. Belfast has four teams in rugby's All-Ireland League: Belfast Harlequins in Division 1B; and Instonians, Queen's University and Malone in Division 2A.
Belfast is home to the Stormont cricket ground since 1949 and was the venue for the Irish cricket team's first ever One Day International against England in 2006.
The 9,500 capacity SSE Arena accommodates the Belfast Giants, one of the biggest ice hockey clubs in the UK. Featuring Canadian, ex-NHL players, the club competes the British Elite Ice Hockey League.
Belfast was the home town of former Manchester United player George Best, the 1968 European Footballer of the Year, who died in November 2005. On the day he was buried in the city, 100,000 people lined the route from his home on the Cregagh Road to Roselawn cemetery. Since his death the City Airport was named after him and a trust has been set up to fund a memorial to him in the city centre. Other sportspeople celebrated in the city include double world snooker champion Alex "Hurricane" Higgins and world champion boxers Wayne McCullough, Rinty Monaghan and Carl Frampton.
== Climate ==
At 54°35′49″N 05°55′45″W, its northern latitude is characterised by short winter days and long summer evenings. During the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, local sunset is before 16:00 while sunrise is around 08:45. At the summer solstice in June, the sun sets after 22:00 and rises before 05:00.
For this northern latitude, thanks to the influence of the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift, Belfast has a comparatively mild climate. In summer the temperatures rarely range above 25 °C (77 °F) or dip in winter below −5 °C (23 °F). The maritime influence, also ensures that the city gets significant precipitation. On 157 days in an average year, rainfall is greater than 1 mm. Average annual rainfall is 846 mm (33.3 in), less than areas of northern England or most of Scotland, but higher than Dublin or the south-east coast of Ireland.
With its moderate temperatures and abundant rainfall, Belfast's climate is defined as a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb in the Köppen climate classification system), a classification it shares with most of northwest Europe.
== In fiction ==
Colin Bateman, Nine Inches (2011)
Anna Burns, Milkman (2018)
Lucy Caldwell, Where They Were Missed (2005)
Jan Carson, The Fire Starters (2019)
John Greer Ervine, The Wayward Man (1927)
F. L. Green, Odd Man Out (1945), basis of Odd Man Out, a 1947 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, and starring James Mason, Robert Newton.
Louise Kennedy, Trespasses (2022)
Maurice Leitch, Silver's City (1981)
Tony MaCaulay, Belfast Gate (2019)
Bernard MacLaverty, Cal (1983)
Michael Magee, Close to Home (2023)
Brian Moore, The Emperor of Ice Cream (1965).
Robert McLiam Wilson, Eureka Street (1996)
'71, a British thriller film directed by Yann Demange, starring Jack O'Connell (2014)
== Notable people ==
== Twin towns – sister cities ==
Belfast City Council takes part in the twinning scheme, and is twinned with the following sister cities:
Nashville, Tennessee, United States (since 1994)
Hefei, Anhui, China (since 2005)
Boston, Massachusetts, United States (since 2014)
Shenyang, Liaoning, China (since 2016)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
== Freedom of the City ==
Those who have received the Freedom of the City:
Sir Kenneth Branagh: 30 January 2018.
Andrew Carnegie: 28 September 1910.
Sir Winston Churchill: 16 December 1955.
Bill Clinton, 9 April 2018
Sir Robert Hart, 1 July 1908
John Hewitt: 26 May 1983
Sir John Jordan: 28 September 1910.
Michael Longley: 23 March 2015
George J. Mitchell, 9 April 2018
Nurses of Belfast, 1 December 2015
Royal Ulster Constabulary and Reserve: 30 May 1980
William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie: 1898, the first person to be awarded Freedom Of The City of Belfast. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starman_(film) | Starman (film) | Starman is a 1984 American science fiction romance drama film directed by John Carpenter and written by Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon, with Dean Riesner making uncredited rewrites. It tells the story of a relationship between recently widowed Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen) and Starman, a non-corporeal alien who has come to Earth and cloned the human body of her deceased husband Scott (portrayed by Jeff Bridges), in response to the invitation found on the gold phonograph record installed on the Voyager 2 space probe.
The film received positive reviews but faltered in its initial box office debut. Bridges was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role. It inspired the short-lived Starman television series in 1986.
== Plot ==
Starman is a love story. It's It Happened One Night
The Voyager 2 space probe, launched in 1977, carries a phonographic disc with a message of peace, inviting alien civilizations to visit Earth. The probe is intercepted by an alien ship traveling through space which then sends a scout vessel to establish first contact with Earth. Instead of greeting the vessel, the U.S. government shoots it down. Crashing in Chequamegon Bay, Wisconsin, the lone alien occupant, looking like a floating ball of energy, finds the home of recently widowed Jenny Hayden. The alien uses a lock of hair from her deceased husband, Scott, to clone a body for himself. The alien "Starman" has seven spheres with him which provide energy to perform miraculous feats. He uses the first to send a message to his people stating that Earth is hostile and his spacecraft was destroyed. He arranges to rendezvous with them in three days' time. He then uses the second sphere in self-defense and the third to create a holographic map of the United States, coercing Jenny into taking him to the rendezvous in Arizona.
Jenny, however, attempts to escape. Having a very basic understanding of the English language from the phonographic disk, the Starman learns to communicate with Jenny and assures her that he means no harm. He explains that if he does not reach the rendezvous point, Arizona's Barringer Crater, in three days, he will die. Jenny teaches him how to drive a car and use credit cards, so he can continue the journey alone. When he resurrects a dead deer, she is moved and decides to stay with him. The authorities pursue the pair across the country. A police officer shoots and critically wounds Jenny. To escape, the Starman crashes their car into a gas tanker and uses another sphere to protect them from the explosion. They take refuge in a mobile home that is being towed. He uses another sphere to heal Jenny. After being assured that Jenny will recover, he proceeds to hitchhike toward Arizona without her, but Jenny reaches him while he and his driver are stopped at a roadblock. Reunited, they hitchhike together, resuming their journey towards the crater.
Later, while stowing away on a railroad boxcar, the two have sex. The Starman tells Jenny, "I gave you a baby tonight." Jenny reveals that she is infertile, but he assures her that she is pregnant. He explains that Scott is the posthumous father, as Starman used Scott's DNA to clone himself. As a child also of Starman, their son will possess all the Starman's knowledge and will grow up to be a teacher. Starman offers to stop the pregnancy if she wishes, but Jenny embraces him, accepting the gift. They accidentally travel too far on the train and arrive in Las Vegas. Jenny loses her wallet. The Starman uses one of their last quarters in a slot machine, which he manipulates to win the $500,000 jackpot. They buy a Cadillac to complete their journey to Arizona.
National Security Agency director George Fox learns that the Starman's flight trajectory, prior to being shot down, was to the Barringer Crater and arranges to have the Army capture the Starman, dead or alive. SETI scientist Mark Shermin, another government official involved in the case, criticizes Fox's heavy-handed approach and reminds him that the Starman was invited to Earth. Appalled to learn that Fox is planning to vivisect the alien, Shermin then resolves to help the Starman escape rather than let Fox capture him.
Jenny and the dying Starman reach the crater as Army helicopters pursue them. Just as they are surrounded, a large spaceship appears and descends into the crater. Light surrounds the couple and the Starman is fully healed. While preparing to leave, he tells Jenny he will never see her again. Jenny asks him to take her with him, but he says she would die on his world. He then gives her his last sphere, saying that their son will know what to do with it. Jenny watches as the ship departs.
== Cast ==
== Production ==
Starman spent five years in development at Columbia. The original script by Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon was purchased by the studio at the urging of executive producer Michael Douglas, shortly before it optioned Steven Spielberg's Night Skies. Evans and Gideon's first, and only, rewrite was rejected by both the studio and Douglas. Screenwriter Dean Riesner came onto the project in late 1981 after director Mark Rydell left the project due to artistic differences with Douglas. Riesner had no idea that he would spend over two years struggling with the incessant demand for rewrites—he eventually authored five rewrites of Starman with six different directors, but did not receive screen credit because, according to him, "the Writers Guild, in their infinite wisdom, decided I didn't contribute 50 percent of the screenplay." Carpenter personally campaigned for Riesner's credit; advocating Evans and Gideon's initial draft was an entirely different movie (than the shooting script Riesner later authored)—Carpenter said that the alien actually flew around like Superman in the initial script. Carpenter was reportedly outraged when the WGA arbitration ruled in favor of original writers, Gideon and Evans. The director resolved to thank his screenwriter by including an on-screen dedication to Riesner in the film's end credits sequence. The Writers' Guild deemed Carpenter's on-screen accolade as a deliberately provocative violation of their ruling. For a short time, the Guild were threatening to force Columbia to destroy all prints of the film (in exhibition) containing Carpenter's offending dedication to Riesner. Other uncredited writers who worked on the script were Edward Zwick and Diane Thomas.
According to Riesner, producers at Columbia were concerned at the initial box office returns for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, because Starman (while Riesner was working its second rewrite) was too similar. Adrian Lyne worked with Douglas on the project, for about a year, before departing to direct Flashdance for Paramount. He was replaced by John Badham, who worked with Douglas for "some months" developing the project; Columbia actually gave them an October 1982 start-date to begin principal photography. In 1985, Badham acknowledged his initial enthusiasm for the script, "I wanted Tom Conti for the lead role [Badham had seen him in London doing Whose Life Is It Anyway?] and he was anxious to do it." But in the summer of 1982, Variety published the first review of E.T., as soon as he read it he realized the two projects were too similar. Douglas immediately ordered script revisions, but Badham eventually moved on to take over directing duties on WarGames. Riesner was charged with keeping Starman essentially the same while making it distinct from E.T., and would work with three subsequent directors: Tony Scott, Peter Hyams, and John Carpenter. Whereas Scott was more interested in style than narrative drive and wanted to cast Philip Anglim, and Hyams pushed for a more conventional science fiction approach, Carpenter, who was eager to shed his image as a maker of exploitative thrillers, wished to emphasize the cross-country rapport that develops between the two leads, Starman and Jenny Hayden, as in The Defiant Ones, The 39 Steps, and It Happened One Night over special effects. Riesner dropped the "heavy political implications" from the script to comply with this.
Parts of the film were shot in Tennessee, Iowa, Arizona, Nevada, and Monument Valley, Utah.
=== Soundtrack ===
The soundtrack to Starman was released on December 14, 1984. The album also contains a rendition of "All I Have to Do Is Dream" performed by stars Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen.
== Release ==
=== Theatrical ===
Starman was released first in the United States in 1,261 cinemas on 14 December 1984.
=== Home media ===
The film was released on Blu-ray on August 11, 2009. A collector's edition reissue would later be released on December 18, 2018, by Shout Factory.
== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
Starman grossed nearly $2.9 million in its opening weekend, debuting at number 6. It was released the same week as David Lynch's film Dune and one week after the release of Peter Hyams' film 2010: The Year We Make Contact. The film grossed a total of $28.7 million from its domestic run.
=== Critical response ===
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 83% based on 112 reviews. The site's critics consensus reads: "Starman initially begins as an offbeat sci-fi adventure, but transforms into a surprisingly sweet drama, courtesy of Jeff Bridges' disarming performance and John Carpenter's careful direction." The aggregator Metacritic gives the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on seven critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Contemporary opinion was generally positive, and tended to focus on the visual effects and Jeff Bridges' acting. Conversations around the film often questioned whether Starman would launch Bridges into an acting superstar. Retrospective reviews have generally remained positive.
==== Contemporary opinion ====
Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four and wrote "Starman contains the potential to be a very silly movie, but the two actors have so much sympathy for their characters that the movie, advertised as space fiction, turns into one of 1984's more touching love stories." In a highly positive review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin praised the film along with its actors and director, stating: "If Starman doesn't make a major difference in Jeff Bridges's career, Mr. Bridges is operating in the wrong galaxy." She referred to it as "a science fiction film with sex appeal" and commended the film's romance and humour.
John Nubbin reviewed Starman for Different Worlds magazine and stated that "Filled with routine special effects, Starman is nothing special. It is a filler movie, just taking space on the screen until something else comes along. It is nice to hope that when aliens do land they will be smart and wise and able to heal and distill all the knowledge we need, etc. As a film plot, though, it is already getting a bit tired. It was nice that Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen got some work, but one can only hope the next time we see them that it is in something worthwhile."
==== Retrospective opinion ====
Duane Byrge wrote for The Hollywood Reporter that Starman had "an amusing and appealing storyline" and a "winning performance" by Jeff Bridges, describing it as "an often on-target look at current American culture". However, he found the script lacking in its plot development and characterization of military officials, but praised its "humane message" and Carpenter for "fluid storytelling", commending the score and visual effects. Mark Harrison wrote for Den of Geek that it was "a classic sci-fi date movie" and "not only an outlier in [Carpenter's] body of work but also an inarguable product of his direction". He praised it for a "canny reversal of gender roles" where Bridges' Star Man is shown the world by a cynical Karen Allen. He praised the film's lead performances, believing that Karen Allen's portrayal "might be her best ever performance".
Alan Jones awarded it four stars out of five for Radio Times, referring to the film as a "religious sci-fi parable", praising Bridges' acting and the special effects. He described it as "funny, suspenseful and moving" and concluded that it was one of Carpenter's greatest films. Halliwell's Film Guide was less positive, describing it as a "derivative but eccentric science-fiction fantasy with lapses of narrative and a general attempt to make the love story predominant over the hardware". The review by Time Out called it "a rather lame sci-fi love story", lacking the energy of many of Carpenter's films. The review criticized the film's predictability and Bridges' acting, believing the humor to "wear thin pretty quick". Colin Greenland reviewed Starman for Imagine magazine, and stated that it, "starts well, with engaging performances from Karen Allen [...] and Jeff Bridges", but complains that the second half devolves into an "irritatingly soft-headed love story".
=== Awards and accolades ===
Jeff Bridges was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 57th Academy Awards, making Starman the only film by John Carpenter to receive an Academy Award nomination. Bridges was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Drama at the 42nd Golden Globe Awards and was awarded the Saturn Award for Best Actor at the 12th Saturn Awards. Karen Allen also received a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Actress from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. The film itself was nominated Best Science Fiction Film. Jack Nitzsche received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
The film was nominated for, but does not appear on the following lists:
2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – Nominated
2008: AFI's 10 Top 10: Nominated Science Fiction Film
== Legacy ==
=== Remake ===
In April 2016, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Shawn Levy would direct and produce a remake written by Arash Amel. Michael Douglas, who was a producer of the original, was also on board to produce, while Dan Cohen and Robert Mitas were executive producing, and Matt Milam and Adam North were overseeing the project for Columbia. In 2021, Levy declared the remake to be improbable, as he could not find a good draft that was worthy of adaptation.
=== In popular culture ===
The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra covered "Starman Leaves (End Title)" for their 2005 cover compilation album, The Science Fiction Album. The 2010 single "Symphonies" by Dan Black from his album UN, and its remix featuring Kid Cudi, sampled CoPPO's cover of the song. At the end of the music video, the lead character is beamed away by a bright circular spaceship, similar to the manner in which the Starman from the film departs Earth. The music video itself contains scenes which pay homage to several Jeff Bridges films, including Tron and King Kong.
In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, flashbacks revealing the courtship of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt)'s parents Meredith (Laura Haddock) and Ego (Kurt Russell) feature a 1978 Ford Mustang King Cobra. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Peace_Corps_Association | National Peace Corps Association | National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) is a North American nonprofit organization supporting the Peace Corps Agency community. Founded in 1979, the NPCA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States
The NPCA maintains a database comprising around 150,000 records of volunteers, including figures such as the Peace Corps' founder, John F. Kennedy, and individuals from host countries. The NPCA has historically provided advisory support to Peace Corps volunteers. Its stated objectives include fostering a commitment to the global ideals of the Peace Corps community and advocating for the enhancement and expansion of the U.S. Peace Corps initiative.
According to the Peace Corps mission statement, those ideals entail promoting "world peace and friendship" by fulfilling three goals:
To help the countries interested in meeting their need for trained people.
To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans."
== History ==
In the mid-1970s, at conferences of global educators in the Midwest, a group of returned Peace Corps volunteers began meeting to discuss their service experiences. They adopted a Peace Corps objective that President John F. Kennedy stated in 1961: "Come home and teach your neighbors about the communities where you served." Their aim was to offer returning Peace Corps volunteers in America a continuing mission and communal identity as Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs).
In 1979, this group joined with RPCV community leaders in New York and Washington, D.C., to form the National Council of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, which was incorporated in 1981. In 1993, the organization’s name was later changed to the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA).
In response to the Rwandan genocide in 1994, NPCA created the Emergency Response Network (ERN) of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers willing to respond to a crisis. Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan modeled the Crisis Corps (later renamed Peace Corps Response) after this program.
In coordination with the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, D.C., the NPCA organized 200 RPCVs to march in President Barack Obama's inaugural parade on January 20, 2009. That same year, the NPCA launched Peace Corps Connect, an online social networking platform to help current and returning Peace Corps volunteers interact and share ideas about projects, events, careers, and advocacy issues.
In 2002, the NPCA was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, along with the Peace Corps.
=== Advocacy ===
Members of the NPCA continue to testify on U.S. Peace Corps legislation and key issues like safety and security.
In 2005, NPCA successfully coordinated the removal of Peace Corps references from military recruitment legislation.
=== Awards and recognition ===
NPCA has encouraged and recognized the service of members of the Peace Corps community by awarding over 20 Sargent Shriver Awards for Distinguished Humanitarian Service.
== Programs ==
Peace Corps Connect is the annual conference of the Peace Corps community.[1]
Africa Rural Connect (ARC) is an online collaboration tool aiming to address some of the challenges in rural African communities. This project introduces and encourages collaboration to identify creative, new plans to deal with the fundamental problems of agricultural development and rural poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a grant to the ARC project as part of its Agricultural Development initiative to give millions of smallholder farmers in developing countries the tools and opportunities they need to improve their yields, raise their incomes, and improve the quality of life for themselves and their families.
The RPCV Mentoring Program assists returning Peace Corps Volunteers with their transition from service. The program connects recently returned Peace Corps Volunteers with RPCV mentors one year after their service ends. Mentors provide advice, key networking contacts, share experiences and adjustment issues, offer guidance on further education, review resumes, assist with career planning, and promote resources available to RPCVs to help them transition from serving abroad to serving at home.
== Publications ==
NPCA publishes Worldview magazine four times a year. The magazine shares the Peace Corps' perspective on global issues through articles authored by and about Peace Corps Volunteers, Returned Peace Corps volunteers, and people who "share the global values of the Peace Corps experience".
NPCA also produces email newsletters, including the monthly NPCA News, GlobalEdNews on global issues, and NPCA Advocacy on action alerts and news on legislation impacting the Peace Corps community.
== History of conferences and events ==
Since the year before its founding, the NPCA has planned annual events. These events include large conferences, celebrations for major Peace Corps anniversaries, and general meetings to satisfy bylaws requirements.
Oct. 1978: Omaha, Nebraska (Red Lion Hotel)
Gathering predates the founding of NPCA.
Oct. 1979: Omaha, Nebraska (Red Lion Hotel)
Marked as the founding of NPCA. At this gathering, charter members formalized and signed the bylaws.
Oct. 1980: Omaha, Nebraska (Red Lion Hotel)
1981: Washington, DC (Red Lion Hotel)
The 20th Anniversary of the Peace Corps and the first of the major anniversary conferences (always held in Washington, DC.)
June 1982: Los Angeles, CA (University of California-Los Angeles)
1983: Denver, CO (University of Denver)
1984: Boston, MA (Emmanuel College)
1985: Atlanta, GA (Georgia Tech)
July 1986: San Antonio, TX (Trinity University)
Sept. 1986: Washington, DC (National Mall)
25th Anniversary of Peace Corps
1987: Madison, WI (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
1988: Boulder, CO (University of Colorado)
1989: Kent, OH (Kent State University)
1990: Eugene, OR (University of Oregon and Hilton Hotel)
Aug. 1991: Washington, DC (National Mall)
30th Anniversary of Peace Corps
1992: Fayetteville, AR (University of Arkansas-Fayetteville)
1993: Berkeley, CA (University of California-Berkeley)
1994: Atlanta, GA (CNN Center and Omni Atlanta Hotel)
1995: Austin, TX (University of Texas-Austin)
Mar. 1–3, 1996: Washington, DC (Mayflower Hotel)
35th Anniversary of Peace Corps
1996: Shawnee-on-Delaware, PA (Resort Hotel)
July 10–13, 1997: San Diego, CA (Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center)
1998: Columbus, OH (The Ohio State University)
1999: Saint Paul, MN (University of St. Thomas )
Aug. 11–13, 2000: Shawnee-on-Delaware (Resort Hotel)
Sept. 21, 2001: Planned for Washington, DC
Canceled due to attacks on World Trade Center and Pentagon
June 20–23, 2002: Washington, DC (Omni Shoreham Hotel)
Postponed celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Peace Corps
Aug. 1–3, 2003: Portland, OR (University Place Hotel and Conference Center)
Aug. 5–8, 2004: Chicago, IL (Palmer House Hilton)
2005: Annual General Meeting in Washington, DC
Sept. 14–16, 2006: Washington, DC
45th Anniversary of Peace Corps
June 30, 2007: Annual General Meeting in Washington, DC
Oct. 3–4, 2008: San Francisco, CA (Jewish Community Center)
June 30, 2009: Annual General Meeting in Washington, DC
June 26, 2010: Annual General Meeting in Washington, DC
Sept. 21–25, 2011: Washington, DC (Georgetown University)
50th Anniversary of Peace Corps
June 27 – July 1, 2012: Minneapolis, MN (Minneapolis Convention Center)
June 26–29, 2013: Boston, MA (Harvard University Medical School)
June 20–21, 2014: Nashville, TN (Vanderbilt University and Country Music Hall of Fame)
June 4–6, 2015: Berkeley, CA (University of California-Berkeley)
Sept. 21–25, 2016: Washington, DC (George Washington University) 55th Anniversary of Peace Corps
August 4–6, 2017: Denver, CO (University of Denver)
August 23–25, 2018: Shawnee on Delaware, PA (Resort)
June 20–22, 2019: Austin, TX (University of Texas-Austin)
Sept. 26, 2020: "Peace Corps Connect to the Future" (Virtual Conference)
Sept. 23–25, 2021: Washington, DC (Virtual Conference)
60th Anniversary of Peace Corps
Sept. 24, 2022: Washington, DC (Virtual Conference)
Sept. 8–9, 2023: Washington, DC (Virtual Conference)
Sept. 13-14, 2024: Washington, DC (Virtual Conference)
July 18-21, 2025: Washington, DC (American University)
Starting in 1990, affiliated group leaders held the NPCA Presidents' Forum in conjunction with each annual meeting at Kent State University. In 2005, these meetings were renamed the "Group Leaders' Forum."
== Affiliate Groups ==
The network includes over 180 affiliate groups. Affiliate groups may be geographic (e.g., Chicago Area Peace Corps Association); based on the country of Peace Corps service (e.g., Friends of Guatemala); associated with workplaces (e.g., RPCVs at USAID); driven by social action (e.g., Peace Corps Community for Refugees); or defined by affinity (e.g., the Peace Corps Oral History Project). Groups advocate in line with the stated goals of the organization. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Steelworkers | United Steelworkers | The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, the United Steelworkers represents workers in Canada, the Caribbean, and the United States. The United Steelworkers represent workers in a diverse range of industries, including primary and fabricated metals, paper, chemicals, glass, rubber, heavy-duty conveyor belting, tires, transportation, utilities, container industries, pharmaceuticals, call centers, museums, and health care.
The United Steelworkers is currently affiliated with the AFL–CIO in the United States and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) in Canada as well as several international union federations. On July 2, 2008, the United Steelworkers signed an agreement to merge with the United Kingdom and Ireland–based union Unite to form a new global union entity called Workers Uniting.
As of 2023, the International President of the United Steelworkers is David McCall, who was installed as president after the death of Tom Conway.
Rank-and-file members, as well as representatives, of the United Steelworkers refer to themselves, and are most often referred to, as Steelworkers. The use of the capitalized single word Steelworker or Steelworkers, as opposed to the lowercase two-worded steel worker or steel workers, is also an identifier of those who are part of, or affiliated with, the United Steelworkers International Union rather than being general non-union workers within the steel industry. This distinction is important in North America wherein a vast majority of the steel industry is unionized. For example, some of the most recognizable and largest companies in the business such as United States Steel (USS) and Cleveland-Cliffs, with their combined hourly workforces at facilities in North America being Steelworkers and represented by the USW, including the largest facilities on the continent, like US Steel's Gary Works in Gary, Indiana, Cleveland-Cliffs's Burns Harbor in Burns Harbor, Indiana, Indiana Harbor East and West in Northwest Indiana, and Cleveland Plant in Cleveland, Ohio, all of which are situated on the Great Lakes freshwater system. On the other hand, some steel companies, usually at facilities known as "mini-mills", like Nucor Steel and its facility in Crawfordsville, Indiana, are non-union shops not represented by the United Steelworkers.
== Origins and history ==
The USW was established May 22, 1942, in Cleveland, Ohio, through the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) by a convention of representatives from the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers and the Steel Workers Organizing Committee, after almost six years of divisive struggles to create a new union of steelworkers. The drive to create this union included such violent incidents as the infamous Memorial Day, 1937, when Chicago policemen supporting the rival American Federation of Labor (AFL) fired on workers outside a Republic Steel mill and killed 10 men.
The founder and first president of the USW, Philip Murray, led the union through its first organizing drives and its first decade, when the workers of USW went on strike several times to win the right to bargain collectively with steel companies.
Significant job actions of the USW include:
1946 US Steel Strike
1952 steel strike
Steel strike of 1959
1974 Elliot Lake miners strike
Steel strike of 1986
== Growth of the union ==
The 46,000 members of the Aluminum Workers of America voted to merge with the budding steelworker union that was the USW in June 1944. Eventually, eight more unions joined the USW as well: the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers (1967); the United Stone and Allied Product Workers of America (1971); International Union of District 50, Allied and Technical Workers of the United States and Canada (1972); the Upholsterers International Union of North America (1985); the United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America (URW) (1995); the Aluminum, Brick and Glass Workers Union (ABG) (1996); the Canadian Division of the Transportation Communications International Union (1999); and the American Flint Glass Workers' Union (AFGWU) (2003).
In June 2004, the USW announced a merger with the 57,000 member Industrial, Wood and Allied Workers of Canada (IWA Canada), a major Canadian forestry workers union. In 2005 it then announced an even larger merger with the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE). The resulting new union adopted its current name after the PACE merger.
In September 2006, the Independent Oil Workers Union of Aruba, which represents refinery workers on the Caribbean island of Aruba, affiliated with the United Steelworkers, becoming the first USW union local outside of the US (including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) and Canada.
In April 2007, the USW also merged with the Independent Steelworkers Union, adding 1,150 members at ArcelorMittal's Weirton, West Virginia steel mill.
== Strategic alliances ==
In addition to mergers, the USW has also formed strategic alliances with several other unions as well as other groups. In April 2005, the USW and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) announced that they had formed a strategic alliance to take on the globalization of the culture industry and to address a range of common issues. In July 2006, the USW announced a similar arrangement with the United Transportation Union (UTU), to address common issues in the transportation industry, including the globalization of the industry. In July 2007, the USW inked yet another strategic alliance with the Canadian Region of the Communications Workers of America.
Beyond its affiliations with other unions, in June 2006, the USW announced the formation of a 'Blue-Green Alliance' with the Sierra Club, with the goal of pursuing a joint public policy agenda.
In October 2009, the USW announced a framework for collaboration between US and Canadian Steelworkers with Mondragon Internacional, S.A., the world's largest federation of worker cooperatives.
== 2008 transoceanic merger ==
In April 2007, Amicus, then the United Kingdom's second-largest trade union, began discussions with the USW about a possible merger. Amicus subsequently merged with the British Transport and General Workers Union to form the new union Unite. Unite and the USW continued the merger talks initiated by Amicus.
In May 2008, the unions announced that they were putting the "finishing touches" on the merger, that the merger had been endorsed by Unite officials, and that the USW would discuss the plan at its forthcoming convention in July. Once completed, the new merged entity would represent more than 3 million workers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and the Caribbean. The unions have further announced that the new entity would target further mergers with labor groups in Australia and in the emerging economies of Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. On July 2, 2008, USW and Unite leadership formally signed the merger agreement to create the new entity, to be called Workers Uniting.
== American politics ==
In the 2006 election, the USW led a political mobilization program that eventually grew to include 350 full-time political organizers in 26 states, a majority of whom were rank and file USW members who took time from work to organize their communities and educate fellow union members. The USW turned out some 5,000 USW volunteers on Election Day, including over 1,000 each in the key states of Pennsylvania and Ohio. Exit polls suggested union families made up 23 percent of the total vote and supported Democratic candidates by a substantial 32 percent margin, 65 percent to 33 percent. Based on these numbers, the United Steelworkers, in conjunction with the rest of the labor movement, took substantial credit for the eventual Democratic victory.
The USW endorsed Barack Obama's presidential campaign and re-election, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, and Joe Biden's presidential campaign.
In 2023 and 2024, USW expressed opposition to the proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japanese steel company Nippon Steel. USW International President David McCall stated in March 2024 that “Allowing one of our nation’s largest steel manufacturers to be purchased by a foreign-owned corporation leaves us vulnerable when it comes to meeting both our defense and critical infrastructure needs.”
== Canadian politics ==
The United Steelworkers was a founding partner of the New Democratic Party and continues to be an affiliated union.
== Philanthropy ==
The USW has contributed to various charitable and philanthropic causes since its creation. The USW has enthusiastically supported The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential (IAHP), a nonprofit organization that works with brain-injured children. The USW has hosted the IAHP's founder, Glenn Doman, at their annual convention. The USW has also held fundraising events for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. The USW has consistently stated that such charitable causes are important to its mission.
== Presidents ==
The presidents of the United Steelworkers are:
Philip Murray, 1942–1952
David J. McDonald, 1952–1965
I. W. Abel, 1965–1977
Lloyd McBride, 1977–1983
Lynn R. Williams, 1983–1994
George Becker, 1994–2001
Leo Gerard, 2001–2019
Tom Conway, 2019–2023
David McCall, 2023–present |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mountain_peaks_by_prominence | List of mountain peaks by prominence | This is a list of mountain peaks ordered by their topographic prominence.
== Terminology ==
The prominence of a peak is the minimum height of climb to the summit on any route from a higher peak, or from sea level if there is no higher peak. The lowest point on that route is the col.
For full definitions and explanations of topographic prominence, key col, and parent, see topographic prominence. In particular, the different definitions of the parent of a peak are addressed at length in that article. Height on the other hand simply means elevation of the summit above sea level.
Regarding parents, the prominence parent of peak A can be found by dividing the island or region in question into territories, by tracing the runoff from the key col (mountain pass) of every peak that is more prominent than peak A. The parent is the peak whose territory peak A resides in.
The encirclement parent is found by tracing the contour below peak A's key col and picking the highest mountain in that region. This is easier to determine than the prominence parent; however, it tends to give non-intuitive results for peaks with very low cols such as Jabal Shams which is #110 in the list.
Either sort of parent of a typical very high-prominence peak such as Denali will lie far away from the peak itself, reflecting the independence of the peak.
Most sources (and the table below) define no parent for island and landmass highpoints; others treat Mount Everest as the parent of every such peak with the world ocean as the "key col".
== Prominence table ==
The following table lists the Earth's 125 most topographically prominent summits. Of these, Indonesia has the most, with 13. Close behind it are China and the United States with 12 each.
== Additional peaks ==
The list of peaks that follows is not complete, but the peaks are all notable. Island high points (whose prominence is equal to their elevation) can be found at the List of islands by highest point; hence most are not included below. Some well-known peaks listed here do not score highly by prominence.
All peaks with a prominence of more than 1,500 metres rank as an Ultra. For a complete listing of all 1,524 peaks with prominence greater than this level, see the lists of Ultras.
In the table, the prominence parent is marked "1", and the encirclement parent "2". Where a single parent is listed, the different definitions agree. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1869_Newfoundland_general_election | 1869 Newfoundland general election | The 1869 Newfoundland general election was held on November 13, 1869 to elect members of the 10th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Newfoundland Colony. The Anti-Confederates led by Charles Fox Bennett formed the government.
The election was dominated by the issue of Newfoundland's potential union with the new Dominion of Canada. The incumbent Conservative coalition administration, led by Frederick Carter, supported Confederation. Terms of union were drafted by local confederates and they were passed after much debate within the Newfoundland House of Assembly. When the terms were ratified by the Canadian Parliament, Carter thought it best to put the decisive issue to a vote through a general election. Those opposed to Newfoundland's union with Canada coalesced under Bennett, a St. John's merchant who argued that Confederation would bring about increased taxation.
The Anti-Confederate campaign was vigorous and hard-fought. Bennett conducted a colony-wide tour across many outport communities, alleging that Newfoundlanders would be drafted into the Canadian Army if they voted for the incumbent government. By contrast, the Conservative opposition was unprepared to deal with the campaign, countering that Bennett was primarily concerned in protecting his personal interests rather than the well-being of the public. With the decisive Anti-Confederate victory, the Conservatives thereafter abandoned the issue of Confederation, and the debate was settled for the moment.
Henry Renouf ran in both St. John's West and Placentia and St. Mary's. After this election, no person ran in more than one seat until the 2025 Newfoundland and Labrador general election.
== Results ==
== Results by district ==
Names in boldface type represent party leaders.
† indicates that the incumbent did not run again.
‡ indicates that the incumbent ran in a different district.
=== St. John's ===
=== Conception Bay ===
=== Avalon Peninsula ===
=== Eastern and Central Newfoundland ===
=== Southern Newfoundland === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States_by_date_of_death | List of presidents of the United States by date of death | The following is a list of presidents of the United States by date of death, plus additional lists of presidential death related statistics. Of the 45 people who have served as President of the United States since the office came into existence in 1789, 40 have died – eight of them while in office.
The oldest president at the time of death was Jimmy Carter, who died at 100 years, 89 days. John F. Kennedy, assassinated at the age of 46 years, 177 days, was the youngest to have died in office; the youngest to have died by natural causes was James K. Polk, who died of cholera at the age of 53 years, 225 days.
== Presidents in order of death ==
== Died same day, date, year, age ==
=== Same day ===
July 4, 1826: Thomas Jefferson at 12:50 p.m., and John Adams at 6:20 p.m.
=== Same date ===
March 8: Millard Fillmore in 1874 and William Howard Taft in 1930
July 4: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in 1826, and James Monroe in 1831
December 26: Harry S. Truman in 1972 and Gerald Ford in 2006
=== Same calendar year ===
1826: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, both on July 4
1862: John Tyler and Martin Van Buren, on January 18 and July 24, respectively
1901: Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley, on March 13 and September 14, respectively
=== Same age (rounded down to nearest year) ===
93: Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan
90: John Adams and Herbert Hoover
78: Andrew Jackson and Dwight D. Eisenhower
71: John Tyler and Grover Cleveland
67: George Washington, Benjamin Harrison, and Woodrow Wilson
64: Franklin Pierce and Lyndon B. Johnson
63: Ulysses S. Grant and Franklin D. Roosevelt
60: Theodore Roosevelt and Calvin Coolidge
57: Chester A. Arthur and Warren G. Harding
== Died before multiple predecessors ==
9th president William Henry Harrison (died April 4, 1841)
4 years, 65 days before 7th president Andrew Jackson (died June 8, 1845)
6 years, 325 days before 6th president John Quincy Adams (died February 23, 1848)
21 years, 111 days before 8th president Martin Van Buren (died July 24, 1862)
11th president James K. Polk (died June 15, 1849)
12 years, 217 days before 10th president John Tyler (died January 18, 1862)
13 years, 39 days before 8th president Martin Van Buren (died July 24, 1862)
12th president Zachary Taylor (died July 9, 1850)
11 years, 193 days before 10th president John Tyler (died January 18, 1862)
12 years, 15 days before 8th president Martin Van Buren (died July 24, 1862)
15th president James Buchanan (died June 1, 1868)
1 year, 129 days before 14th president Franklin Pierce (died October 8, 1869)
5 years, 280 days before 13th president Millard Fillmore (died March 8, 1874)
16th president Abraham Lincoln (died April 15, 1865)
3 years, 47 days before 15th president James Buchanan (died June 1, 1868)
4 years, 176 days before 14th president Franklin Pierce (died October 8, 1869)
8 years, 327 days before 13th president Millard Fillmore (died March 8, 1874)
20th president James A. Garfield (died September 19, 1881)
3 years, 307 days before 18th president Ulysses S. Grant (died July 23, 1885)
11 years, 120 days before 19th president Rutherford B. Hayes (died January 17, 1893)
29th president Warren Harding (died August 2, 1923)
185 days before 28th president Woodrow Wilson (died February 3, 1924)
6 years, 218 days before 27th president William Howard Taft (died March 8, 1930)
35th president John F. Kennedy (died November 22, 1963)
333 days before 31st president Herbert Hoover (died October 20, 1964)
5 years, 126 days before 34th president Dwight D. Eisenhower (died March 28, 1969)
9 years, 34 days before 33rd president Harry S. Truman (died December 26, 1972)
40th president Ronald Reagan (died June 5, 2004)
2 years, 204 days before 38th president Gerald Ford (died December 26, 2006)
20 years, 207 days before 39th president Jimmy Carter (died December 29, 2024)
== Died after multiple successors ==
6th president John Quincy Adams (died February 23, 1848)
6 years, 325 days after 9th president William Henry Harrison (died April 4, 1841)
2 years, 260 days after 7th president Andrew Jackson (died June 8, 1845)
8th president Martin Van Buren (died July 24, 1862)
21 years, 111 days after 9th president William Henry Harrison (died April 4, 1841)
13 years, 39 days after 11th president James K. Polk (died June 15, 1849)
12 years, 15 days after 12th president Zachary Taylor (died July 9, 1850)
187 days after 10th president John Tyler (died January 18, 1862)
10th president John Tyler (died January 18, 1862)
12 years, 217 days after 11th president James K. Polk (died June 15, 1849)
11 years, 193 days after 12th president Zachary Taylor (died July 9, 1850)
13th president Millard Fillmore (died March 8, 1874)
8 years, 327 days after 16th president Abraham Lincoln (died April 15, 1865)
5 years, 280 days after 15th president James Buchanan (died June 1, 1868)
4 years, 151 days after 14th president Franklin Pierce (died October 8, 1869)
14th president Franklin Pierce (died October 8, 1869)
4 years, 176 days after 16th president Abraham Lincoln (died April 15, 1865)
1 year, 129 days after 15th president James Buchanan (died June 1, 1868)
19th president Rutherford B. Hayes (died January 17, 1893)
11 years, 120 days after 20th president James A. Garfield (died September 19, 1881)
6 years, 60 days after 21st president Chester A. Arthur (died November 18, 1886)
22nd & 24th president Grover Cleveland (died June 24, 1908)
7 years, 103 days after 23rd president Benjamin Harrison (died March 13, 1901)
6 years, 284 days after 25th president William McKinley (died September 14, 1901)
27th president William Howard Taft (died March 8, 1930)
6 years, 218 days after 29th president Warren Harding (died August 2, 1923)
6 years, 33 days after 28th president Woodrow Wilson (died February 3, 1924)
31st president Herbert Hoover (died October 20, 1964)
19 years, 191 days after 32nd president Franklin D. Roosevelt (died April 12, 1945)
333 days after 35th president John F. Kennedy (died November 22, 1963)
33rd president Harry S. Truman (died December 26, 1972)
9 years, 34 days after 35th president John F. Kennedy (died November 22, 1963)
3 years, 273 days after 34th president Dwight D. Eisenhower (died March 28, 1969)
39th president Jimmy Carter (died December 29, 2024)
20 years, 207 days after 40th president Ronald Reagan (died June 5, 2004)
6 years, 29 days after 41st president George H. W. Bush (died November 30, 2018) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counting_Crows | Counting Crows | Counting Crows is an American rock band from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of rhythm guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, multi-instrumentalist David Immerglück, bassist Millard Powers, and lead guitarist Dan Vickrey. Past members include the drummers Steve Bowman (1991–1994) and Ben Mize (1994–2002), and bassist Matt Malley (1991–2005).
Counting Crows gained popularity following the release of their first album, August and Everything After (1993). With the breakthrough hit single "Mr. Jones" (1993), the album sold more than seven million copies in the United States. The band received two Grammy Awards nominations in 1994, one for "Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal" (for "Round Here") and one for "Best New Artist". The follow-up album, Recovering the Satellites, reached number one on the US Billboard 200 album chart and reached number one in several other countries. All but one of their subsequent albums reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200 list.
Their hit singles include the aforementioned "Mr. Jones" as well as "Rain King", "A Long December", "Hanginaround", and a cover version of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi". Counting Crows received a 2004 Academy Award nomination for the single "Accidentally in Love", which was included in the film Shrek 2. The band has sold more than 20 million albums and is known for its dynamic live performances. Billboard has also ranked the band as the 8th greatest Adult Alternative Artist of all time.
The band released the album Somewhere Under Wonderland in 2014. They released a four-song EP in 2021 titled Butter Miracle, Suite One. This was expanded into Butter Miracle, The Complete Sweets!, a full-length album with five additional songs at the start, in May 2025.
== Origin of band name ==
The band name is derived from "One for Sorrow", a British divination nursery rhyme about the superstitious counting of magpies, which are members of the crow family. Singer Adam Duritz heard the rhyme in the film Signs of Life, which starred his close friend, actress Mary-Louise Parker.
Here is one modern version of the rhyme:
The rhyme is featured in the song "A Murder of One" on the band's debut album, August and Everything After.
== History ==
=== 1990s ===
==== 1991–1992: Formation and early years ====
Adam Duritz, former member of the San Francisco Bay Area band the Himalayans, and producer/guitarist David Bryson formed Counting Crows in San Francisco in 1991. They began as an acoustic duo, playing gigs in and around Berkeley and San Francisco. Another friend, guitarist David Immerglück, played with them from time to time, though he was not an official member of the group, and experimented with other musicians in the area. As the emerging band recorded some demos, and as other musicians joined the duo to make a full band, Immerglück recorded with the band on some of the songs for its first album. He declined to join the band at the time, because of his membership in two other locally popular bands, Monks of Doom and Camper Van Beethoven. By 1993, the band had grown to a stable lineup of Duritz as vocalist, occasional pianist, and primary songwriter, Bryson on guitar, Matt Malley playing bass guitar, Charlie Gillingham on keyboards, and Steve Bowman as drummer, and the band was a regular in the Bay Area scene.
When Gary Gersh of Geffen Records heard the band's demo tape, he was "blown away". A bidding war between nine different record labels broke out in February 1992. In April, the band—which, by that time, included other members—"signed a deal with Gersh and Geffen believed to be so lucrative that industry wags dubbed them Accounting Crows". On January 16, 1993, the band, still relatively unknown, filled in for Van Morrison at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, and was introduced by an enthusiastic Robbie Robertson. At the ceremony, they played a cover of Van Morrison's "Caravan".
Before signing to Geffen, the band recorded demo versions of a number of songs, known as the 'Flying Demos'. These later surfaced among the Counting Crows fanbase. Tracks include "Rain King", "Omaha", "Anna Begins", "Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman)", "Shallow Days", "Love and Addiction", "Mr. Jones", "Round Here", "40 Years", "Margery Dreams of Horses", "Bulldog", "Lightning", and "We're Only Love".
==== 1993–1994: August and Everything After and popular success ====
The band's debut album, August and Everything After, was released in September 1993. The album's first single, "Mr. Jones", refers to Marty Jones (Himalayans bassist, and Duritz's childhood friend) and Kenney Dale Johnson (the drummer of Silvertone, Chris Isaak's band). It describes the desire of working musicians to make it big and the fantasies they entertain about what fame might bring. Duritz sang the song in fun, enjoying the fantasy; he did not realize that just months later, in December 1993, MTV would begin playing the video for the song. "Mr. Jones" was a breakthrough hit, drawing massive radio play and launching the band into stardom. In 2018, the Chicago Sun-Times described August and Everything After as follows: "August And Everything After" [launched] the Bay Area septet with its hippie-inspired, roots-rock-infiltrating hits "Mr. Jones", "Round Here", and "Rain King", (ironically, at a time when grunge dominated the charts). Counting Crows eschewed the trend, happily wearing their time-stamped influences like Van Morrison and The Band on their patchwork sleeves, and found an audience who agreed with them. That first album went on to become a seven-times-platinum success in the U.S. alone, at the time the fastest-selling record since Nirvana's Nevermind.
With "Mr. Jones" propelling the band forward, and with positive reviews from Rolling Stone and other publications, it was decided that the band could use a second guitarist, and Dan Vickrey, another Bay Area musician was offered the role as lead guitarist, singing backing vocals. The band toured extensively in 1993 and 1994, both as headliners and in supporting roles with other artists, including the Rolling Stones, Cracker, the Cranberries, Suede, Bob Dylan, Los Lobos, Jellyfish, and Midnight Oil. In 1994, the band appeared on Saturday Night Live and Late Show with David Letterman. The album sold seven million copies in the U.S. The band received two Grammy nominations in 1994; one for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal (for "Round Here") and one for Best New Artist.
Success took a toll on Counting Crows; Duritz suffered a widely reported nervous breakdown, which was not his first. Towards the end of 1994, Bowman was fired from the band. He was replaced on drums by Ben Mize.
==== 1995–1998: Recovering the Satellites and double live album ====
The band played only two gigs in 1995. This allowed Duritz to write a set of songs that became the band's second album, Recovering the Satellites. Released October 15, 1996, it was heavier than August and Everything After. A response to the sudden fame that "Mr. Jones" had brought, it contains lyrics such as "These days I feel like I'm fading away / Like sometimes when I hear myself on the radio" (from "Have You Seen Me Lately?") and "Gonna get back to basics / Guess I'll start it up again" (from "Recovering the Satellites"). Dealing with the theme of Duritz's unease with his newfound fame, the album was described as "a concept album of sorts about trying to pick up the pieces of a family, a social life and a psyche shattered by fame". This album contained the single "A Long December", which was a number one hit in Canada and a Top 10 hit in the United States.
On July 2, 1997, Counting Crows started off a co-headlining tour with the Wallflowers that continued to September. The tour included opening acts by Bettie Serveert, Engine 88, Gigolo Aunts and That Dog, with each opening band touring for three-weeks. After nine months of near-constant touring in support of the album, Duritz developed nodules on his vocal cords in July 1997, leading to the cancellation of a number of gigs. After taking time off to recover, the band toured for the rest of 1997, concluding with a MTV show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. This concert was released as half of a double live album, Across a Wire: Live in New York City. The other disc was a recording of a predominantly acoustic set from the band's appearance on the VH1 Storytellers show.
==== 1999–2001: This Desert Life and extensive touring ====
In 1999, Counting Crows performed at Woodstock 99. Later that same year, the band released This Desert Life, sales of which were propelled by the success of "Hanginaround" and "Colorblind", which was also featured in the movie Cruel Intentions. Supporting the album, the band embarked on a co-headlining tour with alternative rock band Live. Counting Crows closed nearly every show. Before this album and subsequent tour, the band invited session player and long-time friend David Immerglück to join the band as a permanent member. Immerglück had played on every Counting Crows album as a sideman, but early on had declined a permanent position. This time, however, Immerglück agreed. He plays a variety of instruments with the band, including acoustic, electric and pedal steel guitars, slide guitar and mandolin, as well as backing vocals.
=== 2000s ===
==== 2002–2003: Hard Candy and greatest hits album ====
On July 9, 2002, the band released its fourth studio album, Hard Candy. The album included a cover of Joni Mitchell's song "Big Yellow Taxi". Vanessa Carlton contributed backing vocals to the single edit of the track, which appeared on the soundtrack for Two Weeks Notice and was re-released on future Hard Candy albums. The original version, without vocals by Carlton, appeared on the first album release as a hidden track. Hard Candy received better reviews than the previous efforts, with "radio friendly" songs, like "American Girls" (which featured Sheryl Crow on backing vocals), and contains a more upbeat feel and tempo. The band toured with the Dutch band, Bløf. A song, "Holiday in Spain", came together as a result of the camaraderie between the two groups: it is sung partly as a dual language duet, and partly as a musical "round", with both lead singers singing in differing languages at the end of the song.
Midway through the Hard Candy tour, drummer Mize amicably left the band to spend more time with his family and pursue his own musical interests. After Mize completed the American leg of the tour, he was replaced by Jim Bogios, formerly a drummer with Ben Folds and Sheryl Crow. Jim attributes leaving Sheryl Crow for Counting Crows to becoming a band member and having more creative input. Following the Hard Candy tour, longtime bassist Malley left the band after growing weary of touring, and to attend to his duties as a new father. He was replaced by Millard Powers.
Counting Crows released the greatest hits album Films About Ghosts in November 2003.
==== 2004–2006: Oscars and New Amsterdam ====
In 2004, the band's "Accidentally in Love" song appeared on the soundtrack of the animated film Shrek 2. At the 77th Academy Awards, the song was nominated for Best Original Song, but lost to "Al otro lado del río" from The Motorcycle Diaries.
In June 2006, the band released New Amsterdam: Live at Heineken Music Hall album.
==== 2007–2008: Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings ====
Duritz hinted in a 2006 interview that Counting Crows' next studio record would be released in late 2007. He indicated that the band had spent three weeks working in a recording studio with Gil Norton, the producer behind Recovering the Satellites, and revealed the working title of the album to be Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings. Duritz explained that, "Saturday night is when you sin and Sunday is when you regret. Sinning is often done very loudly, angrily, bitterly, violently." Vickrey stated that "the idea at the moment is to have kind of a rocking side and then an acoustic-y, maybe country-ish side. We got the first half done in May in New York, so half of it is pretty strong and done. And now we're going to work on the second half, the country tunes, during the tour."
Amidst touring in the summer of 2007, the band performed live before the Home Run Derby at the 2007 MLB All-Star Game on July 9, 2007. On July 22 they previewed two new songs at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium in Wilmington, Delaware, a new ballad titled "Washington Square" and a hard rocking track called "Cowboys". On August 8, 2007, VH1 filmed a live performance of "Mr. Jones", clips of which were shown on the miniseries 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s. The song ranked No. 27 on the list.
In September 2007, Counting Crows played a unique show at Town Hall in New York City, during which it performed all the tracks from August and Everything After in album order. The show was recorded for a planned DVD release, and also featured several songs from the new album. On September 27, Duritz announced on his blog that the band had asked its record label to postpone the release of Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings until early 2008, citing the time pressures involved in preparing both the new album and an August and Everything After deluxe edition for release.
On January 16, 2008, the band released a digital single on its official website as a free download. It featured "1492" from the "Saturday Nights" half of the new album, and "When I Dream Of Michelangelo" from the "Sunday Mornings" half as its B-side. The album was released on March 25, 2008.
==== Departure from Geffen ====
On March 22, 2009, Duritz announced on the band's website that they would be leaving Geffen Records, with whom they had worked for 18 years. He ended the post with a free download of the band's cover of Madonna's "Borderline", recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall in 2003.
Following the departure from Geffen, the band has continued to tour. During the summer of 2009, they launched the ambitious Saturday Night Rebel Rockers Traveling Circus and Medicine Show tour with longtime Bay Area friend Michael Franti, his band Spearhead, and the band Augustana. Instead of the traditional concert format of a short set by an opening act, followed by a longer set from a main supporting act, and then a long set by the headlining band, the shows featured members of all of the bands joining each other for songs from each bands' catalogs at various points throughout the evening. As Duritz explained in a welcoming message on the official website for the tour, each show "is going to start with EVERYONE onstage together and we're going to all be running on & off stage all night playing one each other's songs all together and basically just playing whenever we feel like playing."
=== 2010s ===
==== 2010–2013: Independent releases and individual projects ====
The album August and Everything After: Live at Town Hall was released on August 29, 2011. The release marked the band's third professionally produced live album, and the first concert video of its career. The album used footage from the Town Hall concert, recorded in September 2007.
The band released a covers album entitled Underwater Sunshine (Or What We Did On Our Summer Vacation) on April 10, 2012, with a cover design by a fan chosen in a promotional contest. After touring extensively in 2012 and 2013 in support of the album (including headlining The Outlaw Roadshow, a traveling festival tour presented in conjunction with Ryan Spaulding of the music blog Ryan's Smashing Life, and touring North America in the summer of 2013 with the Wallflowers), the band began working on material for a new album. Duritz also took time in the summer of 2012 to begin co-writing a play called Black Sun, which will also feature some music written by Duritz, including well-known rarity songs "Good Luck" and "Chelsea".
A live album, Echoes of the Outlaw Roadshow, was released in North America in November 2013.
==== 2014–2019: Somewhere Under Wonderland, podcast and wine ====
The writing of material for a new album, Somewhere Under Wonderland, began early in 2013 and continued during that year's summer tour. The album was released on September 2, 2014.
In 2018, Duritz became an investor in three wineries based in Napa Valley, California—Elyse Winery, Institution Winery, and Addax Winery—managed by winemaker Russell Bevan.
Starting in February 2018, Duritz began recording the Underwater Sunshine Podcast, a weekly music podcast with author and music journalist James Campion. Having parted ways with Spaulding, Duritz and friends began putting on their own twice-annual music festival in New York called the Underwater Sunshine Fest to showcase independent music. The first festival, held at the Bowery Electric in October 2018, featured 17 bands over two nights. A second in April 2019 showcased 18 bands, and a third held at Rockwood Music Hall in November 2019 expanded the lineup to 26. Acts as diverse as Yellow House Orchestra, Seán Barna, Mikaela Davis, Marcy Playground, Matt Sucich, Stephen Kellogg, Stew and the Negro Problem, and Fairhazel have appeared. More bands recorded acoustic sessions at Duritz's loft the weekends of each of the festivals.
In January 2019, Counting Crows released a newly recorded version of "August and Everything After" performed with the London Symphony Orchestra at AIR Studios. The song was cut from the band's first album, which had been named after it. Duritz then revealed in late 2019 that he had begun writing new music that past August.
=== 2020s ===
==== 2020–present: Butter Miracle, cooking and more ====
In early February 2020, Duritz described the band's next project as suites of music that may be released on various EPs. The band began studio sessions in late February and early March on four songs that complete the first suite: "The Tall Grass", "Elevator Boots", "The Angel of 14th Street", and "Bobby and the Rat Kings". Mott the Hoople, Thin Lizzy, and Seán Barna's album CISSY were cited as influences on demos of the songs.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, without touring and being unable to work on music in the studio, as well as taking a hiatus from his podcast, Duritz began hosting cooking videos through his Instagram stories. Speaking with chef Tyler Florence, Duritz said the type of research he would do regarding music for the podcast he turned into exploring more about food and cooking to share with others. Duritz and Campion would return to producing the Underwater Sunshine Podcast in May 2021.
"Elevator Boots" was released as the first single for the four-track EP in April 2021, described by Rolling Stone as "a melodic, wistful ode to life on tour, with a sound that somehow manages to bridge the gap between The Band and Mott the Hoople." The EP, titled Butter Miracle, Suite One, was released on May 21, 2021.
At the time, Duritz told Rolling Stone that a second EP, Butter Miracle, Suite Two, would be released and together with the first form a full album. He was writing songs for the second EP, and the band planned to resume touring in the fall of 2021. In February 2022, Duritz appeared as a guest vocalist on two tracks on Gang of Youths' third studio album Angel in Realtime. Later that year, he confirmed that he had completed writing for Suite Two, but that he believed that the initial songwriting was not strong enough. He decided to rewrite the songs and add an additional composition, and that recording for the follow-up could only happen once the band was done with touring.
During the 2022 Butter Miracle Tour, Counting Crows performed live in Israel for the first time, playing in an amphitheater in the city of Ra'anana. In April 2023, the band returned to Australia and New Zealand for a series of headlining shows, with English musician Frank Turner supporting them. The following year, the Oneness Tour saw them travel with Santana.
On February 21, 2025, the band put out a new single, "Spaceman in Tulsa", to announce the release date for the upcoming album Butter Miracle, The Complete Sweets!. Forgoing a second EP, the new album, with the four songs from the Suite One EP plus five additional songs, was released on May 9, 2025.
== Influences, live performances and covers ==
Counting Crows, and Duritz in particular, have become renowned for energetic, passionate live performances. The band's influences include Van Morrison, R.E.M., and Bob Dylan.
Several Counting Crows songs have been altered during the band's live performances, such as "Round Here", "Goodnight Elisabeth", "Rain King", and "A Murder of One". This can be heard on the Across a Wire: Live in New York City album on the first disc (on which "Round Here" contains lyrics from "Have You Seen Me Lately?") and the second disc ("Anna Begins" has an extended midsection with new lyrics, and the introduction to "Mr. Jones" includes lyrics from "Miller's Angels" and from the Byrds' "So You Wanna Be A Rock & Roll Star").
In February 2011, Duritz released an indie album of cover songs he had recorded entitled All My Bloody Valentines. He allowed Facebook followers to help name and design the cover art for the album.
The band has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide.
== Documentary ==
On December 18, 2025, HBO Max released Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately? a feature-length documentary under its Music Box series that focuses on the band's rise to fame after the release of August and Everything After and the making of Recovering the Satellites.
The film was directed by Amy Scott and features David Bryson, Charlie Gillingham, Dan Vickrey, and David Immerglück, as well as former bandmate Matt Malley. Additional celebrities such as Cyndi Lauper, Chris Martin of Coldplay, actress Mary-Louise Parker, and comedian Jeff Ross were also interviewed for the film, among other notable interviewees.
== Band members ==
=== Current members ===
David Bryson – rhythm guitar (1994–present), backing vocals (1991–present), lead guitar (1991–1994)
Adam Duritz – lead vocals, keyboards, occasional harmonica and auxiliary percussion (1991–present)
Charlie Gillingham – keyboards, backing vocals (1991–present), accordion, clarinet (1996–present)
Dan Vickrey – lead guitar, backing vocals (1994–present), banjo (2002–present)
David Immerglück – guitars, bass, pedal steel, mandolin, backing vocals (1999–present, session musician 1993–1999), banjo (2011–present)
Jim Bogios – drums, backing vocals (2002–present)
Millard Powers – bass, piano, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2005–present)
=== Former members ===
Steve Bowman – drums, backing vocals (1991–1994)
Matt Malley – bass, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1991–2005)
Ben Mize – drums, backing vocals (1994–2002)
==== Timeline ====
== Accolades ==
=== American Music Awards ===
The American Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony created by Dick Clark in 1973.
=== Grammy Awards ===
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
=== Juno Awards ===
The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music.
=== MTV Video Music Awards ===
The MTV Video Music Awards were established in 1984 by MTV to celebrate the top music videos of the year
== Discography ==
Studio albums
August and Everything After (1993)
Recovering the Satellites (1996)
This Desert Life (1999)
Hard Candy (2002)
Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings (2008)
Underwater Sunshine (or What We Did on Our Summer Vacation) (2012)
Somewhere Under Wonderland (2014)
Butter Miracle, The Complete Sweets! (2025) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macklemore | Macklemore | Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( MAK-lə-mor; formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper. A native of Seattle, Washington, he started his career in 2000 as an independent artist releasing: Open Your Eyes (2000), The Language of My World (2005), and The Unplanned Mixtape (2009). He rose to international success collaborating with producer Ryan Lewis as the duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (2009–2016).
Macklemore's and Lewis's 2012 single "Thrift Shop" (featuring Wanz) became the first self-released song to peak the Billboard Hot 100 in 11 years. However, Macklemore, in a slightly unusual recording contract, paid a nominal percentage of sales to use Warner Bros. Records's radio promotion department to push his singles. Their second single, "Can't Hold Us" (featuring Ray Dalton), also peaked on chart, making Macklemore and Lewis the first duo in the chart's history to have their first two singles both reach the peak position. Their debut studio album The Heist (2012) peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, the duo won Best New Artist, Best Rap Album (The Heist), Best Rap Song ("Same Love") and Best Rap Performance ("Thrift Shop"). The duo's second album, This Unruly Mess I've Made (2016), followed thereafter.
In June 2017, Macklemore released the single "Glorious" (featuring Skylar Grey), which marked his return to the music industry as well as his first major single produced without Lewis since his mainstream breakthrough. Macklemore released his second solo studio album, Gemini, in September of that year, peaking at number 2 on the Billboard 200. On February 24, 2023, he released his third album Ben, which peaked at number 18.
== Early life and influences ==
Benjamin Hammond Haggerty was born in Seattle, Washington, on June 19, 1983, one of two sons born to Bill Haggerty and Julie Schott. He was raised with his brother Tim in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. He has Irish heritage and was raised Catholic. Haggerty was six years old when hip hop first came into his life by way of Digital Underground. At the age of 15, he began to write lyrics.
At the time he started to sing, Haggerty listened to "a lot of East Coast underground hip hop", listing Hieroglyphics, Freestyle Fellowship, Aceyalone, Living Legends, Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Nas, and Talib Kweli as his major influences. Haggerty attended Garfield High School and Nathan Hale High School. At Hale, he developed the stage name "Professor Macklemore" for an art project involving a made-up superhero, and at Garfield, he started a hip-hop group named Elevated Elements with other students. The group released an album, Progress, in 2000.
Haggerty enrolled at the College of Santa Fe for a year, later saying in an interview that "[i]t was a very pivotal time in a lot of ways. Santa Fe was the place where I got good at rapping". After not getting into the music program, he moved back to Seattle. Haggerty later enrolled at Evergreen State College in Olympia and completed his bachelor's degree in 2009. While at Evergreen, he was interested in reaching a younger generation through his music. He became part of a program focusing on education and cultural identity called "Gateways for Incarcerated Youth", where he facilitated music workshops.
== Career ==
=== 2000–2008: The Language of My World ===
In 2000, Haggerty recorded a mixtape titled Open Your Eyes under the name Professor Macklemore, which he distributed himself and released on October 21, 2000. Haggerty dropped "Professor" from his name and began working on his first official full-length album, called The Language of My World. The album was released on January 1, 2005, with its lead single, "Love Song", being announced the same day. "Love Song" featured singer Evan Roman, and was produced by Budo, who would later go on to produce several more tracks for Macklemore.
In 2006, Haggerty first met his future collaborator Ryan Lewis. Lewis, who would go on to release two albums with Haggerty as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, spent a few years working on Macklemore's promotion as a photographer. The two musicians would soon become good friends but would not formalize their collaborative efforts until 2009. In the meantime, Macklemore kept busy as a solo artist, appearing on The Physics's song "Good" in 2009, as well as performing at the Seattle major arts and music festival Bumbershoot in 2006, 2009, and 2011.
Macklemore's second mixtape, The Unplanned Mixtape, was released on September 7, 2009. It would later reach No. 7 on the iTunes Hip Hop chart. The mixtape was accompanied by the singles "The Town" and "And We Danced", the latter of which featured singer Ziggy Stardust. "The Town" was later remixed by Sabzi of the Blue Scholars.
=== 2009–2017: Career with Ryan Lewis ===
In 2009, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis formalized the collaboration as a duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. They released the EP The VS. EP. They also released "Irish Celebration" in December 2009 in anticipation of the release of The Vs. EP. In March 2010, the duo released "Stay At Home Dad", a track that "didn't quite make" Vs. In October 2010, they created the VS. Redux EP. Macklemore used his experience with substance abuse to create the mixtape's song "Otherside", which samples the Red Hot Chili Peppers song of the same title. On April 8, 2011, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis performed the song at the 2011 Mariners Opening Day in-front of a sold-out crowd of nearly 48,000 attendees. "Wings" was released on January 21, 2011, followed by "Can't Hold Us" featuring Ray Dalton on August 16, 2011. In February 2011, Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis kicked off a multi-city tour in Seattle, which included three sold-out shows at the Showbox at the Market music venue. That same year, the rapper appeared at many U.S. music festivals, including Bumbershoot, Outside Lands, Lollapalooza, Rock the Bells, Soundset, Sasquatch, and Bonnaroo.
Their album The Heist was released in October 2012 and debuted on the U.S. Billboard 200 at number 2 of the week dated October 27, 2012, selling over 78,000 copies. "Same Love" was released on July 18, 2012, and after "White Walls". In January 2013, Music Choice featured Macklemore in the brand new series "Primed", which focuses on emerging artists. In May 2013, Haggerty was featured on Clinton Sparks's single "Gold Rush", along with 2 Chainz and D.A. The Heist World Tour began in August 2012 to promote The Heist.
In May 2014, Macklemore was accused of antisemitism after wearing a costume resembling a common Jewish caricature during a private concert in Seattle, Washington. The rapper released an apology and stated his intention was to disguise himself, not to impersonate any ‘type’ of person.
In January 2015, Macklemore announced via Twitter that his third studio album would be released sometime in the second half of that year. Despite this, the album was not released until February 26, 2016. On August 5, 2015, Macklemore released a song for free download titled "Growing Up (Sloane's Song)", which features Ed Sheeran. On August 27, 2015, he released a new song called "Downtown" which features Foxy Shazam vocalist Eric Nally, Kool Moe Dee, Melle Mel, and Grandmaster Caz, which he performed at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards on August 30. On his first tour in two years, An Evening with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Macklemore announced that his new album was finished and ready for release.
On January 15, 2016, Macklemore released a teaser video on his YouTube channel revealing the name of his third studio album, This Unruly Mess I've Made, and announcing that it was scheduled to be released on February 26, 2016. On January 22, 2016, the duo released "White Privilege II", the second single on This Unruly Mess I've Made. On February 26, 2016, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis released the album This Unruly Mess I've Made. Also in 2016, Macklemore released two solo singles, "Drug Dealer" and "Wednesday Morning". "Drug Dealer" features Macklemore rapping about his previous addictions and is featured in a documentary that includes clips of Macklemore discussing drug abuse with President Barack Obama. "Wednesday Morning" was released after the 2016 U.S. Election and features Macklemore rapping about the political future of the country. The tracks were produced by Budo. On June 15, 2017, Macklemore announced via his official Instagram that the duo were on hiatus.
=== 2017–present: Gemini & Ben ===
On June 15, 2017, Macklemore released "Glorious", featuring American singer Skylar Grey, as the lead single from Macklemore's second solo studio album Gemini. On July 26, 2017, Macklemore released "Marmalade", featuring American rapper Lil Yachty, as the second single from Macklemore's upcoming album. "Good Old Days", a collaboration with Kesha, was released as a single on October 9, 2017. Macklemore released Gemini on September 22. The album was produced by longtime collaborator Budo. On October 1, Macklemore performed "Same Love" in a set at the opening of the Grand Final of the National Rugby League in Sydney, Australia — something that was considered by some to be controversial in the middle of a national survey on same sex marriage. Macklemore stated that it was one of his best performances due to the circumstances and thanked the fans in Sydney for the reception that he received throughout. On December 11, 2017, Macklemore announced an upcoming co-headlining tour with Kesha titled The Adventures of Kesha and Macklemore. This was Macklemore's fifth headlining tour, promoting his album Gemini and Kesha's sixth headlining tour, promoting her third solo album Rainbow (2017). The tour began in Phoenix on June 6, 2018, and concluded in Tampa on August 5, 2018.
On October 29, 2021, Macklemore released a new single titled "Next Year", featuring American singer Windser. Macklemore also worked with Ryan Lewis on the single, marking their first collaboration in three years.
On July 22, 2022, Macklemore released a new single, "Chant", with Australian musician Tones and I. On August 19, 2022, Macklemore released the single, "Maniac", featuring American musician Windser. The third single, "Faithful", featuring NLE Choppa, was released on October 28, 2022. The fourth single, "Heroes", featuring DJ Premier, was released on January 20, 2023. Macklemore's third solo studio album, Ben, was released on March 3, 2023. In May 2024, he released "Hind's Hall", a protest song in support of the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, with all proceeds donated towards UNRWA.
== Personal life ==
=== Family ===
Macklemore became engaged to his girlfriend of seven years, Tricia Davis, on January 21, 2013. On January 3, 2015, he announced on Twitter that he and Davis were expecting their first child that May. After the release of "Growing Up (Sloane's Song)", which featured English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, the couple announced that their daughter, Sloane Ava Simone Haggerty, had been born on May 29. Following the birth of Sloane, they married on June 27, 2015.
In September 2017, the couple announced that they were expecting their second child. On April 3, 2018, Macklemore announced during a performance at the 3Arena that Davis had given birth to their second daughter. He did not tell the crowd her name. In 2021, they had their third child, Hugo.
In 2017, Macklemore's grandmother, Helen Schott, celebrated her 100th birthday, with the two traveling around Modesto, California for the music video of his song "Glorious."
=== Health ===
In August 2008, Macklemore admitted himself into drug rehabilitation for drug addiction and alcoholism, and celebrated three years of sobriety before a brief relapse in 2011, which he describes in his song "Starting Over". He said in a 2012 documentary that he spent most of his twenties trying to combat his addictions and destructive way of life:
I want to be someone who is respected and not just in terms of my music. I want to be respected in terms of the way that I treat people... Music is my creative outlet in terms of expressing what is important to me; what has importance, what has a value. And I want to be respected for that.
On May 14, 2016, Macklemore appeared in U.S. President Barack Obama's weekly address to talk about the dangers of addiction to opioids and prescription painkillers. Macklemore talked about his own experiences with abuse of painkillers, stating "When you're going through it, it's hard to imagine anything being worse than addiction. But the shame and stigma associated with the disease keeps too many people from seeking the help they actually need. Addiction isn't a personal choice or a personal failure."
On September 29, 2018, Macklemore headlined Recovery Fest in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Recovery Fest was formed to have a drug- and alcohol-free concert and support charities that worked in combating opioid addiction.
In the summer of 2020, during and in part due to the social isolation that took place during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Macklemore relapsed and suffered a near-fatal overdose. He was hospitalized and given treatment; he eventually recovered from the episode. This experience, as well as the ongoing challenge of overcoming addiction while also raising children, served as an inspiration for much of the lyrical content that makes up his third solo studio album, Ben.
=== Activism and political views ===
Macklemore voiced his support of LGBT rights and same-sex marriage in the song "Same Love" released in 2012, which also condemns homophobia in mainstream hip-hop, society, and mass media. Macklemore is also an outspoken critic of Donald Trump. In July 2016, he was featured on "Pt. 2" remix of YG's "FDT (Fuck Donald Trump)" alongside G-Eazy. In January 2021, after the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden, he released "Trump's Over Freestyle". Macklemore attended the 2017 Women's March in Washington, D.C.. On May 16, 2019, Macklemore received the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award from MusiCares, in recognition of his support of MusiCares and the addiction recovery process.
Macklemore is a supporter of Palestinian nationalism. On October 30, 2023, during the Gaza war, he signed Artists4Ceasefire letter calling for a ceasefire and an end to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. In November 2023, while giving a speech at a pro-Palestinian rally in Washington, D.C., he accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians. In May 2024, he released "Hind's Hall", a protest song in support of the 2024 Gaza war protests at universities, with all proceeds donated towards UNRWA. In August 2024, Macklemore cancelled his show scheduled to take place in October that year in Dubai, citing the United Arab Emirates' involvement "in the ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis" in Sudan. He said he will not perform in the country until it "stops arming and funding the RSF". He also mentioned having no judgement of the artists continuing to perform in the Emirates.
At a pro-Palestinian rally in September 2024, Macklemore exclaimed "fuck America", causing widespread controversy, including being dropped from the Neon City Festival in Las Vegas. The Seattle Mariners, Seattle Kraken, and Seattle Sounders FC all condemned his statements and stated that they would review any further involvement from Macklemore. He later apologized for the incident, saying "My thoughts and feelings are not always expressed perfectly or politely," and that at times he "slips up and gets caught in a moment." Macklemore joined with Watermelon Pictures and BreakThrough News to produce The Encampments, a documentary film about the Gaza Solidarity Encampment at Columbia University. The film features interviews with prominent protestors including Mahmoud Khalil. The Encampments premiered at CPH:DOX on March 25, 2025.
=== Interests ===
Macklemore is a fan of the Seattle Seahawks. He created a 12th man promotional video and performed at the 2014 NFC Championship Game. He remains a fan of the now-relocated Seattle SuperSonics. In August 2019, Macklemore joined the ownership group of Seattle Sounders FC, the local Major League Soccer club.
He is a fan of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League; on April 18, 2022, the Kraken announced that Macklemore had joined its ownership group.
Macklemore has an eclectic taste in art, including outlandish garments spouting sequins, fringe and feathers, a kitschy velvet painting of a bald eagle, an oil painting of Drake dancing and a Dan Lacey painting of a nude Justin Bieber.
== Discography ==
The Language of My World (2005)
Gemini (2017)
Ben (2023)
== Filmography == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver | Silver | Silver is a chemical element; it has symbol Ag (from Latin argentum 'silver') and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. Silver is found in the Earth's crust in the pure, free elemental form ("native silver"), as an alloy with gold and other metals, and in minerals such as argentite and chlorargyrite. Most silver is produced as a byproduct of copper, gold, lead, and zinc refining.
Silver has long been valued as a precious metal, commonly sold and marketed beside gold and platinum. Silver metal is used in many bullion coins, sometimes alongside gold: while it is more abundant than gold, it is much less abundant as a native metal. Its purity is typically measured on a per-mille basis; a 94%-pure alloy is described as "0.940 fine". As one of the seven metals of antiquity, silver has had an enduring role in most human cultures. In terms of scarcity, silver is the most abundant of the big three precious metals, platinum, gold, and silver; among these, platinum is the rarest, with around 139 troy ounces of silver mined for every one of platinum.
Other than in currency and as an investment medium (coins and bullion), silver is used in solar panels, water filtration, jewellery, ornaments, high-value tableware and utensils (hence the term "silverware"), in electrical contacts and conductors, in specialised mirrors, window coatings, in catalysis of chemical reactions, as a colorant in stained glass, and in specialised confectionery. Its compounds are used in photographic and X-ray film. Dilute solutions of silver nitrate and other silver compounds are used as disinfectants and microbiocides (oligodynamic effect), added to bandages, wound-dressings, catheters, and other medical instruments.
== Characteristics ==
Silver is similar in its physical and chemical properties to its two vertical neighbours in group 11 of the periodic table: copper, and gold. Its 47 electrons are arranged in the configuration [Kr]4d105s1, similarly to copper ([Ar]3d104s1) and gold ([Xe]4f145d106s1); group 11 is one of the few groups in the d-block which has a completely consistent set of electron configurations. This distinctive electron configuration, with a single electron in the highest occupied s subshell over a filled d subshell, accounts for many of the singular properties of metallic silver.
Silver is a relatively soft and extremely ductile and malleable transition metal, though it is slightly less malleable than gold. Silver crystallises in a face-centred cubic lattice with bulk coordination number 12, where only the single 5s electron is delocalised, similarly to copper and gold. Unlike metals with incomplete d-shells, metallic bonds in silver are lacking a covalent character and are relatively weak. This observation explains the low hardness and high ductility of single crystals of silver.
Silver has a brilliant, white, metallic luster that can take a high polish, and which is so characteristic that the name of the metal itself has become a color name. Protected silver has greater optical reflectivity than aluminium at all wavelengths longer than ~450 nm. At wavelengths shorter than 450 nm, silver's reflectivity is inferior to that of aluminium and drops to zero near 310 nm.
Very high electrical and thermal conductivity are common to the elements in group 11, because their single s electron is free and does not interact with the filled d subshell, as such interactions (which occur in the preceding transition metals) lower electron mobility. The thermal conductivity of silver is among the highest of all materials, although the thermal conductivity of carbon (in the diamond allotrope) and superfluid helium-4 are higher. The electrical conductivity of silver is the highest of all metals, greater even than copper. Silver also has the lowest contact resistance of any metal. Silver is rarely used for its electrical conductivity, due to its high cost, although an exception is in radio-frequency engineering, particularly at VHF and higher frequencies where silver plating improves electrical conductivity because those currents tend to flow on the surface of conductors rather than through the interior. During World War II in the US, 13540 tons of silver were used for the electromagnets in calutrons for enriching uranium, mainly because of the wartime shortage of copper.
Silver readily forms alloys with copper, gold, and zinc. Zinc-silver alloys with low zinc concentration may be considered as face-centred cubic solid solutions of zinc in silver, as the structure of the silver is largely unchanged while the electron concentration rises as more zinc is added. Increasing the electron concentration further leads to body-centred cubic (electron concentration 1.5), complex cubic (1.615), and hexagonal close-packed phases (1.75).
=== Isotopes ===
Naturally occurring silver is composed of two stable isotopes, 107Ag and 109Ag, with 107Ag being slightly more abundant (51.839% natural abundance). This almost equal abundance is rare in the periodic table. The atomic weight is 107.8682(2) Da; this value is very important because of the importance of silver compounds, particularly halides, in gravimetric analysis. Both isotopes of silver are produced in stars via the s-process (slow neutron capture), as well as in supernovas via the r-process (rapid neutron capture).
Twenty-eight radioisotopes have been characterised, the most stable being 105Ag with a half-life of 41.29 days, 111Ag with a half-life of 7.45 days, and 112Ag with a half-life of 3.13 hours. Silver has numerous nuclear isomers, the most stable being 108mAg (t1/2 = 418 years), 110mAg (t1/2 = 249.79 days) and 106mAg (t1/2 = 8.28 days). All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives of less than an hour, and the majority of these have half-lives of less than three minutes.
Isotopes of silver range in atomic mass from 92.950 Da (93Ag) to 129.950 Da (130Ag); the primary decay mode before the most abundant stable isotope, 107Ag, is electron capture and the primary mode after is beta decay. The primary decay products before 107Ag are palladium (element 46) isotopes, and the primary products after are cadmium (element 48) isotopes.
The palladium isotope 107Pd decays by beta emission to 107Ag with a half-life of 6.5 million years. Iron meteorites are the only objects with a high-enough palladium-to-silver ratio to yield measurable variations in 107Ag abundance. Radiogenic 107Ag was first discovered in the Santa Clara meteorite in 1978. 107Pd–107Ag correlations observed in bodies that have clearly been melted since the accretion of the Solar System must reflect the presence of unstable nuclides in the early Solar System.
== Chemistry ==
Silver is a rather unreactive metal. This is because its filled 4d shell is not very effective in shielding the electrostatic forces of attraction from the nucleus to the outermost 5s electron, and hence silver is near the bottom of the electrochemical series (E0(Ag+/Ag) = +0.799 V). In group 11, silver has the lowest first ionisation energy (showing the instability of the 5s orbital), but has higher second and third ionisation energies than copper and gold (showing the stability of the 4d orbitals), so that the chemistry of silver is predominantly that of the +1 oxidation state, reflecting the increasingly limited range of oxidation states along the transition series as the d-orbitals fill and stabilise. Unlike copper, for which the larger hydration energy of Cu2+ as compared to Cu+ is the reason why the former is the more stable in aqueous solution and solids despite lacking the stable filled d-subshell of the latter, with silver this effect is swamped by its larger second ionisation energy. Hence, Ag+ is the stable species in aqueous solution and solids, with Ag2+ being much less stable as it oxidises water.
Most silver compounds have significant covalent character due to the small size and high first ionisation energy (730.8 kJ/mol) of silver. Furthermore, silver's Pauling electronegativity of 1.93 is higher than that of lead (1.87), and its electron affinity of 125.6 kJ/mol is much higher than that of hydrogen (72.8 kJ/mol) and not much less than that of oxygen (141.0 kJ/mol). Due to its full d-subshell, silver in its main +1 oxidation state exhibits relatively few properties of the transition metals proper from groups 4 to 10, forming rather unstable organometallic compounds, forming linear complexes showing very low coordination numbers like 2, and forming an amphoteric oxide as well as Zintl phases like the post-transition metals. Unlike the preceding transition metals, the +1 oxidation state of silver is stable even in the absence of π-acceptor ligands.
Silver does not react with air, even at red heat, and thus was considered by alchemists to be a noble metal. Its reactivity is intermediate between that of copper (which forms copper(I) oxide when heated in air to red heat) and gold. Like copper, silver reacts with sulfur and its compounds; in their presence, silver tarnishes in air to form the black silver sulfide (copper forms the green sulfate instead, while gold does not react). While silver is not attacked by non-oxidising acids, the metal dissolves readily in hot concentrated sulfuric acid, as well as dilute or concentrated nitric acid. In the presence of air, and especially in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, silver dissolves readily in aqueous solutions of cyanide.
The three main forms of deterioration in historical silver artifacts are tarnishing, formation of silver chloride due to long-term immersion in salt water, as well as reaction with nitrate ions or oxygen. Fresh silver chloride is pale yellow, becoming purplish on exposure to light; it projects slightly from the surface of the artifact or coin. The precipitation of copper in ancient silver can be used to date artifacts, as copper is nearly always a constituent of silver alloys.
Silver metal is attacked by strong oxidant such as potassium permanganate (KMnO4) and potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7), and in the presence of potassium bromide (KBr). These compounds are used in photography to bleach silver images, converting them to silver bromide that can either be fixed with thiosulfate or redeveloped to intensify the original image. Silver forms cyanide complexes (silver cyanide) that are soluble in water in the presence of an excess of cyanide ions. Silver cyanide solutions are used in electroplating of silver.
The common oxidation states of silver are (in order of commonness): +1 (the most stable state; for example, silver nitrate, AgNO3); +2 (highly oxidising; for example, silver(II) fluoride, AgF2); and even very rarely +3 (extreme oxidising; for example, potassium tetrafluoroargentate(III), KAgF4). The +3 state requires very strong oxidising agents to attain, such as fluorine or peroxodisulfate, and some silver(III) compounds react with atmospheric moisture and attack glass. Indeed, silver(III) fluoride is usually obtained by reacting silver or silver monofluoride with the strongest known oxidising agent, krypton difluoride.
== Compounds ==
=== Oxides and chalcogenides ===
Silver and gold have rather low chemical affinities for oxygen, lower than copper, and it is therefore expected that silver oxides are thermally quite unstable. Soluble silver(I) salts precipitate dark-brown silver(I) oxide, Ag2O, upon the addition of alkali. (The hydroxide AgOH exists only in solution; otherwise it spontaneously decomposes to the oxide.) Silver(I) oxide is very easily reduced to metallic silver, and decomposes to silver and oxygen above 160 °C. This and other silver(I) compounds may be oxidised by the strong oxidising agent peroxodisulfate to black AgO, a mixed silver(I,III) oxide of formula AgIAgIIIO2. Some other mixed oxides with silver in non-integral oxidation states, namely Ag2O3 and Ag3O4, are also known, as is Ag3O which behaves as a metallic conductor.
Silver(I) sulfide, Ag2S, is very readily formed from its constituent elements and is the cause of the black tarnish on some old silver objects. It may also be formed from the reaction of hydrogen sulfide with silver metal or aqueous Ag+ ions. Many non-stoichiometric selenides and tellurides are known; in particular, AgTe~3 is a low-temperature superconductor.
=== Halides ===
The only known dihalide of silver is the difluoride, AgF2, which can be obtained from the elements under heat. A strong yet thermally stable and therefore safe fluorinating agent, silver(II) fluoride is often used to synthesise hydrofluorocarbons.
In stark contrast to this, all four silver(I) halides are known. The fluoride, chloride, and bromide have the sodium chloride structure, but the iodide has three known stable forms at different temperatures; that at room temperature is the cubic zinc blende structure. They can all be obtained by the direct reaction of their respective elements. As the halogen group is descended, the silver halide gains more and more covalent character, solubility decreases, and the colour changes from the white chloride to the yellow iodide as the energy required for ligand-metal charge transfer (X−Ag+ → XAg) decreases. The fluoride is anomalous, as the fluoride ion is so small that it has a considerable solvation energy and hence is highly water-soluble and forms di- and tetrahydrates. The other three silver halides are highly insoluble in aqueous solutions and are very commonly used in gravimetric analytical methods. All four are photosensitive (though the monofluoride is so only to ultraviolet light), especially the bromide and iodide which photodecompose to silver metal, and thus were used in traditional photography. The reaction involved is:
X− + hν → X + e− (excitation of the halide ion, which gives up its extra electron into the conduction band)
Ag+ + e− → Ag (liberation of a silver ion, which gains an electron to become a silver atom)
The process is not reversible because the silver atom liberated is typically found at a crystal defect or an impurity site, so that the electron's energy is lowered enough that it is "trapped".
=== Other inorganic compounds ===
White silver nitrate, AgNO3, is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, especially the halides, and is much less sensitive to light. It was once called lunar caustic because silver was called luna by the ancient alchemists, who believed that silver was associated with the Moon. It is often used for gravimetric analysis, exploiting the insolubility of the heavier silver halides which it is a common precursor to. Silver nitrate is used in many ways in organic synthesis, e.g. for deprotection and oxidations. Ag+ binds alkenes reversibly, and silver nitrate has been used to separate mixtures of alkenes by selective absorption. The resulting adduct can be decomposed with ammonia to release the free alkene.
Yellow silver carbonate, Ag2CO3 can be easily prepared by reacting aqueous solutions of sodium carbonate with a deficiency of silver nitrate. Its principal use is for the production of silver powder for use in microelectronics. It is reduced with formaldehyde, producing silver free of alkali metals:
Ag2CO3 + CH2O → 2 Ag + 2 CO2 + H2
Silver carbonate is also used as a reagent in organic synthesis such as the Koenigs–Knorr reaction. In the Fétizon oxidation, silver carbonate on celite acts as an oxidising agent to form lactones from diols. It is also employed to convert alkyl bromides into alcohols.
Silver fulminate, AgCNO, a powerful, touch-sensitive explosive used in percussion caps, is made by reaction of silver metal with nitric acid in the presence of ethanol. Other dangerously explosive silver compounds are silver azide, AgN3, formed by reaction of silver nitrate with sodium azide, and silver acetylide, Ag2C2, formed when silver reacts with acetylene gas in ammonia solution. In its most characteristic reaction, silver azide decomposes explosively, releasing nitrogen gas: given the photosensitivity of silver salts, this behaviour may be induced by shining a light on its crystals.
2 AgN3 (s) → 3 N2 (g) + 2 Ag (s)
=== Coordination compounds ===
Silver complexes tend to be similar to those of its lighter homologue copper. Silver(III) complexes tend to be rare and very easily reduced to the more stable lower oxidation states, though they are slightly more stable than those of copper(III). For instance, the square planar periodate [Ag(IO5OH)2]5− and tellurate [Ag{TeO4(OH)2}2]5− complexes may be prepared by oxidising silver(I) with alkaline peroxodisulfate. The yellow diamagnetic [AgF4]− is much less stable, fuming in moist air and reacting with glass.
Silver(II) complexes are more common. Like the valence isoelectronic copper(II) complexes, they are usually square planar and paramagnetic, which is increased by the greater field splitting for 4d electrons than for 3d electrons. Aqueous Ag2+, produced by oxidation of Ag+ by ozone, is a very strong oxidising agent, even in acidic solutions: it is stabilised in phosphoric acid due to complex formation. Peroxodisulfate oxidation is generally necessary to give the more stable complexes with heterocyclic amines, such as [Ag(py)4]2+ and [Ag(bipy)2]2+: these are stable provided the counterion cannot reduce the silver back to the +1 oxidation state. [AgF4]2− is also known in its violet barium salt, as are some silver(II) complexes with N- or O-donor ligands such as pyridine carboxylates.
By far the most important oxidation state for silver in complexes is +1. The Ag+ cation is diamagnetic, like its homologues Cu+ and Au+, as all three have closed-shell electron configurations with no unpaired electrons: its complexes are colourless provided the ligands are not too easily polarised such as I−. Ag+ forms salts with most anions, but it is reluctant to coordinate to oxygen and thus most of these salts are insoluble in water: the exceptions are the nitrate, perchlorate, and fluoride. The tetracoordinate tetrahedral aqueous ion [Ag(H2O)4]+ is known, but the characteristic geometry for the Ag+ cation is 2-coordinate linear. For example, silver chloride dissolves readily in excess aqueous ammonia to form [Ag(NH3)2]+; silver salts are dissolved in photography due to the formation of the thiosulfate complex [Ag(S2O3)2]3−; and cyanide extraction for silver (and gold) works by the formation of the complex [Ag(CN)2]−. Silver cyanide forms the linear polymer {Ag–C≡N→Ag–C≡N→}; silver thiocyanate has a similar structure, but forms a zigzag instead because of the sp3-hybridized sulfur atom. Chelating ligands are unable to form linear complexes and thus silver(I) complexes with them tend to form polymers; a few exceptions exist, such as the near-tetrahedral diphosphine and diarsine complexes [Ag(L–L)2]+.
=== Organometallic ===
Under standard conditions, silver does not form simple carbonyls, due to the weakness of the Ag–C bond. A few are known at very low temperatures around 6–15 K, such as the green, planar paramagnetic Ag(CO)3, which dimerises at 25–30 K, probably by forming Ag–Ag bonds. Additionally, the silver carbonyl [Ag(CO)][B(OTeF5)4] is known. Polymeric AgLX complexes with alkenes and alkynes are known, but their bonds are thermodynamically weaker than even those of the platinum complexes (though they are formed more readily than those of the analogous gold complexes): they are also quite unsymmetrical, showing the weak π bonding in group 11. Ag–C σ bonds may also be formed by silver(I), like copper(I) and gold(I), but the simple alkyls and aryls of silver(I) are even less stable than those of copper(I) (which tend to explode under ambient conditions). For example, poor thermal stability is reflected in the relative decomposition temperatures of AgMe (−50 °C) and CuMe (−15 °C) as well as those of PhAg (74 °C) and PhCu (100 °C).
The C–Ag bond is stabilised by perfluoroalkyl ligands, for example in AgCF(CF3)2. Alkenylsilver compounds are also more stable than their alkylsilver counterparts. Silver-NHC complexes are easily prepared, and are commonly used to prepare other NHC complexes by displacing labile ligands. For example, the reaction of the bis(NHC)silver(I) complex with bis(acetonitrile)palladium dichloride or chlorido(dimethyl sulfide)gold(I):
=== Intermetallic ===
Silver forms alloys with most other elements on the periodic table. The elements from groups 1–3, except for hydrogen, lithium, and beryllium, are very miscible with silver in the condensed phase and form intermetallic compounds; those from groups 4–9 are only poorly miscible; the elements in groups 10–14 (except boron and carbon) have very complex Ag–M phase diagrams and form the most commercially important alloys; and the remaining elements on the periodic table have no consistency in their Ag–M phase diagrams. By far the most important such alloys are those with copper: most silver used for coinage and jewellery is in reality a silver–copper alloy, and the eutectic mixture is used in vacuum brazing. The two metals are completely miscible as liquids but not as solids; their importance in industry comes from the fact that their properties tend to be suitable over a wide range of variation in silver and copper concentration, although most useful alloys tend to be richer in silver than the eutectic mixture (71.9% silver and 28.1% copper by weight, and 60.1% silver and 28.1% copper by atom).
Most other binary alloys are of little use: for example, silver–gold alloys are too soft and silver–cadmium alloys too toxic. Ternary alloys have much greater importance: dental amalgams are usually silver–tin–mercury alloys, silver–copper–gold alloys are very important in jewellery (usually on the gold-rich side) and have a vast range of hardnesses and colours, silver–copper–zinc alloys are useful as low-melting brazing alloys, and silver–cadmium–indium (involving three adjacent elements on the periodic table) is useful in nuclear reactors because of its high thermal neutron capture cross-section, good conduction of heat, mechanical stability, and resistance to corrosion in hot water.
== Etymology ==
The word silver appears in Old English in various spellings, such as seolfor and siolfor. It is cognate with Old High German silabar; Gothic silubr; or Old Norse silfr, all ultimately deriving from Proto-Germanic *silubra. The Balto-Slavic words for silver are rather similar to the Germanic ones (e.g. Russian серебро [serebró], Polish srebro, Lithuanian sidãbras), as is the Celtiberian form silabur. They may have a common Indo-European origin, although their morphology rather suggest a non-Indo-European Wanderwort. Some scholars have thus proposed a Paleo-Hispanic origin, pointing to the Basque form zilharr as an evidence.
The chemical symbol Ag is from the Latin word for silver, argentum (compare Ancient Greek ἄργυρος, árgyros), from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂erǵ- (formerly reconstructed as *arǵ-), meaning 'white' or 'shining'. This was the usual Proto-Indo-European word for the metal, whose reflexes are missing in Germanic and Balto-Slavic.
== History ==
Silver was known in prehistoric times: the three metals of group 11, copper, silver, and gold, occur in the elemental form in nature and were probably used as the first primitive forms of money as opposed to simple bartering. Unlike copper, silver did not lead to the growth of metallurgy, on account of its low structural strength; it was more often used ornamentally or as money. Since silver is more reactive than gold, supplies of native silver were much more limited than those of gold. For example, silver was more expensive than gold in Egypt until around the fifteenth century BC: the Egyptians are thought to have separated gold from silver by heating the metals with salt, and then reducing the silver chloride produced to the metal.
The situation changed with the discovery of cupellation, a technique that allowed silver metal to be extracted from its ores. While slag heaps found in Asia Minor and on the islands of the Aegean Sea indicate that silver was being separated from lead as early as the 4th millennium BC, and one of the earliest silver extraction centres in Europe was Sardinia in the early Chalcolithic period, these techniques did not spread widely until later,
when it spread throughout the region and beyond. The origins of silver production in India, China, and Japan were almost certainly equally ancient, but are not well-documented due to their great age.
When the Phoenicians first came to what is now Spain, they obtained so much silver that they could not fit it all on their ships, and as a result used silver to weight their anchors instead of lead. By the time of the Greek and Roman civilisations, silver coins were a staple of the economy: the Greeks were already extracting silver from galena by the 7th century BC, and the rise of Athens was partly made possible by the nearby silver mines at Laurium, from which they extracted about 30 tonnes a year from 600 to 300 BC. The stability of the Roman currency relied to a high degree on the supply of silver bullion, mostly from Spain, which Roman miners produced on a scale unparalleled before the discovery of the New World. Reaching a peak production of 200 tonnes per year, an estimated silver stock of 10,000 tonnes circulated in the Roman economy in the middle of the second century AD, five to ten times larger than the combined amount of silver available to medieval Europe and the Abbasid Caliphate around AD 800. The Romans also recorded the extraction of silver in central and northern Europe in the same time period. This production came to a nearly complete halt with the fall of the Roman Empire, not to resume until the time of Charlemagne: by then, tens of thousands of tonnes of silver had already been extracted.
Central Europe became the centre of silver production during the Middle Ages, as the Mediterranean deposits exploited by the ancient civilisations had been exhausted. Silver mines were opened in Bohemia, Saxony, Alsace, the Lahn region, Siegerland, Silesia, Hungary, Norway, Steiermark, Schwaz, and the southern Black Forest. Most of these ores were quite rich in silver and could simply be separated by hand from the remaining rock and then smelted; some deposits of native silver were also encountered. Many of these mines were soon exhausted, but a few of them remained active until the Industrial Revolution, before which the world production of silver was around a meagre 50 tonnes per year. In the Americas, high temperature silver-lead cupellation technology was developed by pre-Inca civilisations as early as AD 60–120; silver deposits in India, China, Japan, and pre-Columbian America continued to be mined during this time.
With the discovery of America and the plundering of silver by the Spanish conquistadors, Central and South America became the dominant producers of silver until around the beginning of the 18th century, particularly Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina: the last of these countries later took its name from that of the metal that composed so much of its mineral wealth. The silver trade gave way to a global network of exchange. As one historian put it, silver "went round the world and made the world go round." Much of this silver ended up in the hands of the Chinese. A Portuguese merchant in 1621 noted that silver "wanders throughout all the world... before flocking to China, where it remains as if at its natural centre". Still, much of it went to Spain, allowing Spanish rulers to pursue military and political ambitions in both Europe and the Americas. "New World mines", concluded several historians, "supported the Spanish empire."
In the 19th century, primary production of silver moved to North America, particularly Canada, Mexico, and Nevada in the United States: some secondary production from lead and zinc ores also took place in Europe, and deposits in Siberia and the Russian Far East as well as in Australia were mined. Poland emerged as an important producer during the 1970s after the discovery of copper deposits that were rich in silver, before the centre of production returned to the Americas the following decade. Today, Peru and Mexico are still among the primary silver producers, but the distribution of silver production around the world is quite balanced and about one-fifth of the silver supply comes from recycling instead of new production.
== Symbolic role ==
Silver plays a certain role in mythology and has found various usage as a metaphor and in folklore. The Greek poet Hesiod's Works and Days (lines 109–201) lists different ages of man named after metals like gold, silver, bronze and iron to account for successive ages of humanity. Ovid's Metamorphoses contains another retelling of the story, containing an illustration of silver's metaphorical use of signifying the second-best in a series, better than bronze but worse than gold:
In folklore, silver was commonly thought to have mystic powers: for example, a bullet cast from silver is often supposed in such folklore the only weapon that is effective against a werewolf, witch, or other monsters. From this the idiom of a silver bullet developed into figuratively referring to any simple solution with very high effectiveness or almost miraculous results, as in the widely discussed software engineering paper "No Silver Bullet". Other powers attributed to silver include detection of poison and facilitation of passage into the mythical realm of fairies.
Silver production has also inspired figurative language. Clear references to cupellation occur throughout the Old Testament of the Bible, such as in Jeremiah's rebuke to Judah: "The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away. Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them." (Jeremiah 6:19–20) Jeremiah was also aware of sheet silver, exemplifying the malleability and ductility of the metal: "Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men." (Jeremiah 10:9)
Silver also has more negative cultural meanings: the idiom thirty pieces of silver, referring to a reward for betrayal, references the bribe Judas Iscariot is said in the New Testament to have taken from Jewish leaders in Jerusalem to turn Jesus of Nazareth over to soldiers of the high priest Caiaphas. Ethically, silver also symbolizes greed and degradation of consciousness; this is the negative aspect, the perverting of its value.
== Occurrence and production ==
The abundance of silver in the Earth's crust is 0.08 parts per million, almost exactly the same as that of mercury. It mostly occurs in sulfide ores, especially acanthite and argentite, Ag2S. Argentite deposits sometimes also contain native silver when they occur in reducing environments, and when in contact with salt water they are converted to chlorargyrite (including horn silver), AgCl, which is prevalent in Chile and New South Wales. Most other silver minerals are silver pnictides or chalcogenides; they are generally lustrous semiconductors. Most true silver deposits, as opposed to argentiferous deposits of other metals, came from Tertiary vulcanism.
The principal sources of silver are the ores of copper, copper-nickel, lead, and lead-zinc obtained from Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, China, Australia, Chile, Poland and Serbia. Peru, Bolivia and Mexico have been mining silver since 1546, and are still major world producers. Top silver-producing mines are Cannington (Australia), Fresnillo (Mexico), San Cristóbal (Bolivia), Antamina (Peru), Rudna (Poland), and Penasquito (Mexico). Top near-term mine development projects through 2015 are Pascua Lama (Chile), Navidad (Argentina), Jaunicipio (Mexico), Malku Khota (Bolivia), and Hackett River (Canada). In Central Asia, Tajikistan is known to have some of the largest silver deposits in the world.
Silver is usually found in nature combined with other metals, or in minerals that contain silver compounds, generally in the form of sulfides such as galena (lead sulfide) or cerussite (lead carbonate). So the primary production of silver requires the smelting and then cupellation of argentiferous lead ores, a historically important process. Lead melts at 327 °C, lead oxide at 888 °C and silver melts at 960 °C. To separate the silver, the alloy is melted again at the high temperature of 960 °C to 1000 °C in an oxidising environment. The lead oxidises to lead monoxide, then known as litharge, which captures the oxygen from the other metals present. The liquid lead oxide is removed or absorbed by capillary action into the hearth linings.
Ag(s) + 2Pb(s) + O2(g) → 2PbO(absorbed) + Ag(l)
Today, silver metal is primarily produced instead as a secondary byproduct of electrolytic refining of copper, lead, and zinc, and by application of the Parkes process on lead bullion from ore that also contains silver. In such processes, silver follows the non-ferrous metal in question through its concentration and smelting, and is later purified out. For example, in copper production, purified copper is electrolytically deposited on the cathode, while the less reactive precious metals such as silver and gold collect under the anode as the so-called "anode slime". This is then separated and purified of base metals by treatment with hot aerated dilute sulfuric acid and heating with lime or silica flux, before the silver is purified to over 99.9% purity via electrolysis in nitrate solution.
Commercial-grade fine silver is at least 99.9% pure, and purities greater than 99.999% are available. In 2022, Mexico was the top producer of silver (6,300 tonnes or 24.2% of the world's total of 26,000 t), followed by China (3,600 t) and Peru (3,100 t).
=== In marine environments ===
Silver concentration is low in seawater (pmol/L). Levels vary by depth and between water bodies. Dissolved silver concentrations range from 0.3 pmol/L in coastal surface waters to 22.8 pmol/L in pelagic deep waters. Analysing the presence and dynamics of silver in marine environments is difficult due to these particularly low concentrations and complex interactions in the environment. Although a rare trace metal, concentrations are greatly impacted by fluvial, aeolian, atmospheric, and upwelling inputs, as well as anthropogenic inputs via discharge, waste disposal, and emissions from industrial companies. Other internal processes such as decomposition of organic matter may be a source of dissolved silver in deeper waters, which feeds into some surface waters through upwelling and vertical mixing.
In the Atlantic and Pacific, silver concentrations are minimal at the surface but rise in deeper waters. Silver is taken up by plankton in the photic zone, remobilized with depth, and enriched in deep waters. Silver is transported from the Atlantic to the other oceanic water masses. In North Pacific waters, silver is remobilised at a slower rate and increasingly enriched compared to deep Atlantic waters. Silver has increasing concentrations that follow the major oceanic conveyor belt that cycles water and nutrients from the North Atlantic to the South Atlantic to the North Pacific.
There is not an extensive amount of data focused on how marine life is affected by silver despite the likely deleterious effects it could have on organisms through bioaccumulation, association with particulate matters, and sorption. Not until about 1984 did scientists begin to understand the chemical characteristics of silver and the potential toxicity. In fact, mercury is the only other trace metal that surpasses the toxic effects of silver; the full silver toxicity extent is not expected in oceanic conditions because of its tendency to transfer into nonreactive biological compounds.
In one study, the presence of excess ionic silver and silver nanoparticles caused bioaccumulation effects on zebrafish organs and altered the chemical pathways within their gills. In addition, very early experimental studies demonstrated how the toxic effects of silver fluctuate with salinity and other parameters, as well as between life stages and different species such as finfish, molluscs, and crustaceans. Another study found raised concentrations of silver in the muscles and liver of dolphins and whales, indicating pollution of this metal within recent decades. Silver is not an easy metal for an organism to eliminate and elevated concentrations can cause death.
== Monetary use ==
The earliest known coins were minted in the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor around 600 BC. The coins of Lydia were made of electrum, which is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, that was available within the territory of Lydia. Since that time, silver standards, in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed weight of silver, have been widespread throughout the world until the 20th century. Notable silver coins through the centuries include the Greek drachma, the Roman denarius, the Islamic dirham, the karshapana from ancient India and rupee from the time of the Mughal Empire (grouped with copper and gold coins to create a trimetallic standard), and the Spanish dollar.
The ratio between the amount of silver used for coinage and that used for other purposes has fluctuated greatly over time; for example, in wartime, more silver tends to have been used for coinage to finance the war.
Today, silver bullion has the ISO 4217 currency code XAG, one of only four precious metals to have one (the others being platinum, palladium, and gold). Silver coins are produced from cast rods or ingots, rolled to the correct thickness, heat-treated, and then used to cut blanks from. These blanks are then milled and minted in a coining press; modern coining presses can produce 8,000 silver coins per hour.
=== Price ===
Silver prices are normally quoted in troy ounces. One troy ounce is equal to 31.1034768 grams. The London silver fix is published every working day at noon London time. This price is determined by several major international banks and is used by London bullion market members for trading that day. Prices are most commonly shown as the United States dollar (USD), the Pound sterling (GBP), and the Euro (EUR).
== Applications ==
=== Jewellery and silverware ===
The major use of silver besides coinage throughout most of history was in the manufacture of jewellery and other general-use items, and this continues to be a major use today. Examples include table silver for cutlery, for which silver is highly suited due to its antibacterial properties. Western concert flutes are usually plated with or made out of sterling silver; in fact, most silverware is only silver-plated rather than made out of pure silver; the silver is normally put in place by electroplating. Silver-plated glass (as opposed to metal) is used for mirrors, vacuum flasks, and Christmas tree decorations.
Because pure silver is very soft, most silver used for these purposes is alloyed with copper, with finenesses of 925/1000, 835/1000, and 800/1000 being common. One drawback is the easy tarnishing of silver in the presence of hydrogen sulfide and its derivatives. Including precious metals such as palladium, platinum, and gold gives resistance to tarnishing but is quite costly; base metals like zinc, cadmium, silicon, and germanium do not totally prevent corrosion and tend to affect the lustre and colour of the alloy. Electrolytically refined pure silver plating is effective at increasing resistance to tarnishing. The usual solutions for restoring the lustre of tarnished silver are dipping baths that reduce the silver sulfide surface to metallic silver, and cleaning off the layer of tarnish with a paste; the latter approach also has the welcome side effect of polishing the silver concurrently.
=== Medicine ===
In medicine, silver is incorporated into wound dressings and used as an antibiotic coating in medical devices. Wound dressings containing silver sulfadiazine or silver nanomaterials are used to treat external infections. Silver is also used in some medical applications, such as urinary catheters (where tentative evidence indicates it reduces catheter-related urinary tract infections) and in endotracheal breathing tubes (where evidence suggests it reduces ventilator-associated pneumonia). The silver ion is bioactive and in sufficient concentration readily kills bacteria in vitro. Silver ions interfere with enzymes in the bacteria that transport nutrients, form structures, and synthesise cell walls; these ions also bond with the bacteria's genetic material. Silver and silver nanoparticles are used as an antimicrobial in a variety of industrial, healthcare, and domestic application: for example, infusing clothing with nanosilver particles thus allows them to stay odourless for longer. Bacteria can develop resistance to the antimicrobial action of silver. Silver compounds are taken up by the body like mercury compounds, but lack the toxicity of the latter. Silver and its alloys are used in cranial surgery to replace bone, and silver–tin–mercury amalgams are used in dentistry. Silver diammine fluoride, the fluoride salt of a coordination complex with the formula [Ag(NH3)2]F, is a topical medicament (drug) used to treat and prevent dental caries (cavities) and relieve dentinal hypersensitivity.
=== Electronics ===
Silver is very important in electronics for conductors and electrodes on account of its high electrical conductivity even when tarnished. Bulk silver and silver foils were used to make vacuum tubes, and continue to be used today in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, circuits, and their components. For example, silver is used in high quality connectors for RF, VHF, and higher frequencies, particularly in tuned circuits such as cavity filters where conductors cannot be scaled by more than 6%. Printed circuits and RFID antennas are made with silver paints, Powdered silver and its alloys are used in paste preparations for conductor layers and electrodes, ceramic capacitors, and other ceramic components.
=== Brazing alloys ===
Silver-containing brazing alloys are used for brazing metallic materials, mostly cobalt, nickel, and copper-based alloys, tool steels, and precious metals. The basic components are silver and copper, with other elements selected according to the specific application desired: examples include zinc, tin, cadmium, palladium, manganese, and phosphorus. Silver provides increased workability and corrosion resistance during usage.
=== Chemical equipment ===
Silver is useful in the manufacture of chemical equipment on account of its low chemical reactivity, high thermal conductivity, and being easily workable. Silver crucibles (alloyed with 0.15% nickel to avoid recrystallisation of the metal at red heat) are used for carrying out alkaline fusion. Copper and silver are also used when doing chemistry with fluorine. Equipment made to work at high temperatures is often silver-plated. Silver and its alloys with gold are used as wire or ring seals for oxygen compressors and vacuum equipment.
=== Catalysis ===
Silver metal is a good catalyst for oxidation reactions; in fact it is somewhat too good for most purposes, as finely divided silver tends to result in complete oxidation of organic substances to carbon dioxide and water, and hence coarser-grained silver tends to be used instead. For instance, 15% silver supported on α-Al2O3 or silicates is a catalyst for the oxidation of ethylene to ethylene oxide at 230–270 °C. Dehydrogenation of methanol to formaldehyde is conducted at 600–720 °C over silver gauze or crystals as the catalyst, as is dehydrogenation of isopropanol to acetone. In the gas phase, glycol yields glyoxal and ethanol yields acetaldehyde, while organic amines are dehydrated to nitriles.
=== Photography ===
Before the advent of digital photography, which is now dominant, the photosensitivity of silver halides was exploited for use in traditional film photography. The photosensitive emulsion used in black-and-white photography is a suspension of silver halide crystals in gelatin, possibly mixed in with some noble metal compounds for improved photosensitivity, developing, and print toning.
Colour photography requires the addition of special dye components and sensitisers, so that the initial black-and-white silver image couples with a different dye component. The original silver images are bleached off and the silver is then recovered and recycled. Silver nitrate is the starting material in all cases.
The market for silver nitrate and silver halides for photography has rapidly declined with the rise of digital cameras. From the peak global demand for photographic silver in 1999 (267,000,000 troy ounces or 8,304.6 tonnes) the market contracted almost 70% by 2013.
=== Nanoparticles ===
Nanosilver particles, between 10 and 100 nanometres in size, are used in many applications. They are used in conductive inks for printed electronics, and have a much lower melting point than larger silver particles of micrometre size. They are also used medicinally in antibacterials and antifungals in much the same way as larger silver particles. In addition, according to the European Union Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON), silver nanoparticles are used both in pigments, as well as cosmetics.
=== Miscellanea ===
Pure silver metal is used as a food colouring. It has the E174 designation and is approved in the European Union. Traditional Indian and Pakistani dishes sometimes include decorative silver foil known as vark, and in various other cultures, silver dragée are used to decorate cakes, cookies, and other dessert items.
Photochromic lenses include silver halides, so that ultraviolet light in natural daylight liberates metallic silver, darkening the lenses. The silver halides are reformed in lower light intensities. Colourless silver chloride films are used in radiation detectors. Zeolite sieves incorporating Ag+ ions are used to desalinate seawater during rescues, using silver ions to precipitate chloride as silver chloride. Silver is also used for its antibacterial properties for water sanitisation, but the application of this is limited by limits on silver consumption. Colloidal silver is similarly used to disinfect closed swimming pools; while it has the advantage of not giving off a smell like hypochlorite treatments do, colloidal silver is not effective enough for more contaminated open swimming pools. Small silver iodide crystals are used in cloud seeding to cause rain.
The Texas Legislature designated silver the official precious metal of Texas in 2007.
== Precautions ==
Silver compounds have low toxicity compared to those of most other heavy metals, as they are poorly absorbed by the human body when ingested, and that which does get absorbed is rapidly converted to insoluble silver compounds or complexed by metallothionein. Silver fluoride and silver nitrate are caustic and can cause tissue damage, resulting in gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, falling blood pressure, cramps, paralysis, or respiratory arrest. Animals repeatedly dosed with silver salts have been observed to experience anaemia, slowed growth, necrosis of the liver, and fatty degeneration of the liver and kidneys; rats implanted with silver foil or injected with colloidal silver have been observed to develop localised tumours. Parenterally admistered colloidal silver causes acute silver poisoning. Some waterborne species are particularly sensitive to silver salts and those of the other precious metals; in most situations, silver is not a serious environmental hazard.
In large doses, silver and compounds containing it can be absorbed into the circulatory system and become deposited in various body tissues, leading to argyria, which results in a blue-grayish pigmentation of the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. Argyria is rare, and so far as is known, does not otherwise harm a person's health, though it is disfiguring and usually permanent. Mild forms of argyria are sometimes mistaken for cyanosis, a blue tint on skin, caused by lack of oxygen.
Metallic silver, like copper, is an antibacterial agent, which was known to the ancients and first scientifically investigated and named the oligodynamic effect by Carl Nägeli. Silver ions damage the metabolism of bacteria even at such low concentrations as 0.01–0.1 milligrams per litre; metallic silver has a similar effect due to the formation of silver oxide. This effect is lost in the presence of sulfur due to the extreme insolubility of silver sulfide.
Some silver compounds are very explosive, such as the nitrogen compounds silver azide, silver amide, and silver fulminate, as well as silver acetylide, silver oxalate, and silver(II) oxide. They can explode on heating, force, drying, illumination, or sometimes spontaneously. To avoid the formation of such compounds, ammonia and acetylene should be kept away from silver equipment. Salts of silver with strongly oxidising acids such as silver chlorate and silver nitrate can explode on contact with materials that can be readily oxidised, such as organic compounds, sulfur and soot. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling_at_the_2017_World_Games | Bowling at the 2017 World Games | The Bowling competition at the 2017 World Games took place from July 21 to July 24, in Wrocław in Poland, at the Sky Tower.
== Participating nations ==
== Medals table ==
== Medalists ==
Laura Buethner of Germany originally won gold in women's singles. but Buethner tested positive for a banned substance. As a result of the positive doping test, Buethner was stripped of the gold medal. Kelly Kulick, who originally won silver, was awarded the gold medal. Clara Guerrero, who originally won bronze, was awarded the silver medal and Daria Kovalova, originally fourth in the final standings, was awarded the bronze medal. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Smash_Bros._Ultimate | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a 2018 crossover fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, succeeding Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (2014). The game follows the series' traditional style of gameplay, in which players control one of the various characters and use attacks to weaken their opponents and knock them out of an arena. It features a wide variety of game modes, including a single-player campaign and multiplayer versus modes. Ultimate features 89 playable fighters, including all characters from previous Super Smash Bros. games as well as newcomers. The roster ranges from Nintendo characters to those from third-party franchises.
Planning for the game had begun by December 2015, with full development starting after the completion of 3DS/Wii U's downloadable content (DLC). Series creator and director Masahiro Sakurai returned along with Bandai Namco Studios and Sora, the studios that developed 3DS/Wii U, with their return speeding up the preparation process. Sakurai's goal with Ultimate was to include every character from previous games in the series, despite the various development and licensing challenges this would present. Several well-known video game musicians contributed to the soundtrack, with Hideki Sakamoto writing the main theme "Lifelight". Ultimate was first teased in a Nintendo Direct in March 2018, with Nintendo's E3 2018 Direct primarily revealing and featuring it that subsequent June. Ultimate received downloadable content adding new fighters, stages, and other content until October 2021.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was released on December 7, 2018. The game received acclaim from critics, who lauded its refined gameplay and fine-tuning of the series' best elements as well as its extensive variety of content and characters, while its online mode was negatively received for its technical performance and matchmaking. Ultimate is often considered to be one of the best titles on the Switch and one of the greatest video games ever made, becoming a popular competitive fighting game in esports like its predecessors. It is also the best-selling fighting game in history and one of the best-selling games on the Switch, having sold over 37 million copies as of December 2025.
== Gameplay ==
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a platform fighter for up to eight players in which characters from Nintendo games and third-party franchises fight to knock each other out of an arena. Each player has a percentage meter that increases as they take damage, representing the amount of knockback they take from attacks; the higher a character's percent, the easier it is to launch them into the air and out of the arena. Standard battles use one of three victory conditions: Timed, where players aim to earn the most KOs within a time limit; Stock, where each player or team has a set number of lives and aims to be the last player standing; and Stamina, in which the percentage meter is replaced with a measure of hit points that opponents try to reduce to zero to win. Players can adjust the rules to their liking and save them as presets for future matches.
Players have the option to enable various items to spawn at random during battle, which can be picked up and used in various ways to grant them an advantage; for instance, Poké Balls and Assist Trophies respectively summon Pokémon and other non-playable characters to assist the user in battle. In Timed matches, certain Assist Trophies can be attacked and defeated to earn points. Each character also possesses a powerful Final Smash attack, which can be performed either by obtaining a Smash Ball or by filling up a special meter, either of which can be toggled on and off. The base game features 103 different stages (plus one additional stage added in a free update), with additional stages being bundled alongside DLC fighters. Most stages have dynamic elements and hazards that can be toggled on or off in the rules, and each stage has an alternative Battlefield and Omega form with standardized layouts. A new feature called Stage Morph allows players to select two stages that the game alternates between at certain intervals during a match. Other tweaks include new icons and gauges for character-specific abilities, such as Cloud's Limit gauge.
In addition to returning modes such as Classic, Special Smash, and Home-Run Contest, Ultimate adds new modes. These are Smashdown, where each character can only be played once; Squad Strike, where players battle in teams of either 3 or 5 characters; and Tourney, a tournament mode that allows up to 32 players to battle in playoff brackets.
=== Spirits ===
Ultimate introduces the Spirits mechanic, replacing the collectible trophies from previous games. Each of these Spirits, based on characters from represented franchises, can be used to power up a fighter with unique abilities. Players mainly gain Spirits through pre-made challenges called "Spirit Battles" that represent the character the Spirit depicts, which are embodied by one or more of the game's fighters and other specific level effects. For example, the Spirit battle of Rayquaza, a flying dragon Pokémon, requires players to defeat a large version of Ridley with a similar color palette and wind effects. Players are encouraged to strategically choose Spirits based on the level effects; in the same example, a player would need to equip a Spirit that provides wind resistance or immunity, or one that allows them to deal extra damage to a giant opponent. A separate mode called the Spirit Board presents a rotating set of Spirit battles for players to gain Spirits from. Spirits have a growth and evolution system, in which they can be leveled up to become more powerful or converted into Cores to summon new Spirits. Certain Spirits will also become an "enhanced" form upon reaching max level, but will return to level 1. Nintendo offers limited-timed Spirit events in cross-promotion with other games and franchises, with the Spirits featured only available to collect during the event. Eventually, these Spirits make their way into general rotation and can be found on the Spirit Board. The local multiplayer mode also allows for the option to use Spirits.
==== World of Light ====
Ultimate features the return of Adventure Mode, which was absent in 3DS/Wii U. It is now integrated into the Spirits mode with a new story, World of Light, which prominently uses the game's Spirit mechanics. The mode's narrative begins with an evil entity, Galeem, destroying the Smash Bros. world, vaporizing almost all of the fighter characters and placing them under his imprisonment; only Kirby, due to his Warp Star, evades this attack. Players explore the titular World of Light, a new world that Galeem created in the original world's place, to rescue captured fighters and Spirits -the remnants of other characters' physical forms- by completing marked Spirit Battles. Players can use regained allies and Spirits to overcome certain challenges on the map and defeat Galeem. However, after Galeem is defeated, a new enemy, Dharkon, emerges; after Dharkon's defeat, it wages war against Galeem. If just Galeem is defeated, Dharkon will engulf the world in darkness, but if just Dharkon is defeated, then Galeem will cover the universe with light. However, by defeating an equal number of light and dark Spirits on the final map, players are able to challenge and defeat both of them, freeing the Spirits from their control.
=== Additional features ===
The game supports local multiplayer, local wireless with other systems, and online play via Wi-Fi or LAN connections. By defeating players online, players earn tags which can be traded for in-game currency to buy new Spirits, music, and Mii Fighter costumes. The game is compatible with Joy-Con controllers, the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, and GameCube controllers via a USB adapter. Like the previous entry, amiibo figurines can be used to create AI-controlled Figure Players, which can be trained to become stronger. Shortly after the game's release, a service for the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app, known as "Smash World", was launched, which allows players to check their game statistics and share images and videos captured from the game to social media. Ultimate features over 900 music tracks, which can be played through the Switch's handheld mode while in standby mode. Version 3.0 of the game, released in April 2019, adds a Stage Builder, which allows players to create custom stages which can be shared or downloaded through the Switch Online service. The update also includes a replay editor, allowing players to edit stored replays, which can be shared online or downloaded to other devices. These replays are available within the Smash World app. An update in May 2019 provided limited support for the virtual reality VR Kit of Nintendo Labo, allowing players to view computer-only matches in VR or play in a 1-on-1 mode against the computer. An update in September 2019 added the Home-Run Contest mode from previous Smash games.
=== Playable characters ===
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, like other games in the Super Smash Bros. series, features a crossover cast of fighters from several different Nintendo franchises, as well as fighters from series owned by third-party developers. The base game features 74 playable fighters, consisting of all 63 previous fighters from past entries and 11 newcomers: the Inklings from the Splatoon series; Princess Daisy from the Mario series; Ridley and Dark Samus from the Metroid series; Simon and Richter Belmont from the Castlevania series; Chrom from Fire Emblem Awakening; King K. Rool from the Donkey Kong series; Isabelle from the Animal Crossing series; Ken Masters from the Street Fighter series; and Incineroar from Pokémon Sun and Moon. When starting the game, players only have access to the eight starter characters of the original Super Smash Bros. and unlock the rest by completing the game's Classic mode, playing through World of Light, or fighting a certain number of battles.
Certain characters whose movesets are directly based on other characters are now classified as "Echo Fighters", possessing similar movesets and proportions to the fighters they are based on, but with unique animations and gameplay differences. On the character selection screen, these characters can either be listed individually or stacked with the fighters they are based on. Select characters also have alternative skins featuring different genders or sometimes other characters, such as Bowser Jr., who has the other Koopalings as skins, but with identical animations and abilities. Several returning characters received updates to their appearances, such as Mario having Cappy from Super Mario Odyssey accompanying him and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's incarnation of Link replacing the one from Twilight Princess.
Additional fighters have been added to the game via post-release downloadable content (DLC). The first of these, Piranha Plant from the Mario series, was released in January 2019 and made available for free to those who purchased and registered the game with a My Nintendo account before the end of that month. Additional fighters, each coming with a unique stage and related music, have been released both individually and as part of two Fighters Pass bundles. The first Fighters Pass consisted of five characters: Joker from Persona 5, released in April 2019; the Hero from the Dragon Quest series, released in July 2019; Banjo & Kazooie from the Banjo-Kazooie series, released in September 2019; Terry Bogard from the Fatal Fury series, released in November 2019; and Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, released in January 2020.
The second Fighters Pass, titled Fighters Pass Volume 2, consisted of six additional fighters and was the final content planned for Ultimate. The first character in this collection, Min Min from ARMS, was released in June 2020. Steve, the default player avatar from Minecraft, was released in October 2020. Sephiroth, the main antagonist of Final Fantasy VII, was released in December 2020, with players able to unlock him a few days early by defeating him in a limited-time boss battle known as the "Sephiroth Challenge". Pyra and Mythra, a dual character from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, were released in March 2021. Kazuya Mishima from the Tekken series was released in June 2021. Sora from the Kingdom Hearts series was the final fighter to be added in October 2021.
== Development ==
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd., the same studios that developed Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, for the Nintendo Switch, with series creator Masahiro Sakurai returning as game director. Unlike previous Super Smash Bros. games, the team was not assembled from the ground up, which sped up preparation time. The project plan for the game was in the works by December 2015, when the DLC for 3DS and Wii U was in development, and finished after it was completed. Staff gathering was done soon afterward. The development period was shorter compared to previous entries in the series. Hatena assisted with the development of some elements, and tri-Crescendo contributed to programming and design.
According to Sakurai, producing a Super Smash Bros. game for the Switch was the last request that former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata had given him before his death in 2015, and he wanted to make the game the best possible product he could to respect him. Sakurai sought to include every character from previous games, as to not disappoint fans. However, he knew this would be a complex problem for both development and licensing; it would also drastically increase the cost of development. The return of Bandai and Sora made it easier for this to happen. Sakurai also wanted to adjust character abilities to speed up the game, although not to an extent that would alienate players unfamiliar with the series. Sakurai knew that Ultimate was a core game for Nintendo and that it had a dedicated player base that he did not want to disappoint, and believed that completing this goal was necessary to satisfy them. Sakurai was also faced with the decision to either create a completely new game system or build off of pre-existing ones; he chose to build off pre-existing ones because there would only be about a third of the characters he desired in the final game. All the returning characters' abilities had to be re-balanced so they could work in Ultimate. Originally, gameplay would differ between the Switch's docked and handheld modes, but Sakurai scrapped this idea since the system's screen in handheld mode was better than he thought. Sakurai believed this would be the only Smash game to have the full roster of returning characters, calling the effort to include the characters, music, stage settings, and other elements as "unprecedented", and cautioned that future games in the series would likely be smaller in scope. However, he still wanted to add as many fighters as possible through DLC.
Voice lines recorded by David Hayter for Snake were re-used for Ultimate. Xander Mobus, who voiced Crazy Hand, Master Hand, and the announcer in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, also made a return with new voice clips, in addition to reprising his role as Joker from Persona 5 when he was added as DLC. The addition of Ridley from Metroid as a playable character had been highly requested within the Super Smash Bros. community for some time. In 2008, Sakurai stated that he knew Ridley was a high-demand character, but thought that he was "impossible" to add unless they were able to sacrifice the character's size for balancing purposes. So that Ridley could be included in the game, Sakurai studied the art of the character and redesigned him so he could stand upright. All characters were chosen at the beginning of development except for Incineroar, who had not been created yet; the team instead left a space open for a Sun and Moon Pokémon. The Inklings' ink mechanic proved challenging to implement due to its interactions with environments.
The team built Ultimate from scratch with new assets and content. Localization manager Nate Bihldorff stated that the game significantly upgraded lighting effects and texture rendering from the game engine of the Wii U version. The World of Light mode was inspired by Brawl's (2008) Subspace Emissary, and Sakurai chose to start it with a cataclysmic event because he thought it would leave a greater impact on players. The team conceived the Spirits mechanic because they wanted to create an enjoyable single-player mode, but did not have enough resources to create character models. While it did not let them tell stories for individual fighters or create new locations and rules, it let them use various characters and assets. One part of the team chose Spirits to include in the game and had to thoroughly research them; according to Sakurai, the Spirits mode was essential for using various franchises.
=== Music ===
Like previous games in the series, Ultimate features several well-known video game music composers and arrangers providing a mix of original music and rearrangements of various tracks for the represented franchises, with over 1,000 tracks in total. New to Ultimate is the tying of tracks to franchises instead of individual stages, as well as the ability to create custom playlists to listen to outside the game when the Switch is in handheld mode. Sakurai stated that he began contacting composers over a year before release, providing them with a database of over a thousand suggested track ideas. In addition, he allowed them to submit their own personal favorites, with those choices being given priority for inclusion. While Sakurai oversaw the process and preferred that the music retain the spirit of the original games, the direction of them was generally handled by the composers themselves. The main theme, "Lifelight", composed by Hideki Sakamoto, is the basis of most of the game's original music.
=== Downloadable content ===
As with previous entries, Nintendo planned to offer new fighters through DLC; however, unlike with the 3DS and Wii U, where players could request which characters they wished to see in the game, Nintendo chose which characters they would add by November 2018. Like the previous title, additional Mii costumes were released as paid DLC, with certain costumes also adding new music tracks to the game. Sakurai believed that despite characters like Joker, the first announced DLC fighter, not being from games usually associated with Nintendo, they were added because they were "emblematic" of the types of characters they wanted to add to Ultimate. He also stated that they "bring just a whole different level of fun and enjoyment for players". The Piranha Plant was chosen as a DLC character because Sakurai wanted to add diversity to the roster. Nintendo met with Rare studio head Craig Duncan at E3 2018 to discuss the possibility of including Banjo and Kazooie as downloadable content; Duncan, believing it to be "a great opportunity", agreed and connected the two development teams for further discussions. Sakurai noted that Banjo and Kazooie were the second most requested character for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in a Nintendo-sanctioned fan vote in 2015, and that their addition happened "quite easily", despite the property being owned by Microsoft through its acquisition of Rare. Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, stated that negotiating their inclusion was "an easy deal to make" thanks to Microsoft's strong partnership with Nintendo.
The development of Fighters Pass Volume 2 was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as due to stay-at-home orders in Japan, Sakurai and his development team had to work remotely. According to Daniel Kaplan of Mojang Studios, early discussions between Nintendo and Microsoft about including Minecraft content in the Super Smash Bros. series had begun roughly five years prior to Steve's addition into the game. The character's inclusion required the development team to rework every stage in the game to accommodate Steve's gameplay mechanics. Sakurai had wanted to include Sora from Kingdom Hearts in the game because he was the top fighter requested for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in the 2015 fan vote. However, they initially thought that the legality surrounding the intellectual property with Disney would be insurmountable, and originally planned for only five fighters in the second pass. However, Sakurai met a Disney representative at an award venue, which facilitated the start of negotiations for Sora's inclusion. Nintendo, Disney, and Square Enix saw towards including Sora in the game and overseeing all aspects related to his inclusion, with several limitations and guidelines they were required to follow. The Sora Challenger Pack featured a promotional tie-in with the 2020 rhythm game Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory: players with Melody of Memory save data on their Nintendo Switch would unlock the music track "Dearly Beloved (Swing Version)".
== Release ==
On March 8, 2018, Nintendo announced that the next Super Smash Bros. game would release on the Nintendo Switch sometime in 2018. The teaser, broadcast in an online Nintendo Direct presentation, did not reveal the title of the game. However, it showed several characters, including Mario, Link, and the Inklings from Splatoon, the last of which would be new to the Super Smash Bros. series. At E3 2018 that June, Nintendo revealed the game's title as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and announced that it would be released on December 7, 2018. The E3 presentation detailed several changes to the gameplay of Ultimate compared to previous titles, and highlighted that every playable character from past installments of the series would return in Ultimate, in addition to new characters like the Inklings and Ridley from the Metroid series, who was announced at the end of the presentation. Afterwards, Nintendo hosted an invitational tournament for the game featuring competitive players of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Melee.
Demo versions were playable at E3 and at San Diego Comic-Con the following month. IGN nominated Ultimate for its Best Game of E3 2018 award; the game won Best Nintendo Switch Game from both IGN and Gamescom. Two Nintendo Direct presentations in 2018, one on August 8 and another one on November 1, were devoted to the game, revealing new characters, stages, and game modes.
Nintendo released Super Smash Bros. Ultimate worldwide on December 7, 2018. In addition to the standard retail version, a special edition containing a Super Smash Bros.-themed Nintendo Switch Pro Controller and a Switch with a download code was also released. An additional special edition contained a pair of Super Smash Bros.-themed Joy-Con as well as a Switch console, a Super Smash Bros.-themed dock, and a download code for the game. A GameCube controller with the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate logo was released on November 2, 2018.
One of the game's new additions had the character Mr. Game & Watch assuming the appearance of a feather- and loincloth-wearing Native American when using one of his attacks—a reference to Fire Attack (1982), in which players controlled a cowboy defending his fort from attacking indigenous people. Some users on social media saw this as racist, leading to Nintendo of America apologizing and removing the animation in an update shortly after release. Two weeks before its release, a leaked copy of the game was distributed across the internet. Nintendo took steps to issue copyright strikes on YouTube videos using data mined content, while fans worked to isolate spoilers, particularly the World of Light story mode, from those that had played the leaked version.
== Reception ==
Ultimate received "universal acclaim" from critics, according to the review aggregator platform Metacritic. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received "mighty" approval, being recommended by 97% of critics. Critics lauded the huge cast of characters and levels, new game modes, and combining of the best elements from its predecessors. French video game website Jeuxvideo.com called it the best game in the series, praising its features which "brilliantly mix gargantuan content with nostalgia". Bleacher Report hailed the game's colorful art style, faster gameplay, and unique stages. IGN praised the game's decision to bring back every character from the series as "ambitious and excellent". The game's massive soundtrack and portable music player were praised by The Verge.
However, the game's online mode received criticism for its technical performance and matchmaking. Many players found significant lag affecting their games, even when using wired connections over wireless, while the game's matchmaking features did not adhere to players' criteria, with players frequently playing matches with rule sets they did not choose. The matchmaking process was further criticized for making it difficult for friends to join matches over random players, and not allowing multiple local players to join in online matches. There had been so many complaints on Ultimate's subreddit that the administrators forwarded all complaints to a separate thread. The lag and loading time issues are lessened on the Nintendo Switch 2, which is backwards compatible with Switch games such as Ultimate. The World of Light mode also received mixed reviews. While some found the single-player mode both accessible and challenging, others found the mode tedious and excessive.
=== Sales ===
In November 2018, Nintendo announced Ultimate was the most pre-ordered game for the Switch and in the series. The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment reported that Ultimate was the fastest-selling Switch and Super Smash Bros. game in the United Kingdom, with physical launch sales 302% higher than those for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, 233% higher than those for 3DS, and 62.5% higher than those for Brawl. In its first three days on sale in Japan, the game sold 1.2 million copies, outselling Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in the region.
Within 11 days of its release, Ultimate had sold more than three million copies within the United States, making it the fastest-selling Switch game in the country. It was similarly the fastest-selling Switch game as well as the fastest-selling game for any Nintendo console in Europe based on the first 11-day sales. It was estimated that the game sold and shipped over five million copies within its first three days of release. Within three weeks, Ultimate became the fifth best-selling Switch game in the United Kingdom, surpassing the sales of Splatoon 2. In January 2019, Amazon reported that Ultimate was their highest selling video game product of 2018, with Nintendo officially announcing that the game had shipped over 12.08 million copies worldwide. Ultimate was also Nintendo's fastest-selling game of all time until being surpassed by Pokémon Sword and Shield in 2019. By September 2020, the game had sold over 21.10 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling fighting game of all time, surpassing the record of Street Fighter II, and became the third-best-selling Nintendo Switch game, only behind Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. As of March 31, 2025, total sales reached 36.24 million.
=== Awards ===
The game won the award for "Best Nintendo Switch Game", "Best Fighting Game", and "Best Multiplayer Game" in IGN's Best of 2018 Awards, whereas its other nominations were for "Game of the Year" and "Best Video Game Music".
== Esports ==
EVO 2019, held on August 2–4, 2019, featured Ultimate as one of its main events. It was the largest offline Smash Bros. tournament of all time, with 3,534 entrants signed up. It set a new record for EVO concurrent viewership, with over 279,000 viewers during Top 8. On May 8–10, 2020, top Super Smash Bros. Melee player Hungrybox partnered with NFL running back Le'Veon Bell and esports organization Team Liquid to host The Box, an online tournament with a $10,000 prize pool.
In February 2020, it was announced that the Smash World Tour would feature both Super Smash Bros. Melee and Ultimate players for a grand prize pool of $250,000. The tournament would have included international qualifiers, with the grand finals' location to be in the United States. However, the COVID-19 pandemic quickly led to several of the qualifiers getting either postponed or canceled. The Smash World Tour was successfully relaunched in 2021, featuring a mix of online and offline qualifiers and culminating in a final offline championship. In 2022, an officially licensed circuit was introduced, being the Panda Cup, featuring Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. However, on November 24, 2022, Nintendo stated that the Smash World Tour 2022 could not continue, as they did not have a license from Nintendo. Accusations of Panda CEO, Alan Bunney, caused many players who had qualified for the Panda Cup to drop out. This caused both the Panda Cup and the Smash World Tour 2022 Championships to be cancelled, along with the Smash World Tour 2023. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Prinze_Jr. | Freddie Prinze Jr. | Freddie James Prinze Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American actor. He has starred in films such as I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and its sequels I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025), She's All That (1999), Down to You, Boys and Girls (both 2000), Summer Catch (2001), Scooby-Doo (2002), and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004). Alongside recurring roles on Boston Legal (2004) and 24 (2010), Prinze starred on the self-titled ABC sitcom Freddie (2005–2006)—which he co-created and executive produced—and voiced Kanan Jarrus in the Disney XD series Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018) and the film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). Prinze also worked for WWE as a writer from 2007–2009 and then as a producer from 2010–2012. He is the only child of actor and comedian Freddie Prinze.
== Early life ==
Freddie James Prinze Jr. was born in Los Angeles on March 8, 1976, the only child of Katherine Elaine Prinze (née Cochran) and actor and stand-up comedian Freddie Prinze.
On January 29, 1977, Freddie Prinze died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, after which Prinze Jr. relocated with his mother to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Prinze was raised Catholic. His paternal grandmother was from Puerto Rico and he is fluent in Spanish. Prinze had enjoyed acting in school productions as a child and participated in Albuquerque Children's Theatre, though he originally planned to become a civil engineer before getting roles on Family Matters and The Watcher. Soon after that, he saw Neil Patrick Harris at his high school getting kids excited about acting, and decided to become an actor. After graduating from La Cueva High School in 1994, Prinze moved to Los Angeles to audition for television roles.
== Career ==
=== Television and film ===
Prinze was cast in a guest role on the ABC TV series Family Matters in 1995. He then appeared in a few programs and made-for-TV movies, before making his motion picture debut in To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday in 1996. In subsequent years, Prinze's appearances in youth-oriented movies I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and its sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) made him known to teenage audiences. His first leading role was in the romantic comedy She's All That (1999), which grossed $63 million in the United States.
Subsequently, he had leading roles in Wing Commander (1999), Down to You (2000), Boys and Girls (2000), Head over Heels (2001), and Summer Catch (2001), most of which were disliked by critics and had moderate box office success.
He played Fred Jones in the 2002 live-action film version of the popular cartoon Scooby-Doo, and reprised the role in the 2004 sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, both alongside his wife Sarah Michelle Gellar and along with Matthew Lillard and Linda Cardellini. He guest starred on the popular NBC show Friends as a sensitive male nanny named Sandy on the series' 200th episode. He took the role of Sandy after Tom Hanks could not do it due to scheduling. He also appeared as Donny Crane, a character believed to be Denny Crane's son in the ABC legal drama-comedy Boston Legal. Prinze starred in his own television sitcom, titled Freddie. The sitcom is said to depict some actual events from his life, and was cancelled after one season in May 2006. He guest starred on George Lopez for a crossover with Freddie. In 2004, Prinze accepted a special award from TV Land on behalf of his late father. He thanked his father's former co-star Della Reese for her continued advice and support. In 2006, he lent his voice to the character of Pi in the animated film Shark Bait. Also in 2007, he lent his voice to the character of Rick in Happily N'Ever After along with his wife Gellar, Wallace Shawn, Andy Dick, George Carlin, and Sigourney Weaver. In 2008, he auditioned for Jigsaw in Punisher: War Zone, but was not given the part at the decision of Lionsgate Studios. He later was the voice of the titular character in the animated movie Delgo. In 2010, Prinze guest starred on Psych as Dennis, a grade school friend of Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster. In March 2019, Prinze was cast as Nancy Drew's father, Carson Drew, in The CW mystery pilot Nancy Drew, but was later replaced by Scott Wolf. He also voiced the future version of Tim and Jim Possible in the Kim Possible movie Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time.
In March 2009, it was announced that Prinze had signed on to star as Bradley, aka Ultimatum, in the ABC show No Heroics, an American remake of the British show of the same name. The show was not picked up, but Prinze was cast as a series regular for the eighth season of the television show 24; he played Cole Ortiz, a new CTU operative. In 2021, Prinze joined the reboot of Punky Brewster on Peacock, playing the title character's ex-husband.
=== Other work ===
Prinze and Chris Klein appeared in the 2002-03 West End production of Kenneth Lonergan's play This Is Our Youth, replacing original cast members Jake Gyllenhaal and Hayden Christensen.
He voiced a pilot in a Vatta's War: Trading in Danger graphic audio book. Prinze voiced different characters in BioWare video games: Lieutenant James Vega in Mass Effect 3 and The Iron Bull in Dragon Age: Inquisition. He returned to the role of James Vega again for the animated feature film Mass Effect: Paragon Lost, dubbed by FUNimation. From 2014 until 2018, he was the voice of Kanan Jarrus, one of the last surviving Jedi Knights, on the Disney XD series Star Wars Rebels. He reprised the role for the opening scene of the pilot episode of the Disney+ series The Bad Batch in May 2021. In March 2023, he launched a new podcast, That Was Pretty Scary, with co-host Jon Lee Brody.
=== Professional wrestling ===
==== Work with WWE (2008–2009, 2010–2012) ====
Prinze is a WWE fan and was seen on television in attendance at the March 2008 WrestleMania XXIV pay-per-view and its preceding Hall of Fame ceremony. He also made a cameo on an episode of The Dirt Sheet, an online program hosted by wrestlers John Morrison and The Miz. He had created an official profile on WWE's "Universe" blog community where he would regularly write his thoughts about the current goings-on in the world of the WWE. His relationship with the company was furthered when he was hired as a member of the creative staff to contribute to weekly television and pay-per-view programming for the SmackDown brand. It was reported on February 22, 2009, that Prinze and WWE had parted ways, but in January 2021, Prinze explained that he had actually chosen to leave the company at that time.
On August 17, 2009, Prinze appeared on Raw as a special guest host, where he was assaulted by then WWE Champion Randy Orton after refusing to bail Orton out of his tag team match with John Cena, who was due to challenge him in the upcoming SummerSlam. Prinze later returned to the program and got his payback during Orton's match with Cena against Big Show and Chris Jericho, by setting up a lumberjack match involving Mark Henry, Primo, Evan Bourne, Kofi Kingston, MVP, and Jamie Noble.
Prinze returned to WWE on October 1, 2010, in a role as a producer and director. On the November 1, 2010 episode of Monday Night Raw, Prinze made an on-screen appearance as Vince McMahon's doctor, a dream sequence scene that coincided with Linda McMahon's attempt to win a seat in the Senate for the state of Connecticut. Prinze left WWE for a second time due to a comment made by Stone Cold Steve Austin to a contestant while taping an episode of the fifth season of WWE Tough Enough.
==== Podcast (since 2021) ====
In November 2021, Prinze started his own podcast Wrestling With Freddie with cohost Jeff Dye.
=== Premier Streaming Network ===
In April 2023, Freddie Prinze Jr. joined the ownership team of Premier Streaming Network, a streaming platform focused on wrestling, sports, and entertainment content.
=== MyFandom Sports App ===
In June 2024, Freddie Prinze Jr. was announced as part of the ownership team behind MyFandom, an iOS app co-founded by brothers Fred and Josh Shernoff. MyFandom allows sports fans to contribute personal media to a collective archive of sporting events, creating a user-generated historical record while enabling individuals to curate their own attendance history.
== Personal life ==
Prinze dated actress Kimberly McCullough from 1996 until 1999. He married actress Sarah Michelle Gellar on September 1, 2002, in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. The couple met several years before, while filming I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), started dating in 2000 and were engaged in April 2001. They co-starred in Scooby-Doo (2002), Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), Happily N'Ever After (2006), Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018), and the 2025 sequel to I Know What You Did Last Summer that bore the same title. Gellar made a non-speaking cameo in Prinze's film She's All That (1999). They have two children together: a daughter born September 19, 2009, and a son born September 21, 2012.
Prinze is an avid practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and has reached the rank of purple belt in the sport, having been promoted under Jean Jacques Machado.
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television ===
=== Video games ===
=== Music video appearances ===
=== Podcasts ===
== Awards and nominations == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She%27s_All_That | She's All That | She's All That is a 1999 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Robert Iscove. It stars Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook, Matthew Lillard, Paul Walker, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Kevin Pollak, Usher Raymond, Kimberly "Lil' Kim" Jones, and Anna Paquin. In the film, Zack Siler (Prinze Jr.) is a popular high school student who, after being dumped by his girlfriend, accepts a bet from his friend to transform Laney Boggs (Cook), a nerdy outcast, into the prom queen in six weeks. It is a modern adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion and George Cukor's 1964 film My Fair Lady.
The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances of the lead actors, but were critical of the script. It was one of the most popular teen films of the late 1990s and reached number one at the box office in its first week of release. It went on to earn $103.2 million worldwide. After featuring in the film, the song "Kiss Me" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed in the top 10 for 16 weeks. A gender-swapped remake, titled He's All That, was released on Netflix on August 27, 2021.
== Plot ==
Zack Siler is a popular student at his Southern California high school. After returning from spring break, he discovers that his equally popular girlfriend Taylor has cheated on him with reality TV star Brock Hudson. As Zack's popularity wanes after Taylor breaks up with him, he proclaims that Taylor is replaceable with any girl in school. His friend Dean disagrees and challenges Zack to turn any random girl from school into the prom queen in six weeks. He accepts, so Dean chooses Laney Boggs, an awkward and unpopular art student.
Zack attempts to befriend Laney, but she pointedly ignores his advances, until he asks for her help with art. She reluctantly invites him to a performance art piece where she is performing. Intending to deter him, Laney volunteers Zack to perform onstage. He manages to improvise a routine with his hacky sack. Laney is impressed, but still rejects him when Zack attempts to charm her again.
When Zack shows up at her house, Laney reluctantly agrees to go to the beach with him and his friends, who invite her to a party later. Laney says she is busy, but Zack persuades her to go. He enlists his younger sister, Mack, to give her a makeover. At the party, Taylor, who is embarrassed by Brock and jealous of Laney, publicly humiliates her, bringing her to tears.
Laney is surprised to be nominated for prom queen, along with Taylor. Zack then goes by her house and asks about her mother, who died when Laney was a child. He talks about his father, who has been pressuring him to go to Dartmouth. Zack leans in to kiss Laney, but pulls back when she jokes that it is just to obtain her vote for prom king.
The next day, Zack defends Laney's younger brother, Simon, from bullies in the cafeteria. After a falling-out with Zack, Dean asks Laney to be his prom date. Taylor is humiliated when Brock dumps her, so she cozies up to Zack. When he turns her down, she tells him that Dean has already asked Laney to the prom. When Zack confronts him, Dean reveals the bet, forcing a public confession from Zack. A furious Laney rushes from the room, refusing to speak to Zack.
Unable to reconcile with Laney, Zack takes his sister to the prom. After some persuading from her father, a disheartened Laney agrees to go with Dean. At the dance, he boasts of his plan to seduce her. Laney's best friend, Jesse, overhears and he and Mack rush to warn Zack, who has taken the stage with Taylor as Prom King and Queen. Zack rushes after Laney, who has already left with Dean.
Laney returns home to find Zack there. She explains how she avoided Dean's advances with a foghorn. Zack confesses his true feelings, and they share a dance and kiss by the pool. Laney asks him about the bet, and he mysteriously says he will honor the terms. On the day of graduation, he appears onstage nude except for cap and a soccer ball, getting applause from the crowd, and a smile from Laney.
== Cast ==
== Production ==
=== Casting ===
The film had an ensemble cast of up-and-coming actors, including Kieran Culkin, Academy Award winner Anna Paquin, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, singer Usher Raymond, rapper Lil' Kim, Gabrielle Union in her film debut, and Dulé Hill. Producer Richard N. Gladstein noted, "There were other films that you could've seen them in, but they weren't usually the leads in those films." According to director Robert Iscove, Miramax co-head Harvey Weinstein was very involved in script development and casting, and was able to get great actors in very small parts as a personal favor.
Iscove said Josh Hartnett was considered for the role of Zack Siler, and many actresses were considered for the role of Laney Boggs, including Mena Suvari, Leelee Sobieski, and Jordana Brewster.
Kevin Pollak said he signed up for the movie in part because he was impressed with Freddie Prinze Jr.’s performance in The House of Yes a few years earlier and was interested in working with him.
=== Writing ===
R. Lee Fleming Jr. is officially credited as the sole screenwriter for the film. In a 2002 interview, M. Night Shyamalan stated that he polished the screenplay while adapting Stuart Little and writing a spec script for The Sixth Sense. This was also confirmed in the film's audio commentary by Iscove.
In 2013, Shyamalan claimed that, rather than simply polishing Fleming's original script, he actually ghost-wrote the film. This was disputed by Fleming. Jack Lechner (who served as Miramax's head of development in the late 1990s) confirmed that technically both Shyamalan and Fleming contributed to the script: Fleming wrote the initial script that Miramax bought, while Shyamalan did an uncredited rewrite (doing more than "a polish") that got the film green-lit. Lechner reiterated that content from both writers was included in the final cut of the film. Producer Richard N. Gladstein said that the script "was pretty much done" already, but that Shyamalan's changes "helped enormously with the relationship with Kevin Pollak [who played Laney's father, Wayne]". Iscove attributed the performance art piece and the hacky sack sequence to Shyamalan. Fleming attributed the line "Am I a fucking bet?" to Shyamalan. Fleming included various pop culture references in his script: Laney Boggs was named after two characters played by Winona Ryder, Kim Boggs from Edward Scissorhands and Laney Pierce from Reality Bites; the characters Zack and Taylor were named after two of the three members of the band Hanson. Pollak constantly guessing Jeopardy! answers incorrectly is a running joke, which he previously did in the 1997 film Truth or Consequences, N.M.. The idea was in Fleming's script but Pollak expanded and improvised his answers.
Iscove was influenced by the movies of John Hughes and was trying do something different for the '90s generation that would still resonate. He stressed the importance of the story having a heart, how Zack had to be worthy of Laney, and how Laney had to learn to be more open. The story was rewritten to better fit Prinze Jr. and make Zack a more sympathetic character with his own challenges. Iscove was well aware that it was implausible to suggest Rachael Leigh Cook was ugly, but said it was standard practice in Hollywood to cast "the beautiful girl" and that it requires the audience to suspend their disbelief: "You either go along with it or you don't go along with it." Comparing Laney's transformation to that of Clark Kent into Superman, Iscove said casting the role was more about finding an actor who had the range to give the necessary performance.
=== Filming ===
Filming took place from August 6, 1998, to September 28, 1998, in various California locations. The high school scenes were shot at Torrance High School, where television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Beverly Hills, 90210 were previously filmed.
Iscove was also a choreographer and wanted to expand and embellish the prom scenes, while also showing the Weinsteins how musical numbers could work in films. The dance scene was choreographed by Adam Shankman at the request of the film's co-producer Jennifer Gibgot, who is Shankman's sister. Shankman was assisted by Anne Fletcher. Shankman was concerned about the scene not tonally meshing with the rest of the film, but Iscove persisted. Test audiences did not understand why the dance scene was happening, so Bob Weinstein asked for a reshoot with Usher to link the scene. Shankman also worked with Matthew Lillard on his solo dance scenes.
Costume designer Denise Wingate said, "We had no budget so we had to be really creative—everything in that prom scene was white, black, and gold, and we got it all from The Salvation Army and just completely reworked it." Having majored in psychology, Wingate tried to explore the possible reasons for the characters’ wardrobe. Wingate concluded that Laney wore clothes like armor after the death of her mother, but also wanted to express herself as an artist, resulting in a mix of vintage clothes, overalls, aprons, and various quirky t-shirts. The falafel restaurant hat was created on short notice with items picked up from a Michaels craft store. Laney's transformation was reflected in the red dress, which demonstrated "a bold statement of her dressing in a color that was so different than anything we’d seen her in before." Cook recalled "feeling really self-conscious” in the scene where she first descends the stairs in the dress. There were two versions of the red dress: a stunt double dress reserved for the scene when Laney falls down in a driveway outside a party, and a second smaller dress, which left Cook holding her breath trying to get through the scene quickly.
== Soundtrack ==
The song "Kiss Me" was used as the main theme song. The film's box office success helped "Kiss Me" to gain widespread mainstream attention and chart success. It climbed to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 list, and stayed in the Top 10 for 16 straight weeks and number four in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
== Reception ==
=== Critical response ===
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 43% based on 61 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Despite its charming young leads, She's All That can't overcome its predictable, inconsistently funny script." On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 51, based on reviews from 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
It was the last film to be reviewed by Gene Siskel before his death in February 1999. Siskel gave a positive review and wrote, "Rachael Leigh Cook, as Laney, the plain Jane object of the makeover, is forced to demonstrate the biggest emotional range as a character, and she is equal to the assignment." Roger Ebert suggested: "To give the movie credit, it's as bored with the underlying plot as we are. Even the prom queen election is only a backdrop for more interesting material, as She's All That explores differences in class and style, and peppers its screenplay with very funny little moments." Ebert says it "is not a great movie, but it has its moments", giving it 2.5 out of 4 stars. Stephen Holden of The New York Times praised Cook for her performance, comparing her to Winona Ryder, saying, "Unlike so many actors playing smart young people, she actually projects some intelligence along with a sly sense of comedy."
Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle calls it "About one idea short of being an excellent teenage romance. As it stands it's a pleasing but routine effort." LaSalle criticized the film for running out of plot about halfway, saying the "story line is stretched to the breaking point. In one instance, director Robert Iscove stops the action for a long dance sequence, set at the prom, that has nothing to do with anything." He commented the film is "intermittently funny" and praised Matthew Lillard's performance, calling it the best thing in the picture.
Geoff Berkshire of Variety was critical of the lack of originality, and wrote, "Suggesting that Miramax needs to put Kevin Williamson on permanent retainer if it's going to remain in the teen-pics field, She's All That notably fails to bring to comedy the insight that the Williamson-penned Scream brought so memorably to horror". Berkshire was positive about the two leads, saying "appealing young actors come off as competent, nothing more, given a context that can't be transcended." He described the direction as "nothing to be ashamed of here, but nothing of any distinction, either", and noted the soundtrack as a not unexpected plus.
Jane Ganahl of the San Francisco Examiner wrote, "And once, just once, I'd love to see a teen flick that doesn't send out a message to young girls that to be acceptable, you have to conform. I liked the artist girl much better before."
William Thomas of Empire criticized the film, saying that despite a few scenes, "The rest is just breezy propaganda for American high school fascism", and "The most worrying thing about She's All That is its message. The 'ugly duckling' (specs, dungarees, art-lover) must conform (she gets a makeover and the boys notice her "bobos" for the first time) to fit in."
=== Box office ===
She's All That premiered on January 19, 1999, at the Mann Festival Theater in Westwood, Los Angeles. The film went into general release on January 29. It was released in Italy under the title Kiss Me.
The film reached number one at the box office in the first week of its release, grossing $16.1 million over the Super Bowl opening weekend. It earned $63.4 million in the United States and $39.8 million at international box offices, totaling $103.2 million worldwide against a production budget between $7–10 million. Miramax spent a further $18 million on television advertising to promote the film.
=== Accolades ===
== Home media ==
Miramax Home Entertainment released the film on DVD and VHS on July 13, 1999. It also received a U.S. LaserDisc release on July 27, 1999.
In 2010, Miramax was sold by The Walt Disney Company (their owners since 1993), with the studio being taken over by private equity firm Filmyard Holdings that same year. Filmyard sublicensed the home media rights for several Miramax titles to Lionsgate. On January 3, 2012, Lionsgate Home Entertainment released She's All That on Blu-ray.
Filmyard Holdings sold Miramax to Qatari company beIN Media Group during March 2016. In April 2020, ViacomCBS (now known as Paramount Skydance) acquired the rights to Miramax's library, after buying a 49% stake in the studio from beIN. She's All That was one of the 700 titles Paramount acquired in the deal.
Paramount Home Entertainment reissued the film on DVD and Blu-ray on September 22, 2020, with this being one of many Miramax titles that they reissued around this time. Paramount made it available on their subscription streaming service Paramount+, which launched in 2021, as well as on their free streaming service Pluto TV. In Australia, it was also on the streaming service for the Paramount-owned broadcaster Network 10.
== Remake ==
In September 2020, a gender-swapped remake of the film was announced, titled He's All That, with Mark Waters to direct, original screenwriter R. Lee Fleming Jr. to write, and starring Addison Rae and Tanner Buchanan. That October, Myra Molloy, Madison Pettis, Peyton Meyer, Isabella Crovetti, and Annie Jacob were cast.
In December 2020, Rachael Leigh Cook joined the cast to portray Rae's character's mother. It has been confirmed that Cook's character is unrelated to her original character. He's All That was released on Netflix on August 27, 2021. It was produced by Miramax, under their new Paramount/beIN Media Group co-ownership. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Louis | Joe Louis | Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 until his temporary retirement in 1949. He was victorious in 25 consecutive title defenses, a record for all weight classes. Louis has the longest single reign as champion of any boxer in history.
Louis's cultural impact was felt well outside the ring. He is widely regarded as the first African-American to achieve the status of a nationwide hero within the United States, and was also a focal point of anti-Nazi sentiment leading up to and during World War II because of his historic rematch with German boxer Max Schmeling in 1938.
== Early life ==
Born on May 13, 1914, in rural Chambers County, Alabama—in a ramshackle dwelling on Bell Chapel Road, located about 1 mile (2 kilometres) off State Route 50 and roughly 6 miles (10 kilometres) from LaFayette—Louis was the seventh of eight children of Munroe Barrow and Lillie (Reese) Barrow. He weighed 11 pounds (5 kg) at birth. Both of his parents were children of former slaves, alternating between sharecropping and rental farming.
Louis suffered from a speech impediment and spoke very little until about the age of six. Munroe Barrow was committed to a mental institution in 1916 and, as a result, Joe knew very little of his biological father. Around 1920, Louis's mother married Pat Brooks, a local construction contractor, having received word that Munroe Barrow had died while institutionalized (in reality, Munroe Barrow lived until 1938, unaware of his son's fame).
In 1926, shaken by a gang of white men in the Ku Klux Klan, Louis's family moved to Detroit, Michigan, forming part of the post-World War I Great Migration. Joe's brother worked for Ford Motor Company (where Joe would himself work for a time at the River Rouge Plant) and the family settled into a home at 2700 Catherine (now Madison) Street in Detroit's Black Bottom neighborhood.
Louis attended Bronson Vocational School for a time to learn cabinetmaking.
== Amateur career ==
The Great Depression severely affected the Barrow family, but Joe still made time to work out at a local youth recreation center at 637 Brewster Street in Detroit. His mother attempted to get him interested in playing the violin. He is rumored to have tried to hide his pugilistic ambitions from his mother by carrying his boxing gloves inside his violin case.
Louis made his debut in early 1932 at the age of 17. Legend has it that before the fight, the barely literate Louis wrote his name so large that there was no room for his last name, and thus became known as "Joe Louis" for the remainder of his boxing career (more likely, Louis simply omitted his last name to keep his boxing a secret from his mother). After this debut—a loss to future Olympian Johnny Miler—Louis compiled numerous amateur victories, eventually winning the club championship of his Brewster Street recreation center, the home of many aspiring Golden Gloves fighters.
In 1933, Louis won the Detroit-area Golden Gloves Novice Division championship against Joe Biskey for the light heavyweight classification. He later lost in the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions. The next year, competing in the Golden Gloves' Open Division, he won the light heavyweight classification, this time also winning the Chicago Tournament of Champions against Joe Bauer. However, a hand injury forced Louis to miss the New York/Chicago Champions' cross-town bout for the ultimate Golden Gloves championship. In April 1934, he followed up his Chicago performance by winning the light heavyweight United States Amateur Champion National AAU tournament in St. Louis, Missouri.
By the end of his amateur career, Louis's record was 50–4, with 43 knockouts.
== Professional career ==
Joe Louis had only three losses in his 69 professional fights. He tallied 52 knockouts and held the championship from 1937 to 1949, the longest span of any heavyweight titleholder. After returning from retirement, Louis failed to regain the championship in 1950, and his career ended after he was knocked out by Rocky Marciano in 1951.
=== Early years ===
Louis's amateur performances attracted the interest of professional promoters, and he was soon represented by a black Detroit-area bookmaker named John Roxborough. As Louis explained in his autobiography, Roxborough convinced the young fighter that white managers would have no real interest in seeing a black boxer work his way up to title contention:
[Roxborough] told me about the fate of most black fighters, ones with white managers, who wound up burned-out and broke before they reached their prime. The white managers were not interested in the men they were handling but in the money they could make from them. They didn't take the proper time to see that their fighters had a proper training, that they lived comfortably, or ate well, or had some pocket change. Mr. Roxborough was talking about Black Power before it became popular.
Roxborough knew a Chicago area boxing promoter named Julian Black who already had a stable of mediocre boxers against which Louis could hone his craft, this time in the heavyweight division. After becoming part of the management team, Black hired fellow Chicago native Jack "Chappy" Blackburn as Louis's trainer. Louis's initial professional fights were all in the Chicago area, his professional debut coming on July 4, 1934, against Jack Kracken in the Bacon Casino on Chicago's south side. Louis earned $59 for knocking out Kracken in the first round. $59 in 1934 is equivalent to $1,148.60 in 2020 dollars. Louis won all 12 of his professional fights that year, 10 by knockout.
In September 1934, while promoting a Detroit-area "coming home" bout for Louis against Canadian Alex Borchuk, Roxborough was pressured by members of the Michigan State Boxing Commission to have Louis sign with white management. Roxborough refused and continued advancing Louis's career with bouts against heavyweight contenders Art Sykes and Stanley Poreda.
While training for a fight against Lee Ramage, Louis noticed a young female secretary for the black newspaper at the gym. After Ramage was defeated, the secretary, Marva Trotter, was invited to the celebration party at Chicago's Grand Hotel. Trotter later became Louis's first wife in 1935.
During this time, Louis also met Truman Gibson, the man who would become his personal lawyer. As a young associate at a law firm hired by Julian Black, Gibson was charged with personally entertaining Louis during the pendency of business deals.
==== Title contention ====
Although Louis's management was finding him bouts against legitimate heavyweight contenders, no path to the title was forthcoming. While professional boxing was not officially segregated, many white Americans did not like the prospect of a black champion. In 1908, during an era of severe anti-black repression, Jack Johnson became the first black heavyweight champion. Johnson's flamboyant lifestyle and marriage to a white woman engendered an enormous backlash that greatly limited opportunities of black fighters in the heavyweight division. Black boxers were denied championship bouts, and there were few heavyweight black contenders at the time, though there were African Americans who fought for titles in other weight divisions, and a few notable black champions, such as Tiger Flowers. Louis and his handlers would counter the legacy of Johnson by emphasizing the Brown Bomber's modesty and sportsmanship. Biographer Gerald Astor stated that "Joe Louis' early boxing career was stalked by the specter of Jack Johnson".
If Louis were to rise to national prominence among such cultural attitudes, a change in management would be necessary. In 1935, boxing promoter Mike Jacobs sought out Louis's handlers. After Louis's narrow defeat of Natie Brown on March 29, 1935, Jacobs and the Louis team met at the Frog Club, a black nightclub, and negotiated a three-year exclusive boxing promotion deal. The contract, however, did not keep Roxborough and Black from attempting to cash in as Louis's managers; when Louis turned 21 on May 13, 1935, Roxborough and Black each signed Louis to an onerous long-term contract that collectively dedicated half of Louis's future income to the pair.
Black and Roxborough continued to carefully and deliberately shape Louis's media image. Mindful of the tremendous public backlash Johnson had suffered for his unapologetic attitude and flamboyant lifestyle, they drafted "Seven Commandments" for Louis's personal conduct. These included:
Never have his picture taken with a white woman
Never gloat over a fallen opponent
Never engage in fixed fights
Live and fight clean
As a result, Louis was generally portrayed in the white media as a modest, clean-living person, which facilitated his burgeoning celebrity status.
With the backing of a major promotion, Louis fought thirteen times in 1935. The bout that helped put him in the media spotlight occurred on June 25, when Louis knocked out 6'6", 265-pound former world heavyweight champion Primo Carnera in six rounds. Foreshadowing the Louis–Schmeling rivalry to come, the Carnera bout featured a political dimension. Louis's victory over Carnera, who symbolized Benito Mussolini's regime in the popular eye, was seen as a victory for the international community, particularly among African Americans, who were sympathetic to Ethiopia, which was attempting to maintain its independence by fending off an invasion by fascist Italy. America's white press began promoting Louis's image in the context of the era's racism; nicknames they created included the "Mahogany Mauler", "Chocolate Chopper", "Coffee-Colored KO King", "Safari Sandman", and one that stuck: "The Brown Bomber".
Helping the white press to overcome its reluctance to feature a black contender was that in the mid-1930s boxing desperately needed a marketable hero. Since the retirement of Jack Dempsey in 1929, the sport had devolved into a sordid mixture of poor athletes, gambling, fixed fights, thrown matches, and control of the sport by organized crime. New York Times Columnist Edward Van Ness wrote, "Louis ... is a boon to boxing. Just as Dempsey led the sport out of the doldrums ... so is Louis leading the boxing game out of a slump". Likewise, biographer Bill Libby asserted that "The sports world was hungry for a great champion when Louis arrived in New York in 1935".
While the mainstream press was beginning to embrace Louis, many still opposed the prospect of another black heavyweight champion. In September 1935, on the eve of Louis's fight with former titleholder Max Baer, Washington Post sportswriter Shirley Povich wrote about some Americans' hopes for the white contender, "They say Baer will surpass himself in the knowledge that he is the lone white hope for the defense of Nordic superiority in the prize ring". Those expectations were soon disproven.
Although Baer had been knocked down only once before in his professional career (by Frankie Campbell), Louis dominated the former champion, knocking him out in the fourth round. Unknowingly, Baer suffered from a unique disadvantage in the fight: earlier that evening, Louis had married Marva Trotter at a friend's apartment and was eager to end the fight in order to consummate the relationship. Later that year, Louis also knocked out Paulino Uzcudun, who had never been knocked down before.
==== Louis vs. Schmeling ====
By this time, Louis was ranked as the No. 1 contender in the heavyweight division and had won the Associated Press' "Athlete of the Year" award for 1935. What was considered to be a final tune-up bout before an eventual title shot was scheduled for June 1936 against Max Schmeling. Although a former world heavyweight champion, Schmeling, who had been knocked out by Max Baer - himself handily beaten by Louis the year prior - was not considered a threat to Louis, then with a professional record of 27–0. Schmeling had won his title on a technicality when Jack Sharkey was disqualified after giving Schmeling a low blow in 1930. Schmeling was also 30 years old at the time of the Louis bout and allegedly past his prime. Louis's training retreat was located at Lakewood, New Jersey, where he was first able to practice the game of golf, later to become a lifelong passion. Noted entertainer Ed Sullivan had initially sparked Louis's interest in the sport by giving an instructional book to Joe's wife Marva. Louis spent significant time on the golf course rather than training for the match.
Conversely, Schmeling prepared intently for the bout. He had thoroughly studied Louis's style and believed he had found a weakness. By exploiting Louis's habit of dropping his left hand after a jab, Schmeling handed Louis his first professional loss by knocking him out in round 12 at Yankee Stadium on June 19, 1936. The event would lead to the historic rematch of the two, in one of the world's most famous sporting events.
=== World championship ===
After defeating Louis, Schmeling expected a title shot against James J. Braddock, who had unexpectedly defeated Max Baer for the heavyweight title the previous June. Madison Square Garden (MSG) had a contract with Braddock for the title defense and also sought a Braddock–Schmeling title bout. But Jacobs and Braddock's manager Joe Gould had been planning a Braddock–Louis matchup for months.
Schmeling's victory gave Gould tremendous leverage, however. If he were to offer Schmeling the title chance instead of Louis, there was a very real possibility that Nazi authorities would never allow Louis a shot at the title. Gould's demands were therefore onerous: Jacobs would have to pay 10% of all future boxing promotion profits (including any future profits from Louis's future bouts) for ten years. Braddock and Gould would eventually receive more than $150,000 from this arrangement. Well before the actual fight, Jacobs and Gould publicly announced that their fighters would fight for the heavyweight title on June 22, 1937. Figuring that the New York State Athletic Commission would not sanction the fight in deference to MSG and Schmeling, Jacobs scheduled the fight for Chicago.
Each of the parties involved worked to facilitate the controversial Braddock–Louis matchup. Louis did his part by knocking out former champion Jack Sharkey on August 18, 1936. Meanwhile, Gould trumped up anti-Nazi sentiment against Schmeling, and Jacobs defended a lawsuit by MSG to halt the Braddock–Louis fight. A federal court in Newark, New Jersey, eventually ruled that Braddock's contractual obligation to stage his title defense at MSG was unenforceable for lack of mutual consideration.
The stage was set for Louis's title shot. On the night of the fight, June 22, 1937, Braddock was able to knock Louis down in round one, but afterward could accomplish little. After inflicting constant punishment, Louis defeated Braddock in round eight, knocking him out cold with a strong right hand that busted James' teeth through his gum shield and lip and sent him to the ground for a few minutes. It was the first and only time that Braddock was knocked out (the one other stoppage of Braddock's career was a TKO due to a cut). Louis's ascent to the world heavyweight championship was complete.
Louis's victory was a seminal moment in African American history. Thousands of African Americans stayed up all night across the country in celebration. Noted author and member of the Harlem Renaissance Langston Hughes described Louis's effect in these terms:
Each time Joe Louis won a fight in those depression years, even before he became champion, thousands of black Americans on relief or W.P.A., and poor, would throng out into the streets all across the land to march and cheer and yell and cry because of Joe's one-man triumphs. No one else in the United States has ever had such an effect on Negro emotions—or on mine. I marched and cheered and yelled and cried, too.
==== Initial title defenses ====
Despite his championship, Louis was haunted by the earlier defeat to Schmeling. Shortly after winning the title, he was quoted as saying, "I don't want to be called champ until I whip Max Schmeling". Louis's manager Mike Jacobs attempted to arrange a rematch in 1937, but negotiations broke down when Schmeling demanded 30% of the gate. When Schmeling instead attempted to arrange for a fight against British Empire champion Tommy Farr, known as the "Tonypandy Terror"—ostensibly for a world championship to rival the claims of American boxing authorities—Jacobs outmaneuvered him, offering Farr a guaranteed $60,000 to fight Louis instead. The offer was too lucrative for Farr to turn down.
On August 30, 1937, after a postponement of four days due to rain, Louis and Farr finally touched gloves at New York's Yankee Stadium before a crowd of approximately 32,000. Louis fought one of the hardest battles of his life. The bout was closely contested and went the entire 15 rounds, with Louis being unable to knock Farr down. Referee Arthur Donovan was even seen shaking Farr's hand after the bout, in apparent congratulation. Nevertheless, after the score was announced, Louis had won a controversial unanimous decision. Time described the scene thus: "After collecting the judges' votes, referee Arthur Donovan announced that Louis had won the fight on points. The crowd of 50,000 ... amazed that Farr had not been knocked out or even knocked down, booed the decision".
It seems the crowd believed that referee Arthur Donovan Sr. had raised Farr's glove in victory. Seven years later, in his published account of the fight, Donovan spoke of the "mistake" that may have led to this confusion. He wrote:
As Tommy walked back to his corner after shaking Louis' hand, I followed him and seized his glove. "Tommy, a wonderful perform—" I began ... Then I dropped his hand like a red-hot coal! He had started to raise his arm. He thought I had given him the fight and the world championship! I literally ran away, shaking my head and shouting. "No! No! No!" realising how I had raised his hopes for a few seconds only to dash them to the ground ... That's the last time my emotions will get the better of me in a prize fight! There was much booing at the announced result, but, as I say it, it was all emotional. I gave Tommy two rounds and one even—and both his winning rounds were close.
Speaking over the radio after the fight, Louis admitted that he had been hurt twice.
In preparation for the inevitable rematch with Schmeling, Louis tuned up with bouts against Nathan Mann and Harry Thomas.
==== Louis vs. Schmeling II ====
The rematch between Louis and Schmeling would become one of the most famous boxing matches of all time and is remembered as one of the major sports events of the 20th century. Following his defeat of Louis in 1936, Schmeling had become a national hero in Germany. Schmeling's victory over an African American was touted by Nazi officials as proof of their doctrine of Aryan superiority. When the rematch was scheduled, Louis retreated to his boxing camp in New Jersey and trained incessantly for the fight. A few weeks before the bout, Louis visited the White House, where President Franklin D. Roosevelt told him, "Joe, we need muscles like yours to beat Germany". Louis later admitted: "I knew I had to get Schmeling good. I had my own personal reasons and the whole damned country was depending on me".
When Schmeling arrived in New York City in June 1938 for the rematch, he was accompanied by a Nazi party publicist who issued statements that a black man could not defeat Schmeling and that when Schmeling won, his prize money would be used to build tanks in Germany. Schmeling's hotel was picketed by anti-Nazi protesters in the days before the fight.
On the night of June 22, 1938, Louis and Schmeling met for the second time in the boxing ring. The fight was held in Yankee Stadium before a crowd of 70,043. It was broadcast by radio to millions of listeners throughout the world (including 58% of radio-equipped U.S. households), with radio announcers reporting on the fight in English, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. Before the bout, Schmeling weighed in at 193 pounds; Louis weighed in at 198¾ pounds.
The fight lasted two minutes and four seconds. Louis battered Schmeling with a series of swift attacks, forcing him against the ropes and giving him a paralyzing body blow (Schmeling afterward claimed it was an illegal kidney punch). Schmeling was knocked down three times and only managed to throw two punches in the entire bout. On the third knockdown, Schmeling's trainer threw in the towel and referee Arthur Donovan stopped the fight.
Well-established as one of the most significant boxing matches in history, the fight has been widely regarded as among the most important or historic sports events of all time. It was the first time that many white Americans openly cheered for a black man against a white opponent.
==== "Bum of the Month Club" ====
In the 29 months from January 1939 through May 1941, Louis defended his title thirteen times, a frequency unmatched by any heavyweight champion since the end of the bare-knuckle era. The pace of his title defenses, combined with his convincing wins, earned Louis's opponents from this era the collective nickname "Bum of the Month Club". Notables of this lambasted pantheon include:
World light heavyweight champion John Henry Lewis who, attempting to move up a weight class, was knocked out in the first round by Louis on January 25, 1939.
"Two Ton" Tony Galento, who was able to knock Louis to the canvas with a left hook in the third round of their bout on June 28, 1939, before letting his guard down and being knocked out in the fourth.
Chilean Arturo Godoy, whom Louis fought twice in 1940, on February 9 and June 20. Louis won the first bout by a split-decision, and the rematch by a knockout in the eighth round.
Al McCoy, putative New England heavyweight champion, whose fight against Louis is probably best known for being the first heavyweight title bout held in Boston, Massachusetts, (at the Boston Garden on December 16, 1940). The popular local challenger dodged his way around Louis before being unable to respond to the sixth-round bell.
Clarence "Red" Burman, who pressed Louis for nearly five rounds at Madison Square Garden on January 31, 1941, before succumbing to a series of body blows.
Gus Dorazio, of whom Louis remarked, "At least he tried", after being leveled by a short right hand in the second round at Philadelphia's Convention Hall on February 17.
Abe Simon, who endured thirteen rounds of punishment before 18,908 at Olympia Stadium in Detroit on March 21 before referee Sam Hennessy declared a TKO.
Tony Musto, who, at 5'7½" and 198 pounds, was known as "Baby Tank". Despite a unique crouching style, Musto was slowly worn down over eight and a half rounds in St. Louis on April 8, and the fight was called a TKO because of a severe cut over Musto's eye.
Buddy Baer (brother of former champion Max), who was leading the May 23, 1941, bout in Washington, D.C., until an eventual barrage by Louis, capped by a hit at the sixth round bell. Referee Arthur Donovan disqualified Baer before the beginning of the seventh round as a result of stalling by Baer's manager.
Despite its derogatory nickname, most of the group were top-ten heavyweights. Of the 12 fighters Louis faced during this period, five were rated by The Ring as top-10 heavyweights in the year they fought Louis: Galento (overall #2 heavyweight in 1939), Bob Pastor (#3, 1939), Godoy (#3, 1940), Simon (#6, 1941) and Baer (#8, 1941). Four others (Musto, Dorazio, Burman and Johnny Paychek) were ranked in the top 10 in a different year.
==== Louis vs. Conn ====
Louis's string of lightly regarded competition ended with his bout against Billy Conn, the light heavyweight champion and a highly regarded contender. The fighters met on June 18, 1941, in front of a crowd of 54,487 fans at the Polo Grounds in New York City. The fight turned out to be what is commonly considered one of the greatest heavyweight boxing fights of all time.
Conn would not gain weight for the challenge against Louis, saying instead that he would rely on a "hit and run" strategy.
However, Louis had clearly underestimated Conn's threat. In his autobiography, Joe Louis said:
I made a mistake going into that fight. I knew Conn was kinda small and I didn't want them to say in the papers that I beat up on some little guy so the day before the fight I did a little roadwork to break a sweat and drank as little water as possible so I could weigh in under 200 pounds. Chappie was as mad as hell. But Conn was a clever fighter, he was like a mosquito, he'd sting and move.
Conn had the better of the fight through 12 rounds, although Louis was able to stun Conn with a left hook in the fifth, cutting his eye and nose. By the eighth round, Louis began suffering from dehydration. By the twelfth round, Louis was exhausted, with Conn ahead on two of three boxing scorecards. But against the advice of his corner, Conn continued to closely engage Louis in the later stages of the fight. Louis made the most of the opportunity, knocking Conn out with two seconds left in the thirteenth round.
The contest created an instant rivalry that Louis's career had lacked since the Schmeling era, and a rematch with Conn was planned for late 1942. The rematch had to be abruptly canceled, however, after Conn broke his hand in a much-publicized fight with his father-in-law, Major League ballplayer Jimmy "Greenfield" Smith. By the time Conn was ready for the rematch, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had taken place.
== World War II ==
Louis fought a charity bout for the Navy Relief Society against his former opponent Buddy Baer on January 9, 1942, which raised $47,000 for the fund. The next day, he volunteered to enlist as a private in the United States Army at Camp Upton, Long Island. Newsreel cameras recorded his induction, including a staged scene in which a soldier-clerk asked, "What's your occupation?", to which Louis replied, "Fighting and let us at them Japs".
Another military charity bout on March 27, 1942, (against another former opponent, Abe Simon) netted $36,146. Before the fight, Louis had spoken at a Relief Fund dinner, saying of the war effort, "We'll win, 'cause we're on God's side". The media widely reported the comment, instigating a surge of popularity for Louis. Slowly, the press began to eliminate its stereotypical racial references when covering Louis and instead treated him as a sports hero. Despite the public relations boon, Louis's charitable fights proved financially costly. Although he saw none of the roughly $90,000 raised by these and other charitable fights, the IRS later credited these amounts as taxable income paid to Louis. After the war, the IRS pursued the issue.
For basic training, Louis was assigned to a segregated cavalry unit based in Fort Riley, Kansas. The assignment was at the suggestion of his friend and lawyer Truman Gibson, who knew of Louis's love for horsemanship. Gibson had previously become a civilian advisor to the War Department, in charge of investigating claims of harassment against black soldiers. Accordingly, Louis used this personal connection to help the cause of various black soldiers with whom he came into contact. In one noted episode, Louis contacted Gibson in order to facilitate the Officer Candidate School (OCS) applications of a group of black recruits at Fort Riley, which had been inexplicably delayed for several months. Among the OCS applications Louis facilitated was that of young UCLA athletic legend Jackie Robinson, later to break the baseball color barrier. The episode spawned a personal friendship between the two men.
Realizing Louis's potential for raising esprit de corps among the troops, the Army placed him in its Special Services Division rather than sending him into combat. Louis went on a celebrity tour with other notables, including fellow boxer Sugar Ray Robinson. He traveled more than 35,000 km (22,000 mi) and staged 96 boxing exhibitions before two million soldiers. In England during 1944, he was reported to have signed as a player for Liverpool Football Club as a publicity stunt.
In addition to his travels, Louis was the focus of a media recruitment campaign encouraging African-American men to enlist in the Armed Services, despite the military's racial segregation. When he was asked about his decision to enter the racially segregated U.S. Army, he said: "Lots of things wrong with America, but Hitler ain't going to fix them". In 1943, Louis made an appearance in the wartime Hollywood musical This Is the Army, directed by Michael Curtiz. He appeared as himself in a musical number, "The Well-Dressed Man in Harlem", which emphasized the importance of African-American soldiers and promoted their enlistment.
Louis's celebrity power was not directed solely toward African Americans. In a famous wartime recruitment slogan, he echoed his prior comments of 1942: "We'll win, because we're on God's side". The publicity of the campaign made Louis widely popular stateside, even outside the world of sports. Never before had white Americans embraced a black man as their representative to the world.
Although Louis never saw combat, his military service saw challenges of its own. During his travels, he often experienced blatant racism. On one occasion, a military policeman (MP) ordered Louis and Ray Robinson to move to a bench in the rear of an Alabama Army camp bus depot. "We ain't moving", said Louis. The MP tried to arrest them, but Louis forcefully argued the pair out of the situation. In another incident, Louis exerted his influence to persuade a commanding officer to drop charges against now Lt. Jackie Robinson, who had resisted being told to move his seat on a southern bus, and retaliated against a Captain who had called Robinson a "nigger".
Louis was eventually promoted to the rank of technical sergeant on April 9, 1945. On September 23 of the same year, he was awarded the Legion of Merit (a military decoration rarely awarded to enlisted soldiers) for "incalculable contribution to the general morale". Receipt of the honor qualified him for immediate release from military service on October 1, 1945.
== Later career and retirement ==
Louis emerged from his wartime service significantly in debt. In addition to his looming tax bill—which had not been finally determined at the time, but was estimated at greater than $100,000—Jacobs claimed that Louis owed him $250,000.
Despite the financial pressure on Louis to resume boxing, his long-awaited rematch against Billy Conn had to be postponed to the summer of 1946, when weather conditions could accommodate a large outdoor audience.
During the build up Louis was asked "Will you chase him if he runs backwards", this prompted the champion to respond with now the famous line: "He can run, but he can't hide".
On June 19, a disappointing 40,000 saw the rematch at Yankee Stadium, in which Louis was not seriously tested. Conn, whose skills had deteriorated during the long layoff, largely avoided contact until being dispatched by knockout in the eighth round. Although the attendance did not meet expectations, the fight was still the most profitable of Louis's career to date. His share of the purse was $600,000, of which Louis's managers got $140,000, his ex-wife $66,000 and the U.S. state of New York $30,000.
After trouble finding another suitable opponent, on December 5, 1947, Louis met Jersey Joe Walcott, a 33-year-old veteran with a 44–11–2 record. Walcott entered the fight as a 10-to-1 underdog. Nevertheless, Walcott knocked down Louis twice in the first four rounds. Most observers in Madison Square Garden felt Walcott dominated the 15-round fight. When Louis was declared the winner in a split decision, the crowd booed.
Louis was under no illusion about the state of his boxing skills, yet he was too embarrassed to quit after the Walcott fight. Determined to win and retire with his title intact, Louis signed on for a rematch. On June 25, 1948, about 42,000 people came to Yankee Stadium to see the aging champion, who weighed 213½ pounds, the heaviest of his career to date. Walcott knocked Louis down in the third round, but Louis survived to knock out Walcott in the eleventh.
Louis would not defend his title again before announcing his retirement from boxing on March 1, 1949. In his bouts with Conn and Walcott, it had become apparent that Louis was no longer the fighter he had once been. As he had done earlier in his career, however, Louis would continue to appear in numerous exhibition matches worldwide. In August 1949 Cab Calloway rendered homage to the "king of the ring" with his song Ol' Joe Louis.
=== Comeback ===
At the time of Louis's initial retirement, the IRS was still completing its investigation of his prior tax returns, which had always been handled by Mike Jacobs's personal accountant. In May 1950, the IRS finished a full audit of Louis's past returns and announced that, with interest and penalties, he owed the government more than $500,000. Louis had no choice but to return to the ring.
After asking Gibson to take over his personal finances and switching his management from Jacobs and Roxborough to Marshall Miles, the Louis camp negotiated a deal with the IRS under which Louis would come out of retirement, with all Louis's net proceeds going to the IRS. A match with Ezzard Charles—who had acquired the vacant heavyweight title in June 1949 by outpointing Walcott—was set for September 27, 1950. By then, Louis was 36 years old and had been away from competitive boxing for two years. Weighing in at 218 pounds, Louis was still strong, but his reflexes were gone and Charles repeatedly beat him to the punch. By the end of the fight, Louis was cut above both eyes, one of which was shut tight by swelling. He knew he had lost even before Charles was declared the winner. The result was not the only disappointing aspect of the fight for Louis; only 22,357 spectators paid to witness the event at Yankee Stadium, and his share of the purse was a mere $100,458. Louis had to continue fighting.
After facing several club-level opponents and scoring a knockout victory over EBU heavyweight champion Lee Savold, the International Boxing Club guaranteed Louis $300,000 to face undefeated heavyweight contender Rocky Marciano on October 26, 1951. Despite his being a 6-to-5 favorite, few boxing insiders believed Louis had a chance. Marciano himself was reluctant to participate in the bout, but was understanding of Louis's position: "This is the last guy on earth I want to fight". It was feared, particularly among those who had witnessed Marciano's punching power first-hand, that Louis's unwillingness to quit would result in serious injury. Fighting back tears, Ferdie Pacheco said in the SportsCentury documentary about Louis's bout with Marciano, "He [Louis] wasn't just going to lose. He was going to take a vicious, savage beating. Before the eyes of the nation, Joe Louis, an American hero if ever there was one, was going to get beaten up". Louis was dropped in the eighth round by a Marciano left and knocked through the ropes and out of the ring less than thirty seconds later.
In the dressing room after the fight, Louis's Army touring companion, Sugar Ray Robinson, wept. Marciano also attempted to console Louis, saying, "I'm sorry, Joe". "What's the use of crying?" Louis said. "The better man won. I guess everything happens for the best".
After facing Marciano, with the prospect of another significant payday all but gone, Louis retired for good from professional boxing. He would, as before, continue to tour on the exhibition circuit, with his last contest taking place on December 16, 1951, in Taipei, Taiwan, against Corporal Buford J. deCordova.
== Taxes and financial troubles ==
Despite Louis's lucrative purses over the years, most of the proceeds went to his handlers. Of the over $4.6 million earned during his boxing career, Louis himself received only about $800,000. Louis was nevertheless extremely generous to his family, paying for homes, cars and education for his parents and siblings, often with money fronted by Jacobs. He invested in a number of businesses, all of which eventually failed, including the Joe Louis Restaurant, the Joe Louis Insurance Company, a softball team called the Brown Bombers, the Joe Louis Milk Company, Joe Louis pomade (hair product), Joe Louis Punch (a drink), the Louis-Rower P.R. firm, a horse farm and the Rhumboogie Café in Chicago. He gave liberally to the government as well, paying back the city of Detroit for any welfare money his family had received.
A combination of this largesse and government intervention eventually put Louis in severe financial straits. His entrusting of his finances to former manager Mike Jacobs haunted him. After the $500,000 IRS tax bill was assessed, with interest accumulating every year, the need for cash precipitated Louis's post-retirement comeback. Even though his comeback earned him significant purses, the incremental tax rate in place at the time (90%) meant that these boxing proceeds did not even keep pace with interest on Louis's tax debt. As a result, by the end of the 1950s, he owed over $1 million in taxes and interest. In 1953, when Louis's mother died, the IRS appropriated the $667 she had willed to Louis. To bring in money, Louis engaged in numerous activities outside the ring. He appeared on various quiz shows, and an old Army friend, Ash Resnick, gave Louis a job greeting tourists to the Caesars Palace hotel in Las Vegas, where Resnick was an executive. For income, Louis even became a professional wrestler. He made his professional wrestling debut on March 16, 1956, in Washington, D.C. at the Uline Arena, defeating Cowboy Rocky Lee. After defeating Lee in a few matches, Louis discovered he had a heart ailment and retired from wrestling competition. However, he continued as a wrestling referee until 1972.
Louis remained a popular celebrity in his twilight years. His friends included former rival Max Schmeling, who provided Louis with financial assistance during his retirement—and mobster Frank Lucas, who, disgusted with the government's treatment of Louis, once paid off a $50,000 tax lien held against him. These payments, along with an eventual agreement in the early 1960s by the IRS to limit its collections to an amount based on Louis's current income, allowed Louis to live comfortably toward the end of his life.
After the Louis-Schmeling fight, Jack Dempsey expressed the opinion that he was glad he never had to face Joe Louis in the ring. When Louis fell on hard financial times, Dempsey served as honorary chairman of a fund to assist Louis.
== Professional wrestling career ==
In an effort to improve his financial situation, Joe Louis got involved with professional wrestling in 1954. His first recorded match was on August 6, 1954, in a victory over Bobby Nelson.
In 1956, Louis went on a short-lived wrestling tour arranged by promoter Ray Fabiani. This was cut short after a match against Cowboy Rocky Lee on May 31, 1956, when Louis' ribs were cracked, and he subsequently lost his wrestling license.
Louis returned to the wrestling ring on March 15, 1959, where he lost to Buddy Rogers in Columbus, Ohio. This led to a hiatus until the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he engaged in several wrestling matches. His last match was in 1973 but he continued as a referee.
== Professional golf ==
One of Louis' other passions was the game of golf, in which he also played a historic role. He was a long-time devotee of the sport since being introduced to the game before the first Schmeling fight in 1936. In 1952, Louis was invited to play as an amateur in the San Diego Open on a sponsor's exemption, which was announced at the time as the first instance of an African-American to play in a PGA Tour event (in fact, professional Howard Wheeler was one of seven African-Americans to compete in the Tam O'Shanter Open in Niles, Illinois in 1942, and Wheeler appeared in subsequent PGA-sanctioned events in Philadelphia in the 1940s, qualifying for the 1950 and 1951 U.S. Open).
Initially, the PGA of America was reluctant to allow Louis to enter the event, having a bylaw at the time limiting PGA membership to white Americans. Louis's celebrity status eventually pushed the PGA toward removing the bylaw, although the "Caucasian only" clause in the PGA of America's constitution was not formally amended until November 1961. The change, however, paved the way for the first generation of African-American professional golfers such as Calvin Peete.
Two weeks after the 1952 San Diego Open, Louis was invited to play in the 1952 Tucson Open. Louis shot a 69 in the opening round and a 72 in the 2nd round. His 2-round total of 141 enabled him to make the cut. Joe Louis is the only champion athlete from another sport ever to make the cut in a PGA event.
Louis himself financially supported the careers of several other early black professional golfers, such as Bill Spiller, Ted Rhodes, Howard Wheeler, James Black, Clyde Martin and Charlie Sifford. His son, Joe Louis Barrow Jr., would become a national spokesman for diversity in golf and retired in 2017 after serving 18 years as CEO of The First Tee.
In 2009, the PGA of America granted posthumous membership to Ted Rhodes, John Shippen and Bill Spiller, who were denied the opportunity to become PGA members during their professional careers. The PGA also has granted posthumous honorary membership to Louis. A public golf course in Riverdale, Illinois, just south of Chicago, is named for him.
== Personal life ==
I did the best I could with what I had.
Louis had two children with his wife, Marva Trotter Louis: daughter Jacqueline (born 1943) and son Joseph Louis Barrow Jr. (born 1947). They divorced in March 1945 only to remarry a year later, but were again divorced in February 1949. Marva moved on to an acting and modeling career. On Christmas Day 1955, Louis married Rose Morgan, a successful Harlem businesswoman; their marriage was annulled in 1958. Louis's final marriage—to Martha Jefferson, a lawyer from Los Angeles, on St. Patrick's Day 1959—lasted until his death. They had four children: another son named Joseph Louis Barrow Jr, John Louis Barrow, Joyce Louis Barrow, and Janet Louis Barrow. The younger Joe Louis Barrow Jr. lives in New York City and is involved in boxing. Though married four times, Louis discreetly enjoyed the company of other women such as Lena Horne and Edna Mae Harris.
Joe and Marva Louis endorsed and campaigned for liberal, anti-segregation Republican candidate Wendell Willkie in the 1940 United States presidential election. Louis said:
This country has been good to me. It gave me everything I have. I have never come out for any candidate before but I think Wendell L. Willkie will give us a square deal. So I am for Willkie because I think he will help my people, and I figure my people should be for him, too.
In 1957 then Teamsters Vice President Jimmy Hoffa was on trial for bribery. Given that the jury was composed of eight blacks and four whites, Hoffa made overtures to the black jurors. Paul Dorfman and Barney Baker arranged for Louis to walk up and hug Hoffa in view of the jurors. Hoffa was found not guilty. Dorfman approached the International Boxing Club, run by his friend Truman Gibson, to make this arrangement, while Baker paid Louis' travel and hotel expenses.
Drugs took a toll on Louis in his later years. In 1969, he was hospitalized after collapsing on a New York City street. While the incident was at first credited to "physical breakdown", underlying problems would soon surface. In 1970, he spent five months at the Colorado Psychiatric Hospital and the Veterans Administration Hospital in Denver, hospitalized by his wife, Martha, and his son, Joe Louis Barrow Jr., for paranoia. In a 1971 book, Brown Bomber, by Barney Nagler, Louis disclosed the truth about these incidents, stating that his collapse in 1969 had been caused by cocaine, and that his subsequent hospitalization had been prompted by his fear of a plot to destroy him. Strokes and heart ailments caused Louis's condition to deteriorate further later in the decade. He had surgery to correct an aortic aneurysm in 1977 and thereafter used a POV/scooter for a mobility aid.
== Death ==
Louis died of cardiac arrest in Desert Springs Hospital near Las Vegas on April 12, 1981, just hours after his last public appearance viewing the Larry Holmes–Trevor Berbick heavyweight championship fight. President Ronald Reagan waived the eligibility rules for burial at Arlington National Cemetery and Louis was buried there with full military honors on April 21, 1981. His funeral was paid for in part by former competitor and friend Max Schmeling, who also acted as a pallbearer.
== Film and television ==
Louis appeared in six full-length films and two short films.
Louis had a starring role in the 1938 race film Spirit of Youth, in which he played a boxer with many similarities to himself.
In 1943, he was featured in the full-length movie This is the Army, which starred Ronald Reagan, with appearances by Kate Smith singing "God Bless America" and Irving Berlin, and which was directed by Michael Curtiz.
In 1946 he played himself in Joe Palooka, Champ, a movie based on the comic strip Joe Palooka created by Ham Fisher.
Louis once again played himself in the short film Johnny At The Fair in 1947. The short film takes place at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) where a boy becomes separated from his parents and meets a host of celebrities including former Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon MacKenzie King and champion figure skater Barbara Ann Scott.
In 1948 Louis starred as himself in Joseph Lerner's The Fight Never Ends.
In 1955 Louis was once again cast as himself in a small role in The Square Jungle written by George Zuckerman and starring Tony Curtis.
Louis's last feature-length movie role took place in the 1970 comedy The Phynx in which a rock band goes on tour in Albania in order to save Americans being held hostage.
He was a guest on the television show You Bet Your Life in 1955. In 1977, Louis made a small cameo appearance on the TV series Quincy M.E.
In 1953, Robert Gordon directed a movie about Louis's life, The Joe Louis Story. Filmed in Hollywood, it starred Golden Gloves fighter and Louis lookalike Coley Wallace in the title role. The film suffered from low budget and production values, sluggishly intercutting clips from Louis's actual bouts with indifferent audio sync.
== Legacy ==
Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time. He reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 to 1949, 11 years and 8 months, the record in any division. During his reign, Louis defended the title 25 times, the heavyweight record. Louis has won the most world heavyweight title fights in history, at 26, defeating 21 different fighters. In addition to his accomplishments inside the ring, Louis uttered two of boxing's most famous observations: "He can run, but he can't hide" and "Everyone has a plan until they've been hit".
Louis was named Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine four times, in 1936, 1938, 1939, and 1941. His bouts against Max Baer, Max Schmeling, Tommy Farr, Bob Pastor and Billy Conn were each named Fight of the Year by the magazine. In 1941, he received the Sugar Ray Robinson Award as Fighter of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). In 1967, he was honored with the Barney Nagler Award by the BWAA for long and meritorious service. In a 1978 poll conducted by HBO, members of the Boxing Writers Association of America voted Louis the greatest heavyweight in boxing history. In 2005, the International Boxing Research Organization ranked Louis as the greatest heavyweight of all time, and The Ring placed him first on its list of the "100 greatest punchers of all time." Hank Kaplan, Bert Sugar, Teddy Atlas, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, and Sugar Ray Robinson named Louis as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time.
Louis is also remembered in sports outside of boxing. A former indoor sports venue was named after him in Detroit, the Joe Louis Arena, where the Detroit Red Wings played their NHL games from 1979 to 2017. In 1936, Vince Leah, then a writer for The Winnipeg Tribune used Joe Louis's nickname to refer to the Winnipeg Football Club after a game. From that point, the team became known popularly as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
His recognition also transcends the sporting world. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Joe Louis on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans. On August 26, 1982, Louis was posthumously approved for the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award given to civilians by the U.S. legislative branch. Congress stated that he "did so much to bolster the spirit of the American people during one of the most crucial times in American history and which have endured throughout the years as a symbol of strength for the nation". Following Louis's death, President Ronald Reagan said, "Joe Louis was more than a sports legend—his career was an indictment of racial bigotry and a source of pride and inspiration to millions of white and black people around the world".
On October 16, 1986, a memorial to Louis was dedicated at Jefferson Avenue and Woodward in Detroit. The sculpture, commissioned by Time, Inc. and executed by Robert Graham, is a 24-foot-long (7.3 m) arm with a fisted hand suspended by a 24-foot-high (7.3 m) pyramidal framework. It represents the power of his punch both inside and outside the ring.
In an interview with Arsenio Hall in the late 1980s, former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali stated that his two biggest influences in boxing were Sugar Ray Robinson and Joe Louis. After Joe Louis died, Ali stated, "Whatever I said before, I don't mean it, 'cause Joe Louis was the greatest." Ali then told the Washington Post: Look at Joe's life. Everybody loved Joe. He would have been marked as evil if he was evil, but everybody loved Joe. From black folks to red-neck Mississippi crackers, they loved him. They're all crying. That shows you. Howard Hughes dies, with all his billions, not a tear. Joe Louis, everybody cried.On February 27, 2010, an 8-foot (2.4 m) bronze statue of Louis was unveiled in his Alabama hometown. The statue, by sculptor Casey Downing Jr., sits on a base of red granite outside the Chambers County Courthouse.
In 1993, he became the first boxer to be honored on a postage stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
Various other facilities have been named after Joe Louis. In 1984, the four streets surrounding Madison Square Garden were named Joe Louis Plaza in his honor. The former Pipe O' Peace Golf Course in Riverdale, Illinois (a Chicago suburb), was in 1986 renamed "Joe Louis The Champ Golf Course". American Legion Post 375 in Detroit is also named after Joe Louis. Completed in 1979 at a cost of $4 million, Joe Louis Arena, nicknamed The Joe, was a hockey arena located in downtown Detroit. It was the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League from 1979 until 2017. The planned demolition of the Arena prompted the City of Detroit in 2017 to rename the Inner Circle Greenway as the Joe Louis Greenway. The 39-mile (63 km) biking and walking trail passes through the cities of Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park, and Dearborn.
In one of the most widely quoted tributes to Louis, New York Post sportswriter Jimmy Cannon, when responding to another person's characterization of Louis as "a credit to his race", stated, "Yes, Joe Louis is a credit to his race—the human race".
Joe Louis trained at the site of the Pompton Lakes (NJ) Elks Club. When he won one of his fights, he donated the first ambulance to the Pompton Lakes First Aid Squad.
== Cultural references ==
In his heyday, Louis was the subject of many musical tributes, including a number of blues songs.
Kurt Vonnegut's short story "D.P." (originally published in Ladies Home Journal in August 1953) is about a black orphan boy living in post-World War II Germany who is nicknamed "Joe Louis" (after the boxer) by American soldiers stationed in the American Zone of Occupation. "D.P." was included in Vonnegut's short story collection Welcome to the Monkey House (1968) and filmed as "Displaced Person" for television's American Playhouse in 1985.
Louis was portrayed by actor Bari K. Willerford in the film American Gangster.
In 2009, the Brooklyn band Yeasayer debuted the single "Ambling Alp" from their forthcoming album Odd Blood, which imagines what advice Joe Louis's father might have given him prior to becoming a prizefighter. The song makes reference to Louis's boxing career and his famous rivalry with Schmeling in the first person, with the lyrics such as "Oh, Max Schmeling was a formidable foe / The Ambling Alp was too, at least that's what I'm told / But if you learn one thing, you've learned it well / In June, you must give fascists hell".
An opera based on his life, Shadowboxer, premiered on April 17, 2010.
The aforementioned sculpture of Louis's fist (see Legacy above) was one of several Detroit landmarks depicted in 'Imported from Detroit', a two-minute commercial for the Chrysler 200 featuring Eminem that aired during Super Bowl XLV in 2011.
Louis is the inspiration behind Jesse Jagz's eponymous song from the album Jagz Nation, Vol. 2: Royal Niger Company (2014).
The first track from John Squire's 2002 debut LP Time Changes Everything is titled "Joe Louis", and the lyrics include references to his boxing and army career.
Louis' life is retold in the 1948 old-time radio drama "Little David", a presentation from Destination Freedom.
== Professional boxing record ==
== Titles in boxing ==
=== Major world titles ===
NYSAC heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)
NBA (WBA) heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)
=== The Ring magazine titles ===
The Ring heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)
=== Lineal titles ===
Lineal heavyweight champion
=== Undisputed titles ===
Undisputed heavyweight champion |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_John_Ramos | Peter John Ramos | Peter John Ramos Fuentes (born May 23, 1985), nicknamed as Mr. Beast, is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player and professional wrestler. He is the sixth athlete from Puerto Rico to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the third drafted, gathering success in the NBA Development League (NBDL), where he was an All Star during the 2006–07 season. Ramos has also played in Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN), the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was a member of the Puerto Rico national basketball team from 2004 to 2016, making his Olympic debut in the game where Puerto Rico defeated the United States at Athens.
As a professional wrestler, Ramos began his career in the World Wrestling Council (WWC) in 2019.
== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
Ramos' father abandoned their home when he was five years old. He would then travel to New York with his mother and siblings. Early in his life, Ramos' unusual height made him victim to verbal harassment. In 1999, when he was fourteen years old, already seven feet tall, Ramos was noticed by former basketball player Santiago Gotay in a clothing store. When Gotay learned that Ramos was born in Puerto Rico he contacted Félix Rivera, owner of the Criollos de Caguas in the National Superior Basketball (BSN).
Rivera decided to recruit Ramos and bring him to the BSN, and traveled to New York to offer him a contract, despite the fact he had not seen him play basketball. Ramos met members of his family when he came to Caguas and he began studies at the Colegio Bautista. Under the guidance of coach Leonel Arril, Ramos began learning the techniques of the basketball game. Ramos continued getting taller, and by 2004 he was already 7'3". He led his high school to two National Championships. In the Puerto Rican Basketball League, Ramos developed quickly and in 2002, he won the Most Improved Player Award. In 2003, he earned a spot in the Puerto Rico national basketball team and participated in the Pan American Games.
=== National Basketball Association ===
Ramos participated in the 2004 season of the BSN, finishing with averages of 20.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. In April Ramos announced he would enter the 2004 NBA draft, hinting that he would withdraw if not a top 15 selection. On draft night, he was picked as the 32nd selection in the draft's second round, by the Washington Wizards. Frustrated with himself, Ramos abandoned the ceremony once the first round concluded.
During summer of 2004, Ramos participated with the Wizards during the NBA Summer Pro League, and was a member of the 2004 Puerto Rican National Basketball Team which defeated the United States in the 2004 Olympic Games.
During the 2004–05 NBA season Ramos played in six games scoring 11 points with 4 rebounds and 1 block. Ramos spent most of the year on the inactive/injured reserve list.
During the summer of 2005, Ramos participated with the Wizards during the NBA Summer Pro League for a second straight year.
At the start of the 2005–06 season Ramos was assigned to the Roanoke Dazzle of the NBA Development League. He was called up by the Wizards on January 19, 2006, and reassigned back to Roanoke on 21 January. Ramos finished the season in the NBA D-League second in blocks with 78.
In 2006 Ramos participated with the Wizards during the NBA Summer Pro League for a third straight year. And again represented Puerto Rico in the Basketball World Championship 2006. Ramos was waived by the Washington Wizards during 2006 Pre-Season Training Camp. On November 2, 2006, Ramos was drafted by the Idaho Stampede with the 9th pick of the first round of the 2006 NBA Development League draft. That season Ramos was selected as a participant for the NBDL All-Star Game, but did not participate in All Star game due to injury. On February 28, 2007, Ramos was waived by the Idaho Stampede due to injury. Ramos earned All-NBA Development League Honorable Mention for his 2006–07 performance.
=== Puerto Rico and Europe ===
In 2007 Ramos returned to the Criollos de Caguas of the National Superior Basketball after a two-year absence. He finished with an average of 17.5 points per game.
In 2007, Ramos represented Puerto Rico as a member of the Puerto Rican National Basketball Team during the 2007 Pan American Games, winning the silver medal.
Ramos signed with Alta Gestión Fuenlabrada to play in the 2007–08 season of the Spanish Liga ACB league. Ramos played the 2008 BSN season with averages of 17.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. He was selected as a starter in the 2008 BSN All-Star Game, where he was selected the game's most valuable player and scored twenty-two points and nine rebounds. While Caguas participated in the BSN "Super-6" round, Ramos claimed that he had matured since traveling to Spain, which helped him in his game. Ramos later played for the Piratas de Quebradillas, Capitanes de Arecibo and currently is playing with Los Brujos de Guayama in Puerto Rico.
In 2018, he returned to Puerto Rico,to play with the Leones de Ponce. He was selected as part the reserves of the All Star team for the league's all star game against the Puerto Rican National Team.
=== Asia ===
In 2011, Ramos signed with the Seoul Samsung Thunders in South Korea.
On November 7, 2011, he was released from Seoul Samsung Thunders after averaging 18.1 pts. and 9.9 reb. In December 2014, Ramos signed with the Kia Carnival at the Philippine Basketball Association and will play as an import for the team at the 2015 PBA Commissioner's Cup. Ramos was chosen by Kia head coach Manny Pacquiao for his shot blocking skills. Kia is banking on Ramos to turn its fortunes around after finishing its maiden PBA conference with a woeful 1–10 win–loss record.
In 2017, the 25th of February, Ramos signed with one of the best Clubs in Asia Club Sagesse from Lebanon.
In 2018, he joined Alab Pilipinas with fellow Puerto Rican, Renaldo Balkman. With Ramos and Balkman, the Philippine squad managed to dominate the league but fell short in two games against the Eastern Sports Club (basketball) of Hong Kong in the playoffs.
== Career stats ==
Ramos's NBA stats in 6 games are 11 points with a 1.8 PPG, 4 rebounds with a 0.7 RPG, 1 block with a 0.2 BPG, a .500 field goal and .500 free throw percentage.
His NBA Development League stats in 76 games with 73 starts, 1,075 points with a 14.1 PPG, 80 assists with a 1.1 APG, 541 rebounds with a 7.1 RPG, 123 blocks with a 1.6 BPG, 23 steals with a 0.3 SPG, .574 field goal percentage and .606 free-throw percentage.
=== Domestic leagues ===
== Career accomplishments ==
He became the third ever Puerto Rican player to be drafted by an NBA team
2002 BSN Most Improved Player Award
2006–07 NBDL All-Star
2006–07 All-NBDL Honorable Mention
== Professional wrestling career ==
=== World Wrestling Council (2019–2020) ===
In 2016, Ramos expressed interest in making a crossover into professional wrestling following his retirement from basketball, noting he had already declined invitations to do so. Others in his family were already involved in the business, his brother-in-law is an in-ring performer and his sister is a referee. Two years later he reaffirmed this plan, believing that the retirement of several high-profile tall wrestlers created more opportunities to succeed. On September 18, 2019, Ramos made his first backstage appearance for the World Wrestling Council, becoming involved in a segment with Puerto Rico Heavyweight Champion Pedro Portillo III. This led to Ramos appearing as the guest referee of a retirement match between Ray González and Gilbert (storyline boss to Portillo) at Noche de Campeones. Prior to this, Carlos Colón Sr. noted that he was monitoring his progress.
Ramos was booked in a heel turn on González, afterward joining the villainous faction known as El Sindicato, which was disbanded at the end of the season. Afterwards he became the enforcer of a nascent stable known as The Dynasty, joining Eddie Colón and Gilbert. Ramos’ in ring debut took place on January 25, 2020, in a handicap match where he easily defeated two independent wrestlers. The following week he scored another swift win over Jax, a third party performer for the regional Borinquén Sport Promotion (BSP). An extreme rules match against fellow multi-sport athlete Carlos Cotto was scheduled for February 15, 2019, but later postponed when Ramos refused to perform in “a small town” by citing contractual clauses. This role actually helped his basketball career, since it allowed him to drop 30 pounds and begin the 2020 BSN season in shape.
=== Beast Mode (2020–present) ===
During the hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ramos left WWC and joined Germán Figueroa to form a team known as Beast Mode, with Qatar Pro Wrestling as their first promotion abroad. When the BSN resumed the 2020 season in a bubble, he didn't participate with the Leones in order to dedicate full time to professional wrestling. On December 18, 2021, Beast Mode made its debut for Organization International de Lucha (OIL) with a win over Sons of Samoa. The alliance that this company had with Robles Promotions led to Ramos wrestling in Mexico in January 2022, adopting Mr. Beast as his ring name. The team also made appearances for Wrestling República Dominicana (WRD).
In 2023, Ramos joined the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and debuted in NWA Powerrr against Trevor Murdoch, performing under the ring name Beast Mode. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uber | Uber | Uber Technologies, Inc. is an American multinational transportation company that provides ride-hailing services, courier services, food delivery, and freight transport. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and operates in approximately 70 countries and 15,000 cities worldwide. It is the largest ridesharing company worldwide with over 202 million monthly active users and 10 million active drivers and couriers. It coordinates an average of 42 million trips and delivery orders per day, and has coordinated 72 billion trips and delivery orders since its inception in 2010. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the company had a take rate (revenue as a percentage of gross bookings) of 29.9% for mobility services and 19.2% for food delivery.
The company is also in the process of developing robotaxi services in partnership with Lucid Motors, Nuro, and Baidu.
== History ==
In 2009, Garrett Camp, a co-founder of StumbleUpon, came up with the idea to create Uber to make it easier and cheaper to procure direct transportation. Camp and Travis Kalanick had spent $800 hiring a private driver on New Year's Eve, which they deemed excessive, and Camp was also inspired by his difficulty in finding a taxi on a snowy night in Paris. The prototype of the mobile app was built by Camp and his friends, Oscar Salazar and Conrad Whelan, with Kalanick as the "mega advisor" to the company.
In February 2010, Ryan Graves became the first Uber employee; he was named chief executive officer (CEO) in May 2010. In December 2010, Kalanick succeeded Graves as CEO and Graves became the chief operating officer.
Following a beta launch in May 2010, Uber's services and mobile app launched publicly in San Francisco in 2011. Originally, the application only allowed users to hail a black luxury car and the price was approximately 1.5 times that of a taxi. In 2011, the company changed its name from UberCab to Uber after complaints from San Francisco taxicab operators. Kalanick believed that in addition to efficiency, Uber offered elegance because all drivers had fancy black cars. He did not feel that regular cars driven by non-professional drivers would be attractive. Kalanick and his angel investor Jason Calacanis publicly stated in podcasts that the world's first rideshare company (Wingz) was illegal and would not work.
The company's early hires included a nuclear physicist, a computational neuroscientist, and a machinery expert who worked on predicting arrival times for Uber's cars more accurately than Google APIs. In April 2012, Uber launched a service in Chicago, whereby users were able to request a regular taxi or an Uber driver via its mobile app.
In July 2012, Uber introduced UberX, a cheaper option that allowed drivers to use non-luxury vehicles, but still subject to having commercial licenses.
In April 2013, after Wingz, Lyft, and Sidecar obtained licenses to legally operate as rideshare companies, Uber announced that it was going to adopt this model and add regular drivers with personal vehicles to the UberX platform instead of only commercially-licensed vehicles, subject to a background check, insurance, registration, and vehicle standards. By December 2013, the service operated in 65 cities.
In December 2013, USA Today named Uber its tech company of the year.
In August 2014, Uber launched a shared transport service in the San Francisco Bay Area and launched Uber Eats, a food delivery service.
Also in 2014, Uber launched Uber for Business, a corporate platform providing managed rides, meal programs, and delivery solutions for organizations of all sizes. By 2025, the platform was used by over 200,000 companies worldwide, including more than half of the Fortune 500.
In August 2016, facing tough competition, Uber sold its operations in China to DiDi in exchange for an 18% stake in DiDi. DiDi agreed to invest $1 billion in Uber. Uber had started operations in China in 2014, under the name 优步 (Yōubù).
In 2016, Uber acquired Ottomotto, a self-driving truck company founded by Anthony Levandowski, for $625 million. Levandowski, previously employed by Waymo, allegedly founded Ottomotto using trade secrets he stole from Waymo. Uber settled a lawsuit regarding the use of such intellectual property and reached a deal to use Waymo's technology for its freight transport operations.
In December 2016, Uber acquired Geometric Intelligence and its 15-person staff, which became "Uber AI", a division for researching artificial intelligence and machine learning. Uber AI was shut down in May 2020.
In August 2017, Dara Khosrowshahi, the former CEO of Expedia Group, replaced Kalanick as CEO. Earlier in March 2015, as CEO of Expedia Group, Khosrowshahi had led a multimillion equity investment in Wingz, Inc., the first ridesharing company in the world.
In July 2017, Uber received a five-star privacy rating from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, but was harshly criticized by the group in September 2017 for a controversial policy of tracking customers' locations even after a ride ended, forcing the company to reverse its policy.
In February 2018, Uber combined its operations in Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and Kazakhstan with those of Yandex Taxi and invested $225 million in the venture. In March 2018, Uber merged its services in Southeast Asia with those of Grab in exchange for a 27.5% ownership stake in Grab.
Between May 2018 and November 2018, Uber offered Uber Rent powered by Getaround, a peer-to-peer carsharing service available to some users in San Francisco.
In November 2018, Uber became a gold member of the Linux Foundation.
In 2018, Uber formed a partnership with Autzu, a San Francisco-based ridesharing company. This collaboration provides Uber drivers with the opportunity to rent electric Tesla on an hourly basis.
In May 2019, Uber became a public company via an initial public offering.
In March and May 2019, the 2019 Lyft and Uber drivers' strikes led by Rideshare Drivers United were in protest of low wages, long hours, working conditions, and lack of benefits.
In the summer of 2019, Uber announced layoffs of 8% of its staff and eliminated the position of COO Barney Harford.
In October 2019, Uber acquired 53% of Cornershop, a provider of grocery delivery services primarily in Latin America. In June 2021, it acquired the remaining 47% interest in Cornershop for 29 million shares of Uber.
After California Assembly Bill 5 (2019) was introduced, Uber announced that it would not comply with the law, then engaged lobbyists and mounted a public opinion campaign to overturn it via a ballot.
Between October 2019 and May 2020, Uber offered Uber Works, a mobile app connecting workers who wanted temporary jobs with businesses in Chicago and Miami.
In January 2020, Uber acquired Careem for $3.1 billion and sold its Indian Uber Eats operations to Zomato.
Also in January 2020, Uber tested a feature that enabled drivers at the Santa Barbara, Sacramento, and Palm Springs airports to set fares based on a multiple of Uber's rates.
In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Uber announced layoffs of over 14% of its workforce.
In June 2020, in its first software as a service partnership, Uber announced that it would manage the on-demand high-occupancy vehicle fleet for Marin Transit, a public bus agency in Marin County, California.
In September 2020, Uber committed to carbon neutrality globally by 2040, and required that, by 2030, in most countries, rides must be offered exclusively in electric vehicles.
In December 2020, Uber acquired Postmates for $2.65 billion.
Also in December 2020, Uber sold its Elevate division, which was developing short flights using VTOL aircraft, to Joby Aviation.
In January 2021, Uber Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), a joint venture minority-owned by SoftBank Vision Fund, Toyota, and Denso that was developing self-driving cars, was sold to Aurora Innovation for $4 billion in equity and Uber invested $400 million into Aurora.
In March 2021, the company moved to a new headquarters on Third Street in Mission Bay, San Francisco, consisting of several 6- and 11-story buildings connected by bridges and walkways.
In October 2021, Uber acquired Drizly, an alcohol delivery service, for $1.1 billion in cash and stock; it was shut down in early 2024.
In January 2022, Uber acquired Australian car-sharing company Car Next Door.
In 2022, more than 124,000 internal documents covering the five-year period from 2012 to 2017 when Uber was run by Travis Kalanick were leaked by Mark MacGann, a lobbyist who "led Uber's efforts to win over governments across Europe, the Middle East and Africa". The documents were leaked to The Guardian and first printed on 10 July 2022 by its Sunday sister The Observer. The documents revealed attempts to lobby Joe Biden, Olaf Scholz and George Osborne; how Emmanuel Macron secretly aided Uber lobbying in France, and use of a kill switch during police raids to conceal data.
In February 2023, thousands of drivers for Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash went on strike in the US and UK to protest wages and fees.
The company posted its first operating profit in 2023.
In May 2025, Uber acquired an 85% controlling stake in Trendyol Go, an online meal and grocery delivery business based in Istanbul, for about $700 million in cash. It also acquired DanTaxi, the largest taxi operator in Denmark.
In July 2025, Uber partnered with Baidu to deploy Baidu's self-driving cars on its platform outside of the U.S. and mainland China.
Also in July 2025, Uber invested over $300 million in Lucid Motors and Nuro and announced the purchase of Lucid Gravity vehicles to develop a robotaxi service.
In September 2025, Uber announced the launch of air taxi and seaplane flights in certain markets in partnership with Joby Aviation.
In November 2025, Uber launched driverless robotaxis in Abu Dhabi in partnership with WeRide, an autonomous driving technology company.
In February 2026, Uber announced the acquisition of SpotHero.
Also in February 2026, Uber announced that it would expand its robotaxi services, with plans to make driverless cars one of its key growth areas and aims to offer driverless vehicles in more than 10 markets globally by the end of 2026. Uber’s partners include Baidu, which has a license to run small-scale driverless trials in Hong Kong, as well as WeRide, which has an autonomous-driving license in parts of Switzerland. Uber also offers driverless rides in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh with WeRide, and with Avride in Dallas.
Also in February 2026, Uber launched the Uber Autonomous Solutions division to take on all the tasks associated with operating robotaxis, self-driving trucks, and sidewalk delivery robots, including software and support services.
On 12 March 2026, Nissan, Uber and Wayve announced their collaboration with the aim of developing robotaxis and rolling out a pilot programme in Tokyo by late 2026.
== Legal and regulatory issues ==
=== Operating without permission ===
While it was expanding, Uber was accused of commencing operations in a city based on a loose interpretation of local regulations or by ignoring them completely and then using lobbying to change regulations. In 2016, Uber was fined $11.4 million for operating in Pennsylvania without permission.
=== Legal cases by taxi companies and taxi drivers ===
Taxi companies sued Uber in Boston, alleging that Uber acted unlawfully in the years prior to ride-sharing regulations being implemented in the city; courts ruled in favor of Uber.
In the U.S., although some courts did find that Uber intentionally violated taxi rules, Uber prevailed in every case, including the only case to proceed to trial. Anoush Cab, Inc. v. Uber Technologies, Inc., No. 19-2001 (1st Cir. 2021) alleged that Uber caused asset devaluation by competing unfairly; the trial resulted in a full verdict for Uber.
Flywheel, the largest operator of taxis in San Francisco, sued Uber in 2016, alleging antitrust violations and predatory pricing. In 2021, a federal judge threw out the bulk of the case and Uber settled the remainder of the case by integrating Flywheel taxis into its mobile app.
In 2019, 8,000 taxi drivers, represented by law firm Maurice Blackburn, filed a class action lawsuit against Uber in Australia alleging illegal taxi operations, loss of income and loss of value of taxi and/or hire car licenses. Uber agreed to settle the case by paying AU$271.8 million.
=== Classification of drivers as gig workers ===
Unless otherwise required by law, ridesharing companies have classified drivers as independent contractors and not employees under employment law, arguing that they receive flextime not generally received by employees. This classification has been challenged legally since it affects taxation, minimum wage requirements, working time, paid time off, employee benefits, unemployment benefits, and overtime benefits.
Jurisdictions in which drivers must receive the classification of "employees" include the United Kingdom (after the case of Aslam v Uber BV which was decided by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom), New Zealand, Switzerland, New Jersey, and the Netherlands. California Assembly Bill 5 (2019) was passed to force drivers to be classified as employees in California, although ridesharing companies received an exemption by 2020 California Proposition 22, a ballot initiative. Ridesharing companies spent tens of millions of dollars on the campaign. In 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1340 into law, which gave rideshare drivers the right to collectively bargain with rideshare companies despite their classification as independent contractors rather than employees.
In some jurisdictions, laws were passed to guarantee drivers a minimum wage before and after expenses as well as paid time off and insurance benefits.
=== Accusations of misleading drivers ===
Uber has paid to settle accusations of having misled drivers about potential earnings and shortchanging drivers.
=== Driver control over fares ===
In the United States, drivers do not have any control over the fares they charge. A lawsuit filed in California, Gill et al. v. Uber Technologies, Inc. et al., alleged that this is a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. The lawsuit was denied class action status; a judge forced each plaintiff to go to arbitration individually. The case was dropped in March 2024.
=== Discrimination against a blind customer ===
In April 2021, an arbitrator ruled against Uber in a case involving Lisa Irving, a blind American customer with a guide dog who was denied rides on 14 separate occasions. Uber was ordered to pay US$1.1 million, reflecting $324,000 in damages and more than $800,000 in attorney fees and court costs.
=== Greyball ===
In March 2017, an investigation by The New York Times revealed that Uber developed a software tool called "Greyball" to avoid giving rides to known law enforcement officers in areas where its service was illegal such as in Portland, Oregon, Australia, South Korea, and China, leading to government inquiries. The tool identified government officials using geofencing, mining credit card databases, identifying devices, and searches of social media. While at first, Uber stated that it only used the tool to identify riders that violated its terms of service, after investigations by Portland, Oregon, and the United States Department of Justice, Uber admitted to using the tool to skirt local regulations and promised not to use the tool for that purpose. The use of Greyball in London was cited by Transport for London as one of the reasons for its decision not to renew Uber's private hire operator licence in September 2017.
=== Ripley - kill switch ===
A January 2018 report by Bloomberg News stated that Uber routinely used a "panic button" system, codenamed "Ripley", that locked, powered off and changed passwords on staff computers when those offices were subjected to government raids. Uber allegedly used this button at least 24 times, from spring 2015 until late 2016.
The company claimed the kill switches were not intended to obstruct justice, but rather to protect intellectual property, customer privacy, and due process and that no data was permanently deleted, and was available for authorities to obtain later.
=== Counter-intelligence research on class action plaintiffs ===
In 2016, Uber hired Ergo, a global security consulting firm, to secretly investigate plaintiffs involved in a class action lawsuit. Ergo operatives posed as acquaintances of the plaintiff's counsel and tried to contact their associates to obtain information. As a result, the judge threw out evidence that was obtained in a fraudulent manner.
=== Insufficient accessibility ===
According to a lawsuit filed in 2018, not enough Uber drivers own a wheelchair accessible vans (WAV), in violation of accessibility laws.
=== Refusal to transport service animals ===
While drivers are required to transport service animals, drivers have been criticized for refusal to transport service animals, which, in the United States, is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 2021, an arbitrator awarded $1.1 million to a visually impaired passenger who travels with a guide dog because she was denied Uber rides 14 separate times.
=== Sexual harassment settlement (2017) ===
On February 19, 2017, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler published on her website that she was propositioned for sex by a manager and subsequently threatened with termination of employment by another manager if she continued to report the incident. Travis Kalanick, the CEO at the time, was allegedly aware of the complaint. On February 27, 2017, Amit Singhal, Uber's Senior Vice President of Engineering, was forced to resign after he failed to disclose a sexual harassment claim against him that occurred while he served as Vice President of Google Search. After investigations led by former attorney general Eric Holder and Arianna Huffington, a member of Uber's board of directors, in June 2017, Uber fired over 20 employees. Kalanick took an indefinite leave of absence but, under pressure from investors, he resigned as CEO a week later. Also departing the company in June 2017 was Emil Michael, a senior vice president who suggested that Uber hire a team of opposition researchers and journalists, with a million-dollar budget, to "dig up dirt" on the personal lives and backgrounds of journalists who reported negatively on Uber, specifically targeting Sarah Lacy, editor of PandoDaily, who, in an article published in October 2014, accused Uber of sexism and misogyny in its advertising. In August 2018, Uber agreed to pay a total of $7 million to settle claims of gender discrimination, harassment, and hostile work environment, with 480 employees and former employees receiving $10,700 each and 56 of those employees and former employees receiving an additional $33,900 each. In December 2019, Kalanick resigned from the board of directors of the company and sold his shares.
=== Illegal concealment of data breaches ===
In 2020, the US Department of Justice announced criminal charges against former Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan for obstruction of justice. The criminal complaint said Joe Sullivan arranged with Travis Kalanick's knowledge, to pay a ransom for the 2016 data breach as a "bug bounty" to conceal its true nature, and for the hackers to falsify non-disclosure agreements to say they had not obtained any data.
=== Privacy fines ===
In January 2024, Uber was fined €10 million by the Dutch Data Protection Authority for violating privacy regulations pertaining to the personal data of its drivers. The authority determined that Uber had failed to provide clear information in its terms and conditions regarding the duration for which it retained drivers' personal data, as well as the measures taken to secure this data when transmitting it to undisclosed entities outside the European Economic Area.
In August 2024, Uber was fined €290 million by the Dutch Data Protection Authority for transferring the personal data of European drivers to US servers in breach of the GDPR.
=== Deceptive billing practices ===
In April 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Uber, alleging that it enrolled some of its customers in the $9.99 monthly Uber One service without their consent, and used unlawful tactics to make cancellation difficult for consumers. In December 2025, 21 US states and Washington, D.C. joined the FTC in filing an amended complaint seeking civil penalties against Uber for allegedly violating both state laws and the federal Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act.
=== Passenger safety and sexual assault lawsuits (2024) ===
In February 2024, a multidistrict litigation (MDL) was established in the Northern District of California against Uber Technologies, Inc., consolidating numerous claims from among the more than 3,000 sexual assault lawsuits filed against the company in state and federal courts. These lawsuits allege Uber prioritized growth over safety by using inadequate background checks, skipping in-person driver vetting, and failing to invest in preventive measures such as cameras or monitoring systems. It also claims Uber knowingly put vulnerable passengers, such as intoxicated women, at risk through its marketing and business practices. The litigation seeks injunctive relief, damages and changes to Uber's safety policies. Some survivors have chosen to pursue justice in state courts outside of the MDL, seeking faster resolutions and a more individualized approach.
=== Wage theft claims ===
In 2020, 5,000 drivers filed wage and hour claims with the California labour commission office against Uber and Lyft, alleging they were misclassified as independent contractors. Rideshare Drivers United in California claimed that at least 250,000 individual rideshare drivers in California who drove for the apps between 2016 and 2020 are estimated to be eligible for the settlement for wage theft claims of tens of billions of dollars.
=== Data breaches and related fines ===
On February 27, 2015, Uber admitted that it had suffered a data breach more than nine months prior. Names and license plate information from approximately 50,000 drivers were inadvertently disclosed. Uber discovered this leak in September 2014, but waited more than five months to notify the affected individuals.
An announcement in November 2017 revealed that in 2016, a separate data breach had disclosed the personal information of 600,000 drivers and 57 million customers. This data included names, email addresses, phone numbers, and drivers' license information. Hackers used employees' usernames and passwords that had been compromised in previous breaches (a "credential stuffing" method) to gain access to a private GitHub repository used by Uber's developers. The hackers located credentials for the company's Amazon Web Services datastore in the repository files, and were able to obtain access to the account records of users and drivers, as well as other data contained in over 100 Amazon S3 buckets. Uber paid a $100,000 ransom to the hackers on the promise they would delete the stolen data. Uber was subsequently criticized for concealing this data breach. Dara Khosrowshahi publicly apologized. In September 2018, in the largest multi-state settlement of a data breach, Uber paid $148 million to the Federal Trade Commission, and admitted that internal access to consumers' personal information was closely monitored on an ongoing basis was false, and stated that it had failed to live up to its promise to provide reasonable security for consumer data. In November 2018, Uber's British divisions were fined £385,000 (reduced to £308,000) by the Information Commissioner's Office.
On September 15, 2022, Uber discovered a security breach of its internal network by a hacker that utilized social engineering to obtain an employee's credentials and gain access to the company's VPN and intranet. The company said that no sensitive data had been compromised.
== Corporate affairs ==
=== Finances ===
== Gallery == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prinsjesdag#History | Prinsjesdag#History | Prinsjesdag (English: Prince's Day) is the day on which the reigning monarch of the Netherlands addresses a joint session of the States-General of the Netherlands (consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives) to give the Speech from the Throne (Dutch: Troonrede), similar to the annual State of the Union in the United States or the British State Opening of Parliament. This speech sets out the main features of government policy for the coming parliamentary session.
The occasion is prescribed by the constitution, article 65 of which states: "A statement of the policy to be pursued by the Government shall be given by or on behalf of the King or the Queen before a joint session of the two Houses of the States-General that shall be held every year on the third Tuesday in September or on such earlier date as may be prescribed by Act of Parliament." Article 105, paragraph 2 of the Constitution adds that this coincides with the submission of the budget.
After the speech from the throne, the budget is later presented to the House of Representatives by the Minister of Finance.
== Speech from the Throne ==
The first part of Prinsjesdag is the Speech from the Throne at the assembly of the States-General in the Ridderzaal.
At around 12:30 on Prinsjesdag, the members of the Senate and House of Representatives enter the Ridderzaal.
They sit opposite and to the left and right of the throne. The ministers and state secretaries sit to the left of the throne. Behind them sit members of the Council of State, the government’s highest advisory body. They all sit in the enceinte, an area enclosed by unobtrusive wooden barriers symbolising that the head of state is in conference with Parliament.
Outside the enceinte are seats for the other High Councils of State, senior civil servants, high-ranking officers of the armed forces, senior members of the judiciary, the King’s or the Queen's Commissioner of the province of South Holland, the mayor of The Hague and specially invited guests.
At the stroke of one, the King or the Queen, normally accompanied by other members of the Royal House, leaves Noordeinde Palace in the Golden Coach (Glass Coach sometimes) for the Binnenhof, escorted by court dignitaries and a military escort of honour. Outside the palace stand an escort of honour and a military band.
As the King or the Queen arrives at the Binnenhof, a band by the steps strikes up the Wilhelmus (national anthem). The King and other members of the Royal House salute the colour of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps (the most ancient regiment in the Dutch armed forces) and mount the Ridderzaal’s steps, above which hangs a canopy.
The president of the Senate presides over the joint session. Shortly before 13:00, he opens the meeting and then appoints a number of ushers from among the members of the two Houses to escort the King and his entourage. On this occasion, male MPs wear their most formal dress, while female MPs try to outdo each other with extravagant hats.
The ushers receive the King or the Queen and the members of the Royal House at the entrance to the Ridderzaal. The president of the joint session then announces the arrival of the head of state: a signal for all those present to stand. The King or the Queen then proceeds to the throne, from where he delivers his Speech from the Throne. In his capacity of (formal) head of the Government he announces the plans for the new parliamentary year. The King's or the Queen's Speech is not written by the King, but by the Prime Minister and the cabinet.
When the Speech is finished, the speaker of the Senate proclaims "Leve de koning!" ("Long live the King!") or "Leve de koningin!" ("Long live the Queen!") which is answered by everyone present with "Hoera! Hoera! Hoera!" This brings an end to the joint session of the two houses. The ushers escort the King and members of the Royal House to the door. The president then closes the session.
When the King or the Queen leaves the Ridderzaal, the escort of honour again forms in the Binnenhof, and the procession returns to Noordeinde Palace where he traditionally salutes the gathered crowd from the balcony.
== Proposal of the next year's budget ==
After lunch, the Minister of Finance proposes the next year's national budget and the Budget Memorandum (the Miljoenennota) to the House of Representatives. Since 1947, the budget submitted is carried in a special briefcase in imitation of the British Budget Day tradition. The current briefcase was made in 1964 and has printed on it in Dutch: "Third Tuesday of September". Due to the size of the case, it probably contains only a part of the entire memorandum.
=== General debates ===
The presentation is followed by a cycle of parliamentary debates on the budget. It starts with the general political debate (Dutch: algemene politieke beschouwingen), where the Prime Minister speaks on behalf of the government with parliamentary group leaders. A week later, the House debates with the minister and state secretaries of Finance during the general financial debate (Dutch: algemene financiële beschouwingen). Afterwards, the budget of every ministry is discussed in parliamentary committees. It is the most important moment for parliamentary policy making, as MPs can amend the budget to finance specific plans.
== History ==
In the 18th century, Prinsjesdag was one of the country's most popular public holidays and was originally used to celebrate the birthday of Prince William V on 8 March.
Between 1780 and 1797 — known as the Patriot era, leading up to the Batavian Revolution — the day was used for demonstrations of loyalty to the House of Orange, which is probably why the current name was chosen in the 19th century for the ceremonial opening of parliament.
Historically, the constitution has stated that the opening of parliament should take place on a fixed date. The opening of parliament was originally held on the first Monday in November in the first half of the 19th century, and then the third Monday in October, but when a constitutional revision introduced annual budgets in 1848, more time was needed to debate the budget, so the date was brought forward a month. Monday was considered inappropriate, because many parliamentarians in distant parts of the country needed to leave their homes on Sunday to make it to The Hague in time, so in 1887 Prinsjesdag was moved to Tuesday.
Throughout the years 1815 to 1904, the speech from the throne was given in the assembly room of the House of Representatives, but it was moved back to the Hall of Knights after an extensive restoration of the building at the start of the 20th century.
The pomp and circumstance is still very much part of the day. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_(tennis) | Grand Slam (tennis) | The Grand Slam in tennis is the achievement of winning all four major championships in one discipline in a calendar year. In doubles, a Grand Slam may be achieved as a team or as an individual with different partners. Winning all four major championships consecutively but not within the same calendar year is referred to as a "non-calendar-year Grand Slam", while winning the four majors at any point during the course of a career is known as a "Career Grand Slam".
The term Grand Slam is also attributed to the Grand Slam tournaments, referred to as Majors, and they are the world's four most important annual professional tennis tournaments. They offer the most ranking points, prize money, public and media attention, the greatest strength and size of the field and, in recent years, the longest matches for men (best of five sets, best of three for the women).
The tournaments are overseen by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), rather than the separate men's and women's tour organizing bodies, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women's Tennis Association (WTA), but both the ATP and WTA award ranking points based on players' performances in them.
The Grand Slam tournaments are the Australian Open in January, the French Open in late May to early June, Wimbledon in late June to early July, and the US Open in late August to early September, with each played over two weeks. The Australian and the US tournaments are played on hard courts, the French on clay court, and Wimbledon on grass court. Wimbledon is the oldest tournament, founded in 1877, followed by the US in 1881, the French in 1891 (major in 1925), and the Australian in 1905, but it was not until 1923 that all four were designated as "Official Championships".
== History ==
With the growing popularity of tennis, and with the hopes of unifying the sport's rules internationally, the British and French tennis associations started discussions at their Davis Cup tie, and in October 1912 organized a meeting in Paris, joined by the Australasian, Austrian, Belgian, Spanish, and Swiss associations. They subsequently formed the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF), holding their first meeting in 1913, joined by the Danish, German, Dutch, Russian, South African, and Swedish organizations. Voting rights were divided based on the perceived importance of the individual countries, with Great Britain's Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) receiving the maximum six votes. Three tournaments were established, being designated as "World Championships":
World Grass Court Championships, played on grass courts.
World Hard Court Championships, played on clay courts.
World Covered Court Championships, played on an indoor wood surface.
The LTA was given the perpetual right to organize the World Grass Court Championships, to be held at Wimbledon, and France received permission to stage the World Hard Court Championships until 1916. Anthony Wilding of New Zealand won all three of these World Championships in 1913.
The United States National Lawn Tennis Association (USNLTA) expressed disagreement over the power distribution within the ILTF and the designation of "World Championship" status to the British and French tournaments, and thus initially refused to join the Federation, choosing instead to be bystanders to their meetings. By the 1920s, with the World Covered Court Championships failing to attract top players and the growing success of American and Australian tennis, the ILTF worked to convince the USNLTA to join them, meeting their demand to drop the designation of "World Championships" from all three tournaments in March 1923, which led to the demise of both the World Covered Court Championships and the World Hard Court Championships. A new category of "Official Championships" was created for the national championships of Britain, France, Australia, and the US. By the 1930s, these four tournaments had become well defined as the most prestigious in the sport.
In 1933, Jack Crawford won the Australian, French, and Wimbledon Championships, leaving him just needing to win the last major event of the year, the U.S. Championships, to become the reigning champion of all four major tournaments, a feat described as "a grand slam" by sports columnist Alan J. Gould of The Reading Eagle, and later that year by John Kieran of The New York Times, who stated that if Crawford won at Forest Hills it "would be something like scoring a grand slam on the courts, doubled and vulnerable." The term 'Grand Slam' originates from the card game contract bridge, where it is used for winning all possible tricks. In golf it was used for the first time to describe a total of four wins, specifically Bobby Jones' achievement of winning the four major golf tournaments of the era, which he accomplished in 1930. "Grand Slam" or "Slam" has since also become used to refer to the tournaments individually. The first player to win all four majors in a calendar year and thus complete a Grand Slam was Don Budge in 1938.
At the time, only amateur players were allowed to participate in the Grand Slam and other ILTF-sanctioned tournaments. Amateur standing, regulated by the ILTF alongside its associated national federations, forbade players from receiving prize money, earning pay by teaching tennis, being contracted by promoters and playing paid exhibition matches, though expense payments were allowed along with certain monies from sporting goods companies or other benefactors. Amateurs who "defected" to become professional were banned from competing in amateur tournaments and dropped from their national associations. The first major professional tour was established in 1926 by promoter C. C. Pyle with a troupe of American and French players, most notably Suzanne Lenglen, playing exhibition matches to paying audiences.
Over the next decades many other head-to-head tours were run and professional tournaments established, with three, the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships, French Pro Championship and Wembley Championships, standing out, and considered to have been the professional majors. By the 1950s, largely due to efforts of player/promoter Jack Kramer, this lucrative parallel circuit was luring in most of the star amateurs on the men's side, much to the ire of the ILTF and organizers of the Grand Slam tournaments. It was an open secret that the top players who remained as amateurs were receiving undeclared under-the-table payments from tournament promoters, an arrangement tolerated by their national tennis associations to dissuade them from joining the pro ranks and secure their availability for the majors and Davis Cup. This system was derisively referred to as 'shamateurism' that was seen as undermining the integrity of the sport. Ramanathan Krishnan and Roy Emerson, for example declined large contract offers from the professional promoters, with the latter stating that he was better paid in the amateur circuit.
Tensions over this status quo, which had been building for decades, finally came to a head in 1967. The first tournament open to professional tennis players played on Centre Court at Wimbledon, the Wimbledon Pro, was staged by the All England Lawn Tennis Club in August, offering a prize fund of US$45,000. The tournament was deemed very successful, with packed crowds and the play seen as being of higher quality than the amateur-only Wimbledon final held two weeks earlier. This success in combination with large signings of top players to two new professional tours—World Championship Tennis and the National Tennis League—convinced the LTA on the need for open tennis. After a British proposal for this at the annual ILTF meeting was voted down, the LTA revolted, and in its own annual meeting in December it voted overwhelmingly to admit players of all statuses to the 1968 Wimbledon Championships and other future tournaments in Britain, "come hell or high water". The eventual backing of the USNLTA that came after a February 1968 vote forced the ILTF to yield and allow each nation to determine its own legislation regarding amateur and professional players, which it voted for in a special meeting in March 1968. This marked the start of the Open Era of tennis, with its first tournament, the 1968 British Hard Court Championships, beginning three weeks later on 22 April in Bournemouth, England, while the first open Grand Slam tournament, the 1968 French Open, was held in May.
Even after the advent of the Open Era, players including John McEnroe and Chris Evert have pointed out that skipping the Australian Open was the norm because of the travelling distance involved and the inconvenient dates close to Christmas and New Year. There were also the contracted professional players who had to skip some major events like the French Open in the 1970s because they were committed to the more profitable pro circuits. In one case, Australian players including Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and Roy Emerson who had contracts with George MacCall's National Tennis League were prevented from participating in the 1970 Australian Open because the financial guarantees were deemed insufficient.
Although it has been possible to complete a Grand Slam in most years and most disciplines since 1925, it was not possible from 1940 to 1945 because of interruptions at Wimbledon, the Australian and French Championships due to World War II, the years from 1970 to 1985 when there was no Australian tournament in mixed doubles, 1986 when there was no Australian Open, and 2020 when Wimbledon was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
== Tournaments ==
The individual Grand Slam tournaments consist of the four majors: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. These four individual tournaments are sometimes shortened to Grand Slams, or even just slams.
=== Australian Open ===
The Australian Open is the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, played annually in late January and early February. The inaugural edition took place in November 1905 on the grass courts of the Warehouseman's Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia. It was held as the Australasian Championships until 1927 and thereafter as the Australian Championships until the onset of the Open Era in 1969, passing through various venues in Australia and New Zealand before settling at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne between 1972 and 1987. Since 1988, it has been played on the hard courts of the Melbourne Park sports complex, which currently uses GreenSet as its court manufacturer.
Managed by Tennis Australia, formerly the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia (LTAA), the tournament struggled until the mid-1980s to attract the top international players due to its distance from Europe and America and proximity to the Christmas and holiday season, but it has since grown to become one of the biggest sporting events in the Southern Hemisphere and the highest attended Grand Slam tournament, with more than 1,020,000 people attending the 2024 edition.
Nicknamed the "Happy Slam" and billed as "the Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific", it has become known for its modernity and innovation, being the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play and install retractable roofs on its main courts, the first to schedule night-time men's singles finals, and the first to substitute electronic line calling for line judges, using an expanded version of the Hawk-Eye technology known as "Hawk-Eye Live".
The tournament was designated a major championship by the International Lawn Tennis Federation in 1923. Today its draw hosts 256 singles players, 128 doubles teams, and 32 mixed doubles teams, with the total prize money for the 2025 tournament being A$96,500,000.
=== French Open ===
The French Open, also known as Roland Garros, is the second Grand Slam tournament of the year, played annually in late May and early June. A French championships closed event (restricted to members of French clubs) was first held in 1891 on the sand courts of the Societé de Sport de Île de Puteaux, in Puteaux, Île-de-France, and changed venues over the years. In 1925 the French championships became a Grand Slam event for the first time. It was open to all amateurs and since 1928 has been held on clay courts at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, France. The venue is named "Roland Garros" after the pioneering French aviator.
Organized by the Fédération française de tennis (FFT), formerly known as the Fédération Française de Lawn Tennis until 1976, the French Open is the only Grand Slam tournament played on a red clay surface. It is generally considered to be the most physically demanding tennis tournament in the world.
The World Hard Court Championships was considered the premier clay championship in France from 1912–1923 (apart from one year held in Belgium) as it admitted international competitors, and it is therefore often seen as the true precursor to the French Open before 1925. The French championships was first held as an International Lawn Tennis Federation–sanctioned major championship in 1925.
Today, it has draws that host 256 singles players, 128 doubles teams and 32 mixed doubles teams, with the total prize money for the 2025 tournament being €56,352,000. The 2018 edition saw a record attendance of 480,575 spectators.
=== Wimbledon ===
The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known as Wimbledon, is the third Grand Slam tournament of the year, played annually in late June and early July. It was first held in 1877 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, at the time located off Nursery Road in Wimbledon, London, England. The tournament has always been contested at this club, which moved to its present site off Church Road in 1922 in order to increase its attendance capacity.
Wimbledon is organized by a committee of management consisting of 19 members, with 12 being club members and the remaining seven nominated by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). As the world's oldest tennis event, it is widely regarded as the most prestigious tennis tournament, and it is known for its commitment to longstanding traditions and guidelines. It is one of few tournaments and the only Grand Slam event that is still played on grass courts, tennis's original surface, and where "lawn tennis" originated in the 1800s. Players are required to wear all-white attire during matches, and they are referred to as "Gentlemen" and "Ladies". There is also a tradition where the players are asked to bow or curtsy towards the Royal Box upon entering or leaving Centre Court when either the Prince of Wales or the monarch are present.
The tournament was given the title "World Grass Court Championships" by the International Lawn Tennis Federation between 1912 and 1923, and was designated a major championship following the abolition of the three ILTF World Championships. Since 1937, the BBC has broadcast the tournament on television in the United Kingdom, with the finals shown live and in full on television in the country each year. The BBC's broadcast of the 1967 edition was among the first colour television broadcasts in the UK.
Today, the event has draws that host 256 singles players, 128 doubles teams and 32 mixed doubles teams, with the total prize money for the 2025 tournament being £53,500,000, and 500,397 people attending the 2019 edition. The tournament has some of the longest running sponsorships in sports history, having been associated with Slazenger since 1902, and with the Robinsons fruit drink brand since 1935.
=== US Open ===
The US Open is the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the year, played annually in late August and early September. It was first held in August 1881 on grass courts at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. The tournament changed venues in its early years, with each discipline continuing to be held separately at various venues until 1923, when the tournament settled at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City. In 1978, it moved to the hardcourts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, where it has been contested ever since.
Organized by the United States Tennis Association (USTA), previously known as the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (USNLTA) until 1920, and as United States National Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) until 1975, it is the only Grand Slam tournament to have been played every year since its inception. In 1997, Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest tennis stadium in the world with a capacity of 23,771 spectators, was opened. It is named after Arthur Ashe, the winner of the 1968 tournament—the first in which professionals were allowed to compete.
Over the years, the tournament has pioneered changes that other tournaments later adopted, including the introduction of a tiebreak system to decide the outcome of sets tied at 6–6 in 1970, being the first Grand Slam tournament to award equal prize money to the men's and women's events in 1975, the installation of floodlights in 1975 in order to allow matches to be played at night, and the introduction of instant replay reviews of line calls using the Hawk-Eye computer system in 2006.
The ILTF officially designated it as a major tournament in 1923. Today, the event has draws that host 256 singles players, 128 doubles teams and 32 mixed doubles teams, with the total prize money for the 2020 tournament being US$53,400,000, and a US television viewership of 700,000. From 2004–2023, the tournament was preceded by the US Open Series, composed of North American hardcourt professional tournaments that lead up to and culminate with the US Open itself. The season was organized by the USTA as a way to focus more attention on American tennis tournaments by getting more of them on domestic television.
== Grand Slam ==
A Grand Slam (sometimes called a Calendar-year Grand Slam, Calendar Grand Slam, or Calendar Slam) is the achievement of winning the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open in the same year. Margaret Court is the only player to complete a Grand Slam in two disciplines, singles and mixed doubles (twice), while wheelchair players Diede de Groot and Dylan Alcott have completed one in both the singles and doubles disciplines of their respective classes.
The following is a list of players that achieved it.
== Current champions ==
=== Former champions ===
==== Per discipline ====
==== Singles finals ====
Men
Women
== Related concepts ==
=== Non-calendar-year Grand Slam ===
In 1982, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) began offering a $1 million bonus to any singles player to win the four majors consecutively regardless the tournaments order of winning them while the Men's International Professional Tennis Council, which was the governing body of men's professional tennis at the time, stated that 'Grand Slam' need not necessarily be won in the same year. This revision by the Council and reportedly the ITF was approved by the representatives of the four Grand Slam tournaments at Wimbledon. Neil Amdur and Allison Danzig of the New York Times both criticised the changed definition of the term Grand Slam, whereas in 1985 Hal Bock of Associated Press backed the change.
Despite newspaper reports claiming that ITF President Philippe Chatrier had said "the four big events no longer have to be won in the same calendar year for a player to be recognized as Grand Slam champion", ITF General Secretary David Gray in a 1983 letter claimed that it was never the intention of ITF to alter anything regarding the definition of the classic Grand Slam:
There seems to be some confusion. The ITF's only initiative in this matter has been the organisation of the offer of a bonus of $1 million to any player who holds all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously ... Despite all that we have read on this matter, it has never been my Committee of Management's intention to alter the basis of the classic Grand Slam i.e., the capture of all four titles in a year.
When Martina Navratilova won the 1984 French Open and became the reigning champion of all four women's singles discipline, she was the first player to receive the bonus prize in recognition of her achievement. Some media outlets said that she had won a Grand Slam. Curry Kirkpatrick of Sports Illustrated wrote "Whether the Slam was Grand or Bland or a commercial sham tainted with an asterisk the size of a tennis ball, Martina Navratilova finally did it."
When Rafael Nadal was on the verge of completing a non-calendar-year Grand Slam at the 2011 Australian Open, one writer observed, "Most traditionalists insist that the 'Grand Slam' should refer only to winning all four titles in a calendar year, although the constitution of the International Tennis Federation, the sports governing body, spells out that 'players who hold all four of these titles at the same time achieve the Grand Slam'." In 2012 the ambiguity was resolved, with the ITF's current constitution stating "The Grand Slam titles are the championships of Australia, France, the United States of America and Wimbledon. Players who hold all four of these titles in one calendar year achieve the 'Grand Slam'."
Combining the Grand Slam and the non-calendar-year Grand Slam, only eight singles players on 11 occasions achieved the feat of being the reigning champion of all four majors, three men (Don Budge, Rod Laver, Novak Djokovic) and five women (Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Serena Williams).
The following list is for those players who achieved a non-calendar-year Grand Slam by holding the four major titles at the same time but not in the calendar year. Players who completed a Grand Slam within the same streak as a non-calendar-year Grand Slam are not included here.
=== Career Grand Slam ===
The career achievement of winning all four major championships in one discipline is termed a "Career Grand Slam", or "Career Slam". In singles, nine men (Fred Perry, Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz) and ten women (Maureen Connolly, Doris Hart, Shirley Fry Irvin, Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova) have completed a Career Grand Slam. Four men (Emerson, Laver, Djokovic, and Nadal) and five women (Court, Evert, Navratilova, Graf, Williams) have achieved the feat more than once over the course of their careers.
Only six players have completed a Career Grand Slam in both singles and doubles: one man (Roy Emerson) and five women (Margaret Court, Doris Hart, Shirley Fry Irvin, Martina Navratilova, and Serena Williams).
=== Boxed Set ===
A "Boxed Set" refers to winning one of every possible major title in the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles disciplines throughout a player's career. Only three players have completed a Boxed Set, all women: Doris Hart, Margaret Court, and Martina Navratilova. Court's second Boxed Set, completed in 1969, spans the Amateur and Open Eras, but she later completed a set entirely within the Open Era in 1973.
The event at which the Boxed Set was completed indicated in bold.
S Singles
D Doubles
X Mixed doubles
=== Golden Slam ===
The term "Golden Slam" (also known as "Golden Grand Slam", "Calendar-year Golden Slam" or "Calendar Golden Slam") refers to the achievement of winning all four majors and the Olympic or Paralympic gold medal in a calendar year. The achievement was first established in 1988, when Steffi Graf won all the aforementioned titles in singles. She is currently the only singles able-bodied player to achieve it, while Diede de Groot and Dylan Alcott also accomplished the feat, in wheelchair singles and wheelchair quad singles respectively.
Non-calendar-year Golden Slam: refers to the achievement of winning all four majors and the Olympic or Paralympic gold medal consecutively across two calendar years. It has been used since 2013, when Bob and Mike Bryan won the aforementioned titles consecutively in doubles between 2012 and 2013. Their achievement was also dubbed the "Golden Bryan Slam".
Career Golden Slam: refers to the achievement of winning all four majors and the Olympic or Paralympic gold medal during their career. In singles three men (Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) and two women (Steffi Graf and Serena Williams) have completed the Career Golden Slam. Williams is currently the only able-bodied player to have achieved a Career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.
=== Other concepts ===
Super Slam: Combination of the Golden Slam and year-end championship title (ATP Finals for the men's tour, WTA Finals for the women's tour, and the Wheelchair Tennis Masters for the wheelchair tennis tour) in a calendar year, also known as "Calendar-year Super Slam" Diede de Groot is currently the only player to do so, in women's wheelchair singles in 2021.
Non-calendar-year Super Slam: refers to the achievement of winning all four majors, the Olympic or Paralympic gold medal, and the year-end championship consecutively across two calendar years. Steffi Graf is currently the only one to achieve it, with her Golden Slam in 1988 following her victory at the year-end championship in 1987.
Career Super Slam: refers to the achievement of winning all four majors, the Olympic or Paralympic gold medal, and the year-end championship throughout a career. In singles two men (Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic) and two women (Steffi Graf and Serena Williams) have completed the Career Super Slam.
Three-Quarter Slam: refers to the achievement of winning three of the four majors in a calendar year, missing out on the Grand Slam by only one title.
Surface Slam: refers to the achievement of winning a major title on each of three different surfaces (currently clay, grass and hard courts) in a calendar year. It's been possible since 1978, when the US Open changed its playing surface from clay to hard courts. From 1978 to 1987, the Australian Open and Wimbledon were played on grass, the French Open on clay and the US Open on hard, but since 1988 the Australian Open has also been played on hard courts.
Career Surface Slam: refers to the achievement of winning a major title on each of three surfaces (currently clay, grass and hard courts) throughout a career. Only a handful of players were able to achieve it multiple times, with Steffi Graf being the singles player that achieved it the most, winning on each surface at least 6 times.
Channel Slam: refers to the achievement of winning both the French Open and Wimbledon in a calendar year. The name makes reference to the English Channel, the body of water separating France from the United Kingdom, the host countries of the French Open and Wimbledon. These tournaments are held clay and grass courts, respectively, surfaces very different from each other, usually being held a few weeks from each other, meaning that players who have deep runs in the French Open have little time to adapt to the different surface conditions found at Wimbledon.
=== Pro Slam ===
Before the start of the Open Era in 1968, only amateur players were allowed to compete in the four Grand Slam tournaments. Many male top players "went pro" in order to win prize money legally, competing on a professional world tour comprising completely separate events. From 1927 to 1967, the three tournaments considered by many to have been the "majors" of the professional tour were:
U.S. Pro Tennis Championships,
French Pro Championship,
Wembley Championships.
A player who won all three in a calendar year was considered retrospectively to have achieved a "Professional Grand Slam", or "Pro Slam". In the pre-open era the terms did not exist. The feat was accomplished by Ken Rosewall in 1963 and Rod Laver in 1967, while Ellsworth Vines, Hans Nüsslein and Don Budge have won the three major trophies during their careers. The professional majors did not have a women's draw except for the Cleveland tournament in 1953, 1955, 1956, 1959. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry | Coventry | Coventry ( KOV-ən-tree or rarely KUV-) is a cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centuries. Founded in the early Middle Ages, its city status was formally recognised in a charter of 1345. The city is governed by Coventry City Council, and the West Midlands Combined Authority.
Formerly part of Warwickshire until 1451, and again from 1842 to 1974, Coventry had a population of 345,324 at the 2021 census, making it the tenth largest city in England and the 13th largest in the United Kingdom.
It is the second largest city in the West Midlands region, after Birmingham, from which it is separated by an area of green belt known as the Meriden Gap; and is the third largest in the wider Midlands after Birmingham and Leicester. The city is part of a larger conurbation known as the Coventry and Bedworth Urban Area, which in 2021 had a population of 389,603.
Coventry is 19 miles (31 km) east-south-east of Birmingham, 24 miles (39 km) south-west of Leicester, 10 miles (16 km) north of Warwick and 94 miles (151 km) north-west of London. Coventry is also the most central city in England, being only 12 miles (19 km) south-west of the country's geographical centre in Leicestershire.
Coventry became an important and wealthy city of national importance during the Middle Ages. Later it became an important industrial centre, becoming home to a large bicycle industry in the 19th century. In the 20th century, it became a major centre of the British motor industry; this made it a target for German air raids during the Second World War, and in November 1940, much of the historic city centre was destroyed by a large air raid.
The city was rebuilt after the war, and the motor industry thrived until the mid-1970s. However, by the late 1970s and early 1980s, Coventry was in an economic crisis, with one of the country's highest levels of unemployment due to major plant closures and the collapse of the respective local supply-chain. In recent years, it has seen regeneration and an increase in population. The city also has three universities: Coventry University in the city centre, the University of Warwick on the southern outskirts and the smaller private Arden University with its headquarters close to Coventry Airport. In addition, Coventry was awarded UK City of Culture for 2021.
== History ==
=== Origins and toponymy ===
The Romans founded a large fort on the outskirts of what is now Coventry at Baginton, next to the River Sowe; it has been excavated and partially reconstructed in modern times and is known as the Lunt Fort. The fort was probably constructed around AD 60 in connection with the Boudican revolt and then inhabited sporadically until around 280 AD.
The origins of the present settlement are obscure, but Coventry probably began as an Anglo-Saxon settlement. Although there are various theories of the origin of the name, the most widely accepted is that it was derived from Cofa's tree; derived from a Saxon landowner called Cofa, and a tree which might have marked either the centre or the boundary of the settlement.
=== Medieval ===
Around c. AD 700 a Saxon nunnery was founded here by St Osburga, which was later left in ruins by King Canute's invading Danish army in 1016. Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his wife Lady Godiva built on the remains of the nunnery and founded a Benedictine monastery in 1043 dedicated to St Mary. It was during this time that the legend of Lady Godiva riding naked on horseback through the streets of Coventry, to protest against unjust taxes levied on the citizens of Coventry by her husband, was alleged to have occurred. Although this story is regarded as a myth by modern historians, it has become an enduring part of Coventry's identity.
A market was established at the abbey gates and the settlement expanded. At the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066, Coventry was probably a modest sized town of around 1,200 inhabitants, and its own minster church.
Coventry Castle was a motte and bailey castle in the city. It was built in the early 12th century by Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester. Its first known use was during The Anarchy when Robert Marmion, a supporter of King Stephen, expelled the monks from the adjacent priory of Saint Mary in 1144, and converted it into a fortress from which he waged a battle against the castle which was held by the Earl. Marmion perished in the battle. It was demolished in the late 12th century. St Mary's Guildhall was built on part of the site. It is assumed the name "Broadgate" comes from the area around the castle gates.
The Bishops of Lichfield were often referred to as the Bishops of Coventry and Lichfield, or Lichfield and Coventry (from 1102 to 1541), and in the medieval period Coventry was a major centre of pilgrimage of religion. The Benedictines, Carthusians, Carmelites and Franciscans all had religious houses in the city of Coventry. The Carthusian Priory of St Anne was built between 1381 and 1410 with royal patronage from King Richard II and his queen Anne of Bohemia Coventry has some surviving religious artworks from this time, such as the doom painting at Holy Trinity Church which features Christ in judgement, figures of the resurrected, and contrasting images of Heaven and Hell.
By the 13th century, Coventry had become an important centre of the cloth trade, especially blue cloth dyed with woad and known as Coventry blue. Throughout the Middle Ages, it was one of the largest and most important cities in England, which at its Medieval height in the early 15th century had a population of up to 10,000, making it the most important city in the Midlands, and possibly the fourth largest in England behind London, York and Bristol. Reflecting its importance, in around 1355, work began on a defensive city wall, which, when finally finished around 175 years later in 1530, measured 2.25 miles (3.62 km) long, at least 12 feet (3.7 m) high, and up to 9 feet (2.7 m) thick, it had two towers and twelve gatehouses. Coventry's city walls were described as one of the wonders of the late Middle Ages. Today, Swanswell Gate and Cook Street Gate are the only surviving gatehouses and they stand in the city centre framed by Lady Herbert's Garden.
Coventry claimed the status of a city by ancient prescriptive usage, and was granted a charter of incorporation and coat of arms by King Edward III in 1345. The motto "Camera Principis" (the Prince's Chamber) refers to Edward, the Black Prince. In 1451 Coventry became a county in its own right, a status it retained until 1842, when it was reincorporated into Warwickshire.
Coventry's importance during the Middle Ages was such, that on two occasions a national Parliament was held there, as well as a number of Great Councils. In 1404, King Henry IV summoned a parliament in Coventry as he needed money to fight rebellion, which wealthy cities such as Coventry lent to him. During the Wars of the Roses, the Royal Court was moved to Coventry by Margaret of Anjou, the wife of Henry VI, as she believed that London had become too unsafe. On several occasions between 1456 and 1459 parliament was held in Coventry, including the so-called Parliament of Devils. For a while Coventry served as the effective seat of government, but this would come to an end in 1461 when Edward IV was installed on the throne.
=== Tudor period ===
In 1506 the draper Thomas Bond founded Bond's Hospital, an almshouse in Hill Street, to provide for 10 poor men and women. This was followed in 1509 with the founding of another almshouse, when the wool merchant William Ford founded Ford's Hospital and Chantry on Greyfriars' Lane, to provide for 5 poor men and their wives.
Throughout the Middle Ages Coventry had been home to several monastic orders and the city was badly hit by Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. Between 1539 and 1542, monasteries, priories and other properties belonging to the Carmelites, Greyfriars, Benedictines and Carthusians, were either sold off or dismantled. The greatest loss to the city was of Coventry's first Cathedral, St Mary's Priory and Cathedral which was mostly demolished, leaving only ruins, making it the only English Cathedral to be destroyed during the dissolution. Coventry would not have another Cathedral until 1918, when the parish church of St Michael was elevated to Cathedral status, and it was itself destroyed by enemy bombing in 1940. Coventry therefore has had the misfortune of losing its Cathedral twice in its history.
William Shakespeare, from nearby Stratford-upon-Avon, may have witnessed plays in Coventry during his boyhood or 'teens', and these may have influenced how his plays, such as Hamlet, came about.
=== Civil War and aftermath ===
During the English Civil War Coventry became a bastion of the Parliamentarians: In August 1642, a Royalist force led by King Charles I attacked Coventry. After a two-day battle, however, the attackers were unable to breach the city walls, and the city's garrison and townspeople successfully repelled the attack, forcing the King's forces to withdraw. During the Second Civil War many Scottish Royalist prisoners were held in Coventry; it is thought likely that the idiom "sent to Coventry", meaning to ostracise someone, derived from this period, owing to the often hostile attitude displayed towards the prisoners by the city folk.
Following the restoration of the monarchy, as punishment for the support given to the Parliamentarians, King Charles II ordered that the city's walls be slighted (damaged and made useless as defences) which was carried out in 1662.
=== Industrial age ===
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, silk ribbon weaving and watch and clock making became Coventry's staple industries. In the 1780s, the silk ribbon weaving industry was estimated to employ around 10,000 weavers in Coventry, and its surrounding towns like Bedworth and Nuneaton. Coventry's growth was aided by the opening of the Coventry Canal in 1769, which gave the city a connection to the growing national canal network. Nevertheless, during the 18th century, Coventry lost its status as the Midlands' most important city to nearby Birmingham, which overtook Coventry in size. During the same period, Coventry became one of the three main British centres of watch and clock manufacture and ranked alongside Prescot, in Lancashire and Clerkenwell in London. By the 1841 census the population was 30,743.
By the 1850s, Coventry had overshadowed its rivals to become the main centre of British watch and clock manufacture, which by that time employed around 2,000 people. The watch and clock industry produced a pool of highly skilled craftsmen, who specialised in producing precision components, and the Coventry Watchmakers' Association was founded in 1858.
As the city prospered industrially in the 18th and early 19th centuries, several Coventry newspapers were founded. These include Jopson's Coventry Mercury, first issued by James Jopson of Hay Lane in 1741; the Coventry Gazette and Birmingham Chronicle, first published in 1757; the Coventry Herald, first published in 1808; the Coventry Observer, first published in 1827; and the Coventry Advertiser, first published in 1852.
The ribbon weaving and clock industries both rapidly collapsed after 1860, due to cheap imports following the Cobden–Chevalier free trade treaty, which flooded the market with cheaper French silks, and Swiss Made clocks and watches. For a while, this caused a devastating slump in Coventry's economy.
A second wave of industrialisation, however, began soon after. Coventry's pool of highly skilled workers attracted James Starley, who set up a company producing sewing machines in Coventry in 1861. Within a decade, he became interested in bicycles, and developed the penny-farthing design in 1870. His company soon began producing these bicycles, and Coventry soon became the centre of the British bicycle industry. Further innovation came from Starley's nephew, John Kemp Starley, who developed the Rover safety bicycle, the first true modern bicycle with two equal-sized wheels and a chain drive in 1885. By the 1890s Coventry had the largest bicycle industry in the world, with numerous manufacturers, however bicycle manufacture went into steady decline from then on, and ended entirely in 1959, when the last bicycle manufacturer in the city relocated.
By the late-1890s, bicycle manufacture began to evolve into motor manufacture. The first motor car was made in Coventry in 1897, by the Daimler Company. Before long Coventry became established as one of the major centres of the British motor industry. In the early-to-mid 20th century, a number of famous names in the British motor industry became established in Coventry, including Alvis, Armstrong Siddeley, Daimler, Humber, Jaguar, Riley, Rootes, Rover, Singer, Standard, Swift and Triumph. Thanks to the growth of the car industry attracting workers, Coventry's population doubled between 1901 and 1911.
For most of the early-20th century, Coventry's economy boomed; in the 1930s, a decade otherwise known for its economic slump, Coventry was noted for its affluence. In 1937 Coventry topped a national purchasing power index, designed to calculate the purchasing power of the public.
=== Great War (1914–1918) ===
Many Coventry factories switched production to military vehicles, armaments and ammunitions during the Great War. Approximately 35,000 men from Coventry and Warwickshire served during the First World War, so most of the skilled factory workers were women drafted from all over the country. Due to the importance of war production in Coventry it was a target for German zeppelin attacks and defensive anti-aircraft guns were established at Keresley and Wyken Grange to protect the city.
In June 1921, the War Memorial Park was opened on the former Styvechale Common to commemorate the 2587 soldiers from the city who lost their lives in the war. The War Memorial was designed by Thomas Francis Tickner and is a Grade II* building. It was unveiled by Earl Haig in 1927, with a room called the Chamber of Silence inside the monument holding the roll of honour. Soldiers who lost their lives in recent conflicts have been added to the roll of honour over the years.
=== Urban expansion and development ===
With many of the city's older properties becoming increasingly unfit for habitation, the first council houses were let to their tenants in 1917. With Coventry's industrial base continuing to soar after the end of the Great War in 1918, numerous private and council housing developments took place across the city in the 1920s and 1930s to provide housing for the large influx of workers who came to work in the city's booming factories. The areas which were expanded or created in this development included Radford, Coundon, Canley, Cheylesmore and Stoke Heath.
As the population grew, the city boundaries underwent several expansions, in 1890, 1928, 1931 and 1965, and between 1931 and 1940 the city grew by 36%.
The development of a southern by-pass around the city, starting in the 1930s and being completed in 1940, helped deliver more urban areas to the city on previously rural land. In the 1910s plans were created to redevelop Coventry's narrow streets and by the 1930s the plans were put into action with Coventry's medieval street of Butcher Row being demolished. even before the war, the plans had been put in place to destroy the medieval character of Coventry.
The London Road Cemetery was designed by Joseph Paxton on the site of a former quarry to meet the needs of the city.
=== German bombing of Coventry ===
Coventry suffered severe bomb damage during the Second World War. The most severe was a massive Luftwaffe air raid that the Germans called Operation Moonlight Sonata. The raid, which involved more than 500 aircraft, started at 7pm on 14 November 1940 and carried on for 11 hours into the morning of 15 November. The raid led to severe damage to large areas of the city centre and to Coventry's historic cathedral, leaving only a shell and the spire. More than 4,000 houses were damaged or destroyed, along with around three quarters of the city's industrial plants. Between 380 and 554 people were killed, with thousands injured and homeless.
Aside from London, Hull and Plymouth, Coventry suffered more damage than any other British city during the Luftwaffe attacks, with huge firestorms devastating most of the city centre. The city was probably targeted owing to its high concentration of armaments, munitions, aircraft and aero-engine plants which contributed greatly to the British war effort, although there have been claims that Hitler launched the attack as revenge for the bombing of Munich by the RAF six days before the Coventry Blitz and chose the Midlands city because its medieval heart was regarded as one of the finest in Britain. Following the raids, the majority of Coventry's historic buildings were demolished by a council who saw no need of them in a modern city, although some of them could have been repaired and some of those demolished were unaffected by the bombing.
=== Post-Second World War ===
==== Redevelopment ====
In the post-war years Coventry was largely rebuilt under the general direction of the Gibson Plan, gaining a new pedestrianised shopping precinct (the first of its kind in Europe on such a scale) and in 1962 Sir Basil Spence's much-celebrated new St Michael's Cathedral (incorporating one of the world's largest tapestries) was consecrated. Its prefabricated steel spire (flèche) was lowered into place by helicopter.
Further housing developments in the private and public sector took place after the Second World War, partly to accommodate the growing population of the city and also to replace condemned and bomb damaged properties. Several new suburbs were constructed in the post-war period, including Tile Hill, Wood End, and Stoke Aldermoor.
==== Boom and bust ====
Coventry's motor industry boomed during the 1950s and 1960s and Coventry enjoyed a 'golden age'. In 1960 over 81,000 people were employed in the production of motor vehicles, tractors and aircraft in Coventry. During this period the disposable income of Coventrians was amongst the highest in the country and both the sports and the arts benefited. A new sports centre, with one of the few Olympic standard swimming pools in the UK, was constructed and Coventry City Football Club reached the First Division of English Football. The Belgrade Theatre (named in recognition of a gift of timber from the Yugoslavian capital city) was also constructed along with the Herbert Art Gallery. Coventry's pedestrianised Precinct shopping area came into its own and was considered one of the finest retail experiences outside London. In 1965 the new University of Warwick campus was opened to students, and rapidly became one of the country's leading higher-education institutions.
Coventry's large industrial base made it attractive to the wave of Asian and Caribbean immigrants who arrived from Commonwealth colonies after 1948. In 1950, one of Britain's first mosques—and the very first in Coventry—was opened on Eagle Street to serve the city's growing Pakistani community.
The 1970s, however, saw a decline in the British motor industry and Coventry suffered particularly badly, especially towards the end of that decade. By the 1970s, most of Coventry's motor companies had been absorbed and rationalised into larger companies, such as British Leyland and Chrysler which subsequently collapsed. The early 1980s recession dealt Coventry a particularly severe blow: By 1981, Coventry was in an economic crisis, with one in six of its residents unemployed. By 1982, the number of British Leyland employees in the city had fallen from 27,000 at its height, to just 8,000. Other Coventry industrial giants such as the tool manufacturer Alfred Herbert also collapsed during this time.
In the late-1970s and early-1980s, Coventry also became the centre of the Two-tone musical phenomena. The two-tone style was multi-racial, derived from the traditional Jamaican music genres of ska, reggae and rocksteady combined with elements of punk rock and new wave. Bands considered part of the genre include the Specials, the Selecter, Madness, the Beat, Bad Manners, the Bodysnatchers and Akrylykz. Most famously the Specials 1981 UK no.1 hit 'Ghost Town' reflected the unemployment and desolation of Coventry at the time.
=== 21st century ===
Some motor manufacturing continued into the early 21st century: One of the research and design centres of Jaguar Land Rover is in the city at their Whitley plant and although vehicle assembly ceased at the Browns Lane plant in 2004, the head office of the Jaguar brand returned to the city in 2011, and is also sited in Whitley. The closure of the Peugeot factory at Ryton-on-Dunsmore in 2006, ended volume car manufacture in Coventry. By 2008, only one motor manufacturing plant was operational, that of LTI Ltd, producing the popular TX4 taxi cabs. On 17 March 2010 LTI announced they would no longer be producing bodies and chassis in Coventry, instead producing them in China and shipping them in for final assembly in Coventry.
Since the 1980s, Coventry has recovered, with its economy diversifying into services, with engineering ceasing to be a mass employer, what remains of manufacturing in the city is driven by smaller more specialist firms. By the 2010s the biggest drivers of Coventry's economy had become its two large universities; the University of Warwick and Coventry University, which between them, had 60,000 students, and a combined annual budget of around £1 billion.
In 2021 Coventry became the UK City of Culture. A range of artistic and local history events and projects took place over the next year, including "Coventrypedia" and the creation of the Coventry Atlas local history map.
== Geography ==
=== Climate ===
As with the rest of the British Isles and the Midlands, Coventry experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest Met Office weather station is Coundon/Coventry Bablake. Temperature extremes recorded in Coventry range from −18.2 °C (−0.8 °F) in February 1947, to 38.9 °C (102.0 °F) in July 2022. The lowest temperature reading of recent years was −10.8 °C (12.6 °F) during December 2010.
=== City boundaries ===
Coventry forms the largest part of the Coventry and Bedworth Urban Area. The city proper covers an area of almost 100 km2 (39 sq mi).
The protected West Midlands Green Belt, which surrounds the city on all sides, has prevented the expansion of the city into both the administrative county of Warwickshire and the metropolitan borough of Solihull (the Meriden Gap), and has helped to prevent the coalescence of the city with surrounding towns such as Kenilworth, Nuneaton, Leamington Spa, Warwick and Rugby as well as the large village of Balsall Common.
Panoramic views of Coventry City Centre from the cathedral tower
=== Suburbs and other surrounding areas ===
=== Compass ===
=== Places of interest ===
==== Cathedral ====
The spire of the ruined cathedral forms one of the "three spires" which have dominated the city skyline since the 14th century, the others being those of Christ Church (of which only the spire survives) and Holy Trinity Church (which is still in use).
St Michael's Cathedral is Coventry's best-known landmark and visitor attraction. The 14th century church was largely destroyed by German bombing during the Second World War, leaving only the outer walls and spire. At 300 feet (91 metres) high, the spire of St Michael's is claimed to be the third tallest cathedral spire in England, after Salisbury and Norwich. Due to the architectural design (in 1940 the tower had no internal wooden floors and a stone vault below the belfry) it survived the destruction of the rest of the cathedral.
The new Coventry Cathedral was opened in 1962 next to the ruins of the old. It was designed by Sir Basil Spence. The cathedral contains the tapestry Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph by Graham Sutherland. The bronze statue St Michael's Victory over the Devil by Jacob Epstein is mounted on the exterior of the new cathedral near the entrance. Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, regarded by some as his masterpiece, was written for the opening of the new cathedral. The cathedral was featured in the 2009 film Nativity!.
Coventry Cathedral is also notable for being one of the newest cathedrals in the world, having been built following the Second World War bombing of the ancient cathedral by the Luftwaffe. Coventry has since developed an international reputation as one of Europe's major cities of peace and reconciliation, centred on its cathedral, and holds an annual Peace Month. John Lennon and Yoko Ono planted two acorns outside the cathedral in June 1968 to thank the city for making friends with others.
Coventry also has a Baptist church named Queens Road Baptist Church, which was first established in 1723 and moved to its current building in 1884.
==== Cultural institutions ====
The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum is one of the largest cultural institutions in Coventry. Another visitor attraction in the city centre is Coventry Transport Museum, which has the largest public collection of British-made road vehicles in the world. The most notable exhibits are the world speed record-breaking cars, Thrust2 and ThrustSSC The museum received a refurbishment in 2004 which included the creation of a new entrance as part of the city's Phoenix Initiative project. It was a finalist for the 2005 Gulbenkian Prize.
Historic Coventry Trust (previously known as The Charterhouse Coventry Preservation Trust) was founded in 2011. The Trust is a social enterprise aiming to regenerate Coventry's historic buildings and landscapes. Their sites across Coventry include the Charterhouse, the two surviving City Gates, Drapers' Hall, London Road Cemetery: Paxton's Arboretum and Priory Row.
The £5 million Fargo Village creative quarter shopping precinct was open in 2014 on Far Gosford Street with a mixture of retail units.
About four miles (6.4 kilometres) from the city centre and just outside Coventry in Baginton is the Lunt Fort, a reconstructed Roman fort on its original site. The Midland Air Museum is situated just within the perimeter of Coventry on land adjacent to Coventry Airport and near Baginton.
Coventry was one of the main centres of watchmaking during the 18th and 19th centuries and as the industry declined, the skilled workers were key to setting up the cycle trade. A group of local enthusiasts founded the Coventry Watch Museum in Spon Street.
The city's main police station in Little Park Street also hosts a museum of Coventry's police force. The museum, based underground, is split into two sections—one representing the history of the city's police force, and the other compiling some of the more unusual, interesting and grisly cases from the force's history. The museum is funded from charity donations—viewings can be made by appointment.
Coventry City Farm was a small farm in an urban setting. It was mainly to educate city children who might not get out to the countryside very often. The farm closed in 2008 due to funding problems.
== Demographics ==
Coventry has an ethnic minority population which represented 34.5% of the population at the 2021 census. The ethnic minority population is concentrated in the Foleshill and the St Michael's wards. Islam is the largest non-Christian religion, but the composition of the ethnic minority population is not typical of the UK with significant numbers of other South Asians. Both Sikh and Hindu religions are represented significantly higher than in the rest of the West Midlands in general.
Coventry has a large student population (approximately 15,000 are non-UK) who are in the UK for 12 months or longer that are included in these figures.
According to the 2021 Census, 43.9% (151,577) of residents identified themselves as Christian making Christianity the largest followed religion in the city. Islam was the second most followed religion with 10.4% (35,800) of residents identifying with the religion. 5.0% (17,297) of Coventry's population were Sikh, disproportionately larger than the national average in England of 0.8%. Hindus made up 4.0% (13,724) of the resident population followed by Buddhists at 0.4% (1,257) and Jews at 0.1% (259) respectively. The adherents of other religions made up 0.6% (1,908) of the city's population.
Almost a third of Coventry residents, 29.6% (102,338), identified themselves as having no religion and 6.1% did not declare any religion.
== Government and politics ==
=== Local and national government ===
Traditionally a part of Warwickshire (although it was a county in its own right for 400 years), Coventry became an independent county borough in 1889. It later became a metropolitan district of the West Midlands county under the Local Government Act 1974 (c. 7), even though it was entirely separate to the Birmingham conurbation area (this is why Coventry appears to unnaturally "jut out" into Warwickshire on political maps of the UK). In 1986, the West Midlands County Council was abolished and Coventry became administered as an effective unitary authority in its own right.
Coventry is administered by Coventry City Council, controlled since 2010 by the Labour Party, and led since May 2016 by George Duggins. The city is divided up into 18 Wards each with three councillors. The chairman of the council is the Lord Mayor, who has a casting vote.
Certain local services are provided by West Midlands wide agencies including the West Midlands Police, the West Midlands Fire Service and Transport for West Midlands (Centro) which is responsible for public transport.
In 2006, Coventry and Warwickshire Ambulance Service was merged with the West Midlands Ambulance Service. The Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance service is based at Coventry Airport in Baginton.
Coventry is represented in Parliament by three Members of Parliament (MPs). They are:
Mary Creagh – (Coventry East)
Zarah Sultana – (Coventry South)
Taiwo Owatemi – (Coventry North West)
Up until 1997, Coventry was represented by four Members of Parliament, whereupon the Coventry South West and Coventry South East constituencies were merged to form Coventry South.
On Tuesday, 10 September 2024, Zarah Sultana, the Member of Parliament for Coventry South, was suspended from the Labour Party for voting in favour of a Scottish National Party amendment to end the two child benefit cap.
On Thursday, 19 May 2016, Councillor Lindsley Harvard was inaugurated Lord Mayor of Coventry for 2016–17 as Coventry's 65th Lord Mayor. Councillor Lindsley Harvard has been a Labour Councillor serving on the council for fourteen years, for Earlsdon Ward (1996–2000) and for Longford Ward since 2006. On Thursday, 19 May 2016, Councillor Tony Skipper was inaugurated as the Deputy Lord Mayor of Coventry for 2016–17. He has been a Labour councillor since 1995; representing Earlsdon Ward between 1995 and 2001, and then Radford Ward since 2001.
The Bishop of Coventry is Christopher John Cocksworth, who was consecrated on 3 July 2008.
=== Council affiliation ===
In May 2016, it was as follows
=== Twinning with other cities; "city of peace and reconciliation" ===
Coventry and Stalingrad (now Volgograd) were the world's first 'twin' cities when they established a twinning relationship during the Second World War. The relationship developed through ordinary people in Coventry who wanted to show their support for the Soviet Red Army during the Battle of Stalingrad. The city was also subsequently twinned with Dresden, as a gesture of peace and reconciliation following the Second World War. Each twin city country is represented in a specific ward of the city and in each ward has a peace garden dedicated to that twin city. Coventry is now twinned with 26 places across the world: On 22 March 2022, Coventry City Council voted unanimously to suspend the twinning arrangement with Volgograd in light of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
== Arts and culture ==
On 7 December 2017 it was announced that the city would be the 2021 UK City of Culture, being the third such place to hold the title after Derry in 2013 and Hull in 2017. After the financial collapse of the Coventry City of Culture Trust, set up to run legacy projects following Coventry's year as UK City of Culture in 2021, local MP Taiwo Owatemi raised an adjournment debate in the House of Commons.
=== Literature and drama ===
The African American actor Ira Aldridge managed Coventry Theatre after impressing the people of the city with his acting during a tour in 1828. He was born in New York in 1807, but moved to England when he was18, and is considered the UK's first black Shakespearean performer.
The poet Philip Larkin was born and brought up in Coventry, where his father was the City Treasurer.
During the early 19th-century, Coventry was well known due to author George Eliot who was born near Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The city was the model for her famous novel Middlemarch (1871).
The Coventry Carol is named after the city of Coventry. It was a carol performed in the play The Pageant of the Shearman and Tailors, written in the 15th-century as one of the Coventry Cycle Mystery Plays. These plays depicted the nativity story, the lyrics of the Coventry Carol referring to the Annunciation to the Massacre of the Innocents, which was the basis of the Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. These plays were traditionally performed on the steps of the (old) cathedral. The Belgrade Theatre brought back the Coventry Mystery Plays in 2000 to mark the city's millennium celebrations: the theatre now produces the Mystery Plays every three years.
The Belgrade Theatre was Britain's first purpose-built civic theatre, opened in 1958. In 1965 the world's first Theatre-in-Education (TiE) company was formed to develop theatre as a way of inspiring learning in schools. The TiE movement spread worldwide, the theatre still offers a number of programmes for young people across Coventry and has been widely recognised as a leader in the field. It was reopened in 2007 following a period of refurbishment.
Novelist Graham Joyce, winner of the O. Henry Award is from Keresley. His World Fantasy Award-winning novel "The Facts of Life" is set in Coventry during the blitz and in the post-war rebuilding period.
The playwright Alan Pollock was brought up in Coventry. Other playwrights associated with the city include Nick Walker and Chris O'Connell – founder of the city's Theatre Absolute.
=== Music and cinema ===
During the late-1970s and early 1980s, Coventry was the centre of the Two Tone musical phenomenon, with bands such as The Specials and The Selecter coming from the city. The Specials achieved two UK number 1 hit singles between 1979 and 1981, namely "Too Much Too Young" and "Ghost Town".
Coventry has a range of music events including an international jazz programme, the Coventry Jazz Festival, and the Godiva Festival. On the Saturday of the Godiva Festival, a carnival parade starts in the city centre and makes its way to War Memorial Park where the festival is held. Coventry's music is celebrated at The Coventry Music Museum, part of the 2-Tone Village complex.
In the 1969 film The Italian Job, the famous scene of Mini Coopers being driven at speed through Turin's sewers was actually filmed in Coventry, using what were then the country's biggest sewer pipes, that were accessible because they were being installed. The BBC medical TV drama series Angels, which ran from 1975 to 1983 was filmed at Walsgrave Hospital.
More recently various locations in Coventry have been used in the BAFTA nominated film The Bouncer starring Ray Winstone, All in the Game, also starring Ray Winstone (Ricoh Arena), the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances (Stoke Aldermoor and Binley Woods districts). In August 2006 scenes from "The Shakespeare Code", an episode of the third series of Doctor Who, were filmed in the grounds of Ford's Hospital. The 2013 ITV comedy-drama Love and Marriage was also set in the city. Coventry is home to three major feature films the Nativity! franchise which are all shot and set in the city. These Christmas films have all reached top box office spots on their release in UK cinemas. Their writer and director the Bafta award-winning Debbie Isitt is resident in the city. In 2023, the 10 part TV series Phoenix Rise was set and filmed in Coventry.
BBC Radio 1 has announced that its BBC Radio One's Big Weekend will take place in Coventry at the end of May 2022, as part of the closing ceremony for the UK City of Culture.
=== Customs and traditions ===
Coventry Godcakes are a regional delicacy, originating from the 14th century and are still baked today.
=== The Coventry Flag ===
The Coventry Flag, designed by Simon Wyatt, was adopted through a popular vote on 7 December 2018. The Coventry Flag represents the unique identity of the Warwickshire city and its residents. It emerged as the winner in a competition organised by BBC Coventry & Warwickshire and proudly flew during Coventry's tenure as the UK City of Culture in 2021. The design features Lady Godiva, a local heroine, depicted in black on a white pale, symbolising Coventry's history, principles, and its reputation as a city of peace. Sky blue panels on either side of Lady Godiva represent "Coventry Blue," reminiscent of the historic local textile industry and Coventry City Football Club, known as the "Sky Blues."
== Venues and shopping ==
There are several theatre, art and music venues in Coventry attracting popular sporting events and singing musicians. Along with this, the city has several retail parks located out of the city centre and its own shopping mall in the heart of the city:
Warwick Arts Centre: situated at the University of Warwick, Warwick Arts Centre includes an art gallery, a theatre, a concert hall and a cinema.
FarGo Village, a creative quarter with various independent businesses.
Albany Theatre: is the city's main community theatre. It is housed at what used to be the Butts Centre of City College Coventry. Known as the Butts or College Theatre, it closed in 2009 with the sale of the college to private developers. The theatre re-opened in 2013 as the Albany Theatre, as part of the Premier Inn hotel on the site of the former Butts Technical College and is run as a charitable trust with support from the council.
Belgrade Theatre: one of the largest producing theatres in Britain, the 858-seat Belgrade was the first civic theatre to be opened in the UK following the Second World War. The theatre underwent a huge redevelopment and reopened in September 2007; in addition to refurbishing the existing theatre, the redevelopment included a new 250-seat studio auditorium known as B2, a variety of rehearsal spaces and an exhibition space that traces the history of theatre in Coventry. It is surrounded by Belgrade Plaza.
Coventry Building Society Arena: located 4 miles (6.4 kilometres) north of the city centre, the 32,600 capacity sports stadium which is home to the city's only professional football team Coventry City, who play in the second tier of English football, and is also used to hold major concerts for some of the world's biggest acts, including Oasis, Bon Jovi, Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Rod Stewart, Kings of Leon and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was also one of the venues chosen for the footballing events at the 2012 Olympic Games. The adjacent Jaguar Exhibition Hall is a 6,000-seat events venue for hosting a multitude of other acts.
SkyDome Arena, which is a 3,000 capacity sports auditorium, and has played host to artists such as Girls Aloud, Paul Oakenfold and Judge Jules. It is the home ground for Coventry Blaze ice hockey club, and has also hosted professional wrestling events from WWE, TNA and Pro Wrestling Noah.
War Memorial Park—known by locals simply as the Memorial Park—which holds various festivals including the Godiva Festival and the Coventry Caribbean Festival, every year. It also host the weekly Parkrun event.
Butts Park Arena, home of Coventry Rugby Football Club and Coventry Bears Rugby League Club, holds music concerts occasionally.
Criterion Theatre, a small theatre, in Earlsdon.
Coombe Country Park, although outside the city boundary, Coventry City Council's only country park. It surrounds the former Coombe Abbey which now operates as a hotel.
The Wave – an indoor water park and spa, owned and operated by Coventry City Council, was opened in 2019.
Herbert Art Gallery and Museum – a museum, art gallery, records archive, learning centre, media studio and creative arts facility on Jordan Well, Coventry.
Coventry Transport Museum – one of the largest motor museums in the UK.
== Sport ==
On the sporting scene, Coventry Rugby Football Club was consistently among the nation's leading rugby football sides from the early 20th century, peaking in the 1970s and 1980s. Association football, on the other hand, was scarcely a claim to fame until 1967, when Coventry City F.C. finally won promotion to the top flight of English football as champions of the Football League Second Division. They would stay among the elite for the next 34 years, reaching their pinnacle with FA Cup glory in 1987—the first and to date only major trophy in the club's history. Their long stay in the top flight of English football ended in relegation in 2001, and in 2012 they were relegated again to the third tier of English football. Highfield Road, to the east of the city centre, was Coventry City's home for 106 years from 1899. They finally departed from the stadium in 2005 on their relocation to the 32,600-seat Ricoh Arena some three miles (4.8 kilometres) to the north of the city centre, in the Rowleys Green district. Since 2000, the city has also been home to one of the most successful ice hockey teams in the country, the Coventry Blaze who are four time Elite League champions, and play their home games at the SkyDome Arena.
=== Football ===
There are two professional football teams representing the city: Coventry City F.C. of the EFL Championship in men's football and Coventry United L.F.C. of the FA Women's Championship in women's football.
Coventry City F.C., formed in 1883 as "Singers F.C.". Nicknamed the Sky Blues, the club competes in the EFL Championship (second tier of English football), but spent 34 years from 1967 to 2001 in the top tier of English football, winning the FA Cup in 1987. They were founder members of the Premier League in 1992. In 2005, Coventry City moved to the 32,600 capacity Ricoh Arena which opened in the Rowleys Green district of the city. The 2013–14 season saw the football club begin a ground share with Northampton Town F.C. at Sixfields Stadium, Northampton, which lasted until their return to the Ricoh Arena in September 2014. The 2019–20 season saw the Sky Blues once again playing their home fixtures out of Coventry, at Birmingham City's St Andrew's Stadium. This arrangement continued until August 2021, when Coventry moved back to the newly renamed Coventry Building Society Arena.
Coventry United L.F.C. play at the Butts Park Arena and were originally Coventry City Ladies before the Sky Blues discontinued their women's team, at which point they affiliated with Coventry United, and rose through the divisions to their current position in the second-tier of the women's game.
Aside from these clubs, there are several other clubs in the city playing non-league football. Coventry Sphinx, Coventry Alvis, Coventry Copsewood and Coventry United all play in the Midland Football League.
Both Coventry University and the University of Warwick compete in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) football competitions. For the 2014–15 season, the Coventry University men's 1st team compete in BUCS Midlands 1a, while the University of Warwick men's 1st team competes in BUCS Midlands 2a. Both institutions' women's 1st teams both play in BUCS Midlands 2a.
=== Rugby Union ===
At the beginning of the 2014–15 season, there were 14 clubs based in Coventry, playing at various levels of the English rugby union system. However, on 21 December 2014, this rose to 15, when Aviva Premiership club Wasps RFC played their first home game at the Ricoh Arena, completing their relocation to the city. This followed Wasps' purchase of Arena Coventry Limited (the company which runs the Ricoh Arena). The club announced that they will build a new 'state of the art' training complex in the area by 2016.
Wasps' stay in the City ended in 2022 after the club collapsed into administration and were forced to relinquish their ownership of the arena. As it stands, Wasps currently have no plans to play in Coventry again.
Coventry Rugby Football Club play in the RFU Championship, the second tier of the English rugby union system. The club enjoyed national success during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, with many of its players playing for their countries, notable players include Ivor Preece, Peter Jackson, David Duckham, Fran Cotton and Danny Grewcock. From 1921 to 2004, the club played at Coundon Road Stadium. Their current home ground is the Butts Park Arena, which was opened in 2004.
Broadstreet R.F.C. are the only other club to play in a 'national league' currently playing in National Division 2 North.
There are a further 12 clubs playing in the Midland divisions of the English Rugby Union system. In 2015, they included Barkers Butts RFC, Dunlop RFC, Earlsdon RFC, Pinley, Old Coventrians, Coventrians, Coventry Welsh, Stoke Old Boys RFC, Copsewood RFC, Keresley RFC, Old Wheatleyans RFC and Trinity Guild RFC.
Both Coventry University and the University of Warwick compete in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Rugby competitions.
=== Rugby League ===
Midlands Hurricanes are the major rugby league team in the city. Originally known as Coventry Bears, the Hurricanes compete in the Betfred League 1, as a semi-professional team in the third tier of the game. They play their home matches at the Butts Park Arena.
In 2002, the club won the Rugby League Conference, and took the step up to the national leagues. In 2004, they won the National Division 3 title and have appeared in the Challenge Cup. In 2015 the Bears entered their reserve team into the Conference League South league, a level below the first team under the name Coventry Bears Reserves playing home games at the Xcel Leisure Centre.
Both Coventry University and the University of Warwick compete in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Midlands 1a competition.
=== Speedway ===
Coventry Speedway was based at Brandon Stadium (also known as Coventry Stadium). The stadium is located just outside the city in the village of Brandon, Warwickshire (6 miles (9.7 kilometres) to the east of the city). The stadium operated both sides of the Second World War. Before the Second World War speedway also operated for a short time at Foleshill Stadium, off Lythalls Lane in the city. Between 1998 and 2000, Coventry Stadium hosted the Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain.
The Coventry Bees started in 1948 and operated continuously until the end of the 2018 season. They started out in the National League Division Three before moving up to the Second Division and, later to the top flight. The Bees were crowned League Champions on nine occasions (1953, 1968, 1978, 1979, 1987, 1988, 2005, 2007 and 2010).
Amongst the top speedway riders who represented Coventry teams were Tom Farndon, Jack Parker, Arthur Forrest, Nigel Boocock, Kelvin Tatum, Chris Harris, Scott Nicholls, Emil Sayfutdinov and World Champions Ole Olsen, Hans Nielsen, Greg Hancock, Billy Hamill, Ronnie Moore and Jack Young.
In 2007, the Bees won the domestic speedway treble of Elite League, Knock-out Cup and Craven Shield, while Chris Harris won both the Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain and the British Championship. The Bees retained the Craven Shield in 2008, and Chris Harris added further British Championship victories in both 2009 and 2010. The Elite League Championship Trophy returned to Brandon in 2010 when the Bees convincingly beat Poole Pirates in the play-off finals.
The Coventry Storm, an offshoot of the senior team, competed in the National League.
In 2017, the stadium became unavailable for motorsports, with new owners Brandon Estates pursuing planning permission for housing – thus, neither Coventry team was able to compete in the leagues, although a number of challenge matches were undertaken on opposition teams' tracks.
For 2018, Coventry Bees were entered into the National League, the third tier of British Speedway, riding their home meetings at the home of Leicester Lions. The team has not operated since then.
=== Ice hockey ===
The Coventry Blaze are one of the founding teams of the Elite Ice Hockey League. They competed in the Erhardt Conference from 2012–13 to 2017–18 before moving to the Patton Conference playing in that conference until the conference system was removed at the end of the 2018–19 season.They play their matches at the SkyDome Arena. In 2002–2003, they won the British National League and Playoffs. They have won the Elite League Championship four times (2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010). The team has twice won the British Challenge Cup, in 2005 & 2007. The 2004–05 EIHL season saw the club win the Grand slam (namely the Championship, the Challenge Cup and the Playoffs). To date, they remain the only team since the formation of the Elite League to achieve this feat. Coventry Blaze celebrated their 10th anniversary season in 2009–10 by winning the Elite League. The club also run a successful academy system, developing the young players of Coventry, Warwickshire and beyond. Scorch the dragon is the official Blaze mascot. The NIHL Coventry Blaze, an offshoot of the senior team and official affiliate of the Blaze, currently compete in the National Ice Hockey League.
The Coventry Phoenix is the city's only women's team; currently competing in Division One (North) of the British Women's Leagues. There are also several recreational ice hockey teams (male and female) that play in the city.
The Coventry and Warwick Panthers are members of the British Universities Ice Hockey Association. The 'A' team compete in "Checking 1 South", 'B' in "Non-Checking 1 South" and 'C' in "Non-Checking 2 South".
=== Stock car racing ===
Coventry Stadium held BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars from 1954 until 2016, the longest serving track in the UK to race continuously. The first meeting was held on 30 June 1954, the first heat being won by Percy 'Hellcat' Brine, he also won the meeting Final. Up to the end of 2013, the stadium had held 483 BriSCA F1 meetings. It held the BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars World Championship many times since 1960. As with speedway, Stock Car racing ceased in 2017 because of the unavailability of the stadium.
=== Cricket ===
The city's current leading cricket club is Coventry and North Warwickshire Cricket Club. Coventry & North Warwickshire CC is currently competing in the ECB Birmingham & District Premier Cricket League, having won the Warwickshire Premier Division in 2022, achieving promotion through the county league play-offs against the respective winners of the Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Shropshire premier leagues.
Historically, first class county games were played by Warwickshire County Cricket Club at the Courtaulds Ground from 1949 up to 1982. After Courtaulds Ground was closed, Warwickshire played several games at Coventry and North Warwickshire Cricket Club at Binley Road.
Coventry born Yvonne Dolphin-Cooper is a cricket umpire. She, alongside Anna Harris, made history in 2021 by becoming the first-all female umpiring duo ever in ECB Premier League history when they officiated together in a West of England Premier League match between Downend CC and Bedminster in Gloucestershire.
=== Athletics ===
The Coventry Godiva Harriers, established in 1879, are the leading athletics club in the area. The club has numerous athletes competing for championships both nationally and internationally. Notable members (past and present) include:
Basil Heatley; former world record holder for the marathon and silver medalist in the 1964 Summer Olympics.
David Moorcroft; Gold medalist in the 1500m at the 1978 Commonwealth Games and in the 5000m at the 1982 Commonwealth Games. He is the former World 5000m record holder and still holds the British 3000m record.
Marlon Devonish; individually in his senior career, he won Gold for the 200m at the 2003 World Indoor Championship and silver at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. However, he has had great success as a relay runner in the 4 × 100 m, winning gold medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics, 1998 Commonwealth Games, 2002 Commonwealth Games and the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He also won bronze at World and European level at both his distances.
=== Field hockey ===
A field hockey club in the city is Coventry & North Warwickshire Hockey Club, which was established in 1895. Based at the Coventry University Sports Ground, the club runs four men's and two ladies' sides, as well as a junior section.
The men's first XI currently compete in Midlands Division 1 of the Midland Regional Hockey Association (MHRA), while the ladies' first XI compete in Warwickshire Women's Hockey League Division 1.
Other teams in the city include:
Sikh Union: Men's 1st XI – (MHRA West Midlands Premier)
Berkswell & Balsall Common Men's 1st XI – (MHRA East Midlands 1); Women's 1st XI – (Warwickshire Women's Hockey League Division 2)
The University of Warwick field men's teams both in the MHRA and the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) hockey competitions. They compete in MHRA Midlands 2 and in BUCS Midlands 2b. The women's first XI compete in BUCS Midlands 3a. Coventry University men's first XI play in BUCS Midlands 3b, while the women's first XI compete in BUCS Midlands 2a.
=== Golf ===
Dame Laura Davies DBE was born in Coventry and is among the most successful female golfers from Britain. She has had 87 tournament victories, including major wins at the Belgium Open in 1985, the Ladies British Open in 1986, and the US Women's Open in 1987. From the early 90s she played in 12 consecutive Solheim Cups in the US. Laura has won numerous accolades during her career and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015.
In 1961, Ralph Moffitt, assistant professional at Coventry Hearsall G.C., was selected and played for Great Britain in the Ryder Cup against the U.S.A. at Royal Lytham St. Anne’s G.C.
=== Other ===
In 2005, Coventry became the first city in the UK to host the International Children's Games and three of the city sports teams won significant honours. The Blaze won the treble consisting of Elite League, playoff and Challenge Cup; the Jets won the BAFL Division 2 championship and were undefeated all season; and the Bees won the Elite League playoffs.
In 2014 the all-female Coventry City Derby Dolls was founded, now called Coventry Roller Derby (CRD). They were the first roller derby team in Coventry and Warwickshire, train weekly and have a full bout team
== Economy ==
Historically, Coventry was the most important seat of ribbon-making in the UK. In this industry it competed locally with Norwich and Leicester and internationally with Saint-Étienne in France.
Coventry has been a centre of motor and cycle manufacturing. Starting with Coventry Motette, The Great Horseless Carriage Company, Swift Motor Company, Humber, Hillman, Riley, Francis-Barnett and Daimler and Triumph motorcycles having its origins in 1902 in a Coventry factory. The Massey Ferguson tractor factory was situated on Banner Lane, Tile Hill, until it closed in the early 2000s.
Although the motor industry has declined almost to the point of extinction, Jaguar Land Rover has retained its Jaguar brand headquarters in the city (at Whitley) and an Advanced R&D team at the University of Warwick, while Peugeot still have a large parts centre in Humber Road despite the closure of its Ryton factory (formerly owned by the Rootes Group) just outside the city in December 2006 with the loss of more than 2,000 jobs – denting the economy of Coventry shortly before the onset of a recession which sparked further economic decline and high unemployment.
The Standard Motor Company opened a car factory at Canley in the south of the city in 1918, occupying a former munitions factory. This site was later expanded and produced Triumph cars after the Standard brand was phased out by BMC during the 1960s. In August 1980, however, it was closed down as part of British Leyland's rationalisation process, although the Triumph brand survived for another four years on cars produced at other British Leyland factories. The closure of the Triumph car factory was perhaps the largest blow to Coventry's economy during the early 1980s economic decline.
The famous London black cab taxis are produced by Coventry-based LEVC (formerly LTI); until its 2017 relocation from the historic Holyhead Road factory to a new plant at Ansty Park a few miles outside the city, these were the only remaining motor vehicles wholly built in Coventry.
The manufacture of machine tools was once a major industry in Coventry. Alfred Herbert Ltd became one of the largest machine tool companies in the world. In later years the company faced competition from foreign machine tool builders and ceased trading in 1983. Other Coventry machine tool manufacturers included A.C. Wickman, and Webster & Bennett. The last Coventry machine tool manufacturer was Matrix Churchill which was forced to close in the wake of the Iraqi Supergun (Project Babylon) scandal.
Coventry's main industries include: cars, electronic equipment, machine tools, agricultural machinery, man-made fibres, aerospace components and telecommunications equipment. In recent years, the city has moved away from manufacturing industries towards business services, finance, research, design and development and creative industries.
=== Redevelopment ===
Major improvements continue to regenerate the city centre. The Phoenix Initiative, which was designed by MJP Architects, reached the final shortlist for the 2004 RIBA Stirling Prize and has now won a total of 16 separate awards. It was published in the book 'Phoenix : Architecture/Art/Regeneration' in 2004. Further major developments are potentially afoot, particularly the Swanswell Project, which is intended to deepen Swanswell Pool and link it to Coventry Canal Basin, coupled with the creation of an urban marina and a wide Parisian-style boulevard. A possible second phase of the Phoenix Initiative is also in the offing, although both of these plans are still on the drawing-board. On 16 December 2007, IKEA's first city centre store in the UK was opened, in Coventry.
On 4 February 2020, it was announced that IKEA's Coventry city centre store was to close the same year due to changing shopping habits and consistent losses at the store.
The River Sherbourne runs under Coventry's city centre; the river was paved over during the rebuilding after the Second World War and is not commonly known. When the new rebuild of Coventry city centre takes place from 2017 onwards, it is planned that river will be re-opened, and a river walk way will be placed alongside it in parts of the city centre. In April 2012, the pedestrianisation of Broadgate was completed.
=== Media ===
==== Radio ====
Local radio stations include:
BBC CWR: 94.8 FM
Capital Mid-Counties (formerly Touch FM): 96.2 FM
Hits Radio Coventry & Warwickshire (formally known as Mercia Sound, Mercia FM, Mercia and Free Radio Coventry & Warwickshire): 97.0 FM
Greatest Hits Radio West Midlands: 1359 AM
Fresh West Midlands: DAB
==== Written media ====
The main local newspapers are:
Coventry Telegraph: a paid for newspaper printed Monday to Saturday, owned by Reach.
Coventry Observer
==== Television news ====
The city is covered on regional TV News by:
BBC Midlands Today: run by the British public service broadcaster.
ITV News Central
==== Digital-only media ====
HelloCov: an online news website founded in 2018.
Coventry Times
== Public services ==
=== Emergency services ===
Coventry is covered by West Midlands Police, the West Midlands Fire Service and the West Midlands Ambulance Service.
=== Healthcare ===
Healthcare in Coventry is provided primarily by the National Health Service (NHS); the principal NHS hospital covering the city is the University Hospital Coventry, which was opened in 2006 as a 1,250 bed 'super hospital', funded by a private finance initiative (PFI) scheme.
=== Electricity ===
Electricity was first supplied to Coventry in 1895 from Coventry power station off Sandy Lane adjacent to the canal (now Electric Wharf). A larger 130 MW power station was built at Longford in 1928, this operated until 1976, and was subsequently demolished.
=== Waste management ===
Coventry has an energy from waste incinerator which burns rubbish from both Coventry and Solihull, producing electricity for the National Grid and some hot water that is used locally through the Heatline project. Rubbish is still put into landfill.
Many areas of Coventry have kerb-side plastic, metal (tins and cans), and paper recycling. Garden-green rubbish is collected and composted.
Waste materials can be taken to the recycling depot, which is adjacent to the incineration unit.
There are recycling points throughout the city for paper, glass recycling and metal / tin can recycling.
In October 2006, Coventry City Council signed the Nottingham Declaration, joining 130 other UK councils in committing to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the council and to help the local community do the same.
== Transport ==
=== Roads ===
Coventry is near to the M1, M6, M40, M45 and M69 motorways. The M45, which is situated a few miles to the south-east of the city, was opened in 1959 as a spur to the original section of the M1 motorway, which linked London with the Midlands. This was, in effect, the first motorway to serve Coventry, as the section of the M6 north of the city did not open until 1971 and the M69 between Coventry and Leicester opened five years later. The M40, which is connected to the city via the A46, is 12 miles (19 kilometres) south of the city centre, south of Warwick and gives the city's residents an alternative dual carriageway and motorway route to London.
It is served by the A45 and A46 dual carriageways. The A45 originally passed through the centre of the city, but was re-routed in the 1930s on the completion of the Coventry Southern Bypass, with westbound traffic heading in the direction of Birmingham and eastbound traffic in the direction of Northampton. The A46 was re-routed to the east of the city in 1989 on completion of the Coventry Eastern Bypass, which directly leads to the M6/M69 interchange. To the south, it gives a direct link to the M40, making use of the existing Warwick and Kenilworth bypasses.
Coventry has a dual-carriageway Ring Road (officially road number A4053) that is 2.25 miles long. It loops around the city centre and roughly follows the lines of the old city walls. The Ring Road began construction in the late 1950s, the first stretch was opened in 1962, and it was finally completed in 1974. Ring Road junctions have all been numbered since the 1980s. The road has a reputation for being difficult to navigate. A single street of Victorian terraces, Starley Road, remains inside the ring road after a campaign by residents prevented its demolition in the 1980s.
Phoenix Way, a dual-carriageway running north–south completed in 1995, links the city centre with the M6 motorway.
=== Railway ===
Coventry railway station is a principal stop on the West Coast Main Line; it is served by three train operating companies:
Avanti West Coast operates inter-city services between London Euston, Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton, Preston, Carlisle, Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley
CrossCountry provides services between Manchester Piccadilly and Bournemouth, via Birmingham New Street, Reading and Southampton Central
London Northwestern (a trade name of West Midlands Trains) provides stopping services between London Euston and Birmingham New Street, via Rugeley. There are also services between Nuneaton and Leamington Spa.
Coventry has also three suburban railway stations at Coventry Arena, Canley and Tile Hill. Coventry Arena, serving the north of city on the Coventry to Nuneaton Line, opened in January 2016 primarily for the Ricoh Arena where football, rugby matches and concerts take place.
=== Light rail ===
A light rail system is planned for Coventry, known as Coventry Very Light Rail. The first vehicle came off the production line in March 2021 and the first line, to University Hospital Coventry, was proposed to be operational by 2024.
=== Buses ===
Bus operators in Coventry include National Express Coventry, Arriva Midlands and Stagecoach in Warwickshire. Pool Meadow bus station is the main bus and coach interchange in the city centre. Coventry has a single Park and Ride service from War Memorial Park served by Stagecoach in Warwickshire. From Pool Meadow, there are national coach links to major towns and cities, seaside towns, ferry ports and events with National Express, with four stands (A, B, C and D).
Coventry aims to have all of its buses powered by electricity by 2025.
=== Air ===
The nearest major airport is Birmingham Airport, some 11 miles (18 km) to the west of the city. Coventry Airport, located 5 miles (8 km) south of the city centre in Baginton, is now used for general aviation only.
=== Water ===
The Coventry Canal terminates near the city centre at Coventry Canal Basin and is navigable for 38 miles (61 km) to Fradley Junction in Staffordshire. The canal engineer James Brindley was responsible for the initial planning of the canal. The Coventry Canal Society was formed in 1957.
== Accent ==
=== Origins ===
Coventry in a linguistic sense looks both ways, towards both the 'West' and 'East' Midlands. One thousand years ago, the extreme west of Warwickshire (what today we would designate Birmingham and the Black Country) was separated from Coventry and east Warwickshire by the forest of Arden, with resulting inferior means of communication. The west Warwickshire settlements too were smaller in comparison to Coventry which, by the 14th century, was England's third city. Even as far back as Anglo-Saxon times Coventry—situated as it was, close to Watling Street—was a trading and market post between King Alfred's Saxon Mercia and Danelaw England with a consequent merging of dialects.
=== Coventry and Birmingham accents ===
Phonetically the accent of Coventry, like the perhaps better known accent of Birmingham, is similar to Northern English with respect to its system of short vowels. For example, it lacks the BATH/TRAP (Cov. /baθ/, Southern /bɑːθ/) and FOOT/STRUT (Cov. /strʊt/, Southern /strʌt/) splits. Yet the longer vowels in the accent also contain traces of Estuary English such as a partial implementation of the London diphthong shift, increasingly so amongst the young since 1950. We also see other Estuary English features, such as a /l/-vocalisation whereby words such as 'milk' come to be pronounced as /mɪʊk/. However, the distinction between Coventry and Birmingham accents is often overlooked. Certain features of the Birmingham accent (e.g. occasional tapping of prevocalic /r/ in words such as 'crack') stop starkly as one moves beyond Solihull in the general direction of Coventry, a possible approximation of the 'Arden Forest' divide perhaps. In any case, Coventry sits right at a dialectal crossroads, very close to isoglosses that generally delineate 'Northern' and 'Southern' dialects, exhibiting features from both sides of the divide.
=== Coventry accent on television ===
The BBC's 2009 documentary The Bombing of Coventry contained interviews with Coventrians. Actress Becci Gemmell, played Coventry character Joyce in the BBC drama Land Girls.
== Honours ==
A minor planet, 3009 Coventry, discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1973, is named after the city.
== Education ==
=== Universities and further education colleges ===
Coventry has two universities; Coventry University is situated on a modern city centre campus while the University of Warwick lies 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometres) to the south of the city centre. The University of Warwick is one of only five universities never to have been rated outside the top ten in terms of teaching excellence and research and is a member of the prestigious Russell Group. The university won the BBC TV University Challenge trophy in April 2007 and April 2021. Coventry University is one of only a handful of universities to run a degree course in automotive design, which is in its Coventry School of Art and Design.
Coventry also has two further education colleges within city boundaries, Coventry College and Hereward College.
=== Schools ===
Many of the secondary schools in and around Coventry are specialist colleges, such as Finham Park School, which is a mathematics and IT college, a teacher training school and the only school in Coventry to offer studying the International Baccalaureate, and Coventry Blue Coat Church of England School which has recently become a specialist college of music, one of only a few in the country. Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School specialises in languages. Bishop Ullathorne RC School became a specialist college in humanities in 2006. Ernesford Grange Community Academy, in the south east, is a specialist science college. Coundon Court School is a Technology College. Pattison College, a private school opened in 1949, specialises in the performing arts. Caludon Castle School is a business and enterprise school, which was rebuilt over 2005–07. Exhall Grange School and Science College is in the north of the city, although, its catchment area is north Warwickshire. There is also Cardinal Newman Catholic School and Community College and Whitley Academy in the city.
Coventry has a variety of schools: Two of the oldest secondary schools being President Kennedy School founded in 1966 and located in the north-west of Coventry (currently undergoing rebuilding work) and Sidney Stringer Academy which is located in the centre of the city. It is a co-educational school and has moved into a larger building costing £28 million.
The Coventry School Foundation comprises the independent schools King Henry VIII School and Bablake School together with King Henry VIII Preparatory School.
The Woodlands Academy and Tile Hill Wood School were the last remaining single sex schools in the city, serving boys and girls respectively. These schools merged onto the Tile Hill Wood site in 2016 before officially being rebranded as West Coventry Academy in 2017. Both Woodlands and Tile Hill shared a joint sixth form along with The Westwood Academy called West Coventry Sixth Form, but in 2018 Westwood left the sixth form and it now operates under the name West Coventry Academy Sixth Form.
The Westwood Academy, which is a Technology College, is close to the University of Warwick. It is the only school in Coventry that is a CISCO Academy and has links with other educational establishments, industry and the local community.
Sherbourne Fields School is a school for young people with disabilities and is located in the Coundon area. It opened in the 1960s.
== Notable people associated with Coventry ==
=== History and politics ===
Coventry is well known for the mythical 11th century exploits of Lady Godiva who, according to legend, rode through the city naked on horseback in protest at high taxes being levied on the city folk by her husband Leofric, Earl of Mercia. Contemporary historians do not dispute that lady Godiva was a real figure, as she was the first woman to be mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086), however her ride is considered mythical. The residents of the city were commanded to look away as she rode, but one man did not and was allegedly struck blind. He became known as Peeping Tom thus originating a new idiom, or metonym, in English. There is a Grade II* listed statue of her in the city centre, which for 18 years had been underneath a Cathedral Lanes shopping centre canopy, removed in October 2008. There is also a bust of Peeping Tom looking out across Hertford Street shopping precinct, and overlooking Broadgate and the statue of Godiva is a clock where, at every hour, Lady Godiva appears on her horse while being watched by Peeping Tom.
Julins Palmer, the English Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake in 1556 during the reign of Mary I, was a native of Coventry. Christopher Davenport the 17th century Catholic theologian, religious controversialist, and royal chaplain was born in Coventry.
The statesman and founder of modern Australia, Sir Henry Parkes, was born in Canley in 1815. Other international politicians from Coventry include Brian Mitchell, the Australian Labor Party member for Lyons in the Australian House of Representatives, and the Canadian parliamentarian Jocelyn Burgener, who was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1993 to 2001. Evelyn Evans, a British librarian who founded libraries in Ghana, was also from Coventry.
Pearl Hyde was a Labour councillor, the head of the Coventry Women's Voluntary Service during the Second World War, and became the first female Lord Mayor of Coventry in 1957.
Dave Nellist, a Militant tendency politician in the Labour Party, Member of Parliament who gave away half of his salary and the National Chair of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) is from Coventry. Trade union organiser Tom Mann and National Socialist Movement leader Colin Jordan also came from Coventry.
Tony Whittaker, the solicitor and politician, was from Coventry. He was a co-founder and the first leader of PEOPLE, the forerunner of the Ecology Party and Green Party UK. In 1995, animal rights activist Jill Phipps died during a protest to stop the air export of live calves for veal from Coventry Airport. Her death drew international attention and for many years, animal rights protests have been held around the anniversary date of Phipps' death.
Labour Party politician Mo Mowlam, who oversaw the talks which led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement in her role as Northern Ireland secretary, was educated in Coventry. Another Labour politician, Bob Ainsworth was the Member of Parliament for Coventry North East and was the Secretary of State for Defence from 2009 to 2010.
=== Science, technology and business ===
Coventry has been the home to several pioneers in science and engineering.
Thomas Stevens was born in Coventry and became famous for his invention of a method of using the programmable loom to weave colourful pictures from silk, which he called Stevengraphs. Stevens employed another Coventry native called Joseph Gutteridge, a silk weaver who became a pioneer of brocades in five colours and later a microscopist. Samuel Courtauld and Co Ltd's director H. G. Tetley chose Foleshill in Coventry in 1904 as the site of the world's first man-made fibre factory which produced an "artificial silk" later known as viscose rayon.
Sir Frank Whittle, the inventor of the jet engine, was from the city. The inventor James Starley founded the Coventry Sewing Machine Company in 1857 and was instrumental in the development of the bicycle. His nephew, J. K. Starley, worked alongside his uncle and went on to found the car company Rover. Sir Alfred Herbert was an industrialist who set up the tool manufacturer Alfred Herbert Limited, and was benefactor to the city, whose legacy lives on in the Herbert Art Gallery. Cyborg scientist Kevin Warwick is also a Coventrian. Sir John Egan, industrialist and former Chief Executive of Jaguar Cars attended Bablake School in the city.
Sir Frederick Gibberd, architect and designer, was born in Coventry, and amongst the buildings for which he is best known are Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and Didcot Power Station.
Ann Rollason was a printer and bookseller who published the Coventry Mercury newspaper from 1813 to 1846. Donald Trelford, journalist and academic, was born in Coventry and attended Bablake School. He was editor of The Observer newspaper from 1975 to 1993. Born in Coventry, former King Henry VIII Grammar School pupil Paul Connew became editor of the Sunday Mirror and deputy editor of the Daily Mirror and News of The World – later he became Director of Communications at the children's charity Sparks.
=== The arts ===
The Shakespearean actor Dame Ellen Terry was born in Coventry in 1847. Other Coventrians in the arts include comedy film directors Debbie Isitt, Alice Lowe and Sharon Maguire; comedians Reg Dixon, Emma Fryer and Guz Khan; actors Jassa Ahluwalia, Jordan Bolger, Nitin Ganatra, Nigel Hawthorne, Harold Innocent, Charles Kay, Clive Owen, Brendan Price and Robin Parkinson; actresses Gillian Barber, Lisa Dillon, Tamla Kari, Sinead Matthews, Bharti Patel, Carmen Silvera, Melissa Walton, and Billie Whitelaw, musicals star Dave Whillets; theatre producer Dominic Madden, and ventriloquist Dennis Spicer.
Writers from Coventry include the poets Connie Frazer, Cathy Galvin and Philip Larkin; and authors Aaron Ashmore, Mark Barrowcliffe, Cathy Cassidy, Lee Child, Cyril Connolly, Wren James, and Graham Joyce. Coventarian painters include Sydney John Bunney, Herbert Edward Cox, John Eyre, David Gee, and Rhoda Holmes Nicholls.
Many notable musicians originated in Coventry, including electronic composer Delia Derbyshire, members of the Specials Jerry Dammers, Terry Hall, Roddy Radiation, and Neville Staple, member of the Selector Neol Davies, drummer Martin Atkins, heavy metal musician Lee Dorrian, Melissa Graham of Solid HarmoniE, Vince Hill, yodeller Frank Ifield, rapper JAY1, Charlotte Kelly, VJ Paul King, DJ Lisa Lashes, drummer Jen Ledger of Skillet, composers Daniel Fardon and Clint Mansell, singer Hazel O'Connor, Julianne Regan of All About Eve, lead singer of the band Stereo Nation Taz, Panjabi MC and pianist Hilda Woodward. Arthur Wills, composer, organist and Director of Music at Ely Cathedral (1958–1990), was also born in Coventry. Record producer Pete Waterman is from the city, and was president of rugby team the Coventry Bears, now the Midlands Hurricanes.
2 Tone music developed in and around Coventry in the 1970s and two of the genre's most notable bands, The Specials and The Selecter, are both from the city. The movement is celebrated at the Coventry Music Museum. Other Coventry bands include Bolt Thrower, Coventry Automatics, Lieutenant Pigeon, The Primitives, Adorable, Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield, King, Jigsaw, Napalm Death, The Sorrows, The Enemy and The Ripps.
The former glamour model Debee Ashby and international fashion model Neelam Gill are from Coventry. Coventry broadcasters include Gillian Joseph and Jackie Kabler. Former BBC Radio 2 broadcaster Brian Matthew was a Coventrian, as is former Sky Sports broadcaster Richard Keys who attended Whitley Abbey School.
=== Sports ===
Notable Coventrians in sports include speedway rider Tom Farndon; Davis Cup tennis player Tony Mottram; footballers Graham Alexander, Bobby Gould, Reg Matthews, Gary McSheffrey, James Maddison, Peter Thomas and Callum Wilson; soccer player Patricia O'Connor; cricketers Tom Cartwright and Ian Bell; rugby union players Andy Goode, Ivor Preece, Keith Fairbrother, David Duckham, Neil Back, Danny Grewcock, Geoff Evans, and Tom Wood; squash and tennis player Sally Jones; bantamweight boxer Les Tarrant; judokas Chelsie Giles and Yasmin Javadian; gymnasts Jade Faulkner and Rachel Smith; MotoGP rider Cal Crutchlow; golfer Dame Laura Davies; sprinters Marlon Devonish and Yasmin Liverpool; distance runners Sheila Carey, Brian Kilby and David Moorcroft; wrestler Millie McKenzie; swimmers Graham Sykes and Daphne Wilkinson; darts player Steve Beaton; and snooker player Dominic Dale. Boxer Errol Christie also grew up in Coventry.
== Freedom of the City ==
The following people, military units and organisations and groups have received the Freedom of the City of Coventry:
=== Individuals ===
Alfred Herbert: 15 June 1933.
Hugh Richard Farren: 10 December 1936.
Alfred Robert Grindlay and George Edward Hodgkinson: 15 November 1962.
Edward Langton: 1 May 1969.
Arthur James Waugh: 7 April 1982.
Mo Mowlam: 26 November 1999.
Lord Bhattacharyya: 1 October 2015.
Ratan Tata: 1 October 2015.
=== Military units ===
HMS Diamond, RN: 16 October 2014.
=== Organisations and Groups ===
The University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust: 14 July 2022.
A register of the names of all the Freemen of the City of Coventry is held by the Council and is kept in the Lord Mayor's Office. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett | Davy Crockett | David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives and fought in the Texas Revolution.
Crockett grew up in East Tennessee, where he gained a reputation for hunting and storytelling. He was made a colonel in the militia of Lawrence County, Tennessee, and was elected to the Tennessee state legislature in 1821. In 1827, he was elected to the U.S. Congress where he vehemently opposed many of the policies of President Andrew Jackson, especially the Indian Removal Act. Crockett's opposition to Jackson's policies led to his defeat in the 1831 elections. He was re-elected in 1833, then narrowly lost in 1835, prompting his angry departure to Texas (then the Mexican state of Tejas) shortly thereafter. In early 1836, he took part in the Texas Revolution and died at the Battle of the Alamo. It is unclear whether he died in battle or was executed after being captured by the Mexican Army.
Crockett became famous during his lifetime for larger-than-life exploits popularized by stage plays and almanacs. After his death, he continued to be credited with acts of mythical proportion. These led in the 20th century to television and film portrayals, and he became one of the best-known American folk heroes.
== Family and early life ==
Davy Crockett was paternally of French and Scotch-Irish descent, while maternally of English descent. The Crocketts were mostly of French-Huguenot ancestry, although the family had settled in Ulster in the north of Ireland before migrating to the Americas. The earliest known paternal ancestor was Gabriel Gustave de Crocketagne, whose son Antoine de Saussure Peronette de Crocketagne was given a commission in the Household Troops under King Louis XIV of France. Antoine married Louise de Saix and emigrated to the Kingdom of Ireland with her, changing the family name to Crockett. Their son Joseph Louis was born and raised in Ireland, possibly being born, according to local tradition, near either Castlederg or Donemana, both villages in the northwest of County Tyrone in the west of Ulster; Joseph Louis Crockett later married Sarah Stewart, who was also from west Ulster, she being an Ulster-Scot from just outside the village of Manorcunningham in the Laggan district in the east of County Donegal. Joseph and Sarah emigrated to New York, where their son William David was born in 1709. He married Elizabeth Boulay. William and Elizabeth's son David (paternal grandfather of Davy Crockett) was born in Pennsylvania and married Elizabeth Hedge. Historical records indicate that David and Elizabeth were the parents of William, David Jr., Robert, Alexander, James, Joseph, and John (the father of Davy Crockett); they may have had additional children whose records have not yet been found.
John was born c. 1753 in Frederick County, Virginia. The family moved to Tryon County, North Carolina c. 1768. In 1776, the family moved to northeast Tennessee, in the area of modern Hawkins County. John was one of the Overmountain Men who fought in the Battle of Kings Mountain during the American Revolutionary War. He was away as a militia volunteer in 1777 when his parents David and Elizabeth were killed at their home near modern Rogersville by Creeks and Chickamauga Cherokees led by war chief Dragging Canoe. John's brother Joseph was wounded in the skirmish. His brother James was taken prisoner and held for seventeen years.
John married Rebecca Hawkins in 1780. Nine children of John and Rebecca have been verified by historians and Crockett descendants: Nathan, William, Aaron, James, David, John, Elizabeth, Rebecca, and Margaret Catharine. Their son David (nicknamed Davy) was born August 17, 1786, and was named after John's father. Crockett's English ancestry comes from his mother Rebecca Hawkins, as the earliest ancestor arrived in Gloucester County, Virginia in 1658.
John Crockett was active in local politics and an advocate of the independent State of Franklin. Davy Crockett was born in that area, which is now in Greene County, Tennessee, close to the Nolichucky River and near the community of Limestone. A replica of Davy Crockett's birthplace cabin stands near the site, situated in the David Crockett Birthplace State Park.
John continually struggled to make ends meet, and the Crocketts moved to a tract of land on Lick Creek in 1792. John sold that tract of land in 1794 and moved the family to Cove Creek, where he built a gristmill with partner Thomas Galbraith. A flood destroyed the gristmill and the Crockett homestead. The Crocketts then moved to Mossy Creek in Jefferson County, Tennessee, but John forfeited his property in bankruptcy in 1795. The family next moved on to property owned by a Quaker named John Canady – an Irish surname with variant spellings; for example, Crockett's autobiography referred to the property owner as "John Kennedy". At Morristown in the Southwest Territory, John built a tavern on a stage coach route; the Crockett Tavern Museum now stands on that site.
When David was 12 years old, his father indentured him to Jacob Siler to help with the Crockett family indebtedness. He helped tend Siler's cattle as a cowboy on a 400-mile (640 km) trip to near Natural Bridge in Virginia. He was well treated and paid for his services but, after several weeks in Virginia, he decided to return home to Tennessee. The next year, John enrolled his sons in school, but David played hooky after an altercation with a fellow student. Upon learning of this, John attempted to whip him but was outrun by his son. David then joined a cattle drive to Front Royal, Virginia, for Jesse Cheek. Upon completion of that trip, he joined teamster Adam Myers on a trip to Gerrardstown, West Virginia. In between trips with Myers, he worked for farmer John Gray. After leaving Myers, he journeyed to Christiansburg, Virginia, where he apprenticed for the next four years with hatter Elijah Griffith.
In 1800 he ran away from home at age 13 due to problems that he was having. In 1802, David journeyed by foot back to his father's tavern in Tennessee. His father was in debt to Abraham Wilson for $36 (equivalent to $810 in 2025), so David was hired out to Wilson to pay off the debt. Later, he worked off a $40 debt to John Canady. Once the debts were paid, John Crockett told his son that he was free to leave. David returned to Canady's employment, where he stayed for four years.
=== Marriages and children ===
Crockett fell in love with John Canady's niece Amy Summer, who was engaged to Canady's son Robert. While serving as part of the wedding party, Crockett met Margaret Elder. He persuaded her to marry him, and a marriage contract was drawn up on October 21, 1805. However, Margaret had also become engaged to another young man at the same time, whom she married instead of Crockett.
He met Polly Finley and her mother Jean at a harvest festival. Although friendly towards him in the beginning, Jean Finley eventually felt Crockett was not the man for her daughter. Crockett declared his intentions to marry Polly, regardless of whether the ceremony was allowed to take place in her parents' home or had to be performed elsewhere. He arranged for a justice of the peace and took out a marriage license on August 12, 1806. On August 16, he rode to Polly's house with family and friends, determined to ride off with Polly to be married elsewhere. Polly's father pleaded with Crockett to have the wedding in the Finley home. Crockett agreed only after Jean apologized for her past treatment of him.
The newlyweds settled on land near Polly's parents, and their first child, John Wesley Crockett, who became a United States Congressman, was born July 10, 1807. Their second child, William Finley Crockett, was born November 25, 1808. In October 1811, the family relocated to Lincoln County. Their third child Margaret Finley (Polly) Crockett was born on November 25, 1812. The Crocketts then moved to Franklin County in 1813. He named the new home on Beans Creek "Kentuck". His wife died in March 1815, and Crockett asked his brother John and his sister-in-law to move in with him to help care for the children. That same year, he married the widow Elizabeth Patton, who had a daughter, Margaret Ann, and a son, George. David and Elizabeth's son, Robert Patton, was born September 16, 1816. Daughter Rebecca Elvira was born December 25, 1818. Daughter Matilda was born August 2, 1821.
=== David Crockett family tree ===
== Tennessee militia service ==
Andrew Jackson was appointed major general of the Tennessee militia in 1802. The Fort Mims massacre occurred near Mobile, Mississippi Territory, on August 30, 1813, and became a rallying cry for the Creek War. On September 20, Crockett left his family and enlisted as a scout for a term of 90 days with Francis Jones's Company of Mounted Rifleman, part of the Second Regiment of Volunteer Mounted Riflemen. They served under Colonel John Coffee in the war, marching south into present-day Alabama and taking an active part in the fighting. Crockett often hunted wild game for the soldiers, and felt better suited to that role than killing Creek warriors. He served until December 24, 1813.
The War of 1812 was being waged concurrently with the Creek War. After the Treaty of Fort Jackson in August 1814, Andrew Jackson, then with the U.S. Army, wanted the British forces ousted from Spanish Florida and asked for support from the Tennessee militia. Crockett re-enlisted as third sergeant for a six-month term with the Tennessee Mounted Gunmen under Captain John Cowan on September 28, 1814. Crockett's unit saw little of the main action because they were days behind the rest of the troops and were focused mostly on foraging for food. Crockett returned home in December. He was still on a military reserve status until March 1815, so he hired a young man to fulfill the remainder of his service.
== Public career ==
In 1817, Crockett moved the family to new acreage in Lawrence County, where he first entered public office as a commissioner helping to configure the new county's boundaries. On November 25, the state legislature appointed him county justice of the peace. On March 27, 1818, he was elected lieutenant colonel of the Fifty-seventh Regiment of Tennessee Militia, defeating candidate Daniel Matthews for the position. By 1819, Crockett was operating multiple businesses in the area and felt his public responsibilities were beginning to consume so much of his time and energy that he had little left for either family or business. He resigned from the office of justice of the peace and from his position with the regiment. He was a member of the National Republican Party (also known as Anti-Jacksonians) before joining the Whig Party in 1833.
=== Tennessee General Assembly ===
In 1821, he resigned as commissioner and successfully ran for a seat in the Tennessee General Assembly, representing Lawrence and Hickman counties. It was this election where Crockett honed his anecdotal oratory skills. He was appointed to the Committee of Propositions and Grievances on September 17, 1821, and served through the first session that ended November 17, as well as the special session called by the governor in the summer of 1822, ending on August 24. He favored legislation to ease the tax burden on the poor. Crockett spent his entire legislative career fighting for the rights of impoverished settlers who he felt dangled on the precipice of losing title to their land due to the state's complicated system of grants. He supported 1821 gubernatorial candidate William Carroll, over Andrew Jackson's endorsed candidate Edward Ward.
Less than two weeks after Crockett's 1821 election to the General Assembly, a flood of the Tennessee River destroyed Crockett's businesses. In November, Elizabeth's father Robert Patton deeded 800 acres (320 ha) of his Carroll County property to Crockett. Crockett sold off most of the acreage to help settle his debts, and moved his family to the remaining acreage on the Obion River, which remained in Carroll County until 1825 when the boundaries were reconfigured and put it in Gibson County. In 1823, he ran against Andrew Jackson's nephew-in-law William Edward Butler and won a seat in the General Assembly representing the counties of Carroll, Humphreys, Perry, Henderson and Madison. He served in the first session, which ran from September through the end of November 1823, and in the second session that ran September through the end of November 1824, championing the rights of the impoverished farmers. During Andrew Jackson's election to the United States Senate in 1823, Crockett backed his opponent John Williams.
=== United States House of Representatives ===
On October 25, 1824, Crockett notified his constituents of his intention to run in the 1825 election for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He lost that election to incumbent Adam Rankin Alexander. A chance meeting in 1826 gained him the encouragement of Memphis mayor Marcus Brutus Winchester to try again to win a seat in Congress. The Jackson Gazette published a letter from Crockett on September 15, 1826, announcing his intention of again challenging Rankin, and stating his opposition to the policies of President John Quincy Adams and Secretary of State Henry Clay and to Rankin's position on the cotton tariff. Militia veteran William Arnold also entered the race, and Crockett easily defeated both political opponents for the 1827–1829 term. He arrived in Washington, D.C., and took up residence at Mrs. Ball's Boarding House, where a number of other legislators lived when Congress was in session. Jackson was elected as president in 1828. Crockett continued his legislative focus on settlers getting a fair deal for land titles, offering H.R. 27 amendment to a bill sponsored by James K. Polk.
Crockett was re-elected for the 1829–1831 session, once again defeating Adam Rankin Alexander. He introduced H.R. 185 amendment to the land bill on January 29, 1830, but it was defeated on May 3. On February 25, 1830, he introduced a resolution to abolish the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, because he felt that it was public money going to benefit the sons of wealthy men. He spoke out against Congress giving $100,000 to the widow of Stephen Decatur, claiming that Congress was not empowered to do that. He opposed Jackson's 1830 Indian Removal Act and was the only member of the Tennessee delegation to vote against it. Cherokee chief John Ross sent him a letter on January 13, 1831, expressing his thanks for Crockett's vote. His vote was not popular with his own district, and he was defeated in the 1831 election by William Fitzgerald.
Crockett ran against Fitzgerald again in the 1833 election and was returned to Congress, serving until 1835. On January 2, 1834, he introduced the land title resolution H.R. 126, but it never made it as far as being debated on the House floor. He was defeated for re-election in the August 1835 election by Adam Huntsman. During his last term in Congress, he collaborated with Kentucky Congressman Thomas Chilton to write his autobiography, which was published by E. L. Carey and A. Hart in 1834 as A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, Written by Himself, and he went east to promote the book. In 1836, newspapers published the now-famous quotation attributed to Crockett upon his return to his home state:
I told the people of my district that I would serve them as faithfully as I had done; but if not, they might go to hell, and I would go to Texas.
Despite Crockett's opposition to the institution of slavery in the United States, he did enslave people.
== Texas Revolution ==
By December 1834, Crockett was writing to friends about moving to Texas if Jackson's chosen successor Martin Van Buren was elected president. The next year, he discussed with his friend Benjamin McCulloch raising a company of volunteers to take to Texas in the expectation that a revolution was imminent. His departure to Texas was delayed by a court appearance in the last week of October as co-executor of his deceased father-in-law's estate; he finally left his home near Rutherford in West Tennessee with three other men on November 1, 1835, to explore Texas. His youngest child Matilda later wrote that she distinctly remembered the last time that she saw her father:
He was dressed in his hunting suit, wearing a coonskin cap, and carried a fine rifle presented to him by friends in Philadelphia. ... He seemed very confident the morning he went away that he would soon have us all to join him in Texas.
Crockett traveled with 30 well-armed men to Jackson, Tennessee, where he gave a speech from the steps of the Madison County courthouse. They then traveled west, arriving in Little Rock, Arkansas, on November 12, 1835. The local newspapers reported that hundreds of people swarmed into town to get a look at Crockett, and a group of leading citizens put on a dinner in his honor that night at the Jeffries Hotel. Crockett spoke "mainly to the subject of Texan independence", as well as Washington politics.
Crockett arrived in Nacogdoches, Texas, in early January 1836. On January 14, he and 65 other men signed an oath before Judge John Forbes to the Provisional Government of Texas for six months: "I have taken the oath of government and have enrolled my name as a volunteer and will set out for the Rio Grande in a few days with the volunteers from the United States." Each man was promised about 4,600 acres (1,900 ha) of land as payment. On February 6, he and five other men rode into San Antonio de Bexar and camped just outside the town.
Crockett arrived at the Alamo Mission in San Antonio on February 8. A Mexican army arrived on February 23 led by General Antonio López de Santa Anna, surprising the men garrisoned in the Alamo, and the Mexican soldiers immediately initiated a siege. Santa Anna ordered his artillery to keep up a near-constant bombardment. The guns were moved closer to the Alamo each day, increasing their effectiveness. On February 25, 200–300 Mexican soldiers crossed the San Antonio River and took cover in abandoned shacks approximately 90 to 100 yards (82 to 91 m) from the Alamo walls. The soldiers intended to use the huts as cover to establish another artillery position, although many Texians assumed that they actually were launching an assault on the fort. Several men volunteered to burn the huts. To provide cover, the Alamo cannons fired grapeshot at the Mexican soldiers, and Crockett and his men fired rifles, while other defenders reloaded extra weapons for them to use in maintaining a steady fire. The battle was over within 90 minutes, and the Mexican soldiers retreated. There were limited stores of powder and shot inside the Alamo, and Alamo commander William Barret Travis ordered the artillery to stop returning fire on February 26 so as to conserve precious ammunition. Crockett and his men were encouraged to keep shooting, as they were unusually effective.
As the siege progressed, Travis sent many messages asking for reinforcements. Several messengers were sent to James Fannin who commanded the group of Texian soldiers at Presidio La Bahia in Goliad, Texas. Fannin decided that it was too risky to reinforce the Alamo, although historian Thomas Ricks Lindley concludes that up to 50 of Fannin's men left his command to go to Bexar. These men would have reached Cibolo Creek on the afternoon of March 3, 35 miles (56 km) from the Alamo, where they joined another group of men who also planned to join the garrison.
There was a skirmish between Mexican and Texian troops that same night outside the Alamo. Historian Walter Lord speculates that the Texians were creating a diversion to allow their courier John Smith to evade Mexican pickets. However, Alamo survivor Susannah Dickinson said in 1876 that Travis sent out three men shortly after dark on March 3, probably a response to the arrival of Mexican reinforcements. The three men—including Crockett—were sent to find Fannin. Lindley states that Crockett and one of the other men found the force of Texians waiting along Cibolo Creek just before midnight; they had advanced to within 20 miles (32 km) of the Alamo. Just before daylight on March 4, part of the Texian force managed to break through the Mexican lines and enter the Alamo. A second group was driven across the prairie by Mexican cavalry.
The siege ended on March 6 when the Mexican army attacked just before dawn while the defenders were sleeping. The daily artillery bombardment had been suspended, perhaps a ploy to encourage the natural human reaction to a cessation of constant strain. But the garrison awakened and the final fight began. Most of the noncombatants gathered in the church sacristy for safety. According to Dickinson, Crockett paused briefly in the chapel to say a prayer before running to his post. The Mexican soldiers climbed up the north outer walls of the Alamo complex, and most of the Texians fell back to the barracks and the chapel, as previously planned. Crockett and his men, however, were too far from the barracks to take shelter and were the last remaining group to be in the open. They defended the low wall in front of the church, using their rifles as clubs and relying on knives, as the action was too furious to allow reloading. After a volley and a charge with bayonets, Mexican soldiers pushed the few remaining defenders back toward the church.
The Battle of the Alamo lasted almost 90 minutes, and all of the defenders were killed. Santa Anna ordered his men to take their bodies to a nearby stand of trees, where they were stacked together and wood piled on top. That evening, they lit a fire and burned their bodies to ashes. The ashes were left undisturbed until February 1837, when Juan Seguin and his cavalry returned to Bexar to examine the remains. A local carpenter created a simple coffin, and ashes from the funeral pyres were placed inside. The names of Travis, Crockett, and Bowie were inscribed on the lid. The coffin is thought to have been buried in a peach tree grove, but the spot was not marked and can no longer be identified.
== Death ==
David Crockett died at the Alamo on the morning of March 6, 1836, at the age of 49. Accounts from survivors of the battle differ on the manner of Crockett's death, with stories ranging from Crockett putting up a heroic last stand to the account that he surrendered along with several other men and was executed. To further confusion, historians have been able to back up opposing theories with "voluminous evidence".
=== Controversy ===
The popular mythology of Crockett's death in American culture is one of a heroic last stand, a tale that is backed up by some historical evidence. For example, a former African-American slave named Ben, who had acted as cook for one of Santa Anna's officers, maintained that Crockett's body was found in the barracks surrounded by "no less than sixteen Mexican corpses", with Crockett's knife buried in one of them. There is, however, historical evidence countering the popular myth, with stories of a Crockett surrender and execution circulating as far back as just a few weeks after the battle.
A contrary theory picked up historical steam when, in 1955, Jesús Sánchez Garza discovered the memoirs of José Enrique de la Peña, a Mexican officer present at the Battle of the Alamo, and self-published it as La Rebelión de Texas – Manuscrito Inédito de 1836 por un Oficial de Santa Anna. Texas A&M University Press published the English translation in 1975 With Santa Anna in Texas: A Personal Narrative of the Revolution. The English publication caused a scandal within the United States, as it asserted that Crockett did not die in battle, but was executed soon thereafter. The translator of the English publication, Carmen Perry, the former librarian of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, was harassed with anonymous letters and intimidating phone calls by Crockett loyalists who considered the mere suggestion that Crockett had not died fighting blasphemous.
Some have questioned the validity of the text. Author and retired firefighter William Groneman III posited that the journals were made up of several different types of paper from several different paper manufacturers, all cut down to fit. Longtime John Wayne enthusiast Joseph Musso also questioned the validity of de la Peña's diary, basing his suspicions on the timing of the diary's release, and the fact that historical interest in the topic rose around the same time as the Walt Disney mini-series Davy Crockett was released in 1955. Some questions were answered when, in 2001, archivist David Gracy published a detailed analysis of the manuscript, including lab results. He found, among other things, that the paper and ink were of a type used by the Mexican army in the 1830s, and the handwriting matched that on other documents in the Mexican military archives that were written or signed by de la Peña.
As for those who have questioned de la Peña's ability to identify any of the Alamo defenders by name, historians believe that de la Peña likely witnessed or was told about executions of the Alamo survivors. And while some claim neither he nor his comrades would have known who those men were, others conclude that the "enormous weight of evidence" is in favor of the surrender-execution hypothesis. However, several survivors and first-hand witnesses to the battle claimed Crockett fought to the death. Furthermore, no other officer under Santa Anna's command mentions Crockett's surrender, not even his personal secretary Ramon Caro. Later in life, Santa Anna wrote a memoir only stating that Davy Crockett's body was "among the corpses" without giving context to how he died. Santa Anna further wrote "Not one soldier showed signs of desiring to surrender."
== Legacy ==
One of Crockett's sayings, many of which were published in almanacs between 1835 and 1856 (along with those of Daniel Boone and Kit Carson), was: "Always be sure you are right, then go ahead."
While serving in the United States House of Representatives, Crockett became a Freemason. He entrusted his masonic apron to a friend in Tennessee before leaving for Texas, and it was inherited by the friend's descendant in Kentucky.
In 1967, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 5-cent stamp commemorating Davy Crockett.
=== Namesakes ===
Tennessee
David Crockett Birthplace State Park, Greene County
David Crockett State Park, Lawrence County
Crockett County, Tennessee; its county seat is Alamo
David Crockett High School, Jonesborough
Texas
Crockett County
Crockett, Houston County, Texas
Crockett High School, Austin independent school District
Davy Crockett Lake, Fannin County
Davy Crockett Loop, Prairies and Pineywoods Wildlife Trail – East
Crockett Middle School, Amarillo
Davy Crockett National Forest, Angelina County
Davy Crockett School, Dallas independent school District
Crockett Elementary School, Abilene independent school District, Abilene, Texas (closed 2002)
Crockett Street, a major thoroughfare in Downtown San Antonio
Crockett Street in Beaumont Texas, ending in a pedestrian walk in the historic downtown area.
Fort Crockett, Galveston County
Miscellaneous
M28 Davy Crockett Weapon System: a small Nuclear weapons system, the smallest developed by the U.S. which could be fired from a light vehicle, or from a tripod mounted launcher.
Crockett Park, north of downtown San Antonio
=== Monuments ===
Alamo Cenotaph, San Antonio, sculptor Pompeo Coppini, west panel of the Cenotaph features a Crockett statue and a statue of William B. Travis in front of other Alamo defenders
David Crockett Statue, Statues of Heroes at The Alamo, by George Lundeen
David Crockett Statue, Ozona, Texas, sculptor William M. McVey
Life-size statue Colonel David Crockett, Public Square, Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, W. M. Dean Marble Company of Columbia
== In popular culture ==
=== Television ===
Walt Disney adapted Crockett's stories into a television miniseries titled Davy Crockett, which aired in 1954 and 1955 on Walt Disney's Disneyland. The series popularized the image of Crockett, portrayed by Fess Parker, wearing a coonskin cap, and originated the song "The Ballad of Davy Crockett". The first three parts of the series were edited into a feature-length movie for theaters.
Crockett's stories were used by the French animation Studios Animage for a 1994 animated series titled Davy Crockett.
A 2009 episode of MythBusters tested whether Crockett could split a bullet in half on the blade of an ax 40 yards (37 m) away, and concluded that it would indeed be possible to do so.
=== Film ===
In films, Crockett has been played by:
Charles K. French (Davy Crockett – In Hearts United, 1909, silent)
Hobart Bosworth (Davy Crockett, 1910, silent)
Dustin Farnum (Davy Crockett, 1916, silent)
Cullen Landis (Davy Crockett at the Fall of the Alamo, 1926, silent)
Jack Perrin (The Painted Stallion, 1937)
Lane Chandler (Heroes of the Alamo, 1937)
Robert Barrat (Man of Conquest, 1939)
Trevor Bardette (The Man from the Alamo, 1953)
Arthur Hunnicutt (The Last Command, 1955)
Fess Parker (Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, 1955, and Davy Crockett and the River Pirates, 1956, both on Walt Disney's Disneyland)
James Griffith (The First Texan, 1956)
John Wayne (The Alamo, 1960)
Brian Keith (The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory, 1987)
Merrill Connally (Alamo: The Price of Freedom, 1988)
Johnny Cash (Davy Crockett: Rainbow in the Thunder, 1988)
Tim Dunigan (Davy Crockett: Rainbow in the Thunder, Davy Crockett: A Natural Man, Davy Crockett: Guardian Spirit, Davy Crockett: Letter to Polly, 1988–1989)
David Zucker (The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, 1991 (a very small cameo role))
John Schneider (James A. Michener's Texas, 1994)
Scott Wickware (Dear America: A Line in the Sand, 2000)
Justin Howard (The Anarchist Cookbook, 2002)
Billy Bob Thornton (The Alamo, 2004)
=== Theatre ===
Davy Crockett (1872), popular touring play of its time, by Frank Murdoch
Davy Crockett, musical play (unfinished), January to April 1938, Kurt Weill
=== Prose fiction ===
Crockett appears in at least two short alternate history works: "Chickasaw Slave" by Judith Moffett in Mike Resnick's anthology Alternate Presidents (1992), where Crockett is the seventh President of the United States; and "Empire" by William Sanders, in Harry Turtledove's anthology Alternate Generals II (2002) where Crockett fights for Emperor Napoleon I of Louisiana in a conflict analogous to the War of 1812. Crockett is also a character in Gore Vidal's novel Burr as a congressman from Tennessee.
=== Comics ===
Columbia Features syndicated a comic strip, Davy Crockett, Frontiersman, from June 20, 1955, until 1959. Stories were by France Herron and the artwork was ghosted in early 1956 by Jack Kirby. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9K38_Igla | 9K38 Igla | The 9K38 Igla (Russian: Игла́, "needle", NATO reporting name SA-18 Grouse) is a Soviet/Russian man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. A simplified, earlier version is known as the 9K310 Igla-1 (NATO: SA-16 Gimlet), and the latest variant is the 9K338 Igla-S (SA-24 Grinch).
The Igla-1 entered service in 1981, the Igla in 1983, and the Igla-S in 2004. The Igla has been supplemented by the 9K333 Verba since 2014.
== History ==
The development of the Igla short-range man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) began in the Kolomna OKB in 1972. Contrary to what is commonly reported, the Igla is not an improved version of the earlier Strela family (Strela-2 and Strela-3), but an all-new project. The main goals were to create a missile with better resistance to countermeasures and wider engagement envelope than the earlier Strela series MANPADS systems.
Technical difficulties in the development quickly made it obvious that the development would take far longer than anticipated, however, and in 1978 the program split in two: while the development of the full-capability Igla would continue, a simplified version (Igla-1) with a simpler IR seeker based on that of the earlier Strela-3 would be developed to enter service earlier than the full-capability version could be finished.
=== Igla-1 ===
The 9K310 Igla-1 system and its 9M313 missile were accepted into service in the Soviet Army on 11 March 1981. The main differences from the Strela-3 included an optional Identification Friend or Foe system to prevent firing on friendly aircraft, an automatic lead and super elevation to simplify shooting and reduce minimum firing range, a slightly larger rocket, reduced drag and better guidance system extend maximum range and improve performance against fast and maneuverable targets, an improved lethality on target achieved by a combination of delayed impact fuzing, terminal maneuver to hit the fuselage rather than jet nozzle, an additional charge to set off the remaining rocket fuel (if any) on impact, an improved resistance to infrared countermeasures (both decoy flares and ALQ-144 series jamming emitters), and slightly improved seeker sensitivity.
The seeker has two detectors – a cooled MWIR InSb detector for detection of the target and uncooled PbS SWIR detector for detection of IR decoys (flares). The built-in logic determines whether the detected object is a target or a decoy. The latest version (Igla-S) is reported to have additional detectors around the main seeker to provide further resistance against pulsed IRCM devices commonly used on helicopters.
The 9M313 missile features a drag-reducing aerospike mounted on a tripod (Igla's 9M39 missile has an aerospike attached directly to the seeker dome, resembling a needle, which is perhaps not coincidentally the translation of its codename, Russian: игла), which reduces a shock wave, thus providing less dome heating and greater range. The name Igla is derived from these devices.
Like many other MANPADS, Igla-1 and Igla feature so-called rolling airframe missiles. These missiles roll in flight (900–1,200 rpm) so steering the missile requires just a single pair of control surfaces, unlike roll-stabilized missiles, which require separate control surfaces for pitch and yaw. Both 9M313 and 9M39 missiles contain a gas generator, which drives a small gas turbine to provide electrical power, and the pistons, which move the canards used to steer the missile in a bang-bang mode. In addition to that, two exhaust tubes of the gas generator are placed perpendicular to the steering canards to provide maneuverability immediately after launch when the missile airspeed is too low for canards to be effective. Later versions of Igla are reported to use proportional control to drive the canards, which enables greater precision and less oscillation of the flight path.
According to the manufacturer, South African tests have shown the Igla's superiority over the contemporary (1982 service entry) but smaller and lighter American FIM-92A Stinger missile. According to Kolomna OKB, the Igla-1 has a Pk (probability of kill) of 0.30 to 0.48 against unprotected targets which is reduced to 0.24 in the presence of decoy flares and jamming. In another report, the manufacturer claimed a Pk of 0.59 against an approaching and 0.44 against receding F-4 Phantom II fighter not employing infrared countermeasures or evasive maneuvers.
=== Igla ===
The full-capability 9K38 Igla with its 9M39 missile was finally accepted into service in the Soviet Army in 1983. The main improvements over the Igla-1 included much improved resistance against flares and jamming, a more sensitive seeker, expanding forward-hemisphere engagement, capability to include a tandem charge against armored targets, capability to engage straight-approaching fighters (all-aspect capability) under favourable circumstances, a slightly longer range, a higher-impulse, shorter-burning rocket with higher peak velocity (but approximately same time of flight to maximum range). The new 9E410 seeker operated in both IR and UV wavelengths, which decreased its susceptibility to flares, and was effective in countering lamp-style IR jammers (but not shutter-types). The Finnish Defense Forces—which operated the Igla in the army and the French Mistral in the navy—felt that the Igla's seeker was superior over the Mistral's.
The naval variant of 9K38 Igla has the NATO reporting name SA-N-10 Grouse.
The Igla–1M missile consists of a Ground Power Supply Source (GPSS), Launching Tube, Launching Mechanism & Missile (9M313–1).
There is also a two-barrel 9K38 missile launcher called Dzhigit.
=== 9K338 Igla-S (SA-24 Grinch) ===
The newest variant, which is a substantially improved variant with longer range, more sensitive seeker, improved resistance to latest countermeasures, and a heavier warhead. Manufacturer reports hit probability of 0.8–0.9. State tests were completed in December 2001 and the system entered service in 2002. Series produced by the Degtyarev plant since 1 December 2004.
=== Replacement ===
Since 2014 the Igla is being replaced in Russian service by the new 9K333 Verba (Willow) MANPADS. The Verba's primary feature is its multispectral optical seeker, using three sensors as opposed to the Igla-S' two. Cross-checking sensors against one another better discriminates between relevant targets and decoys, and decreases the chance of disruption from countermeasures, including lasers that attempt to blind missiles.
== Operational history ==
=== India ===
==== Operation Trishul Shakti (1992) ====
From 28 July 1992 to 2 August 1992 the Indian Army mounted Operation Trishul Shakti to protect the Bahadur post in Chulung when it was attacked by a large Pakistani assault team. On 1 August 1992, two Pakistani Lama helicopters were attacked by an Indian Igla missile battery and Brig. Masood Navid Anwari (PA 10117) then Force Commander Northern Areas and other accompanying troops were killed. This led to a loss of momentum on the Pakistani side and the assault stalled. It was the first combat usage of an Igla system, as well as it the Igla's and the Indian Army's first MANPADS kill.
=== Iraq ===
==== Desert Storm (1991) ====
The first combat use of the Igla-1E was during the British Gulf War Operation Granby. On 17 January 1991, a Panavia Tornado bomber of the Royal Air Force was shot down by an Iraqi MANPADS that may have been an Igla-1E (or Strela-3) after an unsuccessful bombing mission. The crew, Flt Lts J G Peters and A J Nichol, were both captured and held as prisoners of war (POWs) until the cessation of hostilities.
In addition, an Igla-1E shot down an American F-16 on 27 February 1991. The pilot was captured.
It is uncertain if an AC-130H lost was hit by a 'Strela' missile or a more recent Igla since Iraq had SA-7, SA-14 and SA-16 missiles at the time, according to the SIPRI database.
==== From 2003 ====
Among the Coalition force losses to MANPADS during the Iraq War some were reported as losses to Igla-1E (SA-16) missiles.
=== Rwanda ===
Igla-1E missiles were used in the 1994 shoot down of a Rwandan government flight, killing the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi and sparking the Rwandan genocide.
=== Cenepa War ===
During the Cenepa War between Ecuador and Peru, both the Ecuadorian Army and the Peruvian Army (which had 90 functioning firing units) utilized Igla-1E missiles against aircraft and helicopters.
A Peruvian Air Force Mi-25 attack helicopter was shot down on 7 February 1995 around Base del Sur, killing the three crewmen, while an Ecuadorian Air Force A-37 Dragonfly was hit but managed to land on 11 February. Hits on additional Ecuadorian aircraft were claimed but could not be confirmed.
=== Bosnia ===
On 16 April 1994 during the Siege of Goražde, while attempting to bomb a Serbian tank an RAF Sea Harrier was shot down by an Igla fired by the Army of Republika Srpska. The pilot ejected and was rescued by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
During Operation Deliberate Force, on 30 August 1995; a French Mirage 2000D was shot down over Pale by an Igla fired by air defence units of the Army of Republika Srpska. The pilots, Lt. Jose-Manuel Souvignet (pilot) and Capt. Frederic Chiffot (back-seater), were captured and freed in December 1995.
=== Yugoslavia ===
During Operation Allied Force, two A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft were hit by Igla-1E missiles. On 2 May 1999, one A-10 was hit over Kosovo and was forced to make an emergency landing at Skopje Airport in north Macedonia due to damage. The following day, an A-10 was hit beneath the cockpit, however serious damage was avoided due to the warhead failing to detonate.
=== Chechnya ===
The 2002 Khankala Mi-26 crash occurred on 19 August 2002 when a team of Chechen separatists brought down a Russian Mil Mi-26 helicopter in a minefield with an Igla; this resulted in the death of 127 Russian soldiers in the greatest loss of life in the history of helicopter aviation. It was also the most deadly aviation disaster ever suffered by the Russian armed forces.
=== Egypt ===
On 26 January 2014, the militant group Ansar Bait al-Maqdis shot down an Egyptian Mi-17 over the northern Sinai peninsula using a suspected Igla-1E or Igla. How the group came to obtain the weapon is currently unknown.
=== Libya ===
During the 2011 military intervention in Libya, Libyan loyalist forces engaged coalition aircraft with a certain number of Igla-S. Three Igla-S were fired against British Apache attack helicopters of the 656 Squadron Army Air Corps operating from the amphibious assault ship HMS Ocean. According to the squadron commander at the time, they were all dodged by insistent use of decoy flares by the gunships who in exchange successfully engaged the shooters.
On 23 March 2015, a Libya Dawn-operated MiG-23UB was shot down with an Igla-S (reportedly a truck-mounted Strelets variant) while bombing Al Watiya airbase (near Zintan), controlled by forces from the internationally recognized House of Representatives. Both pilots were killed.
=== Plot against Air Force One ===
On 12 August 2003, as a result of a sting operation arranged as a result of cooperation between the American, British and Russian intelligence agencies, Hemant Lakhani, a British national, was intercepted attempting to bring what he had thought was an older-generation Igla into the United States. He is said to have intended the missile to be used in an attack on Air Force One, the American presidential plane, or on a commercial US airliner, and is understood to have planned to buy 50 more of these weapons.
After the FSB detected the dealer in Russia, he was approached by US undercover agents posing as terrorists wanting to shoot down a commercial plane. He was then provided with an inert Igla by undercover Russian agents, and arrested in Newark, New Jersey, when making the delivery to the undercover US agent. An Indian citizen residing in Malaysia, Moinuddeen Ahmed Hameed and an American Yehuda Abraham who allegedly provided money to buy the missile were also arrested. Yehuda Abraham is president and CEO of Ambuy Gem Corp. Lakhani was convicted by jury in April 2005, and was sentenced to 47 years in prison.
=== Syria ===
Video has surfaced showing rebels using an Igla-1E on a Syrian government helicopter. Such weapons were believed to have been looted from a Syrian army base in Aleppo in February 2013. In 2014, a member of the rebel group Harakat Hazm was filmed aiming an Igla-1E into the air on the same day that the group was filmed operating BGM-71 TOW missiles. Whether these weapons were raided from regime stockpiles or supplied via overseas is unknown. However, Russia reportly denied Syrian demand for Iglas in 2005 and 2007, fearing these weapons to be used by Hezbollah.
=== Ukraine ===
On 14 June 2014, Russian separatist forces near Luhansk International Airport in Eastern Ukraine shot down an IL-76 of the Ukrainian Airforce probably using an Igla MANPADS, killing all 49 Ukrainian service personnel on board.
The Igla saw extensive use by Ukrainian forces during the early stages of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On March 22, 2022, the Ukrainian 80th Air Assault Brigade claimed to have shot down a Russian cruise missile over the Mykolaiv Oblast with an Igla system.
On April 17, 2022, Ukrainian forces reported shooting down a Ka-52 attack helicopter with an Igla MANPADS.
On April 21, 2022, Ukrainian forces located in the Kharkiv Oblast reportedly shot down a Russian Su-34 aircraft with an Igla system.
On May 22, 2022, Ukrainian paratroopers from Lviv downed a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft with an Igla system.
On June 18, 2022, Ukraine's 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade downed a Russian Sukhoi Su-25 attack aircraft with an Igla system.
On October 10, 2022, Ukrainian soldiers claimed to have shot down a Russian
cruise missile with a 9K38 Igla.
On June 28, 2024, the National Guard of Ukraine claimed to have shot down a Russian Su-25 fighter jet over Donetsk Oblast using an Igla missile.
On February 8, 2025, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced the destruction of a Su-25 near Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast, probably with an Igla MANPADS.
=== Nagorno Karabakh ===
On 12 November 2014, Azerbaijani forces shot down an Armenian Army Mi-24 of a formation of two which were flying near the Azerbaijani border. All three on board died when the helicopter was hit by an Igla-S MANPADS fired by Azerbaijani soldiers while flying at low altitude, and crashed.
During the 2020 conflict, reports suggest that Armenian air defence units used Igla-S and Igla-E1 to shootdown a multitude of Azerbaijani aircraft, including several Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV).
=== Turkey ===
On 13 May 2016, PKK militants shot down a Turkish Army Bell AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopter using 9K38 Igla (SA-18 Grouse) version of this missile system. The missile severed the tail section from the rest of the helicopter, causing it to fragment in midair and crash, killing the two pilots on board. The Turkish government first claimed that it fell due to technical failure before it became clear that it was shot down. The PKK later released video footage of the rocket being fired and striking the helicopter.
== Variants ==
Igla-1 is a simplified early production version. It is known in the West as SA-16 Gimlet. It had a maximum range of 5000 m and could reach targets at a maximum altitude of 2500 m.
Igla-1E is an export version. It has been exported to a number of countries.
Igla (SA-18 Grouse) is a standard production version. It was adopted in 1983. Currently it is in service with more than 30 countries, including Russia.
Igla-D, version developed specially for the Soviet airborne troops. Its launch tube can be disassembled and carried in two separate sections in order to reduce dimensions.
Igla-M is a naval version for the naval boats. Its Western designation is SA-N-10 Grouse.
Igla-V is an air-to-air version, used on helicopters.
Igla-N is a version with much larger and more powerful warhead.
Igla-S, sometimes referred as Igla-Super. It is an improved variant in the Igla, which entered service with Russian Army in 2004. It is known in the West as SA-24 Grinch.
== Comparison chart to other MANPADS ==
== Operators ==
Igla and Igla-1 SAMs have been exported from the former Soviet Union to over 30 countries, including Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria,peshmarga, Croatia, Cuba, East Germany, Egypt, Hamas, Ecuador, Eritrea, Finland, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, North Korea, North Macedonia, Peru, Poland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Several guerrilla and terrorist organizations are also known to have Iglas. Alleged Operatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam a terrorist organization fighting for a homeland for Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka were arrested in August 2006 by undercover agents of the FBI posing as arms dealers, while trying to purchase the Igla. In 2003 the unit cost was approximately US$60,000–80,000.
Large numbers have been sold to the government of Venezuela, raising United States concerns that they may end up in the hands of Colombian guerrillas. Photo evidence of the truck mounted twin version in service with the Libyan Army emerged in March 2011. 482 Igla-S missiles were imported from Russia in 2004. Some were unaccounted at the end of the civil war and they could have ended up in Iranian inventory. Israeli officials say Igla-S systems were looted from Libyan warehouses in 2011 and transported by Iranians through Sudan and turned over to militants in Gaza and Lebanon.
== Igla-1 (SA-16) ==
=== Current operators ===
=== Former operators ===
Finland: Known as ItO 86; former operator.
East Germany: Received around 1988–1989, passed on to successor states.
Hungary Last units fired during an exercise in 2011, phased out without successor.
Islamic Courts Union
Soviet Union: Passed on to successor states.
UNITA
Tamil Eelam- Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
=== Evaluation-only operators ===
Poland: It was planned to implement the production of the 9K310 Igla-1E at the Mesko plant. Due to the political changes and the lack of transfer of some documentation by the Soviet side, it was decided to develop its own systems of a portable anti-aircraft missile launcher called Grom and later Piorun.
== Igla (SA-18) ==
=== Current operators ===
=== Former operators ===
Finland: Known as ItO-86M; former operator
Soviet Union: Passed on to successor states
Hizbul Islam
=== Evaluation-only operators ===
Turkey: Bought 40 launchers for evaluation by ASELSAN SAM launch system.
== Igla-S (SA-24) ==
=== Current operators ===
Armenia: 200 missiles. Received more as of 2018.
Azerbaijan: 300 launchers with 1,500 missiles.
Bahrain: Reported usage.
Brazil
Egypt: Reported usage.
India: Over 48 launchers and 316 missiles.
First order (2021): Order for 24 missile launchers and 216 missiles placed in 2021 under Emergency Procurement. All delivered in April 2023.
Second order (2023): Another contract for 120 launchers and 400 missiles placed in November 2023. From second batch onwards, the system is to be assembled in India by Adani Defence Systems And Technologies Limited (ADSTL) after ToT from Rosoboronexport.
First batch of 24 launchers and 100 missiles delivered in April 2024.
Second batch delivered in April 2025.
Iran: Reported usage.
Iraq
Jordan
Libya
Myanmar
Islamic State Sinai Province
Qatar
Russia: Used by ground units, marine units, and airborne units.
Slovenia
Sudan: Mounted on Toyota Pickups.
Syria
Syrian rebels: Photo evidence of SA-24 MANPADS (man-portable) in the possession of Syrian rebels was first reported on 13 November 2012. "As far as I know, this is the first SA-24 MANPADS ever photographed outside of state control", said one expert.
Thailand
Venezuela More than 5,000 missiles reportedly as of October 2025.
Vietnam: locally assembled and confirmed to be localized (named as Project KC-I), a model designated as TL-01 is suspected to be an indigenous derivative of the Igla-S.
=== Potential operators ===
Argentina: Russia offered the Igla-S to the Argentine Military as part of a bigger deal to modernize Argentina Air Defence.
=== Failed bids ===
Finland: Newer models were offered to the Finnish Army to replace older models in service, but American FIM-92 Stinger was selected instead.
== Other uses ==
The GLL-8 (Gll-VK) Igla is a recent Russian scramjet project conducted by TsIAM. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Creative_Alliance | Hollywood Creative Alliance | The Hollywood Creative Alliance (HCA) is a group of critics, entertainment journalists, content creators, industry influencers, and creatives. The vision and mission of the HCA is to amplify diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and culture within the world of entertainment. It was founded in 2016 as the Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society and rebranded in 2019 to the Hollywood Critics Association. In 2023, it rebranded once more as the Hollywood Creative Alliance and renamed its awards ceremony as The Astra Awards.
== History ==
In 2016, Scott Menzel, Scott Mantz, and Ashley Menzel noted that Los Angeles only had one film critic organization. They founded the Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society to be a critics group that is diverse and supports underrepresented voices. The group originally separated directing honors by gender. "There has been so much conversation about the power of female filmmakers and we wanted to embrace it," said Scott Mantz.
In early 2019, the organization had a film discussion podcast called "Film Critics Weekly" on the defunct online broadcasting network "Popcorn Talk".
In 2019, the organization rebranded as Hollywood Critics Association.
On May 15, 2020, the organization organized a Film & Television Triviathon to collect funds for COVID-19 recovery.
On August 9, 2022, The Hollywood Critics Association partnered with Petco Love and Big Love Animal Rescue to turn their television awards ceremonies into a two-night rescue animal adoption event. “We hope to shine a spotlight on shelter dogs and help a few of them find their forever homes,” adds HCA Co-Founder, Ashley Menzel. “When you rescue a dog, they are forever grateful. Dogs know you saved them and they share their love unconditionally every single day. We are so glad to be hosting this adoption event as it is a cause that is very near and dear to our hearts.”
On August 30, 2022, The Hollywood Reporter reported that nine of the group's members had recently resigned, "roughly 7 percent of its membership tally just two weeks ago" as a result of one member's actions and ultimate removal "for violating numerous HCA bylaws, including harassment, bullying, slander, sharing member-only information with non-members and breaking the code of conduct." The claims made in the THR article were debunked in June of 2024 via court documents posted by Variety.
On June 2, 2023, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that HCA President Nikki Fowler had resigned from the organization. On June 14, 2023, The Wrap announced that the Hollywood Critics Association is restructuring and bringing in a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor.
On August 28, 2023, the organization changed its name to Hollywood Creative Alliance with the guidance of corporate operation strategist Leslie Short of the Cavu Group. Under Short's instruction, the HCA announced plans to reform as a 501 c6 membership-based non-profit organization.
The restructure, handled by Menzel with the guidance of corporate operation strategist Leslie Short of the Cavu Group, included a mostly new board and an expansion of its membership scope, which it described as “critics, entertainment journalists, content creators, industry influencers and creatives.”
On October 4, 2023, Deadline reported that the Hollywood Creative Alliance (HCA) added new stunt performer and international categories. With the new categories, the HCA has said it aims to “promote stunt performers crucial role in bringing action-packed sequences to life on screen.” The organization has teamed with producer and editor David Sandeep Robert (Hollywood’s Hard Hitters), filmmaker Jason Strickland, and executive producer Leonard Shapiro to enact the changes.
=== Legal battle with Critics Choice Association ===
On January 30, 2020, the Critics Choice Association reached out to its membership "on advice of legal counse" after deeming it unacceptable for CCA members to also retain membership in the Hollywood Critics Association. The letter continued by stating, "The CCA will be protecting its rights in this matter. At this time you have the opportunity to choose to remain in the CCA. Simply confirm that you choose to do so and that you have resigned from HCA. And when it changes the offending name to something that reflects its laudable mission you can freely rejoin at that time, while remaining a CCA member in good standing."
On January 16, 2024, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the board of the CCA had enacted a new policy that prohibited members of the HCA from maintaining their membership in the CCA. The board explained in a message, "the reason CCA has taken this action is that we have evidence that a representative of the HCA has improperly suggested to at least one studio (and we suspect more) that it could influence Critics Choice Awards voting in a way that led that studio to reach out to CCA and request that action be taken to protect the integrity of our awards. Of course, that HCA threat was empty, but CCA cannot ignore this". As a result, members that wished to remain part of the CCA were required to contact the HCA and show proof that they "successfully resigned" from the organization.
On January 18, 2024, the HCA issued a statement responding to the CCA's new policy: "The recent statement made by the Critics Choice Association (CCA) regarding the Hollywood Creative Alliance (HCA) is factually inaccurate. At no time have we tried to influence the awards votes of our members or make any suggestion to talent or studios that we would or could exercise such influence. During our awards outreach to studios, networks, and personal representatives, we presented an opportunity to have their talent attend and/or present at our ceremonies. During these conversations, we acknowledged that our awards ceremonies took place during a key voting period for various organizations and noted that several of our members belonged to several guilds and organizations; ones that we champion and support".
On January 19, 2024, The Hollywood Reporter reported that HCA founder Scott Menzel sent an email on January 3 declaring: "It's important to note to ALL TALENT that the Critics Choice voting opens this weekend, and there are about 50 members who are part of both groups. Menzel also highlighted other organizations saying "there are several other members who are in BAFTA, SAG and the Academy…
On January 30, 2024, Variety revealed that the HCA is suing the Critics Choice Association for defamation in response to the org’s recent call for members to resign from the HCA in order to stay members of the CCA. On the same day, The Wrap noted that "the lawsuit accuses CCA of trade libel and defamation, violation of the Cartwright Act (California’s antitrust law), intentional interference with prospective economic advantage and violation of California’s unfair competition law."
On May 29, 2024, My News LA reported that Judge Eric Harmon heard arguments May 8 on the association’s anti-SLAPP motion, then took the case under submission and issued a final ruling on Tuesday. “In conclusion, evidence properly adduced by plaintiffs shows not only that the parties were competitors, but also that (the association) made the statements at issue here to advance (its) business,” the judge wrote, adding that the association cannot use the commercial business-speech exemption of the anti-SLAPP law to thwart the HCA’s allegations.
On June 21, 2024, Variety announced that The Hollywood Creative Alliance had ended its lawsuit against the Critics Choice Association, as both sides announced that they had reached an “amicable agreement." In a joint announcement between CCA CEO Joey Berlin and HCA CEO Scott Menzel, the two sides said that the Critics Choice Association will once again allow its members to also be a part of the Hollywood Creative Alliance. “An unfortunate misunderstanding has been straightened out, and we are happy to be moving forward in our journey to serve our members, audiences, and the entertainment community,” Berlin said.
== Astra Awards ==
=== Film ===
=== Midseason ===
=== TV ===
=== Creative art === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_of_Nancy_Kerrigan | Assault of Nancy Kerrigan | On January 6, 1994, Nancy Kerrigan, an American figure skater, was struck on the lower right thigh with a baton by assailant Shane Stant as she walked down a corridor in Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Kerrigan had been practicing skating on an ice rink in the arena shortly beforehand. The attack happened at around 14:35 (2:35 PM) Eastern Standard Time.
The attack was planned by Jeff Gillooly, the ex-husband of fellow American figure skater Tonya Harding, and his co-conspirator Shawn Eckardt; they both admitted guilt to police and were convicted. They hired Stant and his uncle Derrick Smith to carry out the attack. Gillooly and Eckardt both claimed that Harding was involved in the attack and had knowledge of it beforehand. Harding initially denied all knowledge of the attack, but soon accepted a plea agreement admitting to helping cover up the attack after the fact. Later, both a grand jury and a disciplinary panel from the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) found further evidence of Harding's involvement during the planning and execution phases. Despite this, Harding has always denied involvement and was not convicted of any crime in connection with this incident.
The attack was intended to prevent Kerrigan from taking part in the ongoing 1994 United States Figure Skating Championships and the forthcoming Winter Olympics, thus increasing the prospects of Harding in both figure skating events. Kerrigan could not compete in the US Championship but recovered in time to compete in the Winter Olympics. Both women competed in the 1994 Olympics; Harding was banned for life from USFSA figure skating events as a result of the attack later that year. The incident and its aftermath were covered extensively by national and some international media. The attack also had an effect on American popular culture (such as the 2017 film I, Tonya, which is centered on the attack).
== Background ==
Nancy Kerrigan is an American former figure skater who, in January 1994, was about to take part in the United States Figure Skating Championships in Detroit, Michigan. Her main rival in that tournament was Tonya Harding. The attack took place just days before the tournament, and rendered Kerrigan unable to take part. The Winter Olympics were also set to take place in February, where Kerrigan and Harding were likely to be the two female figure skaters representing the United States. The attack benefited Harding as it allowed her to win the U.S. Championships with ease and could have benefited her if it had taken Kerrigan out of the Olympics.
Jeff Gillooly was Tonya Harding's ex-husband. At the time of the attack, the couple were together and still referred to each other as husband and wife. Shawn Eckardt, a friend of Gillooly's who was also Harding's bodyguard before the attack, had originally been hired by the figure skater after she received an anonymous death threat. Shane Stant later testified that Harding was part of staging the death threat against herself. Derrick Smith, an associate of Eckardt, was paid $6,500 to carry out the attack; Eckardt had received the money from Gillooly. Shane Stant, Smith's nephew, initially planned to carry out the attack by himself and had travelled to Kerrigan's home rink in Cape Cod in late December 1993, but was unable to locate her. Stant then followed Kerrigan to the Nationals in Detroit in early January 1994. Gillooly opposed carrying out an attack in Detroit, feeling it too likely they would be caught, and instructed Eckardt to wire Stant funds to return home without carrying out the attack. Eckardt instead wired the funds to Smith, who then traveled to join Stant in Detroit. Stant and Smith then planned to carry out the attack together.
== Attack ==
On the afternoon of January 6, 1994, Kerrigan was practicing for the U.S. Championships on an ice rink inside Cobo Arena. A camera crew was recording her practice session and showed her leaving the ice rink and walking through a curtain and down a hallway; the camera then cuts out. Stant stated in a 2018 interview that he was standing "about a foot and a half" (around half a meter) behind the camera crew and waited for them to stop filming before he followed Kerrigan through the curtain.
Stant approached Kerrigan from behind, extended a telescopic baton, struck her lower right thigh and walked away. He then escaped from the arena by smashing through a locked glass door. Smith was waiting in a car outside and acted as a getaway driver. The camera crew began recording again shortly after the attack and recorded Kerrigan sitting on the floor crying surrounded by arena staff. Here, Kerrigan exclaimed, with tears, the now famous line, "Why? Why? Why?". This footage was later broadcast around the world in news programs. Kerrigan was then carried away to a changing room by her father. The attack severely bruised her knee and quadriceps tendon and forced her to withdraw from the U.S. Championships.
== Criminal investigation and testimonies ==
=== Harding and Gillooly's relationship ===
Harding met Jeff Gillooly in 1986 when she was skating at the Clackamas Town Center; she was 15, he was 17. They later exchanged phone numbers and went out to the movies, chaperoned by her father. In 1988, the couple moved into a home together, and Harding claimed she began experiencing physical abuse from Gillooly. They married on March 18, 1990. Harding's mother, LaVona, said she opposed the marriage: "I knew Jeff had a violent streak [...] he tried to break down the door because he thought [Tonya] had gone out with another boy." On June 17, 1991, Harding filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Two days later, she received a restraining order against Gillooly: "He wrenched my arm and wrist, pulled my hair and shoved me [...] he bought a shotgun, and I am scared for my safety."
Harding later claimed she was the victim of acquaintance rape sometime during her separation from Gillooly in 1991, "by a friend of mine, who I knew for eight years." In summer 1991, she became engaged to mechanical engineer Mike Pliska. He ended their engagement after he saw Harding disrespecting people and giving her phone number to another man. In autumn 1991, Harding dated a Canadian banker. In October, she decided to reconcile with Gillooly and withdraw the divorce, saying they were still in love and seeking counseling: "I know he's changed. I see it in his eyes, and I believe in him... I don't want to lose him. I really don't."
On March 10, 1992, Harding had a roadside physical altercation with a female motorist in Portland, Oregon. The first deputy on the scene observed Harding holding a baseball bat after breaking the motorist's eyeglasses. The incident ended in apologies and no criminal charges were filed.
In both March and July 1993, police came to Harding and Gillooly's shared apartment after reported arguments. In a July affidavit, Harding wrote that she had been in an abusive marriage for two years, "he has assaulted me physically with his open hand and fist [...] put me down to the floor on several occasions." Harding was granted another restraining order and filed for divorce. In spring 1993, she dated Tom Arant who spoke about Harding to The Oregonian, saying she would complain about Gillooly, yet still contacted him often: "she couldn't stop talking to him." That summer, a man from Harding's gym claimed to The Oregonian that Harding offered to pay him to "take care" of Gillooly, "slap him around a little." He said he was offended and declined.
On August 28, 1993, Harding and Gillooly were granted a divorce. Ten days later, Harding's lawyer asked the restraining order to be lifted because the couple again wished to reconcile. On October 2, at approximately 3 a.m., neighbours of the couple called the police when they heard them arguing outside and a single gunshot. The neighbours reported seeing Gillooly pick Harding up and place her in a truck, and feared Harding had been shot. A police officer stopped the truck and confiscated a found shotgun and a 9mm Beretta pistol that had recently been discharged. The officer then interviewed Harding and Gillooly separately about what had happened, but their stories did not match. Gillooly first stated that the gun had fired when he was carrying it. Harding then admitted that she had fired the gun and was worried about the publicity. Gillooly said that Harding had been moving her possessions into his truck when they started an argument over his former girlfriend; he declined to press charges. In November 1993, the couple were evicted from their apartment for failing to pay rent.
=== Harding's FBI testimony and other claims ===
During Tonya Harding's FBI testimony on January 18, 1994, she requested and received some ice to treat her swollen ankle. When asked about her finances, Harding said she had one bank account which was currently $109 overdrawn. She was also asked about her relationship with Gillooly and replied she still considered him her husband. When asked whether Gillooly had ever threatened her, Harding said he had not. FBI agent James Russell then asked if she was at Shawn Eckardt's house at any time on January 11, Harding replied that she "definitely" had not been. Russell then advised her that while concealing criminal knowledge did not violate Oregon law, lying to the FBI would violate federal law. Harding said she understood that. Russell then told her that he knew she had lied to him. Harding's lawyer, Robert Weaver, then stated he wished to speak privately with his client. When Harding returned, she testified that she and Gillooly went to Eckardt's home on December 28, 1993; he went inside, she drove away. Harding said that Gillooly phoned her one hour later asking her to pick him up.
After Harding's plea deal on March 16, 1994, she has since made other claims about the assault scandal. In 2018, she said she had prior knowledge of Gillooly and Eckardt discussing "[taking] out" one of her competitors in late 1993. Harding said she protested that she wanted to win fairly, and asked them what they were talking about.
In Harding's 2008 authorized biography, The Tonya Tapes (written by Lynda D. Prouse from recorded interviews), Harding denied ever asking Vera Marano for the name of Nancy Kerrigan's training rink and that Marano may not have remembered details properly and "was a little bit out there." Harding also expressed anxiety when Prouse asked about Marano's testimony:
"I really didn't do anything wrong except ask questions to win a bet...It's just that this sounds bad...I think [the bet] was for a quarter or something like that. Big deal."
=== Gillooly's FBI testimony ===
Jeff Gillooly first testified about the attack plot on January 26, 1994. He said that in early December 1993, Harding phoned him after the 1993 NHK Trophy competition and was upset about her placement. He said he was also upset for her and later spoke about figure skating politics to his friend Shawn Eckardt. According to Gillooly, Eckardt then wondered aloud what would happen if Nancy Kerrigan were to receive a threat. Gillooly said he liked that idea. According to him, Eckardt wanted to keep the idea of injuring Kerrigan a secret from Harding, but Gillooly explained that injuring a competitor might psychologically affect Harding's performance too. Gillooly claimed that when he told Harding about plotting to injure Kerrigan, she thought it was "a good idea." However, she was skeptical about Eckardt's ability to arrange it. Gillooly assured her Eckardt knew people who could carry out the attack, and they could abort the plot if they did not like Eckardt's plan.
Shortly after Eckardt had spoken on the phone with Derrick Smith, he visited Gillooly and Harding at their home and quoted $4,500 to execute the plot. Gillooly replied that it was too much and said he could pay $2,000. On December 25, Gillooly had an answering machine message from Smith asking for more details about the plan. He claimed that he then phoned Eckardt to cancel the deal. Eckardt replied that Smith was already driving to Portland and that he needed more information about Kerrigan — a photograph and the location of the ice rink where she practiced. On December 27, Harding phoned her friend Vera Marano, a Pennsylvania figure skating writer, saying she and Gillooly had a "bet" about where Nancy Kerrigan trained. Marano then called a USFSA contact to find the name of the rink and left a message on Harding and Gillooly's answering machine. He said the message was difficult to understand, it sounded like "Tunee Can." Harding then phoned Marano again asking her to spell the arena name, and Gillooly said he watched as Harding wrote out "Tony Kent Arena."
Smith and his nephew, Shane Stant, arrived in Portland on December 27, drove to Eckardt's home, and asked for a meeting with Gillooly tomorrow at 10 a.m. Gillooly said Harding would be training at that time, but he agreed to meet them. On December 28, Harding finished her practice session at 10:30 a.m., then Gillooly drove them to Eckardt's home. According to him, she knew about the meeting and was anxious about Gillooly talking to dangerous people. He also testified that Harding told him she wanted Kerrigan injured either at her home or skating rink. Gillooly said he would phone her after the meeting, and Harding then drove to Gillooly's mother's house.
He arrived at 11 a.m. to the meeting held at Eckardt's home office, knocking on the door with Stant letting him in. Eckardt introduced Gillooly to Derrick Smith, using only his first name, Stant was introduced as Smith's "friend." Stant said it was "a pleasure" to meet Gillooly, then remained silent. Smith told Gillooly he could solve "problems," and Gillooly said he wanted Kerrigan out of the National Championships so Harding could win an Olympic gold medal. Once this was achieved, Harding would receive endorsements and he could offer $1,000 per week for her security. Gillooly said he could pay $6,500 for this plan and wanted to know what they could do. Eckardt suggested cutting Kerrigan's Achilles tendon, using a beater car to run her off the road, or "just kill her," but those ideas were opposed. Gillooly said only her right leg needed to be disabled, her landing leg; he claimed to have previously verified this with Harding. They settled on injuring Kerrigan's right leg. Gillooly was told his money would be returned if the deed was not completed. He then phoned Harding asking her to pick him up.
According to Gillooly, as he was driving himself and Harding home, she asked if the meeting went well. When he told her about their "money-back guarantee," Harding laughed out loud. Gillooly said he felt "pretty good" about the meeting and thought Smith was competent. He then told her, "I think we should go for it." According to Gillooly, Harding replied, "Let's do it."
He said the men would need another photo of Kerrigan and her "skating times." Gillooly suggested that Harding call the Tony Kent Arena because she knew ice skating terminology. According to him, she did phone the arena asking for Kerrigan's "patch and freestyle times," and phoned again for the address. They also found two photos of Kerrigan from the World Team handbook and Olympian magazine. Gillooly said Harding told him to tear off the magazine's mailing label because it had their home address. They drove to Eckardt's home that night with the photos, practice times, and $2,700 in cash. Gillooly said he paid Eckardt while Harding was in another room having coffee with Eckardt's mother. He remembered Harding briefly talking to him and Eckardt saying Kerrigan's photo was "flattering." Gillooly and Harding were surprised that Eckardt's mother seemed to know about the plot too.
Gillooly testified that by January 1994, he and Harding were upset that the plot had apparently failed. When Eckardt said it could still be done for more money, Gillooly asked "Do I have stupid written across my forehead?" Harding told him that Eckardt should return the money. On January 1, 1994, she had a late-night skating session from 11:30 p.m to 1 a.m., and Gillooly asked Eckardt to meet them at the rink. When Eckardt arrived, Gillooly agreed to pay more if Kerrigan could still be disabled before the Nationals competition.
According to Gillooly, Harding then approached both men and asked Eckardt if his previous back pains were better. She then angrily asked him why "this thing" (the plot) was not completed. Eckardt was flustered and said he did not know why.
=== Marano's FBI testimony ===
On January 22, 1994, Vera Marano was interviewed by the FBI. She said she worked as a freelance writer and had written some figure skating articles about Harding, regularly trading phone calls with her. Marano stated that Harding had phoned her about a "bet" regarding Nancy Kerrigan. She said Harding then asked for the name of Kerrigan's training rink and also wanted to know if Kerrigan owned property in Cape Cod.
=== Eckardt's FBI testimony ===
Shawn Eckardt first testified about parts of the attack plot on January 12, 1994. He had known Gillooly since they were in the first grade at school. In 1993, Eckardt was enrolled in a paralegal course at Pioneer Pacific College and trying to build a business called World Bodyguard Services. He claimed that in mid-December, Gillooly approached him to ask if he knew anyone who could disable Kerrigan.
On December 22, 1993, Eckardt received a call from his friend Derrick Smith who lived in Phoenix, Arizona. Smith wanted to know if Eckardt was still interested in moving to Phoenix to help set up an anti-terrorist training camp as they had previously discussed. Eckardt claimed he had a contract to disable a female figure skater issued by her rival's husband, that it involved good money because one of the rival's sponsors was George Steinbrenner. It was true that Steinbrenner had recently given Harding a $10,000 donation through the USFSA. Smith was interested in the deal and agreed to drive to Portland with his nephew, Shane Stant, to meet with Eckardt and Gillooly.
On December 28, as the men were waiting for Gillooly to arrive at his office, Smith persuaded Eckardt to tape record the meeting to use as "leverage." Eckardt hid the tape recorder on his desk under a paper towel. After the meeting, Gillooly left, returning that night to pay Eckardt in cash. He later gave the money to Smith who then drove Stant to the Seattle airport so Stant could fly to Boston. Smith returned to Arizona and was communicating separately with Stant and Eckardt by phone, while Eckardt reported back to Gillooly. Eckardt did not know where exactly Stant was and told Gillooly that Smith needed more money. Gillooly refused to pay more until he had receipts proving that someone was in Boston for their plan.
On January 1, 1994, Eckardt met Gillooly and Harding at the skating rink during her late-night session. He remembered Gillooly saying he would pay more money if the plot happened. Eckardt said Harding then skated up to him and commiserated about his ongoing back pain. According to him, she then said "You need to stop screwing around with this and get it done."
=== Smith's FBI testimony ===
When Derrick Smith was first interviewed by FBI on January 12, 1994, he held to the cover story that had been agreed upon with his co-conspirators until later in the day when he confessed to his part in the plot. He had met Eckardt when they were students at Mt. Hood Community College, shared an interest in espionage and survivalism, and had discussed opening a school together someday. Smith later worked for the United States Army as an "intelligence analyst" for about 3 years until he was discharged. He then worked in Milwaukie, Oregon as a group home coordinator for Developmental Systems Inc., a company that employed and trained mentally disabled adults to sort laundry hangers. The company said Smith was good at his work, remaining quiet and patient if a little anti-social. He quit that job in late 1993 and moved to Arizona with his wife. Smith then applied for a police officer job and was waiting for his interview to be scheduled before Eckardt told him about possible bodyguard work in Oregon.
When he phoned Eckardt on December 22, 1993, Eckardt told Smith he had a client who needed someone physically "taken down," saying the job would entail more bodyguard work in the future. Smith did not want to commit the assault himself because he had no criminal record, but said he might know someone who would do it. He knew his nephew, Shane Stant, was currently unemployed so Smith told him about his conversation with Eckardt.
On December 28, he and Stant were in Portland to discuss the attack plan. Before Gillooly arrived to the meeting, Smith asked Eckardt to tape-record the impending plotting for security. During the meeting, he thought Eckardt was leading Gillooly to think he had many "underground" contacts. After the meeting, he and Stant agreed not to injure Kerrigan "too badly."
=== Stant's FBI testimony ===
Shane Stant first testified about the attack plot after he turned himself in to the FBI on January 14, 1994. He was the son of Derrick Smith's wife's sister. Stant and his girlfriend also moved to Arizona along with Smith after once serving 15 days in jail for stealing cars. He was interested in bodybuilding, martial arts, and helping Smith open his training camp someday.
When Smith told Stant about his phone call with Eckardt, Stant wanted to know more specifics. Eckardt then phoned him to say the plot involved making "an accident happen" to a skater, maybe cutting an Achilles tendon. Stant said he would not cut anyone. Eckardt then offered more money than Gillooly stated and said more bodyguard work would follow. Stant agreed to go to Portland with Smith for a meeting, then he paid $59 for a 21-inch (53 cm) ASP tactical baton from a store called Spy Headquarters.
On December 29, 1993, Stant agreed to execute the plot and took a flight to Boston, yet discovered he could not rent a car with his girlfriend's credit card. He received his own credit card from an evening mail delivery the next day. On December 31, Stant drove to Yarmouth, Massachusetts, reaching the Tony Kent Arena that afternoon. Nancy Kerrigan had already finished her practice session and departed to Stoneham, Massachusetts for the weekend. Stant, thinking Kerrigan would still be training at the arena, frequented the parking lot for two days and relocated his car every half hour.
On January 3, 1994, he called the Tony Kent Arena and the staff told him that Nancy Kerrigan was travelling to Nationals. Stant then drove back to Boston so he could take a 20-hour Greyhound bus trip to Detroit. Smith decided to fly to the city too so they could finish the plot together. On January 5, Stant and Smith considered injuring Kerrigan's knee at her Westin hotel room in the Renaissance Center. They knew the correct room number because Tonya Harding was now in Detroit, and had told the registration clerk she wanted to give Kerrigan a poster at her room. Gillooly, still in Portland, then told Stant and Smith the room number. However, they later aborted the idea of a hotel-room-attack because they did not have a sure escape route.
== Aftermath ==
=== Immediate aftermath ===
On January 11, Ann Schatz interviewed Harding for KOIN-TV in Portland, Oregon. Schatz asked Harding whether someone she knew could have planned the attack. Harding replied, "I have definitely thought about it." Gillooly stood in her view behind the camera during the interview. The interview ended with Harding saying, "No one controls my life but me...if there's something in there that I don't like, I'm going to change it." Harding also confirmed she had spoken with FBI agents in Detroit and again in Portland. On January 13, Eckardt and Smith were arrested. On January 14, the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) made a statement on whether Eckardt's arrest affected Harding's Olympic placement: "We will deal only with the facts." Harding and Gillooly's separate lawyers confirmed the couple were in daily contact and cooperation with law enforcement. On January 15, Harding and Gillooly spoke with reporters, but declined to comment about the investigation. On January 16, Harding's lawyer held a news conference in which he read a statement denying Harding's involvement in the attack on Kerrigan. Harding left her home that evening to practice figure skating with her coaches, where she spoke with reporters and performed a triple Axel.
=== Harding's confession ===
On January 18, 1994, Harding was with her lawyers when she submitted to questioning by the DA and FBI. She was interviewed for over ten hours. Eight hours into the interview, her lawyer read a statement declaring her separation from Gillooly: "I continue to believe that Jeff is innocent of any wrongdoing. I wish him nothing but the best." Her full FBI transcript was released on February 1. The Seattle Times reported on the transcript, stating that Harding had "changed her story well into a long interview [...] After hours of denying any involvement in trying to cover up the plot, an FBI agent finally told [her] that he knew she had lied to him, that he would tell her exactly how she had lied to him." In the transcript's final passage, Harding stated, "I hope everyone understands. I'm telling on someone I really care about. I know now [Jeff] is involved. I'm sorry." On January 19, Gillooly surrendered to the FBI. On January 20, Diane Sawyer asked Harding on Primetime about the case. Harding said she had done nothing wrong. On January 27, it was reported that Gillooly had been testifying about the attack plot since January 26, possibly implicating Harding as allegedly assisting. Harding's close friend, Stephanie Quintero, with whom she was living, spoke to reporters on her behalf: "[Tonya] was shocked, very hurt. She was believing in [Jeff]." Harding later held a press conference to read a prepared statement. She said she was sorry Kerrigan was attacked, that she respected Kerrigan, and claimed not to have known in advance of the plot to disable her. Harding took responsibility "for failing to report things [about the assault] when I returned home from Nationals [on January 10]. Failure to immediately report this information is not a crime." Many states' laws, including Oregon's, state that the act of concealing criminal knowledge alone is not a crime.
The attack on Kerrigan received a substantial amount of publicity, and news media crews camped outside Kerrigan's home. In January 1994, the story was on the covers of Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, and TIME. There was now much speculation about Harding's alleged involvement in the assault plot. Because Harding and Kerrigan would be representing the US in the February Lillehammer Olympics, speculation reached a media frenzy. Abby Haight and J.E. Vader, reporters for The Oregonian, wrote a biography of Harding called Fire on Ice, which included excerpts of her January 18 FBI interview.
=== USFSA disciplinary panel ===
On February 5, 1994, the USFSA disciplinary panel stated there were reasonable grounds to believe Harding had violated the sport's code of ethics. Her admitted failure to report about an assault on a fellow competitor, supported by her FBI transcripts, led to Harding being formally charged with "[making] false statements about her knowledge". The USFSA also recommended that she face a disciplinary hearing. Claire Ferguson, president of the USFSA, decided not to suspend Harding's membership before a hearing took place. If she had been suspended, she likely still would have competed at the Olympics after filing suit, seeking an injunction against the USFSA, and asserting her rights under the Amateur Sports Act of 1978. The panel examined evidence including the testimonies of Stant and Smith, Harding and Gillooly's telephone records, and notes found in a Portland saloon trash bin on January 30. Harding was given thirty days to respond.
=== Sentences ===
On February 1, 1994, Gillooly's attorney negotiated a plea agreement in exchange for testimony regarding all involved parties in the attack. In July, Gillooly was sentenced to two years in prison after publicly apologizing to Kerrigan – adding "any apology coming from me rings hollow." Gillooly and Eckardt pleaded guilty to racketeering, while Stant and Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit second-degree assault. Eckardt, Stant, and Smith were given 18-month prison terms Judge Donald Londer noted the attack could have injured Kerrigan more seriously. Eckardt died in 2007.
On March 16, Harding pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution as a Class C felony offense at a Multnomah County court hearing. She and her lawyer, Robert Weaver, negotiated a plea agreement ensuring no further prosecution. Judge Londer conducted routine questioning to make certain Harding understood her agreement, that she was entering her plea "knowingly and voluntarily." Harding told Londer she was. Her plea admissions were knowing of the assault plot after the fact, settling on a cover story with Gillooly and Eckardt on January 10, witnessing payphone calls to Smith affirming the story on January 10 and 11, and lying to FBI. Law enforcement investigators had been following and videotaping the co-conspirators since January 10, and knew about the payphone calls. Harding's penalties included three years of probation, a $100,000 fine, and 500 hours community service. She agreed to reimburse Multnomah County $10,000 in legal expenses, undergo a psychiatric examination, and volunteered to give $50,000 to the Special Olympics Oregon (SOOR) charity. Oregon sentencing guidelines carried a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment for the offense.
=== Grand jury indictment ===
On March 21, 1994, a Portland grand jury issued an indictment stating there was evidence Harding participated in the attack plot. The indictment concluded more than two months of investigation and witness testimonies from Diane Rawlinson; Harding's choreographer Erika Bakacs; freelance figure skating writer Vera Marano; and Eckardt's college instructor and classmates. It stated there was evidence Harding fraudulently used USFSA-provided skating monies to finance the assault. It also read that Harding, Gillooly, Eckardt, Smith, and Stant agreed to "knowingly cause physical injury ... by means of a dangerous weapon." The grand jury foreman said the evidence implied Harding as "involved from the beginning or very close." She was not charged in the indictment due to the terms of her March 16 plea agreement.
=== Second disciplinary panel meeting ===
On June 29, the USFSA disciplinary panel met for nine hours over two days to consider Harding's alleged role in the attack. On June 30, chairman William Hybl stated,
"By a preponderance of the evidence, the panel did conclude that she had prior knowledge and was involved prior to the incident. This is based on civil standards, not criminal standards ... bank records, phone records – the way they came together to establish a case."
The panel decided that pertinent FBI reports, court documents, and Harding's March 16 plea agreement presented
"a clear disregard for fairness, good sportsmanship, and ethical behaviour."
Harding chose neither to attend nor participate in the two-day hearing. Weaver said the decision disappointed her but was not a surprise, and that she had not decided on an appeal. Harding was stripped of her 1994 U.S. Championship title and banned for life from participating in USFSA events as either skater or coach. The USFSA has no dominion over professional skating events, yet Harding was also persona non grata on the pro circuit. Few skaters and promoters would work with her, and she did not benefit from the ensuing boom in professional skating after the scandal.
== In popular culture ==
The incident was widely covered in the West (especially the U.S., where the incident was on the front-page of most newspapers in January 1994) and consequently influenced popular culture significantly. The most notable example is the 2017 film I, Tonya, with Margot Robbie portraying Harding. It is centered on the attack from the perspective of Harding.
In music, the attack was mentioned in "Weird Al" Yankovic's 1994 song "Headline News", a parody of the Crash Test Dummies hit "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm". The lyrics, which are written in a comedic style, mentions a figure skater hiring someone to "club her [rival] in the kneecap", with the incident being dramatized in a tongue-in-cheek manner in the accompanying music video. The event is also referenced in the 2011 song "Strange Clouds" by B.o.B featuring Lil Wayne; "Nancy Kerrigan" by Frog (2015); "Tonya Harding" by Sufjan Stevens (2017); "Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea" by Fall Out Boy (2018); and “TONYA” by Brockhampton (2018).
The rap-duo group $UICIDEBOY$ referenced both Harding and Kerrigan, the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Free Skate, and Kerrigan’s attack on a two and half minute song on their 2021 album “Long Term Effects of SUFFERING”. The title of, and lyric video for the song features Harding and video of the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympic Free Skate (“If Self-Destruction Was an Olympic Event, I’d Be Tonya Harding” - featuring Harding in her iconic sparkling purple, gold, and silver outfit/costume), and Kerrigan/Kerrigan’s assault at the end of the song (a sound clip of a few seconds of Kerrigan screaming “why, why, why!?” in pain, following the assault.)
In television, Fran Drescher says: “Call Gillooly” in the 1994 The Nanny episode S1 E22: "I Don't Remember Mama", likely a reference to Jeff Gillooly. In the 1994 Animaniacs segment "Baloney and Kids", as the Warners panic when Baloney the Dinosaur shakes off their cartoonish brand of violence, Yakko yells out "Call in the National Guard," to which Dot adds, "Or Tonya Harding's bodyguard". The event is mentioned in the 1997 South Park episode S1 E10: "Damien". Gillooly is mentioned as a former Barder College student is the seventh episode of 3-South, "Coke Addicts" (2002). An episode of the animated comedy Futurama, "Stench and Stenchibility" (2013), features a devilish six-year-old girl named Tonya (voiced by Tara Strong; a reference to Harding), who is the opponent of Bender Rodriguez (John DiMaggio) in a tap dancing competition held by Randy Munchnik. As Bender attempts to sabotage her performance by filling her tap shoes with tacks in the locker room, Tonya catches him in the act, and breaks his leg with a nightstick in a similar manner to the attack on Kerrigan.
In the cancelled 1994 Data East arcade fighting game Tattoo Assassins, the character Keller's backstory directly references the assault. Spyro: Year of the Dragon, a 2000 platform video game, centers around defending a polar bear ice dancer named Nancy from getting assaulted by Rhynoc hockey players as she attempts to rehearse for a performance.
Barack Obama, former President of the United States, referenced the attack while giving a speech in 2007 in Iowa during his run in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries (which he won and went on to win the 2008 presidential election). He stated "Folks said there's no way Obama has a chance unless he goes and kneecaps the person ahead of us; does a Tonya Harding." This statement, with "Tonya Harding" being used in place of "hitting their kneecap" (a phenomenon that is an informal eponym), encapsulates the effect the incident had on American culture and language.
A common theme throughout popular culture is seeing the incident from the perspective of Harding being involved in the attack, despite this never being definitively proven. The film I, Tonya, unlike most other examples, looks at the incident from the perspective of Harding being mostly innocent. This challenges the common belief in the U.S. in the 1990s that Harding was involved, a belief derived from media coverage. The 2017 film has caused a shift in public opinion, according to a qualitative study by Pitlik et. al. in 2023. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_DeAraugo | Kate DeAraugo | Katherine Jenna DeAraugo ( də-ROOZH; born 5 November 1985) is an Australian singer-songwriter who in 2005 was the third winner of Australian Idol. After Idol, DeAraugo signed to Sony BMG and released her debut single, "Maybe Tonight", in November 2005. The single debuted at Number 1 on the ARIA Charts and was certified platinum. Her debut album, A Place I've Never Been, was released in December 2005 and was also certified platinum. DeAraugo later became a member of the multi-platinum-selling girl group Young Divas, which disbanded in 2008.
== Australian Idol ==
A former swimming teacher, DeAraugo had auditioned for Australian Idol in both the first season and in the second season, both times failing to make it past the auditions. After this, she travelled from Bendigo, Victoria, to the Gold Coast, Queensland, for singing lessons with Venetta Fields, finally moving to Queensland, where she auditioned for the third season of Idol in 2005.
On 14 November 2005, DeAraugo beat Lee Harding to ensure her place in the grand final. Her father, a businessman and car dealer in her hometown of Bendigo orchestrated a publicity campaign with "Vote for Kate" stickers and buttons appearing all over central Victoria. DeAraugo's co-finalist was Emily Williams, making this the first all-female final since the show began in 2003. Williams was generally considered the favourite, but, on 21 November 2005, DeAraugo was crowned as the third Australian Idol winner with a vote that is still the closest in the show's history. She defeated Williams by only 2%. She was the only Australian Idol winner not to have earned a single touchdown from judge Mark Holden throughout the course of the show. She was also never placed in any week's bottom group.
== Music career ==
=== 2005–2006: A Place I've Never Been ===
As the winner of Australian Idol in 2005, DeAraugo was sent to the studio to work on her debut album, which took six days to record. She released her debut single, "Maybe Tonight", on 27 November 2005. With sales of 20,307 copies. It debuted at number one and stayed there for two weeks and was awarded a platinum award by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). The single stayed in the top 50 for 13 weeks, and the music video was popular on Australian music video shows such as Video Hits and Rage. In September 2006, "Maybe Tonight" was nominated for an ARIA Award for "Highest Selling Single", but it lost to "Flaunt It" by TV Rock.
DeAraugo released her debut album, A Place I've Never Been, on 12 December 2005 through Sony BMG. The album debuted at number 10 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart, with 15,600 copies sold in its first week. The album stayed in the Top 50 chart for eight weeks and on the chart for 19 weeks. It was certified platinum in its first week. DeAraugo's second single, "Faded", was released on 19 February 2006 and was co-written by Australian pop-rock duo the Veronicas. "Faded" debuted at number eight on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and number three on the Australasian charts. It stayed in the Top 100 chart for 24 weeks.
=== 2006–2007: Young Divas ===
DeAraugo joined three other Australian Idol contestants, Emily Williams, Ricki-Lee Coulter, and Paulini, for a national tour. To promote the tour, the four released a cover of a Donna Summer hit classic, "This Time I Know It's for Real", under the name of Young Divas. The single was released on 6 May 2006 and debuting at number seven and peaking at number two. It went platinum and was in the Top 30 charts for 24 weeks. Originally a music video was not to be included but, after much demand and the popularity of the single, a music video was released. The group appeared on television shows such as Sunrise and the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars to also promote the single and tour. The Young Divas' tour was very popular, and more shows had to be added than originally planned.
As the single and tour had been so popular, the Young Divas recorded an album of remakes of classics. Young Divas, their self-titled debut album, was released on 18 November 2006 and debuted at number four on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart. Their second single, "Happenin' All over Again" (a cover of Lonnie Gordon's disco classic), peaked at number nine. The group members stated many times that they would also keep their solo careers, and DeAraugo announced in Australian magazine Woman's Day that she was currently working on her second solo album.
DeAraugo and her fellow Divas then recorded a song called "2000 Miles" for the compilation album Home: Songs of Hope & Journey by various Australian artists to raise funds and bring attention to beyondblue, an Australian initiative against depression. For this campaign, DeAraugo gained honorary membership of The Coterie in the 2007 membership list. On 22 June 2007, it was announced that Ricki-Lee Coulter had decided to leave the group in order to focus on her solo career following rumours of infighting. DeAraugo and the other two remaining group members stated that they would carry on with their plan to record a second album, which they hoped to release in November of the same year.
=== 2007–2008: New Attitude and group disbandment ===
On 26 September 2007, DeAraugo appeared alongside the group members on the top 12 nights of the fifth season of Australian Idol. It was during this performance that season four runner-up, Jessica Mauboy, was revealed as the new Young Diva, replacing Ricki-Lee Coulter. The group performed "When You Believe," which was originally sung by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston for the 40th anniversary of Channel 7's Telethon Western Australia.
On 9 October 2007, they appeared on an Australian Idol special named Doing It For the Kids and revealed that the name of their second album would be New Attitude. On 22 October, they appeared on Australian Idol season five for a third time when they performed their new single, "Turn Me Loose", along with New Zealand rapper Savage who is featured on the track. The single was officially released on 17 November 2007 and peaked at number 15 on the ARIA singles chart. The Divas' second album followed on 26 November, peaked at number 10, and was certified gold for sales of 35,000 copies. On the season five finale of Australian Idol, when Natalie Gauci was declared the winner, the group performed their single "Turn Me Loose" for a second time with Savage.
On 28 March 2008, after three months of apparent inactivity, the Young Divas' record label, Sony BMG, announced in The Daily Telegraph that, due to the underperformance of "Turn Me Loose", no second single would be released from New Attitude. However, it was also stated that the group was not being dropped from the record label's artist roster.
After months of speculation, it was officially announced on 24 August 2008 that founding Young Divas member Paulini and new member Jessica Mauboy had both decided to leave the group in order to concentrate on their solo careers. The move meant that DeAraugo and Emily Williams became the only remaining members of the Young Divas, though their manager David Champion stressed that the group's career was not over and a third line-up would appear after a hiatus. This was proven to be wrong when both Williams and DeAraugo resumed their solo careers in 2009.
=== 2008–present: second studio album and Excess Baggage ===
DeAraugo spent the remainder of 2008 writing and recording material for her second solo album, following her 2005 debut, A Place I've Never Been. Since the Young Divas disbanded, DeAraugo had been performing in clubs across Australia. She hoped to release her second studio album in August 2010, saying, "Basically, the album will be about what I have been through in the past few years. You know the sort of thing - relationships, the ups and downs of life. Some of it has been very public."
In November 2011, in an interview regarding full-body liposuction, DeAraugo admitted that her second album had been completed yet was held back from release, blaming it on her body image. In February 2012, DeAraugo was featured on the Nine Network weight-loss reality show Excess Baggage, along with other well-known people such as Kevin Federline and Christine Anu. According to her biography on the official Excess Baggage website, DeAraugo was still working on her second album.
In February 2015, DeAraugo released a new track as part of the digital-only soundtrack for the film Dinosaur Island. In April 2015, she announced that a new single, called "Shut Your Mouth", would be released on 1 May that year. The track was co-written by DNA Songs and deals with emergence from a dark period in her life. "There was a bit of anger and resentment in the mood", she said of the recording process, "But above all, it's about empowerment."
== Personal life ==
In early January 2008, it was revealed that DeAraugo had signed an endorsement deal with weight-loss company Jenny Craig. She became the star of the company's "Get Real" national program, stating that her aim was to achieve and manage her own goal weight and help promote healthiness among Australia's younger generation. On 11 August, DeAraugo appeared on the radio show 2Day FM and announced that she had been forced to withdraw from her endorsement deal with Jenny Craig due to health problems. She stated that she had discovered she was lactose intolerant and was therefore unable to keep to the required diet.
DeAraugo was arrested by Victorian Police officers twice in 2017 in regards to possession of crystal methamphetamine (more widely known as "ice") as well as a tomahawk and large knife. She faced court on 4 October 2017, where she indicated that she would plead guilty at her next court hearing on 15 November. She faced a maximum of 15 years in jail but eventually escaped conviction.
== Discography ==
=== Studio albums ===
=== Singles ===
=== Music videos ===
=== Other appearances ===
The following have been officially released, but do not feature on an album by DeAraugo. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States | United States | The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, with the semi-exclave of Alaska in the northwest and the archipelago of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The United States also asserts sovereignty over five major island territories and various uninhabited islands in Oceania and the Caribbean. It is a megadiverse country, with the world's third-largest land area and third-largest population, exceeding 341 million.
Paleo-Indians first migrated from North Asia to North America at least 15,000 years ago, and formed various civilizations. Spanish colonization established Spanish Florida in 1513, the first European colony in what is now the continental United States. British colonization followed with the 1607 settlement of Virginia, the first of the Thirteen Colonies. Enslavement of Africans was practiced in every colony and supplied most of the labor for the Southern Colonies' plantation economy. Clashes with the British Crown began as a civil protest over the illegality of taxation without representation in Parliament and the denial of other English rights. They evolved into the American Revolution, which led to the Declaration of Independence and a society based on universal rights. Victory in the 1775–1783 Revolutionary War brought international recognition of U.S. sovereignty and fueled westward expansion, further dispossessing native inhabitants. As more states were admitted into the Union, a North–South division over slavery led 11 Southern states to attempt to secede and join together as the Confederate States of America, which fought against the Union in the American Civil War of 1861–1865. With the United States' victory and reunification, slavery was abolished nationally. By 1900, the country had established itself as a great power, a status solidified after its involvement in World War I. Following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S. entered World War II. Its aftermath left the U.S. and the Soviet Union as rival superpowers, competing for ideological dominance and international influence during the Cold War. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 ended the Cold War, leaving the U.S. as the world's sole superpower. After the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. launched the war on terror, invading Afghanistan and Iraq. It has continued carrying out numerous foreign interventions since then.
The U.S. federal government is a representative democracy with a president and a constitution that creates a separation of powers among three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The United States Congress is a bicameral national legislature composed of the House of Representatives (a lower house based on population) and the Senate (an upper house based on equal representation for each state). Federalism grants substantial autonomy to the 50 states. In addition, 574 Native American tribes have sovereignty rights, and there are 326 Native American reservations. Since the 1850s, the Democratic and Republican parties have dominated American politics. American ideals and values are based on a democratic tradition inspired by the American Enlightenment movement.
A developed country, the U.S. ranks high in economic competitiveness, innovation, and higher education. Accounting for over a quarter of nominal global GDP, its economy has been the world's largest since about 1890. It is the wealthiest country, with the highest disposable household income per capita among OECD members, though its wealth inequality is highly pronounced. Shaped by centuries of immigration, the culture of the U.S. is diverse and globally influential. Making up more than a third of global military spending, the country is widely considered to have the most powerful armed forces in the world and was the first to develop nuclear weapons. A member of numerous international organizations including the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. plays a major role in global political, cultural, economic, and military affairs.
== Etymology ==
Documented use of the phrase "United States of America" dates back to January 2, 1776. On that day, Stephen Moylan, a Continental Army aide to General George Washington, wrote a letter to Joseph Reed, Washington's aide-de-camp, seeking to go "with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the Revolutionary War effort. The first known public usage is an anonymous essay published in the Williamsburg newspaper The Virginia Gazette on April 6, 1776. Sometime on or after June 11, 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote "United States of America" in a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, which was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.
The term "United States" and its initialism "U.S.", used as nouns or as adjectives in English, are common short names for the country. The initialism "USA", a noun, is also common. "United States" and "U.S." are the established terms throughout the U.S. federal government, with prescribed rules. "The States" is an established colloquial shortening of the name, used particularly from abroad; "stateside" is the corresponding adjective or adverb.
"America" is the feminine form of the first name of Americus Vesputius, the Latinized name of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512); It was first used as a place name by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann in 1507. Vespucci first proposed that the West Indies discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 were part of a previously unknown landmass and not among the Indies at the eastern limit of Asia. In English, the term "America" (used without a qualifier) seldom refers to topics unrelated to the United States. "The Americas" is the general term to describe the totality of the continents of North and South America.
== History ==
=== Indigenous peoples ===
The first inhabitants of North America migrated from Siberia approximately 15,000 years ago, either across the Bering land bridge or along the now-submerged Ice Age coastline. Small isolated groups of hunter-gatherers are said to have migrated alongside herds of large herbivores far into Alaska, with ice-free corridors developing along the Pacific coast and valleys of North America in c. 16,500 – c. 13,500 BCE (c. 18,500 – c. 15,500 BP). The Clovis culture, which appeared around 11,000 BCE, is believed to be the first widespread culture in the Americas. Over time, Indigenous North American cultures grew increasingly sophisticated, and some, such as the Mississippian culture, developed agriculture, architecture, and complex societies. In the post-archaic period, the Mississippian cultures were located in the midwestern, eastern, and southern regions, and the Algonquian in the Great Lakes region and along the Eastern Seaboard, while the Hohokam culture and Ancestral Puebloans inhabited the Southwest. Native population estimates of what is now the United States before the arrival of European colonizers range from around 500,000 to nearly 10 million.
=== European exploration, colonization and conflict (1513–1765) ===
Christopher Columbus began exploring the Caribbean for Spain in 1492, leading to Spanish-speaking settlements and missions from what are now Puerto Rico and Florida to New Mexico and California. The first Spanish colony in the present-day continental United States was Spanish Florida, chartered in 1513. After several settlements failed there due to starvation and disease, Spain's first permanent town, Saint Augustine, was founded in 1565.
France established its own settlements in French Florida in 1562, but they were either abandoned (Charlesfort, 1578) or destroyed by Spanish raids (Fort Caroline, 1565). Permanent French settlements were founded much later along the Great Lakes (Fort Detroit, 1701), the Mississippi River (St. Louis, 1764) and especially the Gulf of Mexico (New Orleans, 1718). Early European colonies also included the thriving Dutch colony of New Nederland (settled 1626, present-day New York) and the small Swedish colony of New Sweden (settled 1638 in what became Delaware). British colonization of the East Coast began with the Virginia Colony (1607) and the Plymouth Colony (Massachusetts, 1620).
The Mayflower Compact in Massachusetts and the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut established precedents for local representative self-governance and constitutionalism that would develop throughout the American colonies. While European settlers in what is now the United States experienced conflicts with Native Americans, they also engaged in trade, exchanging European tools for food and animal pelts. Relations ranged from close cooperation to warfare and massacres. The colonial authorities often pursued policies that forced Native Americans to adopt European lifestyles, including conversion to Christianity. Along the eastern seaboard, settlers trafficked Africans through the Atlantic slave trade, largely to provide manual labor on plantations.
The original Thirteen Colonies that would later found the United States were administered as possessions of the British Empire by Crown-appointed governors, though local governments held elections open to most white male property owners. The colonial population grew rapidly from Maine to Georgia, eclipsing Native American populations; by the 1770s, the natural increase of the population was such that only a small minority of Americans had been born overseas. The colonies' distance from Britain facilitated the entrenchment of self-governance, and the First Great Awakening, a series of Christian revivals, fueled colonial interest in guaranteed religious liberty.
=== American Revolution and the early republic (1765–1800) ===
Following its victory in the French and Indian War, Britain began to assert greater control over local affairs in the Thirteen Colonies, resulting in growing political resistance. One of the primary grievances of the colonists was the denial of their rights as Englishmen, particularly the right to representation in the British government that taxed them. To demonstrate their dissatisfaction and resolve, the First Continental Congress met in 1774 and passed the Continental Association, a colonial boycott of British goods enforced by local "committees of safety" that proved effective. The British attempt to then disarm the colonists resulted in the 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord, igniting the American Revolutionary War. At the Second Continental Congress, the colonies appointed George Washington commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, and created a committee that named Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence. Two days after the Second Continental Congress passed the Lee Resolution to create an independent, sovereign nation, the Declaration was adopted on July 4, 1776. The political values of the American Revolution evolved from an armed rebellion demanding reform within an empire to a revolution that created a new social and governing system founded on the defense of liberty and the protection of inalienable natural rights; sovereignty of the people; republicanism over monarchy, aristocracy, and other hereditary political power; civic virtue; and an intolerance of political corruption. The Founding Fathers of the United States, who included Washington, Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison, Thomas Paine, and many others, were inspired by Classical, Renaissance, and Enlightenment philosophies and ideas.
Though in practical effect since its drafting in 1777, the Articles of Confederation was ratified in 1781 and formally established a decentralized government that operated until 1789. After the British surrender at the siege of Yorktown in 1781, American sovereignty was internationally recognized by the Treaty of Paris (1783), through which the U.S. gained territory stretching west to the Mississippi River, north to present-day Canada, and south to Spanish Florida. The Northwest Ordinance (1787) established the precedent by which the country's territory would expand with the admission of new states, rather than the expansion of existing states.
The U.S. Constitution was drafted at the 1787 Constitutional Convention to overcome the limitations of the Articles. It went into effect in 1789, creating a federal republic governed by three separate branches that together formed a system of checks and balances. George Washington was elected the country's first president under the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1791 to allay skeptics' concerns about the power of the more centralized government. His resignation as commander-in-chief after the Revolutionary War and his later refusal to run for a third term as the country's first president established a precedent for the supremacy of civil authority in the United States and the peaceful transfer of power.
=== Westward expansion and Civil War (1800–1865) ===
In the late 18th century, American settlers began to expand westward in larger numbers, many with a sense of manifest destiny. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 from France nearly doubled the territory of the United States. Lingering issues with Britain remained, leading to the War of 1812, which was fought to a draw. Spain ceded Florida and its Gulf Coast territory in 1819.
The Missouri Compromise of 1820, which admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, attempted to balance the desire of northern states to prevent the expansion of slavery into new territories with that of southern states to extend it there. Primarily, the compromise prohibited slavery in all other lands of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36°30′ parallel.
As Americans expanded further into territory inhabited by Native Americans, the federal government implemented policies of Indian removal or assimilation. The most significant such legislation was the Indian Removal Act of 1830, a key policy of President Andrew Jackson. It resulted in the Trail of Tears (1830–1850), in which an estimated 60,000 Native Americans living east of the Mississippi River were forcibly removed and displaced to lands far to the west, causing 13,200 to 16,700 deaths along the forced march. Settler expansion as well as this influx of Indigenous peoples from the East resulted in the American Indian Wars west of the Mississippi.
During the colonial period, slavery became legal in all the Thirteen colonies, and by 1770 it provided the main labor force in the large-scale, agriculture-dependent economies of the Southern Colonies from Maryland to Georgia. The practice began to be significantly questioned during the American Revolution, and spurred by an active abolitionist movement that had reemerged in the 1830s, states in the North enacted laws to prohibit slavery within their boundaries. At the same time, support for slavery had strengthened in Southern states, with widespread use of inventions such as the cotton gin (1793) having made slavery immensely profitable for Southern elites.
The United States annexed the Republic of Texas in 1845, and the 1846 Oregon Treaty led to U.S. control of the present-day American Northwest. Dispute with Mexico over Texas led to the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). After the victory of the U.S., Mexico recognized U.S. sovereignty over Texas, New Mexico, and California in the 1848 Mexican Cession; the cession's lands also included the future states of Nevada, Colorado and Utah. The California gold rush of 1848–1849 spurred a huge migration of white settlers to the Pacific coast, leading to even more confrontations with Native populations. One of the most violent, the California genocide of thousands of Native inhabitants, lasted into the mid-1870s. Additional western territories and states were created.
Throughout the 1850s, the sectional conflict regarding slavery was further inflamed by national legislation in the U.S. Congress and decisions of the Supreme Court. In Congress, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 mandated the forcible return to their owners in the South of slaves taking refuge in non-slave states, while the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 effectively gutted the anti-slavery requirements of the Missouri Compromise. In its Dred Scott decision of 1857, the Supreme Court ruled against a slave brought into non-slave territory, simultaneously declaring the entire Missouri Compromise to be unconstitutional. These and other events exacerbated tensions between North and South that would culminate in the American Civil War (1861–1865).
Beginning with South Carolina, 11 slave-state governments voted to secede from the United States in 1861, joining to create the Confederate States of America. All other state governments remained loyal to the Union. War broke out in April 1861 after the Confederacy bombarded Fort Sumter. Following the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, many freed slaves joined the Union army. The war began to turn in the Union's favor following the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg and Battle of Gettysburg, and the Confederates surrendered in 1865 after the Union's victory in the Battle of Appomattox Court House.
=== Reconstruction, Gilded Age, and Progressive Era (1866–1917) ===
Efforts toward reconstruction in the secessionist South had begun as early as 1862, but it was only after President Lincoln's assassination that the three Reconstruction Amendments to the Constitution were ratified to protect civil rights. The amendments codified nationally the abolition of slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for crimes, promised equal protection under the law for all persons, and prohibited discrimination on the basis of race or previous enslavement. As a result, African Americans took an active political role in ex-Confederate states in the decade following the Civil War. The former Confederate states were readmitted to the Union, beginning with Tennessee in 1866 and ending with Georgia in 1870.
National infrastructure, including transcontinental telegraph and railroads, spurred growth in the American frontier. This was accelerated by the Homestead Acts, through which nearly 10 percent of the total land area of the United States was given away free to some 1.6 million homesteaders. From 1865 through 1917, an unprecedented stream of immigrants arrived in the United States, including 24.4 million from Europe. Most came through the Port of New York, as New York City and other large cities on the East Coast became home to large Jewish, Irish, and Italian populations. Many Northern Europeans as well as significant numbers of Germans and other Central Europeans moved to the Midwest. At the same time, about one million French Canadians migrated from Quebec to New England. During the Great Migration, millions of African Americans left the rural South for urban areas in the North. Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867.
The Compromise of 1877 is generally considered the end of the Reconstruction era, as it resolved the electoral crisis following the 1876 presidential election and led President Rutherford B. Hayes to reduce the role of federal troops in the South. Immediately, the Redeemers began evicting the Carpetbaggers and quickly regained local control of Southern politics in the name of white supremacy. African Americans endured a period of heightened, overt racism following Reconstruction, a time often considered the nadir of American race relations. A series of Supreme Court decisions, including Plessy v. Ferguson, emptied the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of their force, allowing Jim Crow laws in the South to remain unchecked, sundown towns in the Midwest, and segregation in communities across the country, which would be reinforced in part by the policy of redlining later adopted by the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation.
An explosion of technological advancement, accompanied by the exploitation of cheap immigrant labor, led to rapid economic expansion during the Gilded Age of the late 19th century. It continued into the early 20th, when the United States already outpaced the economies of Britain, France, and Germany combined. Tycoons led the nation's expansion in the railroad, petroleum, and steel industries, as the United States emerged as a pioneer of the automotive industry. This fostered the amassing of enormous economic and political power by a few prominent industrialists, largely through the formation of trusts and monopolies to prevent competition. These changes resulted in significant increases in economic inequality, slum conditions, and social unrest, creating a fertile environment for labor unions and socialist movements to flourish. This period eventually ended with the advent of the Progressive Era, which was characterized by significant economic and social reforms.
Pro-American elements in Hawaii overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy; the islands were annexed in 1898. That same year, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam were ceded to the U.S. by Spain after the latter's defeat in the Spanish–American War. (The Philippines was granted full independence from the U.S. on July 4, 1946, following World War II. Puerto Rico and Guam have remained U.S. territories.) American Samoa was acquired by the United States in 1900 after the Second Samoan Civil War. The U.S. Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark in 1917 after Danish voters approved the sale in a 1916 referendum.
=== World War I, Great Depression, and World War II (1917–1945) ===
The United States entered World War I alongside the Allies in 1917 helping to turn the tide against the Central Powers. In 1920, a constitutional amendment granted nationwide women's suffrage. During the 1920s and 1930s, radio for mass communication and early television transformed communications nationwide. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 triggered the Great Depression, to which President Franklin D. Roosevelt responded with the New Deal plan of "reform, recovery and relief", a series of unprecedented and sweeping recovery programs and employment relief projects combined with financial reforms and regulations.
Initially neutral during World War II, the U.S. began supplying war materiel to the Allies of World War II in March 1941 and entered the war in December after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. Agreeing to a "Europe first" policy, the U.S. concentrated its wartime efforts on Japan's allies Italy and Germany until their final defeat in May 1945. The U.S. developed the first nuclear weapons and used them against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, ending the war. The United States was one of the "Four Policemen" who met to plan the post-war world, alongside the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and China. The U.S. emerged relatively unscathed from the war, with even greater economic power and international political influence.
=== Cold War and social revolution (1945–1991) ===
The end of World War II in 1945 left the U.S. and the Soviet Union as superpowers, each with its own political, military, and economic sphere of influence. Geopolitical tensions between the two superpowers soon led to the Cold War. The U.S. implemented a policy of containment intended to limit the Soviet Union's sphere of influence; engaged in regime change against governments perceived to be aligned with the Soviets; and prevailed in the Space Race, which culminated with the first crewed Moon landing in 1969.
Domestically, the U.S. experienced economic growth, urbanization, and population growth following World War II. The civil rights movement emerged, with Martin Luther King Jr. becoming a prominent leader in the early 1960s. The Great Society and War on Poverty plans of President Lyndon B. Johnson's administration resulted in groundbreaking and broad-reaching laws, policies and a constitutional amendment to counteract some of the worst effects of lingering institutional racism.
The counterculture movement in the U.S. brought significant social changes, including the liberalization of attitudes toward recreational drug use and sexuality. It also encouraged open defiance of the military draft (leading to the end of conscription in 1973) and wide opposition to U.S. intervention in Vietnam, with the U.S. totally withdrawing in 1975. A societal shift in the roles of women was significantly responsible for the large increase in female paid labor participation starting in the 1970s, and by 1985 the majority of American women aged 16 and older were employed.
The Fall of Communism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union from 1989 to 1991 marked the end of the Cold War and left the United States as the world's sole superpower. This cemented the United States' global influence, reinforcing the concept of the "American Century" as the U.S. dominated international political, cultural, economic, and military affairs.
=== Contemporary (1991–present) ===
The 1990s saw the longest recorded economic expansion in American history, a dramatic decline in U.S. crime rates, and advances in technology. Throughout this decade, technological innovations such as the World Wide Web, the evolution of the Pentium microprocessor in accordance with Moore's law, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, the first gene therapy trial, and cloning either emerged in the U.S. or were improved upon there. The Human Genome Project was formally launched in 1990, while Nasdaq became the first stock market in the United States to trade online in 1998.
In the Gulf War of 1991, an American-led international coalition of states expelled an Iraqi invasion force that had occupied neighboring Kuwait. The September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001 by the pan-Islamist militant organization al-Qaeda led to the war on terror and subsequent military interventions in Afghanistan and in Iraq.
The U.S. housing bubble culminated in 2007 with the Great Recession, the largest economic contraction since the Great Depression. Beginning in the 2010s, and particularly in the 2020s, the United States has experienced increased political polarization and democratic backsliding. The country's polarization was violently reflected in the January 2021 Capitol attack, when a mob of insurrectionists entered the U.S. Capitol and sought to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in an attempted self-coup d'état.
== Geography ==
The United States is the world's third-largest country by total area behind Russia and Canada. The 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia have a combined area of 3,119,885 square miles (8,080,470 km2). In 2021, the United States had 8% of the Earth's permanent meadows and pastures and 10% of its cropland.
Starting in the east, the coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard gives way to inland forests and rolling hills in the Piedmont plateau region. The Appalachian Mountains and the Adirondack Massif separate the East Coast from the Great Lakes and the grasslands of the Midwest. The Mississippi River System, the world's fourth-longest river system, runs predominantly north–south through the center of the country. The flat and fertile prairie of the Great Plains stretches to the west, interrupted by a highland region in the southeast.
The Rocky Mountains, west of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, peaking at over 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in Colorado. The supervolcano underlying Yellowstone National Park in the Rocky Mountains, the Yellowstone Caldera, is the continent's largest volcanic feature. Farther west are the rocky Great Basin and the Chihuahuan, Sonoran, and Mojave deserts. In the northwest corner of Arizona, carved by the Colorado River, is the Grand Canyon, a steep-sided canyon and popular tourist destination known for its overwhelming visual size and intricate, colorful landscape. The Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges run close to the Pacific coast. The lowest and highest points in the contiguous United States are in the State of California, about 84 miles (135 km) apart.
At an elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190.5 m), Alaska's Denali (also called Mount McKinley) is the highest peak in the country and on the continent. Active volcanoes in the U.S. are common throughout Alaska's Alexander and Aleutian Islands. Located entirely outside North America, the archipelago of Hawaii consists of volcanic islands, physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania.
In addition to its total land area, the United States has one of the world's largest marine exclusive economic zones spanning approximately 4.5 million square miles (11.7 million km2) of ocean.
=== Climate ===
With its large size and geographic variety, the United States includes most climate types. East of the 100th meridian, the climate ranges from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical in the south. The western Great Plains are semi-arid. Many mountainous areas of the American West have an alpine climate. The climate is arid in the Southwest, Mediterranean in coastal California, and oceanic in coastal Oregon, Washington, and southern Alaska. Most of Alaska is subarctic or polar. Hawaii, the southern tip of Florida and U.S. territories in the Caribbean and Pacific are tropical.
The United States receives more high-impact extreme weather incidents than any other country. States bordering the Gulf of Mexico are prone to hurricanes, and most of the world's tornadoes occur in the country, mainly in Tornado Alley. Due to climate change in the country, extreme weather has become more frequent in the U.S. in the 21st century, with three times the number of reported heat waves compared to the 1960s. Since the 1990s, droughts in the American Southwest have become more persistent and more severe. The regions considered as the most attractive to the population are the most vulnerable.
=== Biodiversity and conservation ===
The U.S. is one of 17 megadiverse countries containing large numbers of endemic species: about 17,000 species of vascular plants occur in the contiguous United States and Alaska, and over 1,800 species of flowering plants are found in Hawaii, few of which occur on the mainland. The United States is home to 428 mammal species, 784 birds, 311 reptiles, 295 amphibians, and around 91,000 insect species.
There are 63 national parks, and hundreds of other federally managed monuments, forests, and wilderness areas, administered by the National Park Service and other agencies. About 28% of the country's land is publicly owned and federally managed, primarily in the Western States. Most of this land is protected, though some is leased for commercial use, and less than one percent is used for military purposes.
Environmental issues in the United States include debates on non-renewable resources and nuclear energy, air and water pollution, biodiversity, logging and deforestation, and climate change. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the federal agency charged with addressing most environmental-related issues. The idea of wilderness has shaped the management of public lands since 1964, with the Wilderness Act. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provides a way to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service implements and enforces the Act. In 2024, the U.S. ranked 35th among 180 countries in the Environmental Performance Index.
== Government and politics ==
The United States is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The U.S. asserts sovereignty over five unincorporated territories and several uninhabited island possessions. It is the world's oldest surviving federation, and its presidential system of federal government has been adopted, in whole or in part, by many newly independent states worldwide following their decolonization. The Constitution of the United States serves as the country's supreme legal document. Most scholars describe the United States as a liberal democracy, though some have used descriptions such as oligarchy or plutocracy instead.
=== Federal government ===
Composed of three branches, all headquartered in Washington, D.C., the federal government is the national government of the United States. The U.S. Constitution establishes a separation of powers intended to provide a system of checks and balances to prevent any of the three branches from becoming supreme.
==== Legislature ====
The U.S. Congress is a bicameral legislature made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has 100 members—two residents from each state and elected by that state's voters for a six-year term. The House of Representatives has 435 members, elected for a two-year term by the constituency of the congressional district where they reside. A state's legislature decides the district boundaries, which are contiguous within the state. Every U.S. congressional district is of equivalent population and sends one representative to Congress. Election years for senators are staggered so that only one-third of them will be up for election every two years. U.S. representatives are all up for election at the same time every two years. The U.S. Congress makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment. One of its foremost non-legislative functions is the power to investigate and oversee the executive branch. Congressional oversight is usually delegated to committees and is facilitated by Congress's power to issue subpoenas. Much of the work of Congress is performed by a collection of committees, each appointed for a specific purpose or function. Committee membership is by tradition and statute bipartisan, but all committees are chaired by a member of the majority party, who sets the committee agenda.
==== Executive ====
The U.S. president is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military, and chief executive of the federal government. The president appoints the members of the Cabinet, subject to Senate approval, and names other officials who administer and enforce federal law and policy through their respective agencies. The president has the ability to veto legislative bills from the U.S. Congress before they become law. However, presidential vetoes can be overridden by a two-thirds supermajority vote in both chambers of Congress. The president also has clemency power for federal crimes and can issue pardons. Finally, the president has the authority to issue expansive "executive orders" in a number of policy areas, subject to judicial review. Candidates for president campaign with a vice-presidential running mate. Both candidates are elected together, or defeated together, in a presidential election. Unlike other votes in American politics, this is technically an indirect election in which the winner will be determined by the U.S. Electoral College. There, votes are officially cast by individual electors selected by their state legislature. In practice, however, each of the 50 states chooses a group of presidential electors who are required by state law to confirm the winner of their state's popular vote. Each state is allocated two electors plus one additional elector for every congressional district in the state, which in effect combines to equal the number of elected officials that state sends to Congress. The District of Columbia, with no representatives or senators, is allocated three electoral votes. Both the president and the vice president serve a four-year term, and the president may be reelected to the office only once, for one additional four-year term.
==== Judiciary ====
The U.S. federal judiciary, whose judges are all appointed for life by the president with Senate approval, consists primarily of the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. courts of appeals, and the U.S. district courts. The lowest level in the federal judiciary is the federal district court, which decides all cases considered to be under "original jurisdiction", such as federal statutes, constitutional law, or international treaties. After a federal district court has decided a case, its decision may be contested and sent to a higher court, a federal court of appeals. The U.S. judicial system's 12 federal circuits divide the country into 12 separate geographic administrative regions for appeals decisions. The next and highest court in the system is the Supreme Court of the United States. The U.S. Supreme Court interprets laws and overturns those it finds unconstitutional. On average, the Supreme Court receives about 7,000 appeals petitions for writs of certiorari each year, but only grants about 80. Consisting of nine members led by the Chief Justice of the United States, the court judges each case before it by majority decision. As with all other federal judges, the members are appointed for life by the sitting president with Senate approval when a vacancy becomes available.
The three-branch system is known as the presidential system, in contrast to the parliamentary system where the executive is part of the legislative body. Many countries around the world adopted this aspect of the 1789 Constitution of the United States, especially in the postcolonial Americas.
=== Subdivisions ===
In the U.S. federal system, sovereign powers are shared between three levels of government specified in the Constitution: the federal government, the states, and Indian tribes. The U.S. also asserts sovereignty over five permanently inhabited territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Residents of the 50 states are governed by their elected state government, under state constitutions compatible with the national constitution, and by elected local governments that are administrative divisions of a state. States are subdivided into counties or county equivalents, and (except for Hawaii) further divided into municipalities, each administered by elected representatives. The District of Columbia is a federal district containing the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C. The federal district is an administrative division of the federal government.
Indian country is made up of 574 federally recognized tribes and 326 Indian reservations. They hold a government-to-government relationship with the U.S. federal government in Washington and are legally defined as domestic dependent nations with inherent tribal sovereignty rights.
In addition to the five major territories, the U.S. also asserts sovereignty over the United States Minor Outlying Islands in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean. The seven undisputed islands without permanent populations are Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, and Palmyra Atoll. U.S. sovereignty over the unpopulated Bajo Nuevo Bank, Navassa Island, Serranilla Bank, and Wake Island is disputed.
=== Political parties ===
The Constitution is silent on political parties. However, they developed independently in the 18th century with the Federalist and Anti-Federalist parties. Since then, the United States has operated as a de facto two-party system, though the parties have changed over time. Since the mid-19th century, the two main national parties have been the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The former is perceived as relatively liberal in its political platform while the latter is perceived as relatively conservative in its platform.
=== Foreign relations ===
The United States has an established structure of foreign relations, with the world's second-largest diplomatic corps as of 2024. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and home to the United Nations headquarters. The United States is a member of the G7, G20, and OECD intergovernmental organizations. Almost all countries have embassies and many have consulates (official representatives) in the country. Likewise, nearly all countries host formal diplomatic missions with the United States, except Iran, North Korea, and Bhutan. Though Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic relations with the U.S., it maintains close unofficial relations. The United States regularly supplies Taiwan with military equipment to deter potential Chinese aggression. Its geopolitical attention also turned to the Indo-Pacific when the United States joined the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with Australia, India, and Japan.
The United States has a "Special Relationship" with the United Kingdom and strong ties with Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Israel, and several European Union countries such as France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Poland. The U.S. works closely with its NATO allies on military and national security issues, and with countries in the Americas through the Organization of American States and the United States–Mexico–Canada Free Trade Agreement. The U.S. exercises full international defense authority and responsibility for Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau through the Compact of Free Association. It has increasingly conducted strategic cooperation with India, while its ties with China have steadily deteriorated. Beginning in 2014, the U.S. had become a key ally of Ukraine.
=== Military ===
The president is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces and appoints its leaders, the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Department of Defense, headquartered at the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., administers five of the six service branches, which are made up of the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force. The Coast Guard is administered by the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime and can be transferred to the Department of the Navy in wartime. Total strength of the entire military is about 1.3 million active duty with an additional 400,000 in reserve.
The United States spent $997 billion on its military in 2024, which is by far the largest amount of any country, making up 37% of global military spending and accounting for 3.4% of the country's GDP. The U.S. possesses 42% of the world's nuclear weapons—the second-largest stockpile after that of Russia. The U.S. military is widely regarded as the most powerful and advanced in the world.
The United States has the third-largest combined armed forces in the world, behind the Chinese People's Liberation Army and Indian Armed Forces. The U.S. military operates about 800 bases and facilities abroad, and maintains deployments greater than 100 active duty personnel in 25 foreign countries. The United States has engaged in over 400 military interventions since its founding in 1776, with over half of these occurring between 1950 and 2019 and 25% occurring in the post-Cold War era.
State defense forces (SDFs) are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. SDFs are authorized by state and federal law but are under the command of the state's governor.
By contrast, the 54 U.S. National Guard organizations fall under the dual control of state or territorial governments and the federal government; their units can also become federalized entities, but SDFs cannot be federalized. The National Guard personnel of a state or territory can be federalized by the president under the National Defense Act Amendments of 1933; this legislation created the Guard and provides for the integration of Army National Guard and Air National Guard units and personnel into the U.S. Army and (since 1947) the U.S. Air Force. The total number of National Guard members is about 430,000, while the estimated combined strength of SDFs is less than 10,000.
=== Law enforcement and criminal justice ===
There are about 18,000 U.S. police agencies from local to national level in the United States. Law in the United States is mainly enforced by local police departments and sheriff departments in their municipal or county jurisdictions. The state police departments have authority in their respective state, and federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Marshals Service have national jurisdiction and specialized duties, such as protecting civil rights, national security, enforcing U.S. federal courts' rulings and federal laws, and interstate criminal activity. State courts conduct almost all civil and criminal trials, while federal courts adjudicate the much smaller number of civil and criminal cases that relate to federal law.
There is no unified "criminal justice system" in the United States. The American prison system is largely heterogenous, with thousands of relatively independent systems operating across federal, state, local, and tribal levels. In 2025, "these systems hold nearly 2 million people in 1,566 state prisons, 98 federal prisons, 3,116 local jails, 1,277 juvenile correctional facilities, 133 immigration detention facilities, and 80 Indian country jails, as well as in military prisons, civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in the U.S. territories."
Despite disparate systems of confinement, four main institutions dominate: federal prisons, state prisons, local jails, and juvenile correctional facilities. Federal prisons are run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and hold pretrial detainees as well as people who have been convicted of federal crimes. State prisons, run by the department of corrections of each state, hold people sentenced and serving prison time (usually longer than one year) for felony offenses. Local jails are county or municipal facilities that incarcerate defendants prior to trial; they also hold those serving short sentences (typically under a year). Juvenile correctional facilities are operated by local or state governments and serve as longer-term placements for any minor adjudicated as delinquent and ordered by a judge to be confined.
In January 2023, the United States had the sixth-highest per capita incarceration rate in the world—531 people per 100,000 inhabitants—and the largest prison and jail population in the world, with more than 1.9 million people incarcerated. An analysis of the World Health Organization Mortality Database from 2010 showed U.S. homicide rates "were 7 times higher than in other high-income countries, driven by a gun homicide rate that was 25 times higher".
== Economy ==
The U.S. has a highly developed mixed economy that has been the world's largest nominally since about 1890. Its 2024 gross domestic product (GDP) of more than $29 trillion constituted over 25% of nominal global economic output, or 15% at purchasing power parity (PPP). From 1983 to 2008, U.S. real compounded annual GDP growth was 3.3%, compared to a 2.3% weighted average for the rest of the G7. The country ranks first in the world by nominal GDP, second when adjusted for purchasing power parities (PPP), and ninth by PPP-adjusted GDP per capita. In February 2024, the total U.S. federal government debt was $34.4 trillion.
Of the world's 500 largest companies by revenue, 138 were headquartered in the U.S. in 2025, the highest number of any country. The U.S. dollar is the currency most used in international transactions and the world's foremost reserve currency, backed by the country's dominant economy, its military, the petrodollar system, its large U.S. treasuries market, and its linked eurodollar. Several countries use it as their official currency, and in others it is the de facto currency. The U.S. has free trade agreements with several countries, including the USMCA. Although the United States has reached a post-industrial level of economic development and is often described as having a service economy, it remains a major industrial power; in 2024, the U.S. manufacturing sector was the world's second-largest by value output after China's.
New York City is the world's principal financial center, and its metropolitan area is the world's largest metropolitan economy. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, both located in New York City, are the world's two largest stock exchanges by market capitalization and trade volume. The United States is at the forefront of technological advancement and innovation in many economic fields, especially in artificial intelligence; electronics and computers; pharmaceuticals; and medical, aerospace and military equipment. The country's economy is fueled by abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity. The largest trading partners of the United States are the European Union, Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, India, and Taiwan. The United States is the world's largest importer and second-largest exporter. It is by far the world's largest exporter of services.
Americans have the highest average household and employee income among OECD member states, and the fourth-highest median household income in 2023, up from sixth-highest in 2013. With personal consumption expenditures of over $18.5 trillion in 2023, the U.S. has a heavily consumer-driven economy and is the world's largest consumer market. The U.S. ranked first in the number of dollar billionaires and millionaires in 2023, with 735 billionaires and nearly 22 million millionaires.
Wealth in the United States is highly concentrated; in 2011, the richest 10% of the adult population owned 72% of the country's household wealth, while the bottom 50% owned just 2%. U.S. wealth inequality increased substantially since the late 1980s, and income inequality in the U.S. reached a record high in 2019. In 2024, the country had some of the highest wealth and income inequality levels among OECD countries. Since the 1970s, there has been a decoupling of U.S. wage gains from worker productivity. In 2016, the top fifth of earners took home more than half of all income, giving the U.S. one of the widest income distributions among OECD countries. There were about 771,480 homeless persons in the U.S. in 2024. In 2022, 6.4 million children experienced food insecurity. Feeding America estimates that around one in five, or approximately 13 million, children experience hunger in the U.S. and do not know where or when they will get their next meal. Also in 2022, about 37.9 million people, or 11.5% of the U.S. population, were living in poverty.
The United States has a smaller welfare state and redistributes less income through government action than most other high-income countries. It is the only advanced economy that does not guarantee its workers paid vacation nationally and one of a few countries in the world without federal paid family leave as a legal right. The United States has a higher percentage of low-income workers than almost any other developed country, largely because of a weak collective bargaining system and lack of government support for at-risk workers.
=== Science and technology ===
The United States has been a leader in technological innovation since the late 19th century and scientific research since the mid-20th century. Methods for producing interchangeable parts and the establishment of a machine tool industry enabled the large-scale manufacturing of U.S. consumer products in the late 19th century. By the early 20th century, factory electrification, the introduction of the assembly line, and other labor-saving techniques created the system of mass production.
In the 21st century, the United States continues to be one of the world's foremost scientific powers, though China has emerged as a major competitor in many fields. The U.S. has the highest research and development expenditures of any country and ranks ninth as a percentage of GDP. In 2022, the United States was (after China) the country with the second-highest number of published scientific papers. In 2021, the U.S. ranked second (also after China) by the number of patent applications, and third by trademark and industrial design applications (after China and Germany), according to World Intellectual Property Indicators. In 2025 the United States ranked third (after Switzerland and Sweden) in the Global Innovation Index. The United States is considered to be a world leader in the development of artificial intelligence technology. In 2023, the United States was ranked the second most technologically advanced country in the world (after South Korea) by Global Finance magazine.
==== Spaceflight ====
The United States has maintained a space program since the late 1950s, beginning with the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958. NASA's Apollo program (1961–1972) achieved the first crewed Moon landing with the 1969 Apollo 11 mission; it remains one of the agency's most significant milestones. Other major endeavors by NASA include the Space Shuttle program (1981–2011), the Voyager program (1972–present), the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes (launched in 1990 and 2021, respectively), and the multi-mission Mars Exploration Program (Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance). NASA is one of five agencies collaborating on the International Space Station (ISS); U.S. contributions to the ISS include several modules, including Destiny (2001), Harmony (2007), and Tranquility (2010), as well as ongoing logistical and operational support.
The United States private sector dominates the global commercial spaceflight industry. Prominent American spaceflight contractors include Blue Origin, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX. NASA programs such as the Commercial Crew Program, Commercial Resupply Services, Commercial Lunar Payload Services, and NextSTEP have facilitated growing private-sector involvement in American spaceflight.
=== Energy ===
In 2023, the United States received approximately 84% of its energy from fossil fuel, and its largest source of energy was petroleum (38%), followed by natural gas (36%), renewable sources (9%), coal (9%), and nuclear power (9%). In 2022, the United States constituted about 4% of the world's population, but consumed around 16% of the world's energy. The U.S. ranks as the second-highest emitter of greenhouse gases behind China.
The U.S. is the world's largest producer of nuclear power, generating around 30% of the world's nuclear electricity. It also has the highest number of nuclear power reactors of any country. From 2024, the U.S. plans to triple its nuclear power capacity by 2050.
=== Transportation ===
The United States' 4 million miles (6.4 million kilometers) of road network, owned almost entirely by state and local governments, is the longest in the world. The extensive Interstate Highway System that connects all major U.S. cities is funded mostly by the federal government but maintained by state departments of transportation. The system is further extended by state highways and some private toll roads.
The U.S. is among the top ten countries with the highest vehicle ownership per capita (850 vehicles per 1,000 people) in 2022. A 2022 study found that 76% of U.S. commuters drive alone and 14% ride a bicycle, including bike owners and users of bike-sharing networks. About 11% use some form of public transportation.
Public transportation in the United States is well developed in the largest urban areas, notably New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco; otherwise, coverage is generally less extensive than in most other developed countries. The U.S. also has many relatively car-dependent localities.
Long-distance intercity travel is provided primarily by airlines, but travel by rail is more common along the Northeast Corridor, the only high-speed rail in the U.S. that meets international standards. Amtrak, the country's government-sponsored national passenger rail company, has a relatively sparse network compared to that of Western European countries. Service is concentrated in the Northeast, California, the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest, and Virginia/Southeast.
The United States has an extensive air transportation network. U.S. civilian airlines are all privately owned. The three largest airlines in the world, by total number of passengers carried, are U.S.-based; American Airlines became the global leader after its 2013 merger with US Airways. Of the 50 busiest airports in the world, 16 are in the United States, as well as five of the top 10. The world's busiest airport by passenger volume is Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2022, most of the 19,969 U.S. airports were owned and operated by local government authorities, and there are also some private airports. Some 5,193 are designated as "public use", including for general aviation. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has provided security at most major airports since 2001.
The country's rail transport network, the longest in the world at 182,412.3 mi (293,564.2 km), handles mostly freight (in contrast to more passenger-centered rail in Europe). Because they are often privately owned operations, U.S. railroads lag behind those of the rest of the world in terms of electrification.
The country's inland waterways are the world's fifth-longest, totaling 25,482 mi (41,009 km). They are used extensively for freight, recreation, and a small amount of passenger traffic. Of the world's 50 busiest container ports, four are located in the United States, with the busiest in the country being the Port of Los Angeles.
== Demographics ==
=== Population ===
The U.S. Census Bureau reported 331,449,281 residents on April 1, 2020, making the United States the third-most-populous country in the world, after India and China. The Census Bureau's official 2025 population estimate was 341,784,857, an increase of 3.1% since the 2020 census. According to the Bureau's U.S. Population Clock, on July 1, 2024, the U.S. population had a net gain of one person every 16 seconds, or about 5400 people per day. In 2023, 51% of Americans age 15 and over were married, 6% were widowed, 10% were divorced, and 34% had never been married. In 2023, the total fertility rate for the U.S. stood at 1.6 children per woman, and, at 23%, it had the world's highest rate of children living in single-parent households in 2019. Most Americans live in the suburbs of major metropolitan areas.
The United States has a diverse population; 37 ancestry groups have more than one million members. White Americans with ancestry from Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa form the largest racial and ethnic group at 57.8% of the United States population. Hispanic and Latino Americans form the second-largest group and are 18.7% of the United States population. African Americans constitute the country's third-largest ancestry group and are 12.1% of the total U.S. population. Asian Americans are the country's fourth-largest group, composing 5.9% of the United States population. The country's 3.7 million Native Americans account for about 1%, and some 574 native tribes are recognized by the federal government. In 2024, the median age of the United States population was 39.1 years.
=== Language ===
While many languages and dialects are spoken in the United States, English is by far the most commonly spoken and written. De facto, English is the official language of the United States, and in 2025, Executive Order 14224 declared English official. However, the U.S. has never had a statutory official language, as Congress has never passed a law to designate English as official for all three federal branches. Some laws, such as U.S. naturalization requirements, nonetheless standardize English. Twenty-eight states and the United States Virgin Islands have laws that designate English as the sole official language; 19 states and the District of Columbia have no official language. Three states and four U.S. territories have recognized local or indigenous languages in addition to English: Hawaii (Hawaiian), Alaska (twenty Native languages), South Dakota (Sioux), American Samoa (Samoan), Puerto Rico (Spanish), Guam (Chamorro), and the Northern Mariana Islands (Carolinian and Chamorro). In total, 169 Native American languages are spoken in the United States. In Puerto Rico, Spanish is more widely spoken than English.
According to the American Community Survey (2020), some 245.4 million people in the U.S. age five and older spoke only English at home. About 41.2 million spoke Spanish at home, making it the second most commonly used language. Other languages spoken at home by one million people or more include Chinese (3.40 million), Tagalog (1.71 million), Vietnamese (1.52 million), Arabic (1.39 million), French (1.18 million), Korean (1.07 million), and Russian (1.04 million). German, spoken by 1 million people at home in 2010, fell to 881,000 estimated total speakers in 2020.
=== Immigration ===
America's immigrant population is by far the world's largest in absolute terms. In 2022, there were 87.7 million immigrants and U.S.-born children of immigrants in the United States, accounting for nearly 27% of the overall U.S. population. In 2017, out of the U.S. foreign-born population, some 45% (20.7 million) were naturalized citizens, 27% (12.3 million) were lawful permanent residents, 6% (2.2 million) were temporary lawful residents, and 23% (10.5 million) were unauthorized immigrants. In 2019, the top countries of origin for immigrants were Mexico (24% of immigrants), India (6%), China (5%), the Philippines (4.5%), and El Salvador (3%). In fiscal year 2022, over one million immigrants (most of whom entered through family reunification) were granted legal residence. The undocumented immigrant population in the U.S. reached a record high of 14 million in 2023.
=== Religion ===
The First Amendment guarantees the free exercise of religion in the country and forbids Congress from passing laws respecting its establishment. Religious practice is widespread, among the most diverse in the world, and profoundly vibrant.
The country has the world's largest Christian population, which includes the fourth-largest population of Catholics. Other notable faiths include Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, New Age, and Native American religions. Religious practice varies significantly by region. "Ceremonial deism" is common in American culture.
The overwhelming majority of Americans believe in a higher power or spiritual force, engage in spiritual practices such as prayer, and consider themselves religious or spiritual. In the Southern United States' "Bible Belt", evangelical Protestantism plays a significant role culturally; New England and the Western United States tend to be more secular. Mormonism, a Restorationist movement founded in the U.S. in 1847, is the predominant religion in Utah and a major religion in Idaho.
=== Urbanization ===
About 82% of Americans live in metropolitan areas, particularly in suburbs; about half of those reside in cities with populations over 50,000. In 2022, 333 incorporated municipalities had populations over 100,000, nine cities had more than one million residents, and four cities—New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston—had populations exceeding two million. Many U.S. metropolitan populations are growing rapidly, particularly in the South and West.
=== Health ===
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), average U.S. life expectancy at birth reached 79.0 years in 2024, its highest recorded level. This was an increase of 0.6 years over 2023. The CDC attributed the improvement to a significant fall in the number of fatal drug overdoses in the country, noting that "heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the United States, followed by cancer and unintentional injuries." In 2024, life expectancy at birth for American men rose to 76.5 years (+0.7 years compared to 2023), while life expectancy for women was 81.4 years (+0.3 years). Starting in 1998, life expectancy in the U.S. fell behind that of other wealthy industrialized countries, and Americans' "health disadvantage" gap has been increasing ever since.
The Commonwealth Fund reported in 2020 that the U.S. had the highest suicide rate among high-income countries. Approximately one-third of the U.S. adult population is obese and another third is overweight. The U.S. healthcare system far outspends that of any other country, measured both in per capita spending and as a percentage of GDP, but attains worse healthcare outcomes when compared to peer countries for reasons that are debated. The United States is the only developed country without a system of universal healthcare, and a significant proportion of the population that does not carry health insurance. Government-funded healthcare coverage for the poor (Medicaid) and for those age 65 and older (Medicare) is available to Americans who meet the programs' income or age qualifications. In 2010, then-President Obama passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Abortion in the United States is not federally protected, and is illegal or restricted in 17 states.
=== Education ===
American primary and secondary education, known in the U.S. as K–12 ("kindergarten through 12th grade"), is decentralized. School systems are operated by state, territorial, and sometimes municipal governments and regulated by the U.S. Department of Education. In general, children are required to attend school or an approved homeschool from the age of five or six (kindergarten or first grade) until they are 18 years old. This often brings students through the 12th grade, the final year of a U.S. high school, but some states and territories allow them to leave school earlier, at age 16 or 17. The U.S. spends more on education per student than any other country, an average of $18,614 per year per public elementary and secondary school student in 2020–2021. Among Americans age 25 and older, 92.2% graduated from high school, 62.7% attended some college, 37.7% earned a bachelor's degree, and 14.2% earned a graduate degree. The U.S. literacy rate is near-universal. The U.S. has produced the most Nobel Prize winners of any country, with 411 (having won 413 awards).
U.S. tertiary or higher education has earned a global reputation. Many of the world's top universities, as listed by various ranking organizations, are in the United States, including 19 of the top 25. American higher education is dominated by state university systems, although the country's many private universities and colleges enroll about 20% of all American students. Local community colleges generally offer open admissions, lower tuition, and coursework leading to a two-year associate degree or a non-degree certificate.
As for public expenditures on higher education, the U.S. spends more per student than the OECD average, and Americans spend more than all nations in combined public and private spending. Colleges and universities directly funded by the federal government do not charge tuition and are limited to military personnel and government employees, including: the U.S. service academies, the Naval Postgraduate School, and military staff colleges. Despite some student loan forgiveness programs in place, student loan debt increased by 102% between 2010 and 2020, and exceeded $1.7 trillion in 2022.
== Culture and society ==
The United States is home to a wide variety of ethnic groups, traditions, and customs. The country has been described as having the values of individualism and personal autonomy, as well as a strong work ethic and competitiveness. Voluntary altruism towards others also plays a major role; according to a 2016 study by the Charities Aid Foundation, Americans donated 1.44% of total GDP to charity—the highest rate in the world by a large margin. Americans have traditionally been characterized by a unifying political belief in an "American Creed" emphasizing consent of the governed, liberty, equality under the law, democracy, social equality, property rights, and a preference for limited government. The U.S. has acquired significant hard and soft power through its diplomatic influence, economic power, military alliances, and cultural exports such as American movies, music, video games, sports, and food. The influence that the United States exerts on other countries through soft power is referred to as Americanization.
Nearly all present Americans or their ancestors came from Europe, Africa, or Asia (the "Old World") within the past five centuries. Mainstream American culture is a Western culture largely derived from the traditions of European immigrants with influences from many other sources, such as traditions brought by slaves from Africa. More recent immigration from Asia and especially Latin America has added to a cultural mix that has been described as a homogenizing melting pot, and a heterogeneous salad bowl, with immigrants contributing to, and often assimilating into, mainstream American culture.
Under the First Amendment to the Constitution, the United States is considered to have the strongest protections of free speech of any country. Flag desecration, hate speech, blasphemy, and lese majesty are all forms of protected expression. A 2016 Pew Research Center poll found that Americans were the most supportive of free expression of any polity measured. Additionally, they are the "most supportive of freedom of the press and the right to use the Internet without government censorship". The U.S. is a socially progressive country with permissive attitudes surrounding human sexuality. LGBTQ rights in the United States are among the most advanced by global standards.
The American Dream, or the perception that Americans enjoy high levels of social mobility, plays a key role in attracting immigrants. Whether this perception is accurate has been a topic of debate. While mainstream culture holds that the United States is a classless society, scholars identify significant differences between the country's social classes, affecting socialization, language, and values. Americans tend to greatly value socioeconomic achievement, but being ordinary or average is promoted by some as a noble condition as well.
The National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities is an agency of the United States federal government that was established in 1965 with the purpose to "develop and promote a broadly conceived national policy of support for the humanities and the arts in the United States, and for institutions which preserve the cultural heritage of the United States." It is composed of four sub-agencies:
National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Humanities
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities
=== Literature ===
Colonial American authors were influenced by John Locke and other Enlightenment philosophers. The American Revolutionary Period (1765–1783) is notable for the political writings of Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson. Shortly before and after the Revolutionary War, the newspaper rose to prominence, filling a demand for anti-British national literature. An early novel is William Hill Brown's The Power of Sympathy, published in 1791. Writer and critic John Neal in the early- to mid-19th century helped advance America toward a unique literature and culture by criticizing predecessors such as Washington Irving for imitating their British counterparts, and by influencing writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, who took American poetry and short fiction in new directions. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller pioneered the influential Transcendentalism movement; Henry David Thoreau, author of Walden, was influenced by this movement.
The conflict surrounding abolitionism inspired writers, like Harriet Beecher Stowe, and authors of slave narratives, such as Frederick Douglass. Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1850) explored the dark side of American history, as did Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (1851). Major American poets of the 19th century American Renaissance include Walt Whitman, Melville, and Emily Dickinson. Mark Twain was the first major American writer to be born in the West. Henry James achieved international recognition with novels like The Portrait of a Lady (1881). As literacy rates rose, periodicals published more stories centered around industrial workers, women, and the rural poor. Naturalism, regionalism, and realism were the major literary movements of the period.
While modernism generally took on an international character, modernist authors working within the United States more often rooted their work in specific regions, peoples, and cultures. Following the Great Migration to northern cities, African-American and black West Indian authors of the Harlem Renaissance developed an independent tradition of literature that rebuked a history of inequality and celebrated black culture. An important cultural export during the Jazz Age, these writings were a key influence on Négritude, a philosophy emerging in the 1930s among francophone writers of the African diaspora. In the 1950s, an ideal of homogeneity led many authors to attempt to write the Great American Novel, while the Beat Generation rejected this conformity, using styles that elevated the impact of the spoken word over mechanics to describe drug use, sexuality, and the failings of society. Contemporary literature is more pluralistic than in previous eras, with the closest thing to a unifying feature being a trend toward self-conscious experiments with language. Twelve American laureates have won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
=== Mass media ===
Media in the United States is broadly uncensored, with the First Amendment providing significant protections, as reiterated in New York Times Co. v. United States. The four major broadcasters in the U.S. are the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), American Broadcasting Company (ABC), and Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox). The four major broadcast television networks are all commercial entities. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is the country's major non-commercial public broadcast network; it also provides educational programming through local PBS stations. The U.S. cable television system offers hundreds of channels catering to a variety of niches. In 2021, about 83% of Americans over age 12 listened to broadcast radio, while about 40% listened to podcasts. In the prior year, there were 15,460 licensed full-power radio stations in the U.S. according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Public radio broadcasting is largely supplied by National Public Radio (NPR), incorporated in February 1970 under the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.
U.S. newspapers with a global reach and reputation include The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today. About 800 publications are produced in Spanish. With few exceptions, newspapers are privately owned, either by large chains such as Gannett or McClatchy, which own dozens or even hundreds of newspapers; by small chains that own a handful of papers; or, in an increasingly rare situation, by individuals or families. Major cities often have alternative newspapers to complement the mainstream daily papers, such as The Village Voice in New York City and LA Weekly in Los Angeles. The five most-visited websites in the world are Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and ChatGPT—all of them American-owned. Other popular platforms used include X (formerly Twitter) and Amazon.
In 2025, the U.S. was the world's second-largest video game market by revenue (after China). In 2015, the U.S. video game industry consisted of 2,457 companies that employed around 220,000 jobs and generated $30.4 billion in revenue. There are 444 game publishers, developers, and hardware companies in California alone. According to the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the U.S. is the top location for video game development, with 58% of the world's game developers based there in 2025.
=== Theater ===
The United States is well known for its theater. Mainstream theater in the United States derives from the old European theatrical tradition and has been heavily influenced by the British theater. By the middle of the 19th century, America had created new distinct dramatic forms in the Tom Shows, the showboat theater and the minstrel show. The central hub of the American theater scene is the Theater District in Manhattan, with its divisions of Broadway, off-Broadway, and off-off-Broadway.
Many movie and television celebrities have gotten their big break working in New York productions. Outside New York City, many cities have professional regional or resident theater companies that produce their own seasons. The biggest-budget theatrical productions are musicals. U.S. theater has an active community theater culture.
The Tony Awards recognizes excellence in live Broadway theater and are presented at an annual ceremony in Manhattan. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances. One is also given for regional theater. Several discretionary non-competitive awards are given as well, including a Special Tony Award, the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, and the Isabelle Stevenson Award.
=== Visual arts ===
Folk art in colonial America grew out of artisanal craftsmanship in communities that allowed commonly trained people to individually express themselves. It was distinct from Europe's tradition of high art, which was less accessible and generally less relevant to early American settlers. Cultural movements in art and craftsmanship in colonial America generally lagged behind those of Western Europe. For example, the prevailing medieval style of woodworking and primitive sculpture became integral to early American folk art, despite the emergence of Renaissance styles in England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The new English styles would have been early enough to make a considerable impact on American folk art, but American styles and forms had already been firmly adopted. Not only did styles change slowly in early America, but there was a tendency for rural artisans there to continue their traditional forms longer than their urban counterparts did—and far longer than those in Western Europe.
The Hudson River School was a mid-19th-century movement in the visual arts tradition of European naturalism. The 1913 Armory Show in New York City, an exhibition of European modernist art, shocked the public and transformed the U.S. art scene.
American Realism and American Regionalism sought to reflect and give America new ways of looking at itself. Georgia O'Keeffe, Marsden Hartley, and others experimented with new and individualistic styles, which would become known as American modernism. Major artistic movements such as the abstract expressionism of Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning and the pop art of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein developed largely in the United States. Major photographers include Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Dorothea Lange, Edward Weston, James Van Der Zee, Ansel Adams, and Gordon Parks.
The tide of modernism and then postmodernism has brought global fame to American architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Philip Johnson, and Frank Gehry. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan is the largest art museum in the United States and the fourth-largest in the world.
=== Music ===
American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as traditional music, traditional folk music, contemporary folk music, or roots music. Many traditional songs have been sung within the same family or folk group for generations, and sometimes trace back to such origins as the British Isles, mainland Europe, or Africa. The rhythmic and lyrical styles of African-American music in particular have influenced American music. Banjos were brought to America through the slave trade. Minstrel shows incorporating the instrument into their acts led to its increased popularity and widespread production in the 19th century. The electric guitar, first invented in the 1930s, and mass-produced by the 1940s, had an enormous influence on popular music, in particular due to the development of rock and roll. The synthesizer, turntablism, and electronic music were also largely developed in the U.S.
Elements from folk idioms such as the blues and old-time music were adopted and transformed into popular genres with global audiences. Jazz grew from blues and ragtime in the early 20th century, developing from the innovations and recordings of composers such as W.C. Handy and Jelly Roll Morton. Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington increased its popularity early in the 20th century. Country music developed in the 1920s, bluegrass and rhythm and blues in the 1940s, and rock and roll in the 1950s. In the 1960s, Bob Dylan emerged from the folk revival to become one of the country's most celebrated songwriters. The musical forms of punk and hip hop both originated in the United States in the 1970s.
The United States has the world's largest music market, with a total retail value of $15.9 billion in 2022. Most of the world's major record companies are based in the U.S.; they are represented by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Mid-20th-century American pop stars, such as Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, became global celebrities and best-selling music artists, as have artists of the late 20th century, such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey, and of the early 21st century, such as Eminem, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
=== Fashion ===
The United States has the world's largest apparel market by revenue. Apart from professional business attire, American fashion is eclectic and predominantly informal. Americans' diverse cultural roots are reflected in their clothing; however, sneakers, jeans, T-shirts, and baseball caps are emblematic of American styles. New York, with its Fashion Week, is considered to be one of the "Big Four" global fashion capitals, along with Paris, Milan, and London. A study demonstrated that general proximity to Manhattan's Garment District has been synonymous with American fashion since its inception in the early 20th century.
A number of well-known designer labels, among them Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Tom Ford and Calvin Klein, are headquartered in Manhattan. Labels cater to niche markets, such as preteens. New York Fashion Week is one of the most influential fashion shows in the world, and is held twice each year in Manhattan; the annual Met Gala, also in Manhattan, has been called the fashion world's "biggest night".
=== Cinema ===
The U.S. film industry has a worldwide influence and following. Hollywood, a district in central Los Angeles, the nation's second-most populous city, is also metonymous for the American filmmaking industry. The major film studios of the United States are the primary source of the most commercially successful movies selling the most tickets in the world.
Largely centered in the New York City region from its beginnings in the late 19th century through the first decades of the 20th century, the U.S. film industry has since been primarily based in and around Hollywood. Nonetheless, American film companies have been subject to the forces of globalization in the 21st century, and an increasing number of films are made elsewhere. The Academy Awards, popularly known as "the Oscars", have been held annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1929, and the Golden Globe Awards have been held annually since January 1944.
The industry peaked in what is commonly referred to as the "Golden Age of Hollywood", from the early sound period until the early 1960s, with screen actors such as John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe becoming iconic figures. In the 1970s, "New Hollywood", or the "Hollywood Renaissance", was defined by grittier films influenced by French and Italian realist pictures of the post-war period. The 21st century has been marked by the rise of American streaming platforms, which came to rival traditional cinema.
=== Cuisine ===
Early settlers were introduced by Native Americans to foods such as turkey, sweet potatoes, corn, squash, and maple syrup. Of the most enduring and pervasive examples are variations of the native dish called succotash. Early settlers and later immigrants combined these with foods they were familiar with, such as wheat flour, beef, and milk, to create a distinctive American cuisine. New World crops, especially pumpkin, corn, potatoes, and turkey as the main course are part of a shared national menu on Thanksgiving, when many Americans prepare or purchase traditional dishes to celebrate the occasion.
Characteristic American dishes such as apple pie, fried chicken, doughnuts, french fries, macaroni and cheese, ice cream, hamburgers, hot dogs, and American pizza derive from the recipes of various immigrant groups. Mexican dishes such as burritos and tacos preexisted the United States in areas later annexed from Mexico, and adaptations of Chinese cuisine as well as pasta dishes freely adapted from Italian sources are all widely consumed.
American chefs have had a significant impact on society both domestically and internationally. In 1946, the Culinary Institute of America was founded by Katharine Angell and Frances Roth. This would become the United States' most prestigious culinary school, where many of the most talented American chefs would study prior to successful careers. The United States restaurant industry was projected at $899 billion in sales for 2020, and employed more than 15 million people, representing 10% of the nation's workforce directly. It is the country's second-largest private employer and the third-largest employer overall. The United States is home to over 220 Michelin star-rated restaurants, 70 of which are in New York City.
Wine has been produced in what is now the United States since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in what is now New Mexico in 1628. In the modern U.S., wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84 percent of all U.S. wine. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine-producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.
The classic American diner, a casual restaurant type originally intended for the working class, emerged during the 19th century from converted railroad dining cars made stationary. The diner soon evolved into purpose-built structures whose number expanded greatly in the 20th century. The American fast-food industry developed alongside the nation's car culture. American restaurants developed the drive-in format in the 1920s, which they began to replace with the drive-through format by the 1940s. American fast-food restaurant chains, such as McDonald's, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Dunkin' Donuts and many others, have numerous outlets around the world.
=== Sports ===
The most popular spectator sports in the U.S. are American football, basketball, baseball, soccer, and ice hockey. Their premier leagues are, respectively, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, and the National Hockey League, All these leagues enjoy wide-ranging domestic media coverage and, except for the MLS, all are considered the preeminent leagues in their respective sports in the world. While most major U.S. sports such as baseball and American football have evolved out of European practices, basketball, volleyball, skateboarding, and snowboarding are American inventions, many of which have become popular worldwide. Lacrosse and surfing arose from Native American and Native Hawaiian activities that predate European contact. The market for professional sports in the United States was approximately $69 billion in July 2013, roughly 50% larger than that of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa combined.
American football is by several measures the most popular spectator sport in the United States. Although American football does not have a substantial following in other nations, the NFL does have the highest average attendance (67,254) of any professional sports league in the world. In the year 2024, the NFL generated over $23 billion, making them the most valued professional sports league in the United States and the world. Baseball has been regarded as the U.S. "national sport" since the late 19th century. The most-watched individual sports in the U.S. are golf and auto racing, particularly NASCAR and IndyCar.
On the collegiate level, earnings for the member institutions exceed $1 billion annually, and college football and basketball attract large audiences, as the NCAA March Madness tournament and the College Football Playoff are some of the most watched national sporting events. In the U.S., the intercollegiate sports level serves as the main feeder system for professional and Olympic sports, with significant exceptions such as Minor League Baseball. This differs greatly from practices in nearly all other countries, where publicly and privately funded sports organizations serve this function.
Eight Olympic Games have taken place in the United States. The 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri, were the first-ever Olympic Games held outside of Europe. The Olympic Games will be held in the U.S. for a ninth time when Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics. U.S. athletes have won a total of 2,968 medals (1,179 gold) at the Olympic Games, the most of any country.
In other international competition, the United States is the home of a number of prestigious events, including the America's Cup, World Baseball Classic, the U.S. Open, and the Masters Tournament. The U.S. men's national soccer team has qualified for eleven World Cups, while the women's national team has won the FIFA Women's World Cup and Olympic soccer tournament four and five times, respectively. The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was hosted by the United States. Its final match was attended by 90,185, setting the world record for largest women's sporting event crowd at the time. The United States hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup and will co-host, along with Canada and Mexico, the 2026 FIFA World Cup. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sens%C5%8D-ji | Sensō-ji | Sensō-ji (浅草寺 [sẽ̞ꜜɰ̃so̞ːʑi] , Sensō-ji; officially Kinryū-zan Sensō-ji (金龍山浅草寺), also known as Asakusa Kannon (浅草観音)), is an ancient Buddhist temple in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. It is Tokyo's oldest-established temple, and one of its most significant. It is dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. Structures in the temple complex include the main hall, a five-story pagoda and large gates. It is the most widely visited religious site in the world with over 30 million visitors annually. The temple is the 13th stop on the Bandō Sanjūsankasho pilgrimage route.
The temple was destroyed during a 10 March 1945 firebombing air raid on Tokyo during World War II. The main hall was rebuilt in the 1950s. Formerly associated with the Tendai sect of Buddhism, the temple became independent in 1950 after the war. Leading to it is Nakamise-dōri street, containing many shops with traditional goods. Adjacent to the east of Sensō-ji is the Asakusa Shrine of the Shinto religion.
== History ==
The origins of Sensō-ji are uncertain. According to legends found in sources such as the "Sensō Engi", the temple began in the Asuka period when the brothers Hinokuma Hamanari and Takenari discovered a statue of Kannon while fishing in the Sumida River in 628. The headman of their village, Haji no Nakatomo became a monk and converted his home into a temple. In 645, a monk named Katsumi renovated the temple and, following a revelation in a dream, designated the statue as a hibutsu image. The statue is said to be made of gold and measuring approximately 5.5 centimeters in height, but its true details is unknown as it is never displayed to the public. If this account is true, it would make Sensō-ji the oldest-established temple in Tokyo. In 857, during the early Heian period and in 828, Ennin visited the temple and carved a maedachi Kannon statue (a statue for people to worship in place of the secret image). In 942, when Taira no Kinmasa was appointed Musashi-no-kami, he renovated the shichidō garan, and the Kaminarimon Gate and Niōmon Gate were constructed at this time.
However, the first documented reference to Sensō-ji is in the Kamakura-period "Azuma Kagami." According to this chronicle, in 1181, carpenters were called in by Minamoto no Yoritomo from Asakusa to build Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū in Kamakura. Additionally, in 1192, monks from Sensō-ji participated in the 49th day memorial service for Emperor Goshirakawa held at Shōchōjū-in in Kamakura. Lady Nijō described her visit to Sensō-ji in her Towazugatari in 1290. In 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was in Edo, designated Senso-ji as an official place of prayer for the shogunate and granted the temple 500 koku of land.. Sensō-ji's buildings had burned down many times before theEdo period, and after the start of the Tokugawa shogunate, they were destroyed by fire twice, in 1631 and 1642. However, with the assistance of the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, the five-story pagoda was rebuilt in 1648 and the main hall in 1649. In 1685, shops that would become "Nakamise" were established on the main approach to the temple. The temple granted these businesses permission in exchange for charging local residents for cleaning the grounds. By the mid-Edo period, street performances and other events began to take place in the area at the back west of the temple grounds, commonly known as "Okuyama," and the temple grounds became a place of entertainment for the common people. Between 1843 and the following year, the three Edo theaters moved to Asakusa, further strengthening this trend.
Asakusa continued to thrive as a popular entertainment and entertainment district into the Meiji period. In 1873, much of the temple grounds were designated as Asakusa Park. In 1890, the 12-story Ryōunkaku (commonly known as the "Asakusa Twelve-Story Tower"), a commercial facility and observation tower, was completed. While much of the Asakusa district was destroyed in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, a local construction master led the evacuees within the temple grounds in a bucket brigade firefighting operation, limiting damage to only a few buildings at Sensō-ji. However, the main hall (Kannon Hall), a former national treasure, and the five-story pagoda were destroyed in the 10 March 1945 firebombing air raid on Tokyo. The main hall was rebuilt in 1951–58 The temple now has a titanium tiled roof that maintains a historic image but is stronger and lighter. The Kaminarimon gate was rebuilt in 1960, the Hōzōmon gate in 1964, and the pagoda in 1973. After World War II, Asakusa temporarily declined due to the diversification of entertainment options and the development of other entertainment districts in Tokyo. However, thanks to efforts by the local shopping district, it gradually regained its former vitality and has become a representative tourist destination in Tokyo as a town that retains its old-fashioned atmosphere, with annual events such as the Hagoita Market and Hozuki Market attracting large crowds.
== Temple grounds ==
Sensō-ji is the focus of Tokyo's largest and most popular festival, Sanja Matsuri. This takes place over 3 to 4 days in late spring, and sees the surrounding streets closed to traffic from dawn until late evening.
Dominating the entrance to the temple is the Kaminarimon or "Thunder Gate". This imposing Buddhist structure features a massive paper lantern dramatically painted in vivid red-and-black tones to suggest thunderclouds and lightning. Beyond the Kaminarimon is Nakamise-dori with its shops, followed by the Hōzōmon or "Treasure House Gate", which provides the entrance to the inner complex. Within the precincts stand a stately five-story pagoda and the main hall, devoted to Kannon.
Many tourists, both Japanese and from abroad, visit Sensō-ji every year. Catering to the visiting crowds, the surrounding area has many traditional shops and eating places that feature traditional dishes (hand-made noodles, sushi, tempura, etc.). Nakamise-Dori, the street leading from the Thunder Gate to the temple itself, is lined with small shops selling souvenirs ranging from fans, ukiyo-e (woodblock prints), kimono and other robes, Buddhist scrolls, traditional sweets, to Godzilla toys, t-shirts and mobile phone straps. These shops themselves are part of a living tradition of selling to pilgrims who walked to Sensō-ji.
Within the temple itself, and also at many places on its approach, there are o-mikuji stalls. For a suggested donation of 100 yen, visitors may consult the oracle and divine answers to their questions. Querents shake labelled sticks from enclosed metal containers and read the corresponding answers they retrieve from one of 100 possible drawers.
Within the temple is a quiet contemplative garden kept in the distinctive Japanese style.
The Nishinomiya Inari shrine was located within the precincts of Sensō-ji and a torii identified the entry into the hallowed ground of the shrine. A bronze plaque on the gateway structure listed those who contributed to the construction of the torii, which was erected in 1727 (Kyōhō 12, 11th month). After the Meiji government ordered the separation of Shinto and Buddhism in 1868, the Inari shrine was moved to the grounds of the Asakusa Shrine, where it was destroyed in the 10 March 1945 firebombing.
=== Kaminarimon ===
The Kaminarimon (雷門, "Thunder Gate") is the outer of two large entrance gates that ultimately lead to the Sensō-ji (the inner being the Hōzōmon) in Asakusa. The gate, with its lantern and statues, is popular with tourists. It stands 11.7 metres (38 ft) tall, 11.4 metres (37 ft) wide and covers an area of 69.3 square metres (746 sq ft). The first gate was built in 941, but the current gate dates back to 1960, after the previous gate was destroyed in a fire in 1865.
==== History ====
The Kaminarimon was first built in 941 AD by Taira no Kinmasa, a military commander. It was originally located near Komagata, but it was reconstructed in its current location in 1635. This is believed to be when the gods of wind and thunder were first placed on the gate. The gate has been destroyed many times throughout the ages. Four years after its relocation, the Kaminarimon burned down, and in 1649 AD Tokugawa Iemitsu rebuilt the gate along with several other of the major structures in the temple complex. The gate burnt to the ground in 1757 AD and again in 1865 AD. The Kaminarimon's current structure was dedicated in December 1960 AD . Ninety-five years after the last fire, Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial Company (now Panasonic), was asked to rebuild the gate. With monetary donations from Matsushita, it was rebuilt in 1960.
==== Features ====
Four statues are housed in the Kaminarimon, two in the front alcoves and two on the other side. On the front of the gate, the statues of the Shinto gods Fūjin and Raijin are displayed. Fūjin, the god of wind, is located on the east side of the gate, while Raijin, the god of thunder, is located on the west side. The original sculptures were severely damaged in the fire of 1865, with only the heads being saved, and the statues restored for the gate's 1960 reconstruction.
Two additional statues stand on the reverse of the gate: the Buddhist god Tenryū on the east, and the goddess Kinryū on the west side. These were donated in 1978 to commemorate the 1350th anniversary of the first appearance of the bodhisattva Kannon (Avalokiteśvara) at Asakusa, which led to the founding of Sensō-ji. The statues were carved by then-106-year-old master sculptor Hirakushi Denchū.
A giant red lantern (chōchin) hangs under the center of the gate. It is 3.9 metres (13 ft) tall, 3.3 metres (11 ft) wide and weighs approximately 700 kilograms (1,500 lb). The current lantern, the fifth iteration, was built by Takahashi Chōchin K.K in 2013 and has the same metallic base on the bottom as the previous lantern. The base has a name plate that says "Matsushita Denki", an abbreviated form of Panasonic's old Japanese name, Matsushita Denki Sangyo Kabushiki Gaisha. The front of the lantern displays the gate's name, Kaminarimon (雷門). Painted on the back is the gate's official name, Fūraijinmon (風雷神門). During festivals such as Sanja Matsuri, the lantern is collapsed to let tall objects pass through the gate.
The characters 金龍山 (Kinryū-zan) on the tablet above the lantern read from right to left and reference the Sensō-ji.
=== Hōzōmon ===
The Hōzōmon (宝蔵門, "Treasure-House Gate") is the inner of two large entrance gates that lead to the Sensō-ji. It is a two-story gate (nijūmon), and its second story houses many of the Sensō-ji's treasures. The first story houses two statues, three lanterns and two large sandals. It stands 22.7 metres (74 ft) tall, 21 metres (69 ft) wide, and 8 metres (26 ft) deep.
==== History ====
The Hōzōmon was first built in 942 AD by Taira no Kinmasa. Destroyed by fire in 1631, it was rebuilt by Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1636. It stood for 300 more years until it was once again burned down during the Tokyo air raids of 1945. In 1964, the present steel-reinforced concrete structure was built with a donation of ¥150 million from Yonetarō Motoya.
Since the gate was reconstructed using flame-resistant materials, the upper story of the Hōzōmon stores the Sensō-ji's treasured sutras. These treasures include a copy of the Lotus Sutra that is designated a Japanese National Treasure and the Issai-kyō, a complete collection of Buddhist scriptures that has been designated an Important Cultural Property.
==== Features ====
Unlike the Kaminarimon, which houses four different statues, the Hōzōmon houses two guardian statues that are located on either side of the gate's south face. These 5.45 metres (17.9 ft) tall statues represent Niō, the guardian deities of the Buddha. Because of these statues, the gate was originally called the Niōmon (仁王門, "Niō Gate") before it was renamed the Hōzōmon.
The gate also features three large lanterns. The largest and most prominent lantern is a red chōchin that hangs under the center of the gate's opening. With a height of 3.75 metres (12.3 ft), a diameter of 2.7 metres (8.9 ft) and a weight of 400 kilograms (880 lb), the lantern displays the name of the town Kobunachō (小舟町). The current iteration of the lantern dates back to 2003 when ¥2 billion was donated by the people of Kobunachō. Its donation commemorated the 10th-year-anniversary of the start of the Edo period. On either side of the chōchin hangs five 2.75 metres (9.0 ft) tall copper tōrō weighing approximately 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) each. All three lanterns are completely removed during festivals such as Sanja Matsuri.
On the Hōzōmon's east (back) face are the waraji, two 4.5 metres (15 ft) long, 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) wide straw sandals that weigh 400 kilograms (880 lb) each.
== Nakamise-dōri ==
The Nakamise-dōri (仲見世通り) is a street that forms the approach to the temple. It is said to have been built in the early 12th century, when neighbors of Sensō-ji were granted permission to set up shops on the approach to the temple. However, in May 1885 the government of Tokyo ordered all shop owners to leave. That December the area was reconstructed in Western-style brick. During the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake many of the shops were destroyed, then rebuilt in 1925 using concrete, only to be destroyed again during the bombings of World War II. The street is approximately 250 metres (820 ft) long and contains around 72 shops.
== Gallery ==
== Cultural Properties ==
=== National Treasure ===
Hokke-kyo sutras (法華経), Heian period, set of 10 scrolls dating to the 11th century. Also known as the "Sensoji Sutra." A masterpiece of decorative sutras, decorated with gold and silver paint, all 10 volumes remain intact, including the eight volumes of the Lotus Sutra and the open and closed sutras, the Muryogikyo and the Fugenkyo. All covers, scrolls, and strings remain intact, in their original condition. On loan to the Tokyo National Museum.
=== National Important Cultural Properties ===
Nitenmon Gate (二天門), Edo period (1649).
Denpo-in complex (浅草寺伝法院), Edo period (1776).
Daizokyo sutras (大蔵経), Yuan dynasty, set of 5428 scrolls, formerly held by Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu in Kamakura.
=== National Place of Scenic Beauty ===
Denpo-in gardens (伝法院庭園), Edo period (1776). |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates | Economy of the United Arab Emirates | The United Arab Emirates is a high-income developing market economy (Open market economy), which also advocates for Islamic economics. Its economy is the 4th largest in the Middle East (after Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Israel), with a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$415 billion (AED 1.83 trillion) in 2021–2023.
The country's economy is reliant on revenues from hydrocarbons, especially in Abu Dhabi. In 2009, more than 85% of the UAE's economy was based on the oil exports. In 2011, oil exports accounted for 77% of the UAE's state budget. In recent years, there has been some economic diversification, particularly in Dubai. Abu Dhabi and other UAE emirates have remained relatively conservative in their approach to diversification. Dubai has far smaller oil reserves than its counterparts.
Hospitality is one of the biggest non-commodity sources of revenue in the UAE.
In 2007, there was US$350 billion worth of active construction projects.
The UAE is a member of the UNCTAD, World Trade Organization and OPEC.
== Economic overview ==
UAE has the second-largest economy and the best in the Arab world, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$414 billion (AED 1.52 trillion) in 2018. A third of the GDP is from oil revenues. The economy was expected to grow 4–4.5% in 2013, compared to 2.3–3.5% over the previous five years. Since independence in 1971, UAE's economy has grown by nearly 231 times to AED1.45 trillion in 2013. The non-oil trade has grown to AED1.2 trillion, a growth of around 28 times from 1981 to 2012.
The UAE's economy is one of the most open worldwide, and its economic history goes back to the times when ships sailed to India, along the Swahili coast, as far south as Mozambique.
The UAE economy has been ‘inspected’ by international economic institutions on a regular basis, generally receiving good reports on economic developments. International Monetary Fund (IMF) expected UAE's economic growth to increase to 4.5% in 2015, compared to 4.3% in 2014. The IMF ascribed UAE's potentially strong economic growth in World Economic Outlook Report to the increased contribution of non-petroleum sectors, which registered a growth average of more than 6% in 2014 and 2015. Such contribution includes banking, tourism, commerce and real estate. Increase of Emirati purchasing power and governmental expenditures in infrastructure projects have considerably increased.
Internationally, UAE is ranked among the top 20 for global service business, according to AT Kearney, the top 30 on the WEF "most-networked countries" and in the top quarter as a least corrupt country per the TI's corruption index.
The government of the United Arab Emirates announced a broad restructuring and merger of more than 50% of its federal agencies, including ministries and departments, in an attempt to deal with and recover from the economic shocks following months-long coronavirus lockdown.
== Historical background ==
Before independence from the United Kingdom and unification in 1971, each emirate was responsible for its own economy. At the time, pearl diving, seafaring and fishing were together the mainstay of the economy, until the development of Japanese cultured pearls and the discovery of commercial quantities of oil. Previous UAE President Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan is credited with bringing the country forward into the 20th century and using the revenue from oil exports to fund all the necessary development. Likewise, former UAE vice-president Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum had a bold vision for the Emirate of Dubai and foresaw the future in not petroleum alone, but also other industries.
In the 1980s, Dubai's diversification centred around trade and the creation of shipping and logistics centres, notably Port Rashid and the port and Free Zone of Jebel Ali as well as Dubai International Airport, leading to a number of major global plays in shipping, transportation and logistics (DP World, Emirates, DNATA).
=== 2008-present ===
The emergence of Dubai's lively real estate market was briefly stopped by the 2008 financial crisis, when Dubai was bailed out by Abu Dhabi. The recovery from the overheated market led to tighter regulation and oversight and a more realistic market for real estate throughout the UAE with many 'on hold' projects restarting. Although the market continues to expand, current market conditions for developers have been characterised as 'tough'.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates, the UAE's economy shrank by 6.1% in 2020. The country's account balance dropped to six per cent of GDP in 2020 from 8.5 per cent in 2019 due to the underperformance of both hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon exports mitigated by lower imports.
In late 2021, the authority announced that UAE's banking assets are expected to grow by between 8 per cent and 10 per cent in 2022 as the second-biggest Arab economy continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also announced the UAE's economy might grow at a faster than projected rate, reaching 4.6% in 2022.
In March 2022, the UAE was put in the “gray list” by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) over money laundering and terror financing concerns. In February 2024, the country was successfully removed from the watchlist and escaped the FATF's monitoring process. While the global watchdog said the Emirates addressed the shortcomings, critics argued that the move was driven by political considerations. In December 2022, the European Commission added the UAE to its blacklist over illicit financial flows. In January 2025, the UAE Economy Minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri criticized the EU for continuing to consider the country on its blacklist, despite its removal from the FATF's “gray list”. In July 2025, the European Parliament approved the European Commission's updated money laundering blacklist that removed the UAE, despite earlier opposition from the MEPs. Transparency International, along with lawmaker and civil society groups, criticized the Parliament's decision, saying it is premature to judge if the UAE's reforms are effective and that the decision appears to be politically motivated.
== Data ==
The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2024 (with IMF estimates between 2022 and 2028).
== External trade ==
With imports totaling $273.5 billion in 2012, UAE passed Saudi Arabia as the largest consumer market in the region. Exports totaled $314 billion, making UAE the second largest exporter in the region.
UAE and India are each other's main trading partners, with the latter having many of its citizens working and living in the former. The trade totals over $75 billion (AED275.25 billion).
In 2021, the main export partners of the UAE were India (14.2%), Japan (8.3%), China (mainland) (7.7%), Saudi Arabia (7.5%), Iraq (4.8%), Singapore (4.0%), the European Union (4.0%), Oman (3.8%), Hong Kong (3.4%), and Thailand (3.0%).
The main import partners in 2012 were China (17.3%), the European Union (12.1%), India (9.4%), the United States (5.5%), Saudi Arabia (5.2%), the United Kingdom (2.8%), Mali (2.7%), Japan (2.6%), Turkey (2.1%), and Vietnam (2.0%).
== Diversification of the UAE's economy ==
Although the UAE has the most diversified economy in the GCC, the UAE's economy remains extremely reliant on oil. With the exception of Dubai, most of the UAE is dependent on oil revenues. Petroleum and natural gas continue to play a central role in the economy, especially in Abu Dhabi. More than 85% of the UAE's economy was based on the oil exports in 2009. While Abu Dhabi and other UAE emirates have remained relatively conservative in their approach to diversification, Dubai, which has far smaller oil reserves, was bolder in its diversification policy. In 2011, oil exports accounted for 77% of the UAE's state budget.
Dubai suffered from a significant economic crisis in 2007–2010 and was bailed out by Abu Dhabi's oil wealth. Dubai's current prosperity has been attributed to Abu Dhabi's petrodollars. In 2014, Dubai owed a total of $142 billion in debt. The UAE government has worked towards reducing the economy's dependence on oil exports by 2030. Various projects are underway to help achieve this, the most recent being the Khalifa Port, opened in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi at the end of 2012. The UAE also won the right to host the World Expo 2020, which is believed to have a positive effect on future growth, although there are some skeptics which mention the opposite.
Over the decades, the Emirate of Dubai has started to look for additional sources of revenue. High-class tourism and international finance continue to be developed. In line with this initiative, the Dubai International Financial Centre was announced, offering 55.5% foreign ownership, no withholding tax, freehold land and office space and a tailor-made financial regulatory system with laws taken from best practice in other leading financial centers, like New York, London, Zürich and Singapore. A new stock market for regional companies and other initiatives was announced in DIFC. Dubai has also developed Internet and Media free zones, offering 100% foreign ownership, no tax office space for the world's leading ICT and media companies, with the latest communications infrastructure to service them. In 2020, the UAE established the Ministry of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, as part of the UAE's efforts to foster economic diversification and adapt to a globalized economy.
Many of the world's leading companies have now set up branch offices, and even changed headquarters to Dubai. Recent liberalization in the property market allowing non-citizens to buy freehold land has resulted in a major boom in the construction and real estate sectors, with several signature developments, such as the 2 Palm Islands, the World (archipelago), Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Lake Towers, and a number of other developments, offering villas and high rise apartments and office space. Emirates (part of the Emirates Group) was formed by the Dubai Government in the 1980s and is presently one of the few airlines to witness strong levels of growth. Emirates is also the largest operator of the Airbus A380 aircraft. As of 2001, budgeted government revenues were about AED 29.7 billion, and expenditures were about AED 22.9 billion. In addition, to finding new ways of sustaining the national economy, the UAE has also made progress in installing new, sustainable methods of generating electricity. This is evidenced by various solar energy initiatives at Masdar City and by other renewable energy developments in parts of the country.
In addition, the UAE is starting to see the emergence of local manufacturing as a new source of economic development. Examples of significant government-led investments, such as Strata in the aerospace industry, under Mubadala, are successful, while there are also small scale entrepreneurial ventures picking up, such as Zarooq Motors in the automotive industry.
In August 2020, the Barakah nuclear power plant, the first nuclear power plant in the Arab world, became operational.
In its hard push for economic diversification, the UAE had been increasing its presence in Africa. One of the areas of interest had been clean energy, for which Abu Dhabi's Masdar built infrastructure, including five wind farms in South Africa, a battery energy storage system in Senegal and solar power facilities in Mauritania. Emirati companies were also investing in fossil fuels, where ADNOC purchased 10% stakes in Mozambique’s Rovuma gas basin. UAE’s e& also established a foothold in around 12 countries across Africa. The Emirati companies also entered the mining sector, where Tahnoun bin Zayed’s International Holding Company expressed investment interests in mines in Kenya, Tanzania and Angola. However, certain investments had also been controversial. Tanzanian authorities were alleged of forcing several Maasai off their land for a safari and hunting project of an Emirati firm. A Dubai-based firm, Blue Carbon, signed preliminary agreements in Liberia, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe, aiming to generate carbon credits. However, it was accused of attempting to acquire millions of hectares of African forests in a greenwashing attempt. Meanwhile, DP World also invested around $3bn in Africa, and operates ports from Mozambique in the south to Algeria in the north and Angola on the Atlantic. The Emirates had also been alleged of controversial actions in the war zones in Africa, including in Libya and Sudan.
The UAE targeted another major milestone in its diversification plans, as it granted a “Commercial Gaming Facility Operator” license to Wynn Resorts in October 2024. Wynn is developing a $3.9 billion integrated resort, Wynn Al Marjan Island, in Ras Al Khaimah, which will also include a 224,000 sq. ft. casino component. Set to open in 2027, the project aims at targeting foreign tourists and boosting tourism. Although the UAE established the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) in September 2023, it has no laws that legalize gambling or its tools and machines. Gambling remains a cultural taboo and illegal for local citizens. Despite the casino facility being constructed in the Emirates, project operators and insiders avoided talking publicly about it.
== Foreign trade ==
Concerning foreign trade, the UAE's market is one of the world's most dynamic markets, placed among the 16 largest exporters and 20 largest importers of commodities. The top five Main Partner Countries of the UAE in 2014 were Iran (3.0%), India (2.9%), Saudi Arabia (1.5%), Oman (1.4%) and Switzerland (1.2%). The top five UAE suppliers are China (7.4%), United States (6.4%), India (5.8%), Germany (3.9%) and Japan (3.5%).
In 2014, the United Arab Emirates managed to export 380.4bn dominated by four products which are [1] (19.8%) Diamonds, whether or not worked, but not mounted... (3.4%) Gold in UAE(3.2%) incl. gold plated with platinum, unwrought...Articles of jewellery and parts thereof, of...(2.8%). In the same year, the United Arab Emirates imported 298.6 bn dominated by five countries which are China (7.4%), United States (6.4%), India (5.8%), Germany (3.9%), Japan (3.5%).
On one hand, the United Arab Emirates managed in 2013 to export 17 bn USD services exported in 2013 dominated by travel (67.13%), transportation (28.13%), Government services (4.74%). On the other hand, it imported 63.9 bn USD of services imported services dominated by transportation (70.68%), travel (27.70%) and government services (1.62%).
In September 2021, the UAE announced plans to increase trade ties with other economies, particularly in Asia and Africa. The country indicated that it was seeking inward foreign investments of around $150 billion in the next nine years, that is, by 2030. The UAE aimed to be one of the world's ten largest investment destinations. However, it faced strong competition from its neighbor, Saudi Arabia, creating a broader gap in the once-assumed alliance between the two countries. The Emirati minister of state for foreign trade said, "Let the Saudis increase the competition. It means the pie is going to be bigger and having a bigger pie means that the UAE share out of this pie is going to be bigger."
The EU identified that Emirati firms were involved in the direct trade of weapon components to Russia. EU sanctions targeted two UAE-based companies, I Jet Global and Success Aviation Services, which were exporting dual-use goods. The EU warned that countries that will be used for Russia's benefit could face a total ban on imports from the EU military and high tech kit. Furthermore, a trade war with the UAE was expected, if it continued trade with Russia.
The United Arab Emirates has introduced significant changes to its regulations concerning the promotion and distribution of foreign investment funds within the country. As part of these changes, encapsulated in several decisions by the Securities and Commodities Authority, foreign-owned funds can no longer directly advertise or distribute units publicly in the UAE. Instead, these activities are confined to private distribution aimed at Professional Investors and/or Market Counterparties. This shift signifies a strategic move to tighten the circumstances under which foreign funds can interact with UAE-based investors, particularly Retail Customers and Professional Investors, underscoring a push towards a more regulated investment environment.
These regulatory updates have also led to changes in the distribution to Professional Investors, as they are now no longer exempt under the Securities and Commodities Authority Rulebook. Only firms licensed by the SCA to conduct the regulated activity of "Promotion" are now permitted to promote such funds, and only on a private placement basis. Furthermore, the promotion or distribution of foreign funds to retail investors is outright prohibited, although reverse solicitation from retail investors is not prohibited in itself. All foreign funds to be distributed in the UAE must be registered with the SCA, barring those that can prove documented reverse solicitation.
Three Emirati companies were found involved in trade of Iranian petroleum or petrochemical products, and were sanctioned by the US State Department in June 2024. One of the companies was Sea Route Ship Management FZE, which engaged in transport of Iranian petrochemical products as the commercial manager of the vessel ASTRA. The other two firms, Almanac Ship Management LLC and Al Anchor Ship Management FZE were involved in transport of Iranian petroleum products as the commercial manager of the vessels BERENICE PRIDE and PARINE respectively.
In July 2024, Samco Petroleum Energy FZE, located in Hamriyah Free Zone, was put up for sale for $17.7 million, with a promise to provide a turnkey oil trading operation. The sale emerged amidst the US sanctions imposed on several oil traders in the UAE's free trade zones, particularly Hamriyah, for continuing business with Iran and Russia. In November 2023, OFAC sanctioned a dozen companies in various UAE's free zones for facilitating the sale of Iranian products in third countries through Sepehr Energy, which is affiliated with Iran's Armed Forces General Staff. In March 2023, more companies operating in the UAE were sanctioned for exporting petrochemical products from Iran's Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries to India and Southeast Asia. The Emirati authorities were also pushed to halt Russian imports and exports via Dubai.
In September 2024, the UAE and Australia agreed on a free trade deal, which was expected to increase investment in Australia's significant mineral and clean energy sectors. The deal was to eliminate tariffs on imports of over 99% of Australian goods. However, Australian unions criticized the deal, highlighting the UAE's poor human rights and labor record, including modern slavery under the kafala system. Michele O'Neil also expressed concerns regarding the exploitation of migrant workers in the UAE, calling it one of the most repressive regimes with which Australia has entered into a bilateral trade deal.
== Human Resources and Employment ==
Many buildings were built primarily by workers from South Asia and East Asia. This is generally because the current generation of UAE locals prefer governmental jobs and not private sector employment. On 17 June 2008, there were about 7,500 skilled workers employed at the Burj Khalifa construction site. Press reports indicated in 2006 that skilled carpenters at the site earned £4.34 a day, and labourers earned £2.84. According to a BBC investigation and a Human Rights Watch report, the workers were housed in abysmal conditions, and worked long hours for low pay. During construction, only one construction-related death was reported. However, workplace injuries and fatalities in the UAE are "poorly documented", according to Human Rights Watch.
In March 2006 about 2,500 workers, upset over buses that were delayed for the end of their shifts, protested and triggered a riot, damaging cars, offices, computers and construction equipment. A Dubai Interior Ministry official said the rioters caused almost £500,000 in damage. Most of the workers involved in the riot returned the following day but refused to work. Workers at Dubai airport also protested.
=== Emiratisation ===
Emiratisation is an initiative by the government of the UAE to employ more UAE Nationals in a meaningful and efficient manner in the public and private sectors. While the program has been in place for more than a decade and results can be seen in the public sector, the private sector is still lagging behind with citizens only representing 0.34% of the private sector workforce.
While there is general agreement over the importance of Emiratisation for social, economic and political reasons, there is also some contention as to the impact of localization on organizational efficiency. It is yet unknown whether, and the extent to which, employment of nationals generates returns for MNEs operating in the Middle East. Recent research cautions that localization is not always advantageous for firms operating in the region, and its effectiveness depends on a number of contingent factors.
In December 2009 however, a positive impact of UAE citizens in the workplace was identified in a newspaper article citing a yet unpublished study, this advantage being the use of networks within the evolving power structures.
Overall, however, uptake in the private sector remains low regardless of significant investments in education, which have reached record levels with education now accounting for 22.5% – or $2.6 billion – of the overall budget planned for 2010. Multiple governmental initiatives are actively promoting Emiratisation by training anyone from high school dropouts to graduates in a multitude of skills needed for the – essentially Western – work environment of the UAE, these initiatives include Tawteen UAE, ENDP or the Abu Dhabi Tawteen Council.
There are very few anti-discrimination laws in relation to labour issues, with Emiratis – and other GCC nationals – being given preference when it comes to employment. Unions are generally banned and workers with any labour issues are advised to be in touch with the Ministry of Labour, instead of protesting or refusing to work. Migrant employees often complain of poor workplace safety and wages based on nationality, although this is being slowly addressed.
Beyond directly sponsoring educational initiatives, the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy is funding major research initiatives into Emiratisation through competitive research grants, allowing universities such as United Arab Emirates University or Dubai School of Government to build and disseminate expertise on the topic.
Academics working on various aspects of Emiratisation include Paul Dyer[12] and Natasha Ridge from Dubai School of Government, Ingo Forstenlechner[13] from United Arab Emirates University, Kasim Randaree from the British University of Dubai and Paul Knoglinger from the FHWien.
In 2020, economy of the United Arab Emirates became vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic, witnessing an economic shutdown. Among the Emirates, Dubai was facing extreme situation, where the expat workers were left jobless. Thousands of the Britons working in the city started selling off their possessions to collect money, as the strict visa regulations forced them to return to the UK.
According to an April 2021 report published by the Democracy Centre for Transparency on the Discrimination against foreigners and expatriates living in the UAE versus Emirati citizens, despite labor reforms in the UAE, foreigners and skilled or unskilled migrant workers face discrimination and racialization from the citizens of the country. Foreigners and expatriates are often subjected to discrimination at work concerning promotions and wages, or gender inequality. The findings of the DCT concern the organization as the UAE's economy largely relies on foreign workers and thus fulfills a crucial international role. The organization demands that the UAE abide by universal human rights principles.
The 31st edition of World Report 2021 released by Human Rights Watch reiterates that labour abuses driven by an exploitative kafala system are persistent in the UAE. During the COVID-19 pandemic, migrant workers faced massive unemployment issues and were also left stranded in dire conditions without legal residencies. Also, many migrants suffered wage theft and were unable to pay rent or buy food.
== Investment ==
The stock market capitalization of listed companies in the UAE was valued at $109.9 billion in October 2012 by Bloomberg.
=== Outward investment ===
A investment institutions were created by the government to promote manage investments made by the UAE abroad:
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)
Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC)
Mubadala Development Company (MDC)
International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC)
Dubai World
Dubai International Capital (DIC)
== Corporate Governance Code ==
The Capital Market Authority (CMA) introduced a new corporate governance regulation (the Corporate Governance Code), which applies to all joint stock companies and institutions whose securities are listed on Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) in 2009.
== Banking ==
On 19 June 2020, rating agency Moody's changed its outlook regarding eight banks in the United Arab Emirates from stable to negative. The change was due to "the potential material weakening in their standalone credit profiles", where the UAE's economy was facing additional challenges amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and low oil prices. The eight banks included Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Emirates NBD, HSBC Bank Middle East, Dubai Islamic Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, National Bank of Fujairah, National Bank of Ras al-Khaimah and Mashreq Bank.
The Fitch Ratings in its 22 June 2020 report predicted that the Standalone Credit Profiles of UAE-based banks are to possibly weaken in the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and oil price collapse. As per the Fitch report, despite the implementation of timely measures for supporting the economy, the profitability of banks in the UAE are prone to get affected by a lower non-interest income worsened by a controlled business volume, lower interest rates, and higher loan recovery charges. In addition, the asset quality is expected to weaken, too, following the unbearable impact of the economic downturn that all borrowers may not be able to withstand.
In 2026, Moody's banking outlook for the United Arab Emirates was upgraded to positive, reflecting the "UAE’s ongoing economic diversification efforts and structural reforms within the banking system."
====== Fintech ======
The UAE is one of the leading countries in the financial technology - FinTech - sector, with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) hosting hundreds of companies. The sector is expected to reach USD 5.71 billion by 2029. Much of the sector's expansion is credited to the accessible regulatory framework that fosters competition and innovation. The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and Hong Kong regulators are expected to implement an agreement allowing an accelerated and streamlined relocation process for senior executives working in fintech companies.
== Real estate ==
The development in the real estate and infrastructure sectors during the recent year has contributed in making the country a global touristic destination. The contribution of tourism in the Emirati GDP increased from 3% in the mid-1990s to more than 16.5% by the end of 2010. This trend is supported by the huge public investments in touristic projects (47 Billion Dollars per annum) carried mainly to expend airports, increase their capacity, set up new airports and ports.
The real estate sector have a positive impact on development, job opportunities, investments and tourism as estate projects were launched to meet the needs of market and the increasing demand for housing and commercial units especially in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The UAE has about 37% of the region's petroleum and gas industries, chemical industries, energy and water and garbage projects. The UAE's government have been injecting huge funds in tourism and real estate projects, especially in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Al Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi and Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest tower in the world, world central near "Jebel Ali" are a point in case of the milestones that have given the UAE its high profile of a global tourist destination. According to 2013–2014 Global Competitiveness Report, the UAE ranked fourth worldwide in terms of infrastructure quality.
On 28 November 2020, the Abu Dhabi Media Office announced that the government of United Arab Emirates, ahead of the 49th National Day, granted house loans, land and homes worth $2 billion (7.2 billion dirhams) to their citizens. The package is said to consist 3,099 plots, 2,000 house loans and 601 homes and exempting some families of the deceased citizens and retirees from the repayment of mortgage. The Director General of the Abu Dhabi Housing Society, Basheer Al Mehairbi said the initiative of providing sustainable housing aimed at ensuring a good standard of living for the citizens of the UAE.
=== Real-estate projects ===
Some of the significant real-estate projects are:
Burj Khalifa
Creek Tower
Mohammed bin Rashid City
Falcon City of Wonders
International City
Dubai Marina
Jumeirah Beach Residence
Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT)
Business Bay
Dubai Hills
Dubai South
City Walk
Al Furjan
Dubai Sports City
Dubai Motor City
Saadiyat Island
The World, the Palms and the Palm (artificial islands)
Dubai Miracle Garden, the world's largest natural flower garden.
Masdar City, a zero carbon, zero waste city.
Yas Island, in Abu Dhabi, featuring attractions such as Ferrari World,
Yas Marina
== Financial centers ==
Among the most prominent financial centers in the UAE are:
Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), a Dubai-based federal financial free zone
Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), an international financial centre located on Al Maryah Island
== Regional GDP ==
Data shown are for the year 2023 in nominal numbers. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind_(film) | Gone with the Wind (film) | Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American epic historical romance film adapted from the 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell. It was produced by David O. Selznick of Selznick International Pictures and directed by Victor Fleming. Set in the American South against the backdrop of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era, the film tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh), the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner, following her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland), and her subsequent marriage to Rhett Butler (Clark Gable).
The production was troubled. The start of filming was delayed for two years until January 1939 because Selznick was determined to secure Gable for the role of Rhett, and filming concluded in July. The role of Scarlett was challenging to cast, and 1,400 unknown women were interviewed for the part. Sidney Howard's original screenplay underwent many revisions by several writers to reduce it to a suitable length. The original director, George Cukor, was fired shortly after filming began and was replaced by Fleming, who in turn was briefly replaced by Sam Wood while taking some time off due to exhaustion. Post-production concluded in November 1939, just a month before its premiere.
Gone With the Wind received generally positive reviews upon its release on December 15, 1939. While the casting was widely praised, the long running time received criticism. At the 12th Academy Awards, Gone with the Wind received ten Academy Awards (eight competitive, two honorary) from thirteen nominations, including wins for Best Picture, Best Director (Fleming), Best Adapted Screenplay (posthumously awarded to Sidney Howard), Best Actress (Leigh), and Best Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel, becoming the first African American to win an Academy Award). It set records for the total number of wins and nominations at the time.
Gone with the Wind was immensely popular when first released. It became the highest-earning film made up to that point and held the record for over a quarter of a century. When adjusted for monetary inflation, it is still the highest-grossing film in history. It was re-released periodically throughout the 20th century and became ingrained in popular culture. Although the film has been criticized as historical negationism, glorifying slavery and the Lost Cause of the Confederacy myth, it has been credited with triggering changes in the way in which African Americans were depicted cinematically. Gone with the Wind is regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, and in 1989, became one of the twenty-five inaugural films selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
== Plot ==
In 1861, on the eve of the American Civil War, Scarlett O'Hara lives at Tara, her family's cotton plantation in Georgia, with her parents, two sisters, and their black slaves. Scarlett is deeply attracted to Ashley Wilkes and learns he is to be married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton. At an engagement party the next day at Ashley's home, Twelve Oaks, a nearby plantation, Scarlett makes an advance on Ashley but is rebuffed; however, she catches the attention of another guest, Rhett Butler. The party is disrupted by news of President Lincoln's call for volunteers to fight the South; in response, the Southern men rush to enlist. Scarlett marries Melanie's younger brother, Charles, to arouse jealousy in Ashley before he leaves to fight. Following Charles's death while serving in the Confederate Army, Scarlett's mother sends her to the Hamilton home in Atlanta. She creates a scene by attending a charity bazaar in mourning attire and waltzing with Rhett, now a blockade runner for the Confederacy.
The tide of war turns against the Confederacy after the Battle of Gettysburg. Many of the men of Scarlett's town are killed. Eight months later, as the Union Army besieges the city in the Atlanta campaign, Melanie gives birth with Scarlett's aid, and Rhett helps them flee the city. Rhett chooses to go off to fight, leaving Scarlett to make her own way back to Tara. She finds Tara deserted, except for her father, sisters, and former slaves, Mammy and Pork. Scarlett learns that her mother has just died of typhoid fever, and her father has lost his mind. With Tara pillaged by Union troops and the fields untended, Scarlett vows to ensure her and her family's survival.
With the defeat of the Confederacy, the O'Haras toil in the cotton fields. Ashley returns but finds he is of little help to Tara. When Scarlett begs him to run away with her, he confesses his desire for her and kisses her passionately but says he cannot leave Melanie. Scarlett's father attempts to chase away a carpetbagger from his land but is thrown from his horse and killed. Unable to pay the Reconstructionist taxes imposed on Tara, Scarlett unsuccessfully appeals to Rhett, then dupes her younger sister Suellen's fiancé, the middle-aged and wealthy general store owner Frank Kennedy, into marrying her. Frank, Ashley, and several other accomplices make a night raid on a shanty town after Scarlett is attacked while driving through it alone, resulting in Frank's death. Shortly after Frank's funeral, Rhett proposes to Scarlett, and she accepts.
Rhett and Scarlett have a daughter whom Rhett nicknames Bonnie Blue, but Scarlett still pines for Ashley and, chagrined at the perceived ruin of her figure, refuses to have any more children or share a bed with Rhett. One day at Frank's mill, Ashley's sister, India, sees Scarlett and Ashley embracing. Harboring an intense dislike of Scarlett, India eagerly spreads rumors. Later that evening, Rhett, having heard the rumors, forces Scarlett to attend Ashley's birthday party. Melanie, however, stands by Scarlett. After returning home, Scarlett finds Rhett downstairs drunk, and they argue about Ashley. Rhett kisses Scarlett against her will, stating his intent to have sex with her that night, and carries the struggling Scarlett to the bedroom.
The next day, Rhett apologizes for his behavior and offers Scarlett a divorce, which she rejects, saying it would be a disgrace. When Rhett returns from an extended trip to London, England, Scarlett informs him that she is pregnant, but an argument ensues, resulting in her falling down a flight of stairs and suffering a miscarriage. While recovering, tragedy strikes again when Bonnie dies while attempting to jump a fence with her pony. Scarlett and Rhett visit Melanie, who has suffered complications from a new pregnancy, on her deathbed. As Scarlett consoles Ashley, Rhett prepares to leave Atlanta. Having realized that it was Rhett, and not Ashley, whom she truly loved all along, Scarlett pleads with Rhett to stay, but he rebuffs her and walks away into the early morning fog. A distraught Scarlett resolves to return home to Tara, vowing to one day win Rhett back.
== Cast ==
== Production ==
Before the publication of the novel, several Hollywood executives and studios declined to create a film based on it, including Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Pandro S. Berman at RKO Radio Pictures, and David O. Selznick of Selznick International Pictures. Jack L. Warner of Warner Bros. considered purchasing the rights after reading the synopsis, but his biggest star Bette Davis was not interested at the time, and Darryl F. Zanuck of 20th Century-Fox had not offered enough money. However, Selznick changed his mind after his story editor Kay Brown and business partner John Hay Whitney urged him to purchase the film rights. In July 1936—a month after it was published—Selznick bought the rights from Margaret Mitchell for $50,000.
=== Casting ===
The casting of the two lead roles became a complex, two-year endeavor. For the role of Rhett Butler, Selznick from the start wanted Clark Gable, but Gable was under contract to MGM, which never loaned him to other studios. Gary Cooper was considered, but Samuel Goldwyn—to whom Cooper was under contract—refused to loan him out. Warner offered a package of Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, and Olivia de Havilland for lead roles in return for the distribution rights, but Davis refused to star opposite Flynn as Rhett Butler. By this time, Selznick was determined to get Gable, and in August 1938 he eventually struck a deal with his father-in-law, MGM chief Louis B. Mayer, in which MGM agreed to provide Gable and $1.25 million for half of the production budget, and would distribute the film. In return, Selznick would have to pay Gable's weekly salary and half the profits would go to MGM.
The arrangement to release through MGM meant delaying the start of production until the end of 1938, when Selznick's current distribution deal with United Artists concluded. Selznick used the delay to revise the script and, more importantly, build publicity through their endeavors to cast the role of Scarlett. Selznick began a nationwide casting call interviewing 1,400 unknowns. The effort cost $100,000 and proved useless for the main objective of casting the role, but created "priceless" publicity. Early frontrunners included Miriam Hopkins and Tallulah Bankhead, who were regarded as possibilities by Selznick prior to the purchase of the film rights; Joan Crawford, who was signed to MGM, was also considered as a potential pairing with Gable. After the deal was struck with MGM, Selznick held discussions with Norma Shearer—who was one of MGM's top female stars at the time—but she withdrew herself from consideration after negative feedback from movie fans. Katharine Hepburn lobbied hard for the role with the support of her friend, George Cukor, who had been hired to direct, but she was vetoed by Selznick, who felt she was not right for the part.
Many actresses, both known and unknown, were considered, but only thirty, in addition to the eventual choice, Vivien Leigh, were actually tested for the role, including Ardis Ankerson (Brenda Marshall), Jean Arthur, Tallulah Bankhead, Diana Barrymore, Joan Bennett, Nancy Coleman, Frances Dee, Terry Ray (Ellen Drew), Paulette Goddard, Edythe Marrenner (Susan Hayward), Anita Louise, Haila Stoddard, Margaret Tallichet, Lana Turner, and Linda Watkins. Although Margaret Mitchell refused to publicly name her choice, the actress who came closest to winning her approval was Miriam Hopkins, whom Mitchell felt was just the right type of actress to play Scarlett as written in the book. However, Hopkins was in her mid-thirties at the time and was considered too old for the part. Four actresses, including Jean Arthur and Joan Bennett, were still under consideration by December 1938; however, only two finalists, Paulette Goddard, and Vivien Leigh, were tested in Technicolor, both on December 20. Goddard almost won the role, but controversy over her marriage to Charlie Chaplin caused Selznick to change his mind.
Selznick had been quietly considering Vivien Leigh, a young English actress who was still little known in America, for the role of Scarlett since February 1938 when Selznick saw her in Fire Over England and A Yank at Oxford. Leigh's American agent was the London representative of the Myron Selznick talent agency (headed by David Selznick's brother, one of the owners of Selznick International), and she had requested in February that her name be submitted for consideration as Scarlett. By the summer of 1938, the Selznicks were negotiating with Alexander Korda, to whom Leigh was under contract, for her services later that year. Selznick's brother arranged for them to meet for the first time on the night of December 10, 1938, when the burning of Atlanta was filmed. In a letter to his wife two days later, Selznick admitted that Leigh was "the Scarlett dark horse", and after a series of screen tests, her casting was announced on January 13, 1939. Just before the shooting, Selznick informed newspaper columnist Ed Sullivan: "Scarlett O'Hara's parents were French and Irish. Identically, Miss Leigh's parents are French and Irish."
A pressing issue for Selznick throughout casting was Hollywood's persistent failure to accurately portray Southern accents. The studio believed that if the accent was not accurately depicted, it could prove detrimental to the success. Selznick hired Susan Myrick (an expert on Southern speech, manners, and customs recommended to him by Mitchell) and Will A. Price to coach the actors on speaking with a Southern drawl. Mitchell was complimentary about the vocal work of the cast, noting the lack of criticism when the film came out.
=== Screenplay ===
Of the original screenplay writer, Sidney Howard, film historian Joanne Yeck writes: "[R]educing the intricacies of Gone with the Wind's epic dimensions was a herculean task ... and Howard's first submission was far too long, and would have required at least six hours of film; ... [producer] Selznick wanted Howard to remain on the set to make revisions ... but Howard refused to leave New England [and] as a result, revisions were handled by a host of local writers". Selznick dismissed director George Cukor three weeks into filming and sought out Victor Fleming, who was directing The Wizard of Oz at the time. Fleming was dissatisfied with the script, so Selznick brought in the screenwriter Ben Hecht to rewrite the entire screenplay within five days. Hecht returned to Howard's original draft and, by the end of the week, had succeeded in revising the entire first half of the script. Selznick undertook to rewrite the second half himself but fell behind schedule, so Howard returned to work on the script for one week, reworking several key scenes in part two.
"By the time of the film's release in 1939, there was some question as to who should receive screen credit", writes Yeck. "But despite the number of writers and changes, the final script was remarkably close to Howard's version. The fact that Howard's name alone appears on the credits may have been as much a gesture to his memory as his writing, for in 1939, Sidney Howard died at age 48 in a farm-tractor accident, and before the movie's premiere." Selznick, in a memo written in October 1939, discussed the writing credits: "[Y]ou can say frankly that of the comparatively small amount of material in the picture which is not from the book, most is my own personally, and the only original lines of dialog which are not my own are a few from Sidney Howard and a few from Ben Hecht and a couple more from John Van Druten. Offhand I doubt that there are ten original words of [Oliver] Garrett's in the whole script. As to construction, this is about eighty per cent my own, and the rest divided between Jo Swerling and Sidney Howard, with Hecht having contributed materially to the construction of one sequence."
According to Hecht's biographer William MacAdams, At dawn on Sunday, February 20, 1939, David Selznick ... and director Victor Fleming shook Hecht awake to inform him he was on loan from MGM and must come with them immediately and go to work on Gone with the Wind, which Selznick had begun shooting five weeks before. It was costing Selznick $50,000 each day the film was on hold, waiting for a final screenplay rewrite, and time was of the essence. Hecht was in the middle of working on the film At the Circus for the Marx Brothers. Recalling the episode in a letter to screenwriter friend Gene Fowler, he said he hadn't read the novel, but Selznick and director Fleming could not wait for him to read it. They acted in scenes based on Sidney Howard's original script, which needed to be rewritten in a hurry. Hecht wrote: "After each scene had been performed and discussed, I sat down at the typewriter and wrote it out. Selznick and Fleming, eager to continue with their acting, kept hurrying me. We worked in this fashion for seven days, putting in eighteen to twenty hours a day. Selznick refused to let us eat lunch, arguing that food would slow us up. He provided bananas and salted peanuts ... thus on the seventh day I had completed, unscathed, the first nine reels of the Civil War epic."
MacAdams writes: "It is impossible to determine exactly how much Hecht scripted ... In the official credits filed with the Screen Writers Guild, Sidney Howard was of course awarded the sole screen credit, but four other writers were appended ... Jo Swerling for contributing to the treatment, Oliver H. P. Garrett and Barbara Keon to screenplay construction, and Hecht, to dialogue ..."
=== Filming ===
Principal photography began on January 26, 1939, and ended on July 1, with post-production work continuing until November 11, 1939. Director George Cukor, with whom Selznick had a long working relationship and who had spent almost two years in pre-production on Gone with the Wind, was replaced after less than three weeks of shooting. Selznick and Cukor had already disagreed over the pace of filming and the script, but other explanations put Cukor's departure down to Gable's discomfort at working with him. Vivien Leigh and Olivia de Havilland learned of Cukor's firing on the day the Atlanta bazaar scene was filmed, and the pair went to Selznick's office in full costume and implored him to change his mind. Victor Fleming, who was directing The Wizard of Oz, was called in from MGM to complete the film. However, Cukor continued privately to coach Leigh and De Havilland. Another MGM director, Sam Wood, worked for two weeks in May when Fleming temporarily left the production due to exhaustion. Although some of Cukor's scenes were later reshot, Selznick estimated that "three solid reels" of his work remained in the final cut. As of the end of principal photography, Cukor had undertaken eighteen days of filming, Fleming ninety-three, and Wood twenty-four.
Cinematographer Lee Garmes began the production, but on March 11, 1939—after a month of shooting footage that Selznick and his associates regarded as "too dark"—was replaced with Ernest Haller, working with Technicolor cinematographer Ray Rennahan. Garmes completed the first third of the film—mostly everything prior to Melanie having the baby—but did not receive a credit.
Most of the filming was done on "the back forty" studio backlot of Selznick International with all the location scenes being photographed in California, mostly in Los Angeles County or neighboring Ventura County. Tara, the fictional Southern plantation house, existed only as a plywood and papier-mâché façade built on the Selznick studio lot. For the burning of Atlanta, new façades were built in front of the Selznick backlot's many old abandoned sets, and Selznick himself operated the controls for the explosives that burned them down. Sources at the time put the estimated production costs at $3.85 million, making it the second most expensive film made up to that point, with only Ben-Hur (1925) having cost more.
Although legend persists that the Hays Office fined Selznick $5,000 for using the word "damn" in Butler's exit line, in fact, the Motion Picture Association board passed an amendment to the Production Code on November 1, 1939, that forbade the use of the words "hell" or "damn" except when their use "shall be essential and required for portrayal, in proper historical context, of any scene or dialogue based upon historical fact or folklore ... or a quotation from a literary work, provided that no such use shall be permitted which is intrinsically objectionable or offends good taste". With that amendment, the Production Code Administration had no further objection to Rhett's closing line.
=== Music ===
Selznick chose Max Steiner to compose the score, with whom he had worked at RKO Pictures in the early 1930s. Warner Bros.—who had contracted Steiner in 1936—agreed to lend him to Selznick. Steiner spent twelve weeks working on the score, the most prolonged period he had ever spent writing one, and at two hours and thirty-six minutes long, it was also the longest he had ever written. Five orchestrators were hired: Hugo Friedhofer, Maurice de Packh, Bernhard Kaun, Adolph Deutsch and Reginald Hazeltine Bassett.
The score is characterized by two love themes, one for Ashley and Melanie's sweet love and another that evokes Scarlett's passion for Ashley, though notably, there is no Scarlett and Rhett love theme. Steiner drew considerably on folk and patriotic music, which included Stephen Foster tunes such as "Louisiana Belle", "Dolly Day", "Ringo De Banjo", "Beautiful Dreamer", "Old Folks at Home", and "Katie Belle", which formed the basis of Scarlett's theme; other tunes that feature prominently are: "Marching through Georgia" by Henry Clay Work, "Dixie", "Garryowen", and "The Bonnie Blue Flag". The theme that is most associated with the film today is the melody that accompanies Tara, the O'Hara plantation; in the early 1940s, "Tara's Theme" formed the musical basis of the song "My Own True Love" by Mack David. In all, there are ninety-nine separate pieces of music featured in the score.
Due to the pressure of completing on time, Steiner received some assistance in composing from Friedhofer, Deutsch, and Heinz Roemheld, and in addition, two short cues—by Franz Waxman and William Axt—were taken from scores in the MGM library.
=== Costuming ===
Color, texture, and fabric were used to reinforce Scarlett O’Hara’s narrative arc and character development. While early gowns feature light pastels and vibrant primary colors, her post-war attire transitions to darker crimson and burgundy tones as her circumstances become more dire. In the latter part of the film, Scarlett's more extravagant and colorful costumes were used to contrast her against the drabness of the other characters.
The costumes combined historical reference with contemporary Hollywood aesthetics. Costume designer Walter Plunkett drew on nineteenth-century sources such as illustrations in Godey's Lady's Book and surviving 1860s–1870s garments while streamlining volume and ornamentation to suit 1930s screen taste and the practical needs of filming. Plunkett's approach produced gowns that evoked period silhouettes whilst omitting excessive ruffles, bows, and lace in favour of cleaner lines and Hollywood trimmings such as ostrich plumes.
== Release ==
=== Preview, premiere, and initial release ===
On September 9, 1939, Selznick, his wife, Irene, investor John "Jock" Whitney, and film editor Hal Kern drove to Riverside, California, to watch a rough cut at the Fox Theatre, without incomplete titles and special optical effects. It ran for four hours and twenty-five minutes; the final release was cut to under four hours. A double bill of Hawaiian Nights and Beau Geste was playing, but after the first feature it was announced that instead of the second bill, the theater would be screening a preview of an unnamed upcoming film; the audience were informed they could leave but would not be readmitted once the film had begun, nor would phone calls be allowed once the theater had been sealed. When the title appeared on the screen, the audience cheered, and after it had ended, the film received a standing ovation. In his biography of Selznick, David Thomson wrote that the audience's response before the film had even started "was the greatest moment of [Selznick's] life, the greatest victory and redemption of all his failings", with Selznick describing the preview cards as "probably the most amazing any picture has ever had". When Selznick was asked by the press in early September how he felt about the film, he said, "At noon I think it's divine, at midnight I think it's lousy. Sometimes I think it's the greatest picture ever made. But if it's only a great picture, I'll still be satisfied."
About 300,000 people came out in Atlanta for the premiere at the Loew's Grand Theatre on December 15, 1939. It was the climax of three days of festivities hosted by Mayor William B. Hartsfield, which included a parade of limousines featuring stars from the film, receptions, thousands of Confederate flags, and a costume ball. Eurith D. Rivers, the governor of Georgia, declared December 15 a state holiday. An estimated 300,000 Atlanta residents and visitors lined the streets for seven miles to view the procession of limousines that brought stars from the airport. Only Leslie Howard and Victor Fleming chose not to attend: Howard had returned to England due to the outbreak of World War II, and Fleming had fallen out with Selznick and declined to attend any of the premieres. Hattie McDaniel was also absent, as she and the other black cast members were prevented from attending the premiere due to Georgia's Jim Crow laws, which kept them from sitting with their white colleagues. Upon learning that McDaniel had been barred from the premiere, Clark Gable threatened to boycott the event, but McDaniel persuaded him to attend. President Jimmy Carter later recalled it as "the biggest event to happen in the South in my lifetime". Premieres in New York and Los Angeles followed; the latter attended by some of the actresses who had been considered for the part of Scarlett, among them Paulette Goddard, Norma Shearer, and Joan Crawford.
From December 1939 to July 1940, the film played only advance-ticket road show engagements at a limited number of theaters at prices upwards of $1—more than double the price of a regular first-run feature—with MGM collecting an unprecedented 70 percent of the box office receipts, as opposed to the typical 30–35 percent of the period. After reaching saturation as a roadshow, MGM revised its terms to a 50 percent cut and halved the prices before it finally entered general release in 1941 at "popular" prices. Including its distribution and advertising costs, total expenditure was as high as $7 million.
=== Later releases ===
In 1942, Selznick liquidated his company for tax reasons and sold his share in Gone with the Wind to his business partner, John Whitney, for $500,000. In turn, Whitney sold it to MGM for $2.8 million, giving the studio outright ownership of the film. MGM immediately re-released it in early 1942, and again in 1947 and 1954. The 1954 reissue was the first time the film was shown in widescreen, compromising the original Academy ratio and cropping the top and bottom to an aspect ratio of 1.75:1. In doing so, several shots were optically re-framed and cut into the three-strip camera negatives, forever altering five shots.
A 1961 rerelease commemorated the centennial anniversary of the start of the Civil War, and it also included a gala "premiere" at the Loew's Grand Theater. It was attended by Selznick and many other stars of the film, including Vivien Leigh and Olivia de Havilland; Clark Gable had died the previous year. For its 1967 re-release, the film was blown up to 70mm, and issued with updated poster artwork featuring Gable—with his white shirt ripped open—holding Leigh against a backdrop of orange flames. There were further re-releases in 1971, 1974, and 1989; for the fiftieth-anniversary reissue in 1989, it was given a complete audio and video restoration. It was released in theaters one more time in the United States, in 1998, by Time Warner-owned New Line Cinema.
In 2013, a 4K digital restoration was released in the United Kingdom to coincide with Vivien Leigh's centenary. In 2014, special screenings were scheduled over two days at theaters across the United States to coincide with the film's 75th anniversary, and again over three days in 2024, to celebrate its 85th anniversary.
=== Television ===
Gone with the Wind premiered on American television on the HBO cable network on June 11, 1976, and played on HBO fourteen times throughout the rest of the month. Other cable channels also broadcast it during June. It made its network television debut in November of that year; NBC paid $5 million for a one-off airing, and it was broadcast in two parts on successive evenings. It became at that time the highest-rated television program ever presented on a single network, watched by 47.5 percent of the households sampled in America, and 65 percent of television viewers, still the record for the highest-rated film to ever air on television.
In 1978, CBS signed a deal worth $35 million to broadcast Gone with the Wind twenty times over twenty years. Turner Entertainment acquired the MGM film library in 1986, but the deal did not include the television rights to Gone with the Wind, which were still held by CBS. An agreement was struck in which the rights were returned to Turner Entertainment, and CBS's broadcast rights to The Wizard of Oz were extended. The film was used to launch two cable channels owned by Turner Broadcasting System: Turner Network Television (1988) and Turner Classic Movies (1994).
=== Home media ===
Gone with the Wind debuted on VHS in March 1985, where it placed second in the sales charts. It has since been released on DVD and Blu-ray formats, and will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray in 2026.
== Reception ==
=== Critical response ===
Consumer magazines and newspapers generally gave Gone with the Wind excellent reviews. Variety described it as “a great picture poised for grosses which may be second to none in the history of the business”. While its production values, technical achievements, and scale of ambition were universally recognized, some reviewers of the time found it lengthy and dramatically unconvincing. Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times wrote that, although it was the most ambitious production to date, it was probably not the greatest ever made; he nonetheless described it as an "interesting story beautifully told". Franz Hoellering of The Nation was of the same opinion: "The result is a film which is a major event in the history of the industry but only a minor achievement in motion-picture art. There are moments when the two categories meet on good terms, but the long stretches between are filled with mere spectacular efficiency."
Although Gone with the Wind was praised for its fidelity to the novel, this was also singled out as the main factor contributing to the lengthy running time. John C. Flinn wrote for Variety that Selznick had "left too much in", and that as entertainment, it would have benefited if repetitious scenes and dialog from the latter part of the story had been trimmed. The Manchester Guardian felt the one serious drawback was that the story lacked the epic quality to justify the outlay of time and found the second half, which focuses on Scarlett's "irrelevant marriages" and "domestic squabbles", mostly superfluous, and the sole reason for their inclusion had been "simply because Margaret Mitchell wrote it that way". The Guardian believed that if "the story had been cut short and tidied up at the point marked by the interval, and if the personal drama had been made subservient to a cinematic treatment of the central theme—the collapse and devastation of the Old South—then Gone With the Wind might have been a really great film". Likewise, Hoellering also found the second half of the film weaker. Identifying the Civil War to be the driving force of the first part while the characters dominate in the second part, he concluded this is where the main fault of the film lay, commenting that "the characters alone do not suffice". Despite many excellent scenes, he considered the drama to be unconvincing and that the "psychological development" had been neglected.
Much of the praise was reserved for the casting, with Vivien Leigh, in particular, being singled out for her performance as Scarlett. Nugent described her as the "pivot of the picture" and believed her to be "so perfectly designed for the part by art and nature that any other actress in the role would be inconceivable". Similarly, Hoellering found her "perfect" in "appearance and movements"; he felt her acting best when she was allowed to "accentuate the split personality she portrays" and thought she was particularly effective in such moments of characterization like the morning after the marital rape scene. Flinn also found Leigh suited to the role physically and felt she was best in the scenes where she displays courage and determination, such as the escape from Atlanta and when Scarlett kills a Yankee deserter. Leigh won in the Best Actress category for her performance at the 1939 New York Film Critics Circle Awards. Of Clark Gable's performance as Rhett Butler, Flinn felt the characterization was "as close to Miss Mitchell's conception—and the audience's—as might be imagined", a view which Nugent concurred with, although Hoellering felt that Gable did not quite convince in the closing scenes, as Rhett walks out on Scarlett in disgust. Of the other principal cast members, both Hoellering and Flinn found Leslie Howard to be "convincing" as the weak-willed Ashley, with Flinn identifying Olivia de Havilland as a "standout" as Melanie; Nugent was also especially taken with de Havilland's performance, describing it as a "gracious, dignified, tender gem of characterization". Hattie McDaniel's performance as Mammy was singled out for praise by many critics: Nugent believed she gave the best performance after Vivien Leigh, with Flinn placing it third after Leigh's and Gable's performances.
=== Academy Awards ===
At the 12th Academy Awards, Gone with the Wind set a record for Academy Award wins and nominations, winning in eight of the competitive categories it was nominated in, from a total of thirteen nominations. It won for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, and Best Editing, and received two further honorary awards for its use of equipment and color (it also became the first color film to win Best Picture).
The record of eight competitive wins stood until Gigi (1958) won nine, and its overall record of ten was broken by Ben-Hur (1959) which won eleven. Gone with the Wind also held the record for most nominations until All About Eve (1950) secured fourteen. It was the longest American sound film made up to that point, and may still hold the record of the longest Best Picture winner depending on how it is interpreted. The running time for Gone with the Wind is just under 221 minutes, while Lawrence of Arabia (1962) runs for just over 222 minutes; however, including the overture, intermission, entr'acte, and exit music, Gone with the Wind lasts for 234 minutes (although some sources put its full length at 238 minutes) while Lawrence of Arabia comes in slightly shorter at 232 minutes with its additional components.
Hattie McDaniel became the first African-American to win an Academy Award—beating out her co-star Olivia de Havilland, who was also nominated in the same category—but was racially segregated from her co-stars at the awards ceremony at the Coconut Grove; she and her escort were made to sit at a separate table at the back of the room. Meanwhile, screenwriter Sidney Howard became the first posthumous Oscar winner and Selznick personally received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for his career achievements.
=== Reactions from African-Americans ===
Black commentators have criticized the film since its release for its depiction of black people and "whitewashing" of the issue of slavery. Still, initially, newspapers controlled by white Americans did not report on these criticisms. Carlton Moss, a black dramatist, observed in an open letter that whereas The Birth of a Nation was a "frontal attack on American history and the Negro people", Gone with the Wind was a "rear attack on the same". He went on to characterize it as a "nostalgic plea for sympathy for a still-living cause of Southern reaction". Moss further called out the stereotypical black characterizations, such as the "shiftless and dull-witted Pork", the "indolent and thoroughly irresponsible Prissy", Big Sam's "radiant acceptance of slavery", and Mammy with her "constant haranguing and doting on every wish of Scarlett". Similarly, Melvin B. Tolson, a poet and educator, wrote, "Birth of a Nation was such a barefaced lie that a moron could see through it. Gone with the Wind is such a subtle lie that it will be swallowed as truth by millions of whites and blacks alike."
Following Hattie McDaniel's Oscar win, Walter Francis White, leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, accused her of being an Uncle Tom. McDaniel responded that she would "rather make seven hundred dollars a week playing a maid than seven dollars being one"; she further questioned White's qualification to speak on behalf of black people since he was light-skinned and only one-eighth black.
Opinion in the black community was divided. Gone with the Wind was called by some a "weapon of terror against black America" and an insult to black audiences, and demonstrations were held in various cities. Malcolm X recalled that "when Butterfly McQueen went into her act, I felt like crawling under the rug". Even so, some sections of the black community recognized McDaniel's achievements to be representative of progress: some African-Americans crossed picket lines and praised McDaniel's warm and witty characterization, and others hoped that the industry's recognition of her work would lead to increased visibility on screen for other black actors. In its editorial congratulation to McDaniel on winning her Academy Award, Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life used Gone with the Wind as a reminder of the "limit" put on black aspiration by old prejudices.
=== Audience response ===
Gone with the Wind broke attendance records everywhere. At the Capitol Theatre in New York alone, it averaged eleven thousand admissions per day in late December, and within four years of its release had sold an estimated sixty million tickets across the United States—sales equivalent to just under half the population at the time. It repeated its success overseas, and was a sensational hit during the Blitz in London, opening in April 1940 and playing for four years at the Little Ritz in Leicester Square. By the time MGM withdrew it from circulation, at the end of 1943, its worldwide distribution had returned a gross rental (the studio's share of the box office gross) of $32 million, making it the most profitable film ever made up to that point. It eventually opened in Japan in September 1952 and became the highest-grossing foreign film there.
The international response to Gone with the Wind was volatile, and its immense scale and emotional resonance provoked political intervention. It was banned in Nazi-occupied Europe, although it was reportedly being favored by government officials. Despite the prohibition, copies were smuggled into occupied territories for private screenings, to the dismay of propaganda authorities. In early 1942 Tokyo, a select group of Japanese military officers and filmmakers viewed a double feature of Gone with the Wind and Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, both obtained after the British surrender in Singapore. Despite Japan’s early wartime successes, the advanced technology and production quality of these films caused despair among the viewers, who questioned how Japan could possibly defeat a nation capable of such cinematic achievements. At a gala premiere attended by approximately 2,500 people in the Soviet Union, Gone with the Wind resonated deeply with audiences amid the country’s own period of upheaval. Viewer Nelli Bersineva noted "Scarlett definitely has a Russian character." Leningrad mayor Anatoly A. Sobchak highlighted the contemporary relevance, saying "we see how American people lived through their war and changed their lives".
Even though it earned its investors roughly twice as much as the previous record-holder, The Birth of a Nation, the box-office performances of the two films were likely much closer. The bulk of the earnings from Gone with the Wind came from its roadshow and first-run engagements, where the distributor received 70 percent and 50 percent of the box-office gross, respectively, rather than its general release, which at the time typically saw the distributor's share set at 30–35 percent of the gross. In the case of The Birth of a Nation, its distributor, Epoch, sold off many of its distribution territories on a "states rights" basis—which typically amounted to 10 percent of the box-office gross—and Epoch's accounts are only indicative of its own profits from the film, and not the local distributors. Carl E. Milliken, secretary of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association, estimated that The Birth of a Nation had been seen by fifty million people by 1930.
When re-released in 1947, it earned a $5 million rental in the United States and Canada and was one of the year's top ten releases. Successful re-releases in 1954 and 1961 enabled it to retain its position as the industry's top earner, despite substantial challenges from more recent films such as Ben-Hur, but it was finally overtaken by The Sound of Music in 1966.
The 1967 reissue was unusual because MGM chose to roadshow it, which turned it into the most successful re-release in the industry's history. It generated a box-office gross of $68 million, making it MGM's most lucrative film after Doctor Zhivago from the latter half of the decade. MGM earned a rental of $41 million from the release, with the U.S. and Canadian share amounting to over $30 million, placing it second only to The Graduate for that year. Including its $6.7 million rental from the 1961 reissue, it was the fourth highest-earner of the decade in the North American market, with only The Sound of Music, The Graduate and Doctor Zhivago making more for their distributors. A further re-release in 1971 allowed it to briefly recapture the record from The Sound of Music, bringing its total worldwide gross rental to about $116 million by the end of 1971—more than trebling its earnings from its initial release—before losing the record again the following year to The Godfather.
Across all releases, it is estimated that Gone with the Wind has sold over 200 million tickets in the United States and Canada, generating more theater admissions in that territory than any other film. The film was phenomenally successful in Western Europe too, generating approximately 35 million tickets in the United Kingdom and over 16 million in France, respectively becoming the biggest and sixth-biggest ticket-sellers in those markets. Its appeal has endured overseas, sustaining a popularity similar to its domestic longevity; in 1975 it played to capacity audiences every night during the first three weeks of its run at London's Plaza 2 Theatre, and in Japan it generated over half a million admissions at twenty theaters during a five-week engagement. In total, Gone with the Wind grossed over $390 million globally at the box office; in 2007 Turner Entertainment estimated the gross to be equivalent to approximately $3.3 billion when adjusted for inflation to current prices; Guinness World Records arrived at a figure of $3.44 billion in 2014 making it the most successful film in cinema history.
Gone with the Wind remains popular with audiences into the 21st century, having been voted the most popular film in two nationwide polls of Americans undertaken by Harris Interactive in 2008, and again in 2014. The market research firm surveyed over two thousand U.S. adults, with the results weighted by age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, and household income, so their proportions matched the composition of the adult population.
=== Critical re-evaluation ===
When revisiting Gone with the Wind in the 1970s, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. believed that Hollywood films generally age well, revealing an unexpected depth or integrity, but in the case of Gone with the Wind time has not treated it kindly. Richard Schickel argued that one measure of a film's quality is to ask what the viewer can remember of it, and the film falls down in this regard: unforgettable imagery and dialogue are not present. Stanley Kauffmann, likewise, also found the film to be a largely forgettable experience, claiming he could only remember two scenes vividly. Both Schickel and Schlesinger put this down to it being "badly written", in turn describing the dialogue as "flowery" and possessing a "picture postcard" sensibility. Schickel also believes the film fails as popular art in that it has limited rewatch value—a sentiment that Kauffmann also concurs with, stating that having watched it twice he hopes "never to see it again: twice is twice as much as any lifetime needs". Both Schickel and Andrew Sarris identify the film's main failing is in possessing a producer's sensibility rather than an artistic one: having gone through so many directors and writers the film does not carry a sense of being "created" or "directed", but rather having emerged "steaming from the crowded kitchen", where the main creative force was a producer's obsession in making the film as literally faithful to the novel as possible.
Sarris concedes that despite its artistic failings, the film does hold a mandate around the world as the "single most beloved entertainment ever produced". Judith Crist observes that, kitsch aside, the film is "undoubtedly still the best and most durable piece of popular entertainment to have come off the Hollywood assembly lines", the product of a showman with "taste and intelligence". Schlesinger notes that the first half of the film does have a "sweep and vigor" that aspire to its epic theme, but agreed with criticisms of the personal lives taking over in the second half, and how it ends up losing its theme in unconvincing sentimentality. Kauffmann also finds interesting parallels with The Godfather, which had just replaced Gone with the Wind as the highest-grosser at the time: both were produced from "ultra-American" best-selling novels, both live within codes of honor that are romanticized, and both in essence offer cultural fabrication or revisionism.
The critical perception of the film has shifted in the intervening years, which resulted in it being ranked 235th in Sight & Sound's prestigious decennial critics poll in 2012, and in 2015 sixty-two international film critics polled by the BBC voted it the 97th best American film. To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Turner Classic Movies (TCM) in 2014, the channel chose again to screen Gone with the Wind, the first film ever broadcast on TCM. Discussing its re-release into theaters that year, film historian and TCM host Robert Osborne stated, "The amazing thing to me is that Gone with the Wind has endured and triumphed even in a very changed world 75 years later. It still affects people in the same way as it did then."
=== Industry recognition ===
The film has featured in several high-profile industry polls. It was selected as the greatest film of the past half-century in a 1950 poll conducted by Variety of more than 200 professionals who had worked in the film industry for over 25 years. In 1977 it was voted the most popular film by the American Film Institute (AFI), in a poll of the organization's membership; the AFI also ranked the film fourth on its "100 Greatest Movies" list in 1998, with it slipping down to sixth place in the tenth anniversary edition in 2007. In 2014, it placed fifteenth in an extensive poll undertaken by The Hollywood Reporter, which balloted every studio, agency, publicity firm and production house in the Hollywood region. Film directors ranked it 322nd in the 2012 edition of the decennial Sight & Sound poll, and in 2016 it was selected as the ninth best "directorial achievement" in a Directors Guild of America members poll. In 2006, the Writers Guild of America voted its screenplay twenty-third in its list of 101 greatest screenplays.
Gone with the Wind was one of the twenty-five inaugural films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress in 1989 for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
== Analysis and controversies ==
=== Historical portrayal ===
Though not always historically precise, Gone with the Wind largely captured the spirit and ethos of the era it depicts. Producer David Selznick wrote “I am most sensitive to the feelings of minority people,” and assured his avoidance of promoting intolerance during fascist times. Nevertheless, the film has been criticized as having perpetuated Civil War myths and black stereotypes. David Reynolds wrote that, "The white women are elegant, their menfolk are noble or at least dashing. And, in the background, the black slaves are mostly dutiful and content, clearly incapable of an independent existence." Reynolds likened Gone with the Wind to The Birth of a Nation and other re-imaginings of the South made during the era of segregation, in which white Southerners are portrayed as defending traditional values, and the issue of slavery is largely ignored. The film has been described as a "regression" that promotes both the myth of the black rapist and the honorable and defensive role of the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction, and as a "social propaganda" film offering a "white supremacist" view of the past.
From 1972 to 1996, the Atlanta Historical Society held several Gone with the Wind exhibits, among them a 1994 exhibit which was titled "Disputed Territories: Gone with the Wind and Southern Myths". One of the questions that was explored by the exhibit was "How True to Life Were the Slaves in GWTW?". This section showed that slave experiences were diverse and, as a result, it concluded that the "happy darky" was a myth, as was the belief that all slaves experienced violence and brutality. W. Bryan Rommel Ruiz has argued that despite factual inaccuracies in depicting the Reconstruction period, Gone with the Wind reflects contemporary interpretations of it that were common in the early 20th century. One such viewpoint is reflected in a brief scene in which Mammy fends off a leering freedman: a politician can be heard offering forty acres and a mule to the emancipated slaves in exchange for their votes. The inference is taken to mean that freedmen are ignorant about politics and unprepared for freedom, unwittingly becoming the tools of corrupt Reconstruction officials.
While perpetuating some Lost Cause myths, the film makes concessions with regard to others. After Scarlett is attacked in the shanty town by a white man and his black accomplice (and saved by her former slave), a group of men—including Ashley and Scarlett's husband Frank—raid the town; in the novel, they belong to the Ku Klux Klan, representing the common trope of protecting the white woman's virtue, but Rommel Ruiz argues that the filmmakers consciously neutralize the presence of the Klan in the film by simply referring to it as a "political meeting". Katherine H. Lee writes, "the Klan's presence in the novel is excised from the film—becoming the vigilante group that avenges the attack on Scarlett by changing the race of the attackers from the novel", but characterizes the film as "undeniably racist". Richard Alleva remarks that, in the film, "a black man merely restrains Scarlett's horse while his white companion (in a memorable close-up) lowers his leering face toward the unconscious heroine; soon a faithful former slave appears and fights off both attackers. But in the novel, the would-be rapist is black while the white man holds the horse ... Selznick mollified Mitchell's racism throughout." Jennifer Schuessler of The New York Times quotes a memo where Selznick wrote, "A group of men can go out and 'get' the perpetrators of an attempted rape without having long white sheets over them." According to film historian Thomas Cripps, Selznick "excised all references to the Ku Klux Klan, renegade Negroes and Southern legends." Cripps also quotes a memorandum written by Selznick: "I personally feel quite strongly that we should cut out the Klan entirely ... [otherwise, the film] might come out as an unintentional advertisement for intolerant societies in these fascist-ridden times." A solution was to rewrite the rape scene and make (quoting Selznick again) "the negro little more than a spectator."
Thomas Cripps reasons that in some respects, the film undercuts racial stereotypes; in particular, the film created greater engagement between Hollywood and black audiences, with dozens of films making small gestures in recognition of the emerging trend. Only a few weeks after its initial run, a story editor at Warner wrote a memorandum to Walter Wanger about Mississippi Belle, a script that contained the worst excesses of plantation films, suggesting that Gone with the Wind had made the film "unproducible". More than any film since The Birth of a Nation, it unleashed a variety of social forces that foreshadowed an alliance of white liberals and black people who encouraged the expectation that black people would one day achieve equality. According to Cripps, the film eventually became a template for measuring social change.
=== 21st-century reappraisal ===
In the 21st century, criticism of the film's depictions of race and slavery curtailed its availability. In 2017, Gone with the Wind was pulled from the schedule at the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee after a 34-year run of annual showings. On June 9, 2020, the film was removed from HBO Max in response to an op-ed written by screenwriter John Ridley that was published in that day's edition of the Los Angeles Times, which called for the streaming service to temporarily remove the film from its content library. He wrote that "it continues to give cover to those who falsely claim that clinging to the iconography of the plantation era is a matter of 'heritage, not hate'". A spokesperson for HBO Max said that the film was "a product of its time" and as a result, it depicted "ethnic and racial prejudices" that "were wrong then and are wrong today". It was also announced that the film would return to the streaming service at a later date, although it would incorporate "a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions, but will be presented as it was originally created because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. If we are to create a more just, equitable, and inclusive future, we must first acknowledge and understand our history."
The film's removal sparked a debate, with film critics and historians criticizing HBO as engaging in censorship. Following its withdrawal, the film reached the top of Amazon's best-sellers sales chart for TV and films, and fifth place on Apple's iTunes Store film chart. HBO Max returned the film to its service later that month, with a new introduction by Jacqueline Stewart. Stewart described the film, in an op-ed for CNN, as "a prime text for examining expressions of white supremacy in popular culture", and said that "it is precisely because of the ongoing, painful patterns of racial injustice and disregard for Black lives that Gone with the Wind should stay in circulation and remain available for viewing, analysis and discussion". She described the controversy as "an opportunity to think about what classic films can teach us".
At a political rally in February 2020, President Donald Trump criticized the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, stating that Gone with the Wind and Sunset Boulevard (1950) were more deserving of the award for Best Picture than that year's winner, the South Korean film Parasite. His comments elicited commentary from critics, and a writer for Entropy magazine opined that they had sparked a backlash from pundits across the political spectrum on social media.
=== Depiction of marital rape ===
One of the most notorious and widely condemned scenes in Gone with the Wind depicts what is now legally defined as marital rape. The scene begins with Scarlett and Rhett at the bottom of the staircase, where he begins to kiss her, refusing to be told "no" by the struggling Scarlett; Rhett ignores her resistance, scolds her and carries her up the stairs to the bedroom, and "viewers know that impetuous, strong-willed Scarlett is going to get what's coming to her". The next scene, the following morning, shows Scarlett glowing with barely suppressed sexual satisfaction; Rhett apologizes for his behavior, blaming it on his drinking. The scene has been accused of combining romance and rape by making them indistinguishable from each other, and of reinforcing a notion about forced sex: that women secretly enjoy it, and it is an acceptable way for a man to treat his wife.
Film critic Molly Haskell has argued that, nevertheless, for women who are uncritical of the scene, it is by and large consistent with what they have in mind if they fantasize about being raped. Their fantasies revolve around love and romance rather than forced sex; they will assume that Scarlett was not an unwilling sexual partner and wanted Rhett to take the initiative and insist on having sexual intercourse.
== Legacy ==
=== In popular culture ===
Gone with the Wind and its production have been explicitly referenced, satirized, dramatized, and analyzed on numerous occasions across a range of media, from contemporaneous works such as Second Fiddle—a 1939 film spoofing the "search for Scarlett"—to current television shows, such as The Simpsons. The Scarlett O'Hara War (a 1980 television dramatization of the casting of Scarlett), Moonlight and Magnolias (a 2007 play by Ron Hutchinson that dramatizes Ben Hecht's five-day re-write of the script), and "Went with the Wind!" (a sketch on The Carol Burnett Show that parodied the film in the aftermath of its television debut in 1976) are among the more noteworthy examples of its enduring presence in popular culture. It was also the subject of a 1988 documentary, The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind, detailing the film's difficult production history. In 1990, the United States Postal Service issued a stamp depicting Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh embracing in a scene from the film. In 2003, Leigh and Gable (as Scarlett and Rhett) were ranked number 95 on VH1's list of the "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons of All Time".
The film’s release is considered the catalyst in establishing "Scarlett" as a feminine given name, shifting its identity away from the bright red hue. Vivien Leigh’s portrayal evolved the term from association with danger and moral transgressions (The Scarlet Letter) to ambition, moral ambiguity, and resilience. Although the name first appeared in limited numbers following the publication of Margaret Mitchell’s novel, it was the film’s extraordinary reach and longevity that brought the name into mainstream public consciousness. U.S. birth records show its usage increased more than seven-fold immediately after the film’s release, with continued gradual growth in subsequent decades.
=== Sequel ===
Following the publication of her novel, Margaret Mitchell was inundated with requests for a sequel, but she claimed not to have a notion of what happened to Scarlett and Rhett, and as a result, she had "left them to their ultimate fate". Until her death in 1949, Mitchell continued to resist pressure from Selznick and MGM to write a sequel. In 1975, her brother, Stephens Mitchell (who assumed control of her estate), authorized a sequel that would be jointly produced by MGM and Universal Studios on a budget of $12 million. Anne Edwards was commissioned to write the sequel as a novel, which would then be adapted into a screenplay and published in conjunction with the film's release. Edwards submitted a 775-page manuscript which was titled Tara, The Continuation of Gone with the Wind, set between 1872 and 1882 and focusing on Scarlett's divorce from Rhett; MGM was not satisfied with the story, and the deal collapsed.
The idea was revived in the 1990s when a sequel was finally produced in 1994 in the form of a television miniseries. Scarlett was based on the novel by Alexandra Ripley, itself a sequel to Mitchell's book. British actors Joanne Whalley and Timothy Dalton were cast as Scarlett and Rhett, and the series follows Scarlett's relocation to Ireland after she again becomes pregnant by Rhett. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasury_of_Atreus | Treasury of Atreus | The Treasury of Atreus or Tomb of Agamemnon is a large tholos or beehive tomb constructed between 1300 and 1250 BCE in Mycenae, Greece.
It is the largest and most elaborate tholos tomb known to have been constructed in the Aegean Bronze Age, and one of the last to have been built in the Argolid. The main tomb consisted of a circular burial chamber, or thalamos, topped with a corbelled dome. This dome was the largest in the world until the Roman period, and remains the world's largest corbelled dome. Originally, the façade was decorated with marble columns and sculptures, which used marble from the Mani Peninsula in the southern Peloponnese. Its artwork has been suggested to have been inspired by that of Minoan Crete and of Ancient Egypt.
Little is known of the persons who might have been buried in the tomb: the identification with the mythical Atreus and Agamemnon likely dates to the 18th century. The immense labour involved in the construction of the tomb, as well as the similarities between the architecture of the tholos and the structures of the citadel of Mycenae, has led to suggestions that it may have been intended for a ruler of Mycenae, and represent Mycenae's increasingly dominant status in the later part of the Bronze Age.
The tomb was first excavated in the 19th century, when parts of the marble sculptures of its façade were removed by the British aristocrat Lord Elgin and the Ottoman governor Veli Pasha. It was partly excavated by Heinrich Schliemann, and more fully by Panagiotis Stamatakis, in the 1870s. Throughout the 20th century, the British School at Athens made a series of excavations in and around the tomb, led by Alan Wace, which primarily aimed to settle the difficult question of the date of its construction.
== Name ==
=== Mythology ===
In Greek mythology, Atreus was the son of Hippodamia and Pelops, the king of Pisa in the western Peloponnese. In the version of the myth recounted by Hyginus, Atreus and his brother Thyestes killed their half-brother Chrysippus by casting him into a well out of jealousy, urged on by their mother. As a punishment for their crime, they were banished to Mycenae, where Hippodamia is variously said to have died by suicide or further exiled herself to Midea.
Atreus and Thyestes quarrelled for the throne of Mycenae: first, Thyestes gained it after Atreus' wife, Aerope, gave a golden lamb from Atreus' flock to Thyestes and then tricked him into agreeing that whoever held the lamb should become king. Atreus in turn managed to regain the throne after Hermes persuaded Thyestes to hand the kingship to Atreus if the sun were to rise in the west and set in the east, and then Helios altered the usual course of the sun so that it did exactly that. Finally, Atreus banished Thyestes after tricking him into eating the flesh of his own sons.
On the advice of an oracle, Thyestes had a son by his daughter, Pelopia, as it was foretold that this son would kill Atreus. When the infant, Aegisthus, was born, his mother abandoned him, but he was found by a shepherd and given to Atreus to raise; when Aegisthus entered adulthood, Thyestes revealed the truth of his parentage. Aegisthus killed Atreus and ruled Mycenae jointly with Thyestes.
The heroes Agamemnon and Menelaus were the twin sons of Atreus, sometimes known as the Atreides in Greek literature. After their father's murder, they took refuge with Tyndareus, king of Sparta: later, with Menelaus' assistance, Agamemnon overthrew Aegisthus and Thyestes and became king of Mycenae. However, Aegisthus would, along with Agamemnon's wife Clytemnestra, kill Agamemnon on his return from the Trojan War, before being himself killed by Agamemnon's son, Orestes.
=== Modern name ===
The precise origin of the name is uncertain, but it probably dates to the 18th century. The tomb was visible in Antiquity, but not associated with Atreus or Agamemnon when Pausanias visited in the 2nd century CE, since he describes the graves of both rulers as being within the walls of Mycenae. After Pausanias, there are no documented accounts of travellers visiting Mycenae until 1700, when the Venetian engineer and surveyor Francesco Vandeyk identified both the Lion Gate and the tomb now known as the 'Treasury of Atreus', which he conjectured was the tomb of a king. Claude-Louis Fourmont, who visited Mycenae in 1729–1730, used the name 'Tomb of Atreus' for the monument: by the time Edward Daniel Clarke visited at the beginning of the 19th century, he could report a tradition that the tomb was known as 'Treasury of Atreus' and identified with the tomb of Agamemnon mentioned in Pausanias.
The nearby tombs known as the Tomb of Clytemnestra and Tomb of Aegisthus are so named by association with the Treasury of Atreus.
== Construction ==
The Treasury of Atreus is the largest and most elaborate of the known Mycenaean tholos tombs. It follows the typical tripartite division of these tombs into a narrow rectangular passageway (dromos), joined by a deep doorway (stomion) to a burial chamber (thalamos) surmounted by a corbelled dome. The dome was covered with earth to heighten it; some of this mound remains, but erosion has reduced its height and moved its apex towards the west.
The dromos of the tomb is oriented east-west and is 36 m long by 6 m wide. For the first 19 metres from the stomion, the sides are dressed with conglomerate stone walls: while the dromoi of earlier tombs had been lined with rubble or poros ashlar, the Treasury of Atreus is the first tomb at Mycenae to be fully lined with conglomerate. The source of this conglomerate is likely to have been local to Mycenae. Wace estimates the total volume of masonry in the dromos at over 600 m3, or a weight of over 1200 tons. The height of the walls increases from 0.5 m at the eastern end to 10 m at the façade; their thickness correspondingly increases from around 2 m at the eastern entrance to around 3 m at the western entrance nearest to the façade, reflecting the additional pressure of the earth behind the walls as well as from the façade they support. The ashlar walls are bonded by yellow 'Plesia' clay, a mortar commonly used in Mycenaean architecture.
The façade of the stomion is 10.5 m high, with a doorway 5.4 m high, 2.7 m wide and 5.4 m deep. On top of this doorway are two lintel blocks, the innermost of which is 8 m in length, 5 m in width and 1.2 m thick: with a weight of around 120 tons, it is the heaviest single piece of masonry known from Greek architecture and may have required up to 1,000 people to transport it to the tomb. Above the doorway is a 'relieving triangle', an innovation first used at Mycenae on the earlier Tomb of Aegisthus to reduce the stress placed upon the lintel. This triangle is believed to have originally been decorated with sculpture. It has been suggested that the scale of the relieving triangle was intended to symbolise the power to harness resources.
Due to the fragmentary and scattered nature of the remains, there are various reconstructions of the decoration of the façade. The door was flanked by semi-engaged columns in green marble, with zig-zag motifs on the shaft. Two smaller half-columns were placed on either side of the relieving triangle, while red marble was used to create a frieze with rosettes above the architrave of the door, and spiral decoration in bands of red marble that closed the triangular aperture. In the 1960s, Richard Hope Simpson, along with Reynold Higgins and S.E. Ellis, demonstrated that the red marble, known as rosso antico, came from quarries on the Mani peninsula, and suggested that it was 'highly probable' that the green marble traced to the same source. This red marble was later known as lapis Taenarius after Cape Taenarum. Two reliefs in gypsum (the only such use of the material in the tomb), carved with the image of bulls, may have decorated either the façade or the side chamber. The empty 'relieving triangle' above the lintel of the façade served to direct the weight of the dome away from the centre of the lintel, reducing the stress placed upon it. Christos Tsountas suggested that the façade may have included an alabaster cornice, since fragments of a similar structure were found in the Tomb of Clytemnestra, which he believed to be contemporary with 'Atreus': however, recent re-evaluation of the Tomb of Clytemnestra has suggested that it may have been built up to two centuries later, making this suggestion hypothetical at best.
The thalamos is made up of 33 courses of ashlar masonry (cut and worked limestone), 14.5 m in diameter and 13.2 m high. It was initially constructed by the excavation of a cylindrical cavity from the hillside, which was then built up with masonry into a corbelled dome. Traces of nails hammered into the interior have been recovered, which have been interpreted as evidence for decorations, perhaps golden rosettes, once hung from the inside dome. A 2.5-meter-high doorway on the northern side of the inner chamber leads into a 6-meter square side chamber: along with the Treasury of Minyas at Orchomenos in Boeotia, which appears to be built to the same plan, the Treasury of Atreus is the only known Mycenaean tholos with a side chamber. Most scholars consider this to have been the location of any burials that were made inside the tomb, though no direct evidence of such burials has survived; Alan Wace, however, believed that it was used as an ossuary to which the remains of previous burials were relocated while further interments were made in the main thalamos. The tomb was the tallest and widest stone dome in the world for over a thousand years, until the Roman period, which saw the construction of the “Temple of Mercury” (actually part of a bath complex) at Baiae in the late 1st century BCE or early 1st century CE and of the Pantheon in Rome in the 2nd century CE. Both of these are "true" domes, as opposed to corbelled domes, making the Treasury of Atreus the world's largest corbelled dome.
The earthen tumulus above the tomb was originally supported by a retaining wall of poros stone, which is preserved to a height of 1.5 m and a thickness of around 1 m. It is believed that this poros stone was quarried in the hills north-west of Mycenae, in the direction of Nemea. A terrace, approximately 27 m in both length and breadth, was constructed in front of the tomb.
James Wright has described the construction of tholos tombs as a 'monumental expression of power', and highlighted the connections between the architecture of the tomb and that of the broadly-contemporary fortifications and palace on the acropolis. In particular, Wright draws attention to the resemblance between the relieving triangle and the sculpted relief of the Lion Gate, and the heavy use of conglomerate on the tomb, which is used within the citadel to accentuate key architectural features, particularly column and anta bases, thresholds and door jambs. It has also been suggested that the tapering sides and inward slant of the doorway may have been inspired by Ancient Egyptian architecture, while the running-spiral motif on the upper half-columns may trace back to Minoan art.
Little is known about the organisation of the tomb's construction or the workers who built it. Elizabeth French has suggested that the same workforce who constructed the LH III megaron (the so-called 'Palace III') on the acropolis may subsequently have been used to construct the Treasury of Atreus, and that they may have been worked as part of a corvée system. It has been calculated that the construction of the tomb required at least 20,000 worker-days of labour, and estimated that it may have occupied up to 1600 people and been a years- or decades-long project.
Nothing is known of who might have been buried inside the tomb, though it is generally considered to have been an elite or royal figure, perhaps a ruler of the site or somebody close to its rulers.
== Date ==
The date of the tomb has historically been controversial, though most scholars would now date it to c. 1400–1250 BCE. In the early 20th century, it was the focus of a debate between Arthur Evans and Alan Wace, which became known as the 'Helladic Heresy'. After the beginnings of his excavations of Knossos from 1900, Evans began increasingly to argue for a distinction between the 'Minoan' civilisation of Crete and the 'Mycenaean' civilisation of the mainland. Although he had used the terms 'Minoan' and 'Mycenaean' interchangeably for his findings on Crete during the first two years of excavation, Evans came to follow the German archaeologist Arthur Milchhöfer in arguing that the origins of Mycenaean civilisation lay on Crete: specifically, through the 'domination' of the mainland of Greece by 'Minoan dynasts'. In 1918, however, Wace published an article entitled 'The Pre-Mycenaean Pottery of the Mainland' along with Carl Blegen, whose own excavations at Korakou in Corinthia in 1915–1916 had convinced him that substantial differences existed between 'Minoan' and 'Helladic' culture in the Late Bronze Age. In their article, Wace and Blegen argued for the essential continuity of mainland-Greek, or 'Helladic', culture from the early to late Bronze Age, and that 'Mycenaean' civilisation (which then referred specifically to the period now designated as the Late Helladic). Mycenaean culture, they argued, was 'not merely transplanted from Crete, but [was] the fruit of the cultivated Cretan graft set on the wild stock of the mainland'. Moreover, while they accepted the influence of Crete on mainland Greece during the Middle Helladic period, they argued that the culture of the mainland remained 'Mycenaean as opposed to Cretan', and that it was 'inconceivable' that Late Helladic culture represented a different 'race' to that of the Early Helladic.
Wace and Blegen's argument stood in direct opposition to Evans' narrative, by which the Shaft Graves of Mycenae, first used in the transition between the Middle Helladic and Late Helladic periods, represented the tombs of the 'Minoan' rulers of Mycenae, and therefore a sharp break with the cultural forms that preceded them. He further argued that the tholoi, particularly the Treasury of Atreus, were not only contemporary with the Shaft Graves but themselves copies of similar-looking structures found on Crete. In the report of his first excavations at Mycenae in 1920, of which he informed Evans by letter, Wace suggested a later date for the Treasury of Atreus of c.1400–1200 BCE, rather than the c.1600–1500 BCE needed to conform with Evans' theory. This chronological disagreement, and the associated implication that the monumentality and elaboration of Mycenae's funerary forms had increased over the Late Helladic period — which was seen to contradict the idea of the site having been dominated by Cretan rulers — was dubbed the 'Helladic Heresy' by John Percival Droop.
Following further excavations in the 1920s, including that of the Tomb of Aegisthus, which he dated securely to LH IIA and argued as earlier than 'Atreus', Wace dated the tomb to LH III, later giving a terminus ante quem of 1350 BCE. This was primarily based on the findings of his 1939 excavation, which showed that the dromos had been dug through the so-called 'Bothros deposit', which included LH IIIA1 material, providing a terminus post quem for its construction. Most modern treatments consider the construction of the Treasury of Atreus and the fortification of the citadel of Mycenae, including the construction of the Lion Gate, to be broadly contemporary and to belong to the LH III period. However, there is some disagreement about the relative chronology: George Mylonas argued that the fortifications began in LH IIIA2 and that the Treasury of Atreus was constructed in LH IIIB1, contemporary with the final phase of fortification, while William Cavanagh and Christopher Mee, along with Elizabeth French, considered that 'Atreus' belongs to the early part of LH IIIA1.
By LH III, Mycenae and nearby Tiryns were the only sites in the Argolid where tholos tombs were constructed: previously, such tombs had been constructed at Dendra, Kazarma, Berbati, Prosymna and Kokla. Scholars generally consider that the Treasury of Atreus was the penultimate tholos constructed at Mycenae, ahead of the Tomb of Clytemnestra.
A single sherd beneath the threshold of the tomb dates to LH IIIB middle: this is considered to have come to be there during a later refurbishment of the tomb.
== Location ==
The site of Mycenae is situated in Argolis, in the north-eastern Peloponnese, on the eastern edge of the Argive Plain. The Treasury of Atreus is located to the west side of the modern road leading to the citadel, approximately 500 m south-southwest of the Lion Gate.
The earliest of Mycenae's tholoi were constructed around the Kalkani necropolis, which had previously been used for the earliest chamber tombs. The Lion and Aegisthus tholoi, by contrast, were built much closer to the acropolis, a trend followed by the later Tomb of Clytemnestra. This creates a division of most of Mycenae's nine tholos tombs into two groups, separated by the Panagia ridge. The greater size and elaboration of the tombs nearer the citadel has led to the suggestion that they are 'more royal' than those on the other side of the Panagia ridge, though the chronological concentration of most of the tholoi in LH IIA, the fact that the smaller Cyclopean and Epano Phournos tholoi predate the grander Lion and Aegisthus tombs, and the fact that ostentatious burials continued in monumental chamber tombs all problematise a straightforward connection between tholos tombs and royalty at Mycenae, at least before LH IIB.
The Treasury of Atreus is set alone at the southern edge of a bowl on the Panagia ridge's eastern slope. Prior to its construction, the site was occupied by a building, which was demolished to build the tholos. Michael Boyd has suggested that the tomb's position was intended to 'co-opt the traditions of the past without directly competing with the present', since most contemporary burials were made in chamber tombs further from the acropolis. David Mason has drawn attention to the tomb's position alongside a likely Mycenaean route to the acropolis, which perhaps gave it a protective function, and to the views created both of the citadel from the tomb and of the tomb from the citadel, which he argues would have emphasised the connection between the dead interred in the tomb and the living who held power over Mycenae. James Wright has also suggested that the location may have been selected for the greatest possible impact upon those arriving at Mycenae from the south.
The alignment of the dromos is believed to have reflected topographic considerations — it is aligned perpendicular to the slope of the hill, which would have best facilitated its construction.
== Post-Mycenaean history ==
The remains of a seventh-century BCE krater decorated with the image of a horse, found beside the retaining wall of the tumulus, has been taken as evidence of cult activity at the tomb. Unlike the earlier Tomb of Aegisthus and the later Tomb of Clytemnestra, there is little direct evidence of the tomb's use in the post-Mycenaean period, though a bronze pin found in the side chamber and a handful of other bronze objects from the tomb have been suggested as possibly belonging to the Geometric period. In other tombs of Mycenae, post-Mycenaean finds which are not associated with burials have been interpreted as signs of hero cult. Remains of this period in tholos tombs have been seen as a means for the short-lived Argive colony at Mycenae, established in the 3rd century BCE but abandoned within a century, to assert its connection with Mycenae's mythological heroes and so its status and prestige in relation to Argos.
=== Excavation ===
In the 19th century, a local tradition believed that the tomb had been once explored by the agha of the nearby village of Karvati, who took from it a bronze lamp. The first securely-documented entrance to the tomb was undertaken by the British aristocrat Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin. In 1801, Elgin had tasked his draughtsman, Giovanni Battista Lusieri, and Philip Hunt, a chaplain to the British embassy in Greece, to investigate various archaeological sites in Greece with a view to finding antiquities that might be taken back to Britain. Hunt visited Mycenae in August, and reported the Treasury of Atreus as 'a most stupendous conical subterranean building, quite entire, called by some antiquaries the Tomb of Agamemnon, by others the Royal Treasury of Mycenae'. Hunt also noted that the tomb was not intact, but open to the elements, and that 'floods of rain' and ingress of debris had made access difficult.
Elgin visited on 8 May 1802, crawling, as his wife Mary attested in a letter to her mother, through the tomb's relieving triangle. He asked the voivode of Nafplio to clear the tomb, which was completed by Elgin's return to Mycenae on the 12th: the voivode presented him with fragments of pottery vases, ornamental stonework and a marble vase found within. Elgin also had parts of the columns flanking the doorway removed and shipped to England, along with the fragmentary gypsum reliefs of bulls, and architectural drawings made of the tomb by Sebastiano Ittar.
In June 1810, Veli Pasha, the Ottoman Pasha of the Morea, excavated the monument. He cleared most of the entrance to the tomb and entered the chamber with ladders; according to Heinrich Schliemann's later publication of his own excavations at Mycenae, he discovered 'bones covered with gold', as well as gemstones and other gold and silver objects. Veli Pasha sold some artefacts to the British MPs and antiquarians John Nicholas Fazakerley and Henry Gally Knight, and removed four large fragments of the semi-engaged columns beside the doorway. One of the fragments — last seen in 1815 — became part of a mosque in Argos; Veli Pasha gave the others as a gift to Howe Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo, who visited him shortly after the excavations and gave him two fourteen-pounder cannons in exchange. Sligo described the columnar fragments as 'trifles', but had them shipped to his estate at Westport House in County Mayo, Ireland, where they were discovered in a basement by his grandson, George Browne, in 1904. George Browne offered them for 'public benefit' to the British Museum, to be combined with the fragments taken by Elgin and given in 1816 to the museum, in exchange for replicas of the reconstructed columns; they entered the museum in 1905.
Heinrich Schliemann may have explored the tomb during his brief, illegal excavations of Mycenae in 1874. In 1876, he excavated in the side chamber, finding a small pit of unknown purpose; Alan Wace later suggested that it was the base for a column which was never put in. Between 1876 and 1879, Panagiotis Stamatakis cleared the debris from the dromos and entrance of the tomb, recovering fragments of sculpture believed to have come from the relieving triangle.
In 1920 and 1921, archaeologists of the British School at Athens under Alan Wace made small-scale excavations in the tomb for the purposes of establishing its date, including a trench in the dromos. During the campaigns of 1920–1923, which had originally intended to excavate the seven thus-far unexcavated tholoi (that is, all except 'Atreus' and 'Clytemnestra'), Wace had the first architectural plans of the tomb drawn up by Piet de Jong.
Another effort was made in 1939, where Wace dug trenches on the outside of the dromos in line with the façade and beyond the eastern end of the dromos. Wace found that the façade and dromos were bonded together, showing that they were constructed together, and that the dromos had not previously been any larger than its present dimensions. The 1939 excavation also showed that the dromos had been dug through the so-called 'Bothros deposit', which included LH IIIA1 material, providing a terminus post quem for its construction.
In 1955, Wace dug trial trenches in the area around the tomb, containing large quantities of Mycenaean potsherds, which have been interpreted (in line with similar contemporary deposits at the Tomb of Clytemnestra) as offerings made to the tomb's occupants.
== Gallery == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gus_Van_Sant | Gus Van Sant | Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American filmmaker, photographer, painter, and musician. He has earned acclaim as an independent filmmaker, and is considered to be one of the most prominent auteurs of the new queer cinema movement. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultures, especially within gay culture.
His early career was devoted to directing television commercials in the Pacific Northwest. He made his feature-length directorial debut film Mala Noche (1985). He earned acclaim for a string of independent films such as the crime drama Drugstore Cowboy (1989), the adventure film My Own Private Idaho (1991), and the black comedy To Die For (1995). He earned Academy Award for Best Director nominations for the drama Good Will Hunting (1997), and the biographical film Milk (2008), both of which also received Best Picture nominations.
Van Sant directed the psychological drama Elephant (2003), a film based on the Columbine High School massacre, for which he won the Palme d'Or and Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival. The reactions to Van Sant's creative output have since been mixed. He received positive reviews for Finding Forrester (2000), Paranoid Park (2007), and Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot (2018) while receiving negative receptions for his films Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993), Psycho (1998), and The Sea of Trees (2015). His films Last Days (2005) and Promised Land (2012) received mixed reviews.
Also known for his work on television, he has directed and executive produced the political drama series Boss (2011), the docudrama miniseries When We Rise (2018), and the anthology series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (2024). Van Sant has written screenplays for several of his earlier works, and has also published the novel, Pink, and a book of his photography, 108 Portraits, He has also released two musical albums.
== Early life and education ==
Van Sant was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Betty (née Seay) and Gus Green Van Sant Sr., a clothing manufacturer and traveling salesman who rapidly worked his way into middle class prosperity, holding executive marketing positions that included being president of the White Stag Manufacturing Company's apparel operation. As a result of his father's job, the family moved continually during his childhood.
Van Sant's paternal family is of partial Dutch origin; the name "Van Sant" is derived from the Dutch name "Van Zandt". The earliest Van Zandt arrived in the New Netherland area in the early 17th century, around what is now New York City.
Gus Van Sant is an alumnus of Darien High School in Darien, Connecticut, and The Catlin Gabel School in Portland, Oregon. One constant in the director's early years was his interest in visual arts (namely, painting and Super-8 filmmaking); while still in school he began making semi-autobiographical shorts costing between 30 and 50 dollars. Van Sant's artistic leanings took him to the Rhode Island School of Design in 1970, where his introduction to various avant-garde directors inspired him to change his major from painting to cinema.
== Career ==
=== 1982–1989: Early career ===
After spending time in Europe, Van Sant went to Los Angeles in 1976. He secured a job as a production assistant to filmmaker Ken Shapiro, with whom he developed a few ideas, none of which came to fruition. In 1981, Van Sant made Alice in Hollywood, a film about a naïve young actress who goes to Hollywood and abandons her ideals. It was never released. During this period, Van Sant began to spend time observing the denizens of the more down-and-out sections of Hollywood Boulevard. He became fascinated by the existence of this marginalized section of L.A.'s population, especially in context with the more ordinary, prosperous world that surrounded them. Van Sant would repeatedly focus his work on those existing on society's fringes, making his feature film directorial debut Mala Noche.
It was made two years after Van Sant went to New York to work in an advertising agency. He saved $20,000 during his tenure there, enabling him to finance the majority of his tale of doomed love between a gay liquor store clerk and a Mexican immigrant. The film, which was taken from Portland street writer Walt Curtis' semi-autobiographical novella, featured some of the director's hallmarks, notably an unfulfilled romanticism, a dry sense of the absurd, and the refusal to treat homosexuality as something deserving of judgment. Unlike many gay filmmakers, Van Sant—who had long been openly gay—declined to use same-sex relationships as fodder for overtly political statements, although such relationships would frequently appear in his films.
Shot in black-and-white, the film earned Van Sant almost overnight acclaim on the festival circuit, with the Los Angeles Times naming it the year's best independent film. The film's success attracted Hollywood interest, and Van Sant was briefly courted by Universal; the courtship ended after Van Sant pitched a series of project ideas (including what would become Drugstore Cowboy and My Own Private Idaho) that the studio declined to take interest in.
Van Sant returned to Portland, Oregon, where he set up house and began giving life to the ideas rejected by Universal. He directed Drugstore Cowboy about four drug addicts robbing pharmacies to support their habit. The film met with great critical success and revived the career of Matt Dillon.
=== 1990–1995: Indie and arthouse success ===
Drugstore Cowboy's exploration of the lives of those living on society's outer fringes, as well as its Portland setting, were mirrored in Van Sant's next effort, the similarly acclaimed My Own Private Idaho (1991). Only with the success of Cowboy was Van Sant now given license to make Idaho (a film he had originally pitched that was knocked back several times because the studios deemed the script 'too risky'). New Line Cinema now gave Van Sant the green light, and he went on a mission to get the Idaho script into the hands of River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves, his preferred choice for the two young leads. After months of struggle with agents and managers over the content of the script, Van Sant finally secured Phoenix and Reeves, who played the roles of Mike Waters and Scott Favor, respectively.
Centering on the dealings of two male hustlers (played by Phoenix and Reeves), the film was a compelling examination of unrequited love, alienation and the concept of family (a concept Van Sant repeatedly explores in his films). The film won him an Independent Spirit Award for his screenplay (he had won the same award for his Drugstore Cowboy screenplay), as well as greater prestige. The film gained River Phoenix best actor honors at the Venice Film Festival among others. It helped Reeves—previously best known for his work in the Bill and Ted movies—to get the critical respect that had eluded him.
Van Sant's next film, a 1993 adaptation of Tom Robbins' Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, was an excessive flop, both commercially and critically. Featuring an unusually large budget (for Van Sant, at least) of $8.5 million and a large, eclectic cast including Uma Thurman, John Hurt, Keanu Reeves and a newcomer in the form of River Phoenix's younger sister Rain (at Phoenix's suggestion), the film was worked and then reworked, but the finished product nonetheless resulted in something approaching a significant disaster.
Van Sant's 1995 film To Die For helped to restore his luster. An adaptation of Joyce Maynard's novel, the black comedy starred Nicole Kidman as a murderously ambitious weather girl; it also stars Matt Dillon as her hapless husband and, the third Phoenix sibling in as many projects, Joaquin Phoenix, as her equally hapless lover (River had died of a drug overdose a year and half earlier). It was Van Sant's first effort for a major studio (Columbia), and its success paved the way for further projects of the director's choosing. The same year, he served as executive producer for Larry Clark's Kids; it was a fitting assignment, due to both the film's subject matter and the fact that Clark's photographs of junkies had served as reference points for Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy.
=== 1997–2003: Mainstream breakout ===
In 1997, Van Sant gained mainstream recognition and critical acclaim thanks to Good Will Hunting, which was written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The film, about a troubled, blue-collar mathematical genius, was a huge critical and commercial success. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Director for Van Sant. It won two, including Best Screenplay for Damon and Affleck, and Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Robin Williams, who, in his acceptance speech, referred to Van Sant as "being so subtle you're almost subliminal." Van Sant, Damon and Affleck parodied themselves and the film's success in Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
Van Sant received the opportunity to remake Alfred Hitchcock's classic Psycho. As opposed to reinterpreting the 1960 film, Van Sant opted to recreate the film shot-for-shot, in color, with a cast of young Hollywood A-listers. His decision was met with equal parts curiosity, skepticism, and derision from industry insiders and outsiders alike, and the finished result met with a similar reception. It starred Anne Heche, Vince Vaughn and Julianne Moore, and met with a negative critical reception and did poorly at the box office.
In 2000, Van Sant directed Finding Forrester, about a high-school student (Rob Brown) from the Bronx unlikely becoming a friend of a crusty, reclusive author (Sean Connery). Critical response was generally positive and became a box office success. In addition to directing, he devoted considerable energy to releasing two albums and publishing a novel, Pink, which was a thinly veiled exploration of his grief over River Phoenix's death.
=== 2003–present: Return to arthouse cinema ===
Van Sant traveled to the deserts of Argentina, Utah, and Death Valley for the production of 2002's Gerry, a loosely devised, largely improvised feature in which stars Matt Damon and Casey Affleck—both playing characters named Gerry—wander through the desert, discussing Wheel of Fortune, video games, and nothing in particular. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
It took Gerry over a year to make it to theaters, in which time Van Sant began production on his next film, Elephant. Approached by HBO and producer Diane Keaton to craft a fictional film based on the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, the director chose to shoot in his hometown of Portland, employing dozens of untrained, teen actors. Melding improvisational long takes like those in Gerry with Harris Savides' fluid camerawork, the film was influenced by Alan Clarke's 1989 film of the same name (see Elephant). The finished film provoked strong reactions from audiences at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. At the Cannes festival, the jury awarded Elephant with their top prize, the Palme d'Or, and Van Sant with his first Best Director statue from the festival.
In 2005, Van Sant released Last Days, the final component of what he refers to as his "Death Trilogy", (the other parts being Gerry and Elephant). It is a fictionalized account of what happened to Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain in the days leading up to his death. In 2006, Van Sant began work on Paranoid Park based on the book by Blake Nelson, about a skateboarding teenager who accidentally causes someone's death. The film was released in Europe in February 2008. He also directed the "Le Marais" segment of the omnibus film Paris, je t'aime.
Released in 2008, Van Sant's Milk is a biopic of openly gay San Francisco politician Harvey Milk, who was assassinated in 1978. The film received eight Oscar nominations at the 81st Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning two for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Sean Penn, who starred as Milk, and Best Original Screenplay for writer Dustin Lance Black. Van Sant was nominated for Best Director. Van Sant later stated that his experience with Sean Penn on the film was "amazing". His 2011 film Restless was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, and starred Henry Hopper and Mia Wasikowska.
Van Sant's film, Promised Land, was released on December 28, 2012. The film stars Frances McDormand, Matt Damon, and John Krasinski—the latter two co-wrote the screenplay based on a story by Dave Eggers. Filmed in April 2012, the production company, Focus Features, selected the release date so that the film is eligible to qualify for awards consideration. After Promised Land, Van Sant directed a film titled Sea of Trees, which starred Matthew McConaughey and Ken Watanabe. The film tells the story of a man who travels to the infamous Aokigahara suicide forest in Japan to kill himself, only to encounter another man wishing to kill himself as well, with whom he then embarks on a "spiritual journey". The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival but was met with harsh critical reception at the Cannes, being booed and laughed at.
In December 2016, it was announced Van Sant would direct Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot, a biopic about cartoonist John Callahan, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Jonah Hill, Jack Black, and Mark Webber. Principal photography began in March 2017.
In December 2024, he was reported to be directing Dead Man's Wire starring Bill Skarsgård and Dacre Montgomery, and produced by Elevated Films and Balcony 9 Productions.
=== Other work ===
Van Sant released two musical albums: Gus Van Sant and 18 Songs About Golf. Van Sant played himself in episodes of the IFC series Portlandia and the HBO series Entourage.
Van Sant was credited for all photography, paintings and art direction on the Red Hot Chili Peppers' album Blood Sugar Sex Magik, and directed the video for "Under the Bridge". He directed the pilot for the Starz television program Boss, starring Kelsey Grammer. Van Sant went onto The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast in 2014 to discuss filmmaking, writing, film history and their collaborations that never got made (The Golden Suicides) and the one that did (The Canyons).
== Personal life ==
Van Sant is gay and lives in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles.
== Archive ==
The moving image collection of Gus Van Sant is held at the Academy Film Archive. The archive has preserved many of Van Sant's short films, including The Happy Organ, Ken Death Gets Out of Jail, Five Ways to Kill Yourself, and others.
== Filmography ==
=== Short film ===
Fun with a Bloodroot (1967) 2 min 20 sec, 8 mm color
The Happy Organ (1971) 20 min, 16 mm black and white
Little Johnny (1972) 40 sec, 16 mm black and white
1/2 of a Telephone Conversation (1973) 2 min, 16 mm black and white
Late Morning Start (1975) 28 min, 16 mm color
The Discipline of DE (1978) 9 min, 16 mm black and white, adaptation of William S. Burroughs' short story, narrated by Ken Shapiro
Alice in Hollywood (1981) 45 min, 16 mm color
My Friend (1982) 3 min, 16 mm black and white
Where'd She Go? (1983) 3 min, 16 mm color
Nightmare Typhoon (1984) 9 min, 16 mm black and white
My New Friend (1984) 3 min, 16 mm color
Ken Death Gets Out of Jail (1985) 3 min, 16 mm black and white
Five Ways to Kill Yourself (1986) 3 min, 16 mm black and white
Thanksgiving Prayer (1991) 2 min, 35 mm color, written by and starring William S. Burroughs
Four Boys on the Road in a Volvo (1996) 4min, color
Paris, je t'aime (2006) segment "Le Marais"
To Each His Own Cinema (2007) segment "First Kiss" (3 min)
8 (2008) segment "Mansion on the Hill"
=== Feature film ===
Executive producer only
Kids (1995)
Speedway Junky (1999)
Tarnation (2003)
Wild Tigers I Have Known (2006)
Lightfield's Home Videos (2006)
Howl (2010)
Virginia (2010)
Act Up! (2012)
Laurence Anyways (2012)
Revolution (2013)
I Am Michael (2015)
Age Out (2018)
Acting roles
=== Television ===
Acting roles
=== Music video ===
== Awards and nominations ==
Van Sant became one of only two filmmakers—the other being Joel Coen—to win both the Palme d'Or and Best Director accolades at the Cannes Film Festival in the same year.
Directed Academy Award performances
Under Van Sant's direction, these actors have received Academy Award nominations and wins for their performances in their respective roles.
== Discography ==
The Elvis of Letters (1985) with William S. Burroughs
Millions of Images (1990) with William S. Burroughs
18 Songs About Golf (1998) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Mew_Mew | Tokyo Mew Mew | Tokyo Mew Mew (Japanese: 東京ミュウミュウ, Hepburn: Tōkyō Myū Myū) is a Japanese manga series created and written by Reiko Yoshida and illustrated by Mia Ikumi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's shōjo manga magazine Nakayoshi from September 2000 to February 2003, with its chapters collected in seven tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. It focuses on five girls infused with the DNA of endangered animals which gives them special powers and allows them to transform into "Mew Mews". Led by Ichigo Momomiya, the girls protect Earth from aliens who wish to "reclaim" it.
The series was adapted into a fifty-two episode anime series produced by TV Aichi, We've Inc. & Tokyu Agency and animated by Pierrot. The anime aired in Japan from April 6, 2002, to March 29, 2003 on TXN affiliates. A two-volume sequel to the manga, Tokyo Mew Mew à la Mode, was serialized in Nakayoshi from April 2003 to February 2004. The sequel introduces a new character, Berry Shirayuki, who becomes the temporary leader of the Mew Mews. The series would inspire two video games: a puzzle adventure game for Game Boy Advance, and a role-playing video game for the PlayStation.
Tokyopop originally licensed Tokyo Mew Mew for English-language publication in North America, and would release both the original series and à la Mode. Kodansha Comics would publish a newly translated version of the manga in September 2011. 4Kids Entertainment licensed the anime series for North American broadcast under the title Mew Mew Power, and produced an edited English-language localization. The first twenty-three episodes of the series would air on 4Kids TV in the United States, with three additional episodes airing on YTV in Canada. 4Kids was unable to license the remaining 26 episodes of the series or release the series on home video.
Tokyo Mew Mew was well received by English-language readers, with critics praising the manga for being a "cute and entertaining" series with "free-flowing style and character designs". Several volumes of the manga series appeared in the Top 50 sales lists for graphic novels in their respective months of release. The anime series received high ratings in Japan, while Mew Mew Power would become 4Kids' highest-rated show during its American broadcast, and be licensed for regional release in several other countries.
In 2020, a second, two-chapter sequel called Tokyo Mew Mew 2020 Re-Turn was released, featuring the main characters with updated designs; and as well as a spinoff, titled Tokyo Mew Mew Olé!, which features a new team of male Mew Mews. In addition, a new anime adaptation of the series, Tokyo Mew Mew New, was announced; the series aired from July to September 2022. A second season premiered in April 2023.
== Plot ==
In Tokyo, Japan, a young girl named Ichigo Momomiya attends an endangered species exhibit with her "crush" Masaya Aoyama. After an earthquake, Ichigo and four other girls are bathed in a strange light. A cat appears before Ichigo, then merges with her. The next day, she begins acting like a cat and making cat puns. After meeting Ryou Shirogane and Keiichirou Akasaka, Ichigo learns that she was infused with the DNA of the Iriomote cat. Ryou and Keiichirou explain that this allows her to transform into Mew Ichigo, a powerful heroic cat girl. She is ordered to defeat Chimera Animas—alien parasites which infect animals and turn them into monsters. Ryou and Keiichirou instruct Ichigo to find the four other girls from the exhibit—the remaining Mew Mews.
The first Mew Mew Ichigo encounters are Minto Aizawa, a spoiled, wealthy girl and ballerina who is infused with the genes of the blue lorikeet; Retasu Midorikawa, a shy but smart girl who endures constant bullying from three girls and absorbs the genes of the finless porpoise; a hyper and yet young girl named Bu-Ling Huang who receives the genes of the golden lion tamarin; and Zakuro Fujiwara, a professional actress and model infused with the genes of the gray wolf.
The five Mew Mews battle the Chimera Animas and their alien controllers Quiche, Pie and Tart. Quiche falls in love with Ichigo where he tries to gain her love despite the fact that he is trying to eliminate the other Mew Mews. Pie and Tart later join Quiche in trying to destroy the Mew Mews.
As the fighting intensifies, the Mew Mews are tasked with finding "Mew Aqua", a material created from pure water that contains immense power for combating the alien attacks and can be sensed by the Mew Mews. During a battle with Quiche at an aquarium, Ichigo is in danger of losing when the mysterious Blue Knight appears and rescues her. He returns periodically throughout the series, protecting Ichigo from various dangers. It is later revealed that the Blue Knight is in fact Masaya. Shortly after this discovery, Masaya collapses and transforms again. This time, he transforms into Deep Blue, the alien leader who wants to destroy humanity. After explaining to Ichigo that Masaya was a false form for temporary use, Deep Blue attacks the Mew Mews. Pie and Tart try to stop the other mew mews while Ichigo goes after Deep Blue. He and Quiche battle and Deep Blue wins.
Masaya's personality briefly reappears and he uses the Mew Aqua inside Deep Blue to save Ichigo and Tokyo, killing himself in the process. Devastated over his loss, Ichigo pours her power into Masaya to save his life, losing her own in the process. Masaya kisses her, changing her back to a human and revives her. Ryou gives Pie the remaining Mew Aqua to save the aliens' world, after which Quiche, Pie, and Tart say their goodbyes and return to their own world.
=== Sequels ===
==== Tokyo Mew Mew à La Mode ====
Ichigo and Masaya move to England to study endangered species. The remaining Mew Mews continue to eliminate the Chimera Animas left behind by the aliens. They face a new threat in the form of the Saint Rose Crusaders: Humans with supernatural abilities who desire to conquer the world and create a "utopia" while taking over the remaining Chimera Animas.
Berry Shirayuki becomes the sixth Mew Mew and temporarily takes Ichigo's place as the leader. Berry is the first Mew Mew to be infused with the DNA of two endangered species, the Andean mountain cat and the Amami rabbit. As one of the strongest Mew Mews, Berry is targeted by two of the Crusaders, who attack her at school. Ichigo returns to provide assistance during this battle. For their final attack, two Crusaders hypnotize the citizens of Tokyo and set them against the Mew Mews. Berry and her childhood friend Tasuku Meguro use their newfound feelings of love to reverse the hypnosis and cause a change of heart in the Crusaders.
==== Tokyo Mew Mew Olé! ====
This spin-off follows five high school boys, Aoi Shibuya, Shizuka Yoyogi, Ryusei Kanda, Taichi Hiroo, and Ayato Roppongi, as they protect Tokyo by transforming into Mew Mews alongside female lead, Anzu Hinata.
== Production ==
Mia Ikumi spent a year designing the Tokyo Mew Mew manga before the release of the first volume in February 2001. The story she originally presented to her editors, Tokyo Black Cat Girl, featured a heroine named Hime Azumi. An intergalactic police officer named Masha gave her the ability to transform into a cat-girl and asked her to aid him in defeating alien invaders called the Bugs. After the production team decided to focus on five female superheroes, Ikumi was asked to reconstruct the lead character. She had reservations about the changes, as the character was originally designed for a more dramatic series.
As Tokyo Mew Mew became a viable project, Kodansha hired Reiko Yoshida to be the series' scenario writer and story supervisor. Yoshida and two other editors determined each volume's plot, created a scenario by adding stage directions and dialogue, and presented it to Ikumi. Ikumi added her own ideas and changes, creating the manuscript's first draft, which was taken to the publishers for final review and approval. This differs from most manga series, in which the manga writer also creates the scenarios and stories before submitting to their editor for approval.
After the first volume's release, a two-day Tokyo Mew Mew festival was held during the Golden Week holiday—a week-long span in late April and early May during which four public holidays occur—to promote the series. Events included a Tokyo Mew Mew art gallery and the release of new merchandise. Ikumi, the series' artist, created a special poster for the event, featuring all twelve characters. She also cosplayed as characters from the series, as Minto Aizawa on one day and Retasu Midorikawa on the other.
== Media ==
=== Manga ===
Written by Reiko Yoshida and illustrated by Mia Ikumi, Tokyo Mew Mew was first serialized in Nakayoshi magazine between September 2000 and February 2003. The twenty-nine chapters were then compiled into seven tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. The first volume was released on February 1, 2001, with the final volume released April 4, 2003. In April 2003, a sequel called Tokyo Mew Mew à la Mode premiered in Nakayoshi. Running until February 2004 and written solely by Mia Ikumi, the sequel was published as two volumes. In December 2019, an additional spinoff called Tokyo Mew Mew Olé! made by Madoka Seizuki began running in Nakayoshi. The spinoff focuses on a new team of male Mew Mews. The manga ended in August 2022, and was compiled into seven volumes. A short, 2-chapter manga sequel of the original series made by the original creators titled Tokyo Mew Mew 2020 Re-Turn was published between December 2019 and January 2020. It was Ikumi's final manga before her death in March 2022.
Tokyo Mew Mew and Tokyo Mew Mew à la Mode are licensed for an English-language release in North America by Tokyopop. The first volume of the main series was released on June 1, 2004, with volumes released subsequently until the seventh volume was published on December 15, 2005. The two volumes of Tokyo Mew Mew à la Mode were released on June 7 and September 13, 2005, respectively. Unlike the Japanese releases, each Tokyopop chapter is named. The main series is licensed for an English language release in Singapore by Chuang Yi. Carlsen Comics has licensed the series, through its regional divisions, and released the series in German, Danish and Swedish. The series is also licensed for regional language releases in French by Pika Édition, in Polish by Japonica Polonica Fantastica, and in Finnish by Sangatsu Manga. Tokyo Mew Mew was one of the first manga series released in Spanish in North America by Public Square Books. Kodansha Comics released an omnibus version of the series, featuring a new translation in September 2011.
=== Anime ===
Pierrot, TV Aichi, Tokyu Agency and We've Inc. adapted Tokyo Mew Mew into a fifty-two episode anime series, directed by Noriyuki Abe. Broadcast on TXN affiliates, the series premiered on April 6, 2002, and aired weekly until its conclusion on March 29, 2003. Most of the music for the series was produced by Shin Yoshimura and composed by Takayuki Negishi. Two pieces of theme music were also used for the anime series. "My Sweet Heart", performed by Rika Komatsu, was the series opening theme. The ending theme "Koi wa A La Mode" is performed by the five voice actors who play the Mew Mews. In Japan, the series was released across nine Region 2 DVD volumes. The ninth volume included a bonus DVD containing extra content. At some point during the TV broadcast, AEON changed its name to We've.
Tokyo Mew Mew was later licensed for an English-language dubbed release by 4Kids Entertainment. In its announcement about the series, 4Kids originally noted that the show would be renamed to Hollywood Mew Mew and that they would be heavily editing and localizing episodes so that viewers would not recognize its Japanese origins. Subsequent 4Kids press releases about the series referred to the new series as The Mew Mews and its original name Tokyo Mew Mew. When the series premiered on 4Kids TV on February 19, 2005, it aired under the name as Mew Mew Power. Characters and episodes were renamed, scenes were cut and storylines were modified. The music was replaced with a new score provided by Bear in the Big Blue House and The Book of Pooh composer, Julian Harris, and the opening theme was replaced with the song "Team Up", performed by Bree Sharp and Mollie Weaver. Twenty-six episodes of Mew Mew Power aired on 4Kids TV in the United States because 4Kids was unable to get a merchandising deal for the series and the English dub had stopped production. The 4Kids episodes aired on YTV in Canada and on the Pop Girl satellite television channel in the United Kingdom; these included three dubbed episodes not broadcast in the United States.
Although Mew Mew Power has not been released to home video in North America, ten of the 4Kids episodes have been released to Region 4 DVD in Australia and New Zealand by Magna Pacific and all twenty-six 4Kids episodes were released to Region 2 DVD in South Africa. Mew Mew Power was licensed for regional airing in French by Arès Films, which released nine dubbed 4Kids episodes to DVD in February 2006 as a single volume through Warner Home Vidéo France. The French dub aired on Télétoon+ as part of their Code F block. The company also licensed the remaining twenty-six episodes of the series that 4Kids had not obtained, releasing them in two DVD box sets through AK Vidéo.
A new anime adaptation titled Tokyo Mew Mew New was announced to commemorate the manga's 20th anniversary. It was later revealed that the adaptation will be animated by Yumeta Company and Graphinica, and directed by Takahiro Natori, with Yuka Yamada handling the series' scripts, Satoshi Ishino designing the characters, and Yasuharu Takanashi composing the music. New cast members were chosen to play the Mew Mews through a public audition held in Q2 2020, and they will also be promoting as an idol group named Smewthie as their characters. The new series premiered on July 6, 2022, on TV Tokyo. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series outside of Asia and was streamed on Hidive.
A second season of Tokyo Mew Mew New was announced at the end of the final episode on September 21, 2022. It premiered in April 2023.
=== Video games ===
Two video games based on the Tokyo Mew Mew series were launched in 2002 by Takara. The first, Hamepane Tokyo Mew Mew (はめパネ 東京ミュウミュウ, Hamepane Tōkyō Myū Myū), a puzzle adventure game for the Game Boy Advance, was released in Japan on July 11, 2002.
The second title, Tōkyō Mew Mew – Enter the New Mew Mew! – Serve Everyone Together (東京ミュウミュウ 登場 新ミュウミュウ！みんないっしょにご奉仕するにゃん, Tōkyō Myū Myū – Tōjō Shin Myū Myū! Minna Issho ni Gohōshi suru Nyan), was released in Japan on December 5, 2002. It is a PlayStation turn-based role-playing video game in which the player controls a new Mew Mew, Ringo Akai (赤井 りんご, Akai Ringo), as well as the original five heroines. They must defend Ringo's island from Quiche, the Chimera Animas and a new alien named Gateau du Roi (ガトー·デュ·ロワ, Gatō dyu Rowa). Both Ringo Akai and Gateau were created by the manga's artist, Mia Ikumi, following design specifications from Takara. The game uses voice actors from the anime series, with the two new characters voiced by Taeko Kawata and Ryōtarō Okiayu, respectively. Ikumi was pleased with how both characters turned out and expressed a desire to use Ringo as a regular character in a future manga series. Ringo later joined the other Mew Mews in the Petite Mew Mew bonus story in the second volume of Tokyo Mew Mew à la Mode.
=== CDs ===
Multiple music and character CDs have been released for the Tokyo Mew Mew series by King Records. The first, a CD single, contained the full and karaoke versions of "Koi wa A La Mode", performed by the five voice actors who played the Mew Mews, and a second song performed by Saki Nakajima, who voices Ichigo.
On July 24, 2002, a five-disc limited edition collector's box set was released containing character songs for each of the Mew Mews, performed by their respective voice actors and a remix of "Koi wa A La Mode". The individual character song discs were released as standalone CDs on September 4, 2002. An additional character CD set, containing remixed versions of two songs from each individual album, followed on December 25, 2002. A second character CD for Ichigo, containing five new tracks performed by Nakajima, was released on February 26, 2003.
The first full anime soundtrack, Tokyo Mew Mew Original Soundtrack was released on September 25, 2002, by NEC. The CD included the series opening and ending themes and twenty-seven pieces of series background music. NEC released a second soundtrack on January 22, 2003; it contains the opening and closing themes, along with an additional twenty-nine tracks of background music. On March 26, 2003, two "best of" CDs were released for the anime series: Tokyo Mew Mew Super Best Hit – Cafe Mew Mew side and Tokyo Mew Mew Super Best Hit – Tokyo Mew Mew side. Each CD includes ten of the series' "most popular" musical pieces.
== Reception ==
The Tokyo Mew Mew manga series was well received by English-speaking audiences. In March and April 2003, the first volume sold an estimated 1,597 and 1,746 copies respectively. This put the volume at the low end of the top 50 sales for each month. By 2004, with most of the series released, it became a mild success for licensor Tokyopop. It was ranked 16th on the list of Manga Top 50 for the first quarter of 2004 in the ICv2 Retailers Guide to Anime/Manga, based on sales from both mainstream bookstores and comic book shops. Sales of the sixth and seventh volumes dropped slightly; however, both were among the top 100 best-selling graphic novels in March and May 2004. The first volume of Tokyo Mew Mew à la Mode debuted 63rd on the list of top 100 best-selling graphic novels of May 2005, with nearly double the sales figures of the last volume of the main series. On the Nielsen Bookscan charts, the volume debuted at rank 39 before quickly climbing to the 14th spot. The second volume of à la Mode saw similar success, debuting in the 69th slot before advancing to the 12th position, a result of the Mew Mew Power show appearing on 4Kids TV.
Tokyo Mew Mew was generally well received by reviewers, who described it as cute and entertaining. Though AnimeFringe's Patrick King notes that it is not a very intellectual series and that it avoids complex plot points, he lauded it as engrossing "brain candy" and an "endearing action-romance" that has no "delusions of grandeur". Critics praised the artwork in both Tokyo Mew Mew and the sequel Tokyo Mew Mew à La Mode. Ikumi's "free flowing" style and character designs were seen as a perfect fit for the series. Criticism of Ikumi's art focused on images which regularly spilled out of panel borders and speech bubbles with ambiguous speakers. Patrick King of Animefringe stated: "one of the most attractive aspects of Tokyo Mew Mew is easily Mia Ikumi's ultra-cute artwork. Big eyes, cat ears, fuzzy tails, and short skirts all come together in a cuteness combo that's hard to resist." According to Carlo Santos of Anime News Network, "Mia Ikumi's artwork is perfectly suited to the story, and it is not even all that wispy and frilly compared to other shōjo material. Like many budding manga artist, Ikumi's greatest strength is in carefully posed character portraits, and her prolific use of tones creates unique effects while also sidestepping the challenge of backgrounds."
Over all Tokyo Mew Mew à La Mode had more mixed reviews. Critics praised it for being a modern manga that typifies the magical girl formula, highlighting both its strengths and weaknesses. Mike Dungan, of Mania Entertainment, considered the original series to be "quite charming" and felt that à la Mode was a good continuation of the series with the "same fun and excitement" as its predecessor. Others felt Berry was an overly shallow heroine and that the sequel offered nothing new for readers with the Saint Rose Crusaders' costumes and plans being nothing more than concepts borrowed from Sailor Moon. Janet Crocker, Shannon Fay and Chris Istel of Animefringe criticized à la Mode for having the character Duke, the main villain of the arc, dressed in a white robe similar to those used by the white supremacy group, the Ku Klux Klan. Garrity felt à La Mode was a vehicle for referencing Tokyo Mew Mew fandom and merchandise and that Berry was a "transparent wish-fulfillment protagonist".
The anime adaptation has been compared to Sailor Moon and Yes! PreCure 5 due to both having female protagonists, five original team members with signature colors and powers, and similar plot lines, as have many magical girl series. Tokyo Mew Mew received high ratings in Japan with extensive merchandizing tie ins and marketing events to promote the series. The announcement of 4Kids licensing the anime series drew negative reactions from English-speaking in the U.S. fans, due to 4Kids' practice of removing cultural elements from their English-dubbed adaptations. Several fans would campaign to have the company to release an uncut version of the anime series. Overall viewer reception to Mew Mew Power would be mixed, but the show would become the block's highest-rated program at the start of the Fall 2005 season. Despite this, the series was never released to DVD in North America. Mew Mew Power would be licensed for broadcast in France, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, Brazil, Albania, Serbia, Croatia, Turkey, Greece, South Africa, Denmark, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and Israel. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capybara# | Capybara# | The capybara or greater capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is the largest living rodent, native to all countries in South America except Chile. It is a semiaquatic herbivore that inhabits savannas and dense forests, living near and in bodies of water and feeding mainly on grasses and aquatic plants.
Together with the lesser capybara, it constitutes the genus Hydrochoerus. Its other close relatives include guinea pigs and rock cavies, and it is more distantly related to the agouti, the chinchilla, and the nutria.
The capybara is a highly social species that usually lives in groups of 10–20 individuals, but can be found in groups as large as one hundred. It is hunted for its meat and hide and for grease from its thick fatty skin.
== Etymology ==
Its common name is derived from Tupi ka'apiûara, a complex agglutination of kaá (leaf) + píi (slender) + ú (eat) + ara (a suffix for agent nouns), meaning "one who eats slender leaves", or "grass-eater". The genus name, hydrochoerus, comes from Greek ὕδωρ (hýdor "water") and χοῖρος (choíros "pig, hog") and the species name, hydrochaeris, comes from Greek ὕδωρ (hýdor "water") and χαίρω (chairo "feel happy, enjoy").
== Classification and phylogeny ==
The capybara and the lesser capybara both belong to the subfamily Hydrochoerinae along with the rock cavies. The living capybaras and their extinct relatives were previously classified in their own family Hydrochoeridae. Since 2002, molecular phylogenetic studies have recognized a close relationship between Hydrochoerus and Kerodon, the rock cavies, supporting placement of both genera in a subfamily of Caviidae.
Paleontological classifications previously used Hydrochoeridae for all capybaras, while using Hydrochoerinae for the living genus and its closest fossil relatives, such as Neochoerus, but more recently have adopted the classification of Hydrochoerinae within Caviidae. The taxonomy of fossil hydrochoerines is also in a state of flux. In recent years, the diversity of fossil hydrochoerines has been substantially reduced. This is largely due to the recognition that capybara molar teeth show strong variation in shape over the life of an individual. In one instance, material referred to four genera and seven species on the basis of differences in molar shape was later thought to represent differently aged individuals of a single species, Cardiatherium paranense.
Among fossil species, the name "capybara" can refer to the many species of Hydrochoerinae that are more closely related to the modern Hydrochoerus than to the "cardiomyine" rodents like Cardiomys. The fossil genera Cardiatherium, Phugatherium, Hydrochoeropsis, and Neochoerus are all capybaras under that concept.
== Description ==
The capybara has a heavy, barrel-shaped body and short head, with reddish-brown fur on the upper part of its body that turns yellowish-brown underneath. Its sweat glands can be found in the surface of the hairy portions of its skin, an unusual trait among rodents. The animal lacks down hair, and its guard hair differs little from over hair.Adult capybaras grow to 106 to 134 cm (3.48 to 4.40 ft) in length, stand 50 to 62 cm (20 to 24 in) tall at the withers, and typically weigh 35 to 66 kg (77 to 146 lb), with an average in the Venezuelan llanos of 48.9 kg (108 lb). Females are slightly heavier than males. The top recorded weights are 91 kg (201 lb) for a wild female from Brazil and 73.5 kg (162 lb) for a wild male from Uruguay. Also, an 81 kg individual was reported in São Paulo in 2001 or 2002. The dental formula is 1.0.1.31.0.1.3. Capybaras have slightly webbed feet and vestigial tails. Their hind legs are slightly longer than their forelegs; they have three toes on their rear feet and four toes on their front feet. Their muzzles are blunt, with nostrils, and the eyes and ears are near the top of their heads.
Its karyotype has 2n = 66 and FN = 102, meaning it has 66 chromosomes with a total of 102 arms.
== Ecology ==
Capybaras are semiaquatic mammals found throughout all countries of South America except Chile. They live in densely forested areas near bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers, swamps, ponds, and marshes, as well as flooded savannah and along rivers in the tropical rainforest. They are superb swimmers and can hold their breath underwater for up to five minutes at a time. Capybara have flourished in cattle ranches. They roam in home ranges averaging 10 hectares (25 acres) in high-density populations.
Many escapees from captivity can also be found in similar watery habitats around the world. Sightings are fairly common in Florida, although a breeding population has not yet been confirmed. In 2011, one specimen was spotted on the Central Coast of California. These escaped populations occur in areas where prehistoric capybaras inhabited; late Pleistocene capybaras inhabited Florida and Hydrochoerus hesperotiganites in California and Hydrochoerus gaylordi in Grenada, and feral capybaras in North America may actually fill the ecological niche of the Pleistocene species.
=== Diet and predation ===
Capybaras are herbivores, grazing mainly on grasses and aquatic plants, as well as fruit and tree bark. They are very selective feeders and feed on the leaves of one species and disregard other species surrounding it. They eat a greater variety of plants during the dry season, as fewer plants are available. While they eat grass during the wet season, they have to switch to more abundant reeds during the dry season. Plants that capybaras eat during the summer lose their nutritional value in the winter, so they are not consumed at that time. The capybara's jaw hinge is not perpendicular, so they chew food by grinding back-and-forth rather than side-to-side. Capybaras are autocoprophagous, meaning they eat their own feces as a source of bacterial gut flora, to help digest the cellulose in the grass that forms their normal diet, and to extract the maximum protein and vitamins from their food. They also regurgitate food to masticate again, similar to cud-chewing by cattle. Like other rodents, a capybara's front teeth grow continually to compensate for the constant wear from eating grasses; their cheek teeth also grow continuously.
Like its relative the guinea pig, the capybara does not have the capacity to synthesize vitamin C, and capybaras not supplemented with vitamin C in captivity have been reported to develop gum disease as a sign of scurvy.
The maximum lifespan of the capybara is 8 to 10 years, but in the wild capybaras usually do not live longer than four years because of predation from South American big cats such as jaguars and cougars and from non-mammalian predators such as caimans and green anacondas.
== Social organization ==
Capybaras are gregarious. While they sometimes live solitarily, they are more commonly found in groups of around 10–20 individuals, with two to four adult males, four to seven adult females, and the remainder juveniles. Capybara groups can consist of as many as 50 or 100 individuals during the dry season when the animals gather around available water sources. Males establish social bonds, dominance, or general group consensus. They can make dog-like barks when threatened or when females are herding young.
Capybaras have two types of scent glands: a morrillo, located on the snout, and anal glands. Both sexes have these glands, but males have much larger morrillos and use their anal glands more frequently. The anal glands of males are also lined with detachable hairs. A crystalline form of scent secretion is coated on these hairs and is released when in contact with objects such as plants. These hairs have a longer-lasting scent mark and are tasted by other capybaras. Capybaras scent-mark by rubbing their morrillos on objects, or by walking over scrub and marking it with their anal glands. Capybaras can spread their scent farther by urinating; however, females usually mark without urinating and scent-mark less frequently than males overall. Females mark more often during the wet season when they are in estrus. In addition to objects, males also scent-mark females.
=== Reproduction ===
When in estrus, the female's scent changes subtly and nearby males begin pursuit. In addition, a female alerts males she is in estrus by whistling through her nose. During mating, the female has the advantage and mating choice. Capybaras mate only in water, and if a female does not want to mate with a certain male, she either submerges or leaves the water. Dominant males are highly protective of the females, but they usually cannot prevent some of the subordinates from copulating. The larger the group, the harder it is for the male to watch all the females. Dominant males secure significantly more matings than each subordinate, but subordinate males, as a class, are responsible for more matings than each dominant male. The lifespan of the capybara's sperm is longer than that of other rodents. Capybara gestation is 130–150 days, and produces a litter of four young on average, but may produce between one and eight in a single litter. Birth is on land and the female rejoins the group within a few hours of delivering the newborn capybaras, which join the group as soon as they are mobile. Within a week, the young can eat grass, but continue to suckle—from any female in the group—until weaned around 16 weeks. The young form a group within the main group. Alloparenting has been observed in this species. Breeding peaks between April and May in Venezuela and between October and November in Mato Grosso, Brazil.
=== Activities ===
Though quite agile on land, capybaras are equally at home in the water. They are excellent swimmers, and can remain completely submerged for up to five minutes, an ability they use to evade predators. Capybaras can sleep in water, keeping only their noses out. As temperatures increase during the day, they wallow in water and then graze during the late afternoon and early evening. They also spend time wallowing in mud. They rest around midnight and then continue to graze before dawn.
=== Communication ===
Capybaras communicate using barks, chirps, whistles, huffs, and purrs.
== Conservation and human interaction ==
Capybaras are not considered a threatened species; their population is stable throughout most of their South American range, though in some areas hunting has reduced their numbers. Capybaras are hunted for their meat and pelts in some areas, and otherwise killed by humans who see their grazing as competition for livestock. In some areas, they are farmed, which has the effect of ensuring the wetland habitats are protected. Their survival is aided by their ability to breed rapidly.
Capybaras have adapted well to urbanization in South America. They can be found in many areas in zoos and parks, and may live for 12 years in captivity, more than double their wild lifespan. Capybaras are docile and usually allow humans to pet and hand-feed them, but physical contact is normally discouraged, as their ticks can be vectors to Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria asked Drusillas Park in Alfriston, Sussex, England, to keep the studbook for capybaras, to monitor captive populations in Europe. The studbook includes information about all births, deaths and movements of capybaras, as well as how they are related.
Capybaras are farmed for meat and skins in South America. The meat is considered unsuitable to eat in some areas, while in other areas it is considered an important source of protein. In parts of South America, especially in Venezuela, capybara meat is popular during Lent and Holy Week as the Catholic Church (according to a legend) previously issued special dispensation to allow it to be eaten while other meats are generally forbidden. There is widespread perception in Venezuela that consumption of capybaras is exclusive to rural people.
Brazilian Lyme-like borreliosis likely involves capybaras as reservoirs and Amblyomma and Rhipicephalus ticks as vectors.
A capybara café in St. Augustine, Florida allows visitors to interact with and give head scratches to the rodents.
== In popular culture ==
Capybaras have amassed fandoms in Japan and China, particularly among youth. This has been attributed to their perception as role models of emotional well-being and harmoniousness. In Japan, Izu Shaboten Zoo and other zoos provide hot spring baths for capybaras. Video clips of the bathing capybaras have millions of views. These capybaras spawned a series of merchandise such as plush toys, and provided inspiration for the anime character Kapibara-san.
Capybaras have become a figure in meme culture in the 2020s. Common meme formats pair capybaras with the song "After Party" by Don Toliver. A song about capybaras was released and became highly popular on TikTok in 2022. Capybaras have gained a reputation as a symbol of calm due to their perceived "unflappability", and their personalities have been described as "buddha-like".
In August 2021, Argentine and international media reported that capybaras had been disrupting life in Nordelta, an affluent gated community north of Buenos Aires built atop the local capybara's preexisting wetland habitat. This inspired social media users to jokingly adopt the capybara as a symbol of class struggle and communism. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel | Israel | Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. Israel occupies the West Bank and the Gaza Strip of the Palestinian territories, as well as the Syrian Golan Heights. Israel's western coast lies on the Mediterranean Sea, its southern tip reaching the Red Sea, and the east includes the Earth's lowest point near the Dead Sea. Jerusalem is the government seat and proclaimed capital, while Tel Aviv is Israel's largest urban area and economic centre.
The Land of Israel, also called Palestine or the Holy Land, was home to the ancient Canaanites and later the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Located near continental crossroads, its demographics shifted under various empires. 19th-century European antisemitism fuelled the Zionist movement for a Jewish homeland, which gained British support with the 1917 Balfour Declaration. After World War I, Britain occupied the region and established Mandatory Palestine. British rule and Jewish immigration intensified Arab-Jewish tensions, and the 1947 United Nations (UN) Partition Plan led to a civil war.
Israel declared independence as the British Mandate ended on 14 May 1948, followed by an invasion by Arab states. The 1949 armistice expanded Israel beyond the UN plan, while no new Arab state was created, leaving Gaza under Egyptian control and the West Bank ruled by Jordan. Most Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled during the Nakba, while Israeli independence prompted antisemitism in the Arab world and Jewish exodus therefrom, mainly to Israel. After the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza, Egyptian Sinai, and annexed East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights. Peace was signed with Egypt in 1979 (the Sinai being returned in 1982) and Jordan in 1994. The 1993 Oslo Accords introduced limited Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza, while the 2020 Abraham Accords normalised ties with more Arab states, but the Israeli–Palestinian conflict persists. Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories has drawn international criticism, with experts calling its actions war crimes and crimes against humanity. After the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, Israel began committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel and several other countries, including the United States, reject that Israel's actions constitute genocide.
The Basic Laws of Israel establish the Knesset as a proportionally elected parliament. It shapes the government, led by the prime minister, and elects the largely ceremonial president. Israel has one of the Middle East's largest economies, one of Asia's highest living standards, and globally ranks 26th in nominal GDP and 14th in nominal GDP per capita. One of the world's most technologically advanced countries, Israel allocates a larger share of its economy to research and development than any other state and is believed to possess nuclear weapons. The culture of Israel combines Jewish traditions with Arab influences.
== Etymology ==
The names Land of Israel and Children of Israel have historically been used to refer to the biblical Kingdom of Israel and the entire Jewish people respectively. The name Israel (Hebrew: Yīsrāʾēl; Septuagint Ancient Greek: Ἰσραήλ, Israēl, "El (God) persists/rules") refers to the patriarch Jacob who, according to the Hebrew Bible, was given the name after he successfully wrestled with the Angel of the Lord. The earliest known archaeological artefact to mention the word Israel as a collective is the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt (dated to the late-13th century BCE).
Under the British Mandate (1920–1948), the entire region was known as Palestine. Upon establishment in 1948, the country formally adopted the name State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, [mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel]; Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل, Dawlat Isrāʼīl, [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]) after other proposed names including Land of Israel (Eretz Israel), Ever (from ancestor Eber), Zion, and Judea, were considered but rejected. The name Israel was suggested by David Ben-Gurion and passed by a vote of 6–3. In the early weeks after establishment, the government chose the term Israeli to denote a citizen of the state.
== History ==
=== Prehistory ===
The Ubeidiya prehistoric site in northern Israel shows the presence of archaic humans around 1.5 million years ago. The second-oldest evidence of anatomically modern humans outside Africa is a 200,000-year-old fossil from Misliya Cave on Mount Carmel. The Natufian culture (c. 10,000 BCE) may be linked to the Proto-Afroasiatic language and is notable for adopting sedentism before the advent of agriculture and the Neolithic Revolution.
=== Bronze and Iron Ages ===
Early references to "Canaan" and "Canaanites" appear in ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian texts (c. 2000 BCE); these populations were structured as politically independent city-states. During the Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BCE), large parts of Canaan formed vassal states of the New Kingdom of Egypt. As a result of the Late Bronze Age collapse, Canaan fell into chaos, and Egyptian control over the region collapsed. Ancestors of the Israelites are thought to have included ancient Semitic-speaking peoples native to this area. Modern archaeological accounts suggest that the Israelites and their culture branched out of the Canaanite peoples through the development of a distinct monolatristic—and later monotheistic—religion centered on Yahweh. They spoke an archaic form of Hebrew, known as Biblical Hebrew. Around the same time, the Philistines settled on the southern coastal plain.
Most modern scholars agree that the Exodus narrative in the Torah and Old Testament did not take place as depicted; however, some elements of these traditions do have historical roots. There is debate about the earliest existence of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah and their extent and power. While it is unclear if there was a United Kingdom of Israel, historians and archaeologists agree that the northern Kingdom of Israel existed by ca. 900 BCE and the Kingdom of Judah by ca. 850 BCE. The Kingdom of Israel was the more prosperous of the two and soon developed into a regional power, with a capital at Samaria; during the Omride dynasty, it controlled Samaria, Galilee, the upper Jordan Valley, the plain of Sharon and large parts of Transjordan. The Kingdom of Israel was conquered around 720 BCE by the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Kingdom of Judah, under Davidic rule with its capital in Jerusalem, later became a client state of first the Neo-Assyrian Empire and then the Neo-Babylonian Empire. It is estimated that the region's population was around 400,000 in the Iron Age II. In 587/6 BCE, following a revolt in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar II besieged and destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple, dissolved the kingdom and exiled much of the Judean elite to Babylon.
=== Classical antiquity ===
After capturing Babylon in 539 BCE, Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, issued a proclamation allowing the exiled Judean population to return. The construction of the Second Temple was completed c. 520 BCE. The Achaemenids ruled the region as the province of Yehud Medinata. In 332 BCE, Alexander the Great conquered the region as part of his campaign against the Achaemenid Empire. After his death, the area was controlled by the Ptolemaic and Seleucid empires as a part of Coele-Syria. Under the Hellenistic kingdoms, ongoing Hellenisation generated cultural tensions among the Jewish population that culminated under Antiochus IV, whose decrees outlawed Jewish practices and triggered the Maccabean Revolt in 167 BCE. The revolt weakened Seleucid control over Judea; by 142/141 BCE the Hasmoneans had secured autonomy and soon established an independent Jewish kingdom that, in the late 2nd–early 1st century BCE, expanded into neighboring territories. The Hasmonean civil war ended with the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 63 BCE.
In 37 BCE, Herod the Great was installed as a dynastic vassal of Rome following the Roman–Parthian Wars. In 6 CE, the area was annexed as the Roman province of Judaea; tensions with Roman rule led to a series of Jewish–Roman wars, resulting in widespread destruction. The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE) resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple and a sizable portion of the population being killed or displaced. A second uprising known as the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE) initially allowed the Jews to form an independent state, but the Romans brutally crushed the rebellion, devastating and depopulating Judea's countryside. Jerusalem was rebuilt as a Roman colony (Aelia Capitolina), and the province of Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina. Jews were expelled from the districts surrounding Jerusalem. Nevertheless, there was a continuous small Jewish presence, and Galilee became its religious center.
=== Late antiquity and the medieval period ===
During the Byzantine period, Early Christianity displaced Roman paganism in the 4th century CE, with Constantine embracing and promoting the Christian religion and Theodosius I making it the state religion. A series of laws were passed that discriminated against Jews and Judaism, and Jews were persecuted by both the church and the authorities. Many Jews had emigrated to flourishing diaspora communities, while locally there was both Christian immigration and local conversion. By the middle of the 5th century, there was a Christian majority. Towards the end of the 5th century, Samaritan revolts erupted, continuing until the late 6th century and resulting in a large decrease in the Samaritan population. After the Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem and the short-lived Jewish revolt against Heraclius in 614 CE, the Byzantine Empire reconsolidated control of the area in 628.
In 634–641 CE, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Levant. Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab (r. 634–644) lifted the Christian ban on Jews entering Jerusalem and permitted them to worship there. Over the next six centuries, control of the region transferred between the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid caliphates, and subsequently the Seljuk and Ayyubid dynasties. The population drastically decreased during the following several centuries, dropping from an estimated 1 million during Roman and Byzantine periods to about 300,000 by the early Ottoman period, and there was steady Arabisation and Islamisation. The end of the 11th century brought the Crusades, papally-sanctioned incursions of Christian crusaders intent on wresting Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim control and establishing crusader states. The Ayyubids pushed back the crusaders before Muslim rule was fully restored by the Mamluk sultans of Egypt in 1291.
=== Modern period and the emergence of Zionism ===
In 1516, the Ottoman Empire conquered the region and ruled it as part of Ottoman Syria. Two violent incidents took place against Jews, the 1517 Safed attacks and the 1517 Hebron attacks, after the Turkish Ottomans ousted the Mamluks during the Ottoman–Mamluk War. Under the Ottoman Empire, the Levant was fairly cosmopolitan, with religious freedoms for Christians, Muslims, and Jews. In 1561 the Ottoman sultan invited Sephardic Jews escaping the Spanish Inquisition to settle in and rebuild the city of Tiberias.
Under the Ottoman Empire's millet system, Christians and Jews were considered dhimmi ("protected") under Ottoman law in exchange for loyalty to the state and payment of the jizya tax. Non-Muslim Ottoman subjects faced geographic and lifestyle restrictions, though these were not always enforced. The millet system organised non-Muslims into autonomous communities on the basis of religion.
The concept of an eventual return to Zion remained a symbol within religious Jewish belief which emphasised that their return should be determined by Divine Providence rather than human action. The Jewish population of Palestine from the Ottoman rule to the beginning of the Zionist movement, known as the Old Yishuv, comprised a minority and fluctuated in size. During the 16th century, Jewish communities struck roots in the Four Holy Cities—Jerusalem, Tiberias, Hebron, and Safed—and in 1697, Rabbi Yehuda Hachasid led 1,500 Jews to Jerusalem. A 1660 Druze revolt against the Ottomans destroyed Safed and Tiberias. In the second half of the 18th century, Eastern European Jews who were opponents of Hasidism, known as the Perushim, settled in Palestine.
In the late 18th century, local Arab Sheikh Daher al-Umar created a de facto independent emirate in the Galilee. Ottoman attempts to subdue the sheikh failed. After Daher's death the Ottomans regained control of the area. In 1799, governor Jazzar Pasha repelled an assault on Acre by Napoleon's troops, prompting the French to abandon the Syrian campaign. In 1834, a revolt by Palestinian Arab peasants against Egyptian conscription and taxation policies under Muhammad Ali was suppressed; Muhammad Ali's army retreated and Ottoman rule was restored with British support in 1840. The Tanzimat reforms were implemented across the Ottoman Empire.
The first wave of modern Jewish migration to Ottoman-ruled Palestine, known as the First Aliyah, began in 1881, as Jews fled pogroms in Eastern Europe. The 1882 May Laws increased economic discrimination against Jews, and restricted where they could live. In response, political Zionism took form, a movement that sought to establish a Jewish state in Palestine, thus offering a solution to the Jewish question of the European states. Antisemitism, pogroms and official policies in tsarist Russia led to the emigration of three million Jews in the years between 1882 and 1914, only 1% of whom went to Palestine. Those who went to Palestine were driven primarily by ideas of self-determination and Jewish identity, rather than as a response to pogroms or economic insecurity.
The Second Aliyah (1904–1914) began after the Kishinev pogrom; some 40,000 Jews settled in Palestine, although nearly half left eventually. Both the first and second waves of migrants were mainly Orthodox Jews. The Second Aliyah included Zionist socialist groups who established the kibbutz movement based on the idea of establishing a separate Jewish economy based exclusively on Jewish labour. Those of the Second Aliyah who became leaders of the Yishuv in the coming decades believed that the Jewish settler economy should not depend on Arab labour. This would be a dominant source of antagonism with the Arab population, with the new Yishuv's nationalist ideology overpowering its socialist one. Though the immigrants of the Second Aliyah largely sought to create communal Jewish agricultural settlements, Tel Aviv was established as the first planned Jewish town in 1909. Jewish armed militias emerged during this period, the first being Bar-Giora in 1907. Two years later, the larger Hashomer organisation was founded as its replacement.
=== British Mandate for Palestine ===
Chaim Weizmann's efforts to garner British support for the Zionist movement eventually secured the Balfour Declaration of 1917, stating Britain's support for the creation of a Jewish "national home" in Palestine. Weizmann's interpretation of the declaration was that negotiations on the future of the country were to happen directly between Britain and the Jews, excluding Arabs. Jewish-Arab relations in Palestine deteriorated dramatically in the following years.
In 1918, the Jewish Legion, primarily Zionist volunteers, assisted in the British conquest of Palestine. In 1920, the territory was divided between Britain and France under the mandate system, and the British-administered area (including modern Israel) was named Mandatory Palestine. Arab opposition to British rule and Jewish immigration led to the 1920 Palestine riots and the formation of a Jewish militia known as the Haganah as an outgrowth of Hashomer, from which the Irgun and Lehi paramilitaries later split. In 1922, the League of Nations granted Britain the Mandate for Palestine under terms which included the Balfour Declaration with its promise to the Jews and with similar provisions regarding the Arab Palestinians. The population of the area was predominantly Arab and Muslim, with Jews accounting for about 11% and Arab Christians about 9.5% of the population.
The Third (1919–1923) and Fourth Aliyahs (1924–1929) brought an additional 100,000 Jews to Palestine. The rise of Nazism and the increasing persecution of Jews in 1930s Europe led to the Fifth Aliyah, with an influx of a quarter of a million Jews. This was a major cause of the Arab revolt of 1936–39, which was suppressed by British security forces and Zionist militias. Several hundred British security personnel and Jews were killed; 5,032 Arabs were killed, 14,760 wounded, and 12,622 detained. An estimated ten per cent of the adult male Palestinian Arab population was killed, wounded, imprisoned, or exiled.
The British introduced restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine with the White Paper of 1939. With countries around the world turning away Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust, a clandestine movement known as Aliyah Bet was organised to bring Jews to Palestine. By the end of World War II, 31% of the population of Palestine was Jewish. The UK found itself facing a Jewish insurgency over immigration restrictions and continued conflict with the Arab community over limit levels. The Haganah joined Irgun and Lehi in an armed struggle against British rule. The Haganah attempted to bring tens of thousands of Jewish refugees and Holocaust survivors to Palestine by ship. Most of the ships were intercepted by the Royal Navy and the refugees placed in detention camps in Atlit and Cyprus.
On 22 July 1946, Irgun bombed the British administrative headquarters for Palestine, killing 91. The attack was a response to Operation Agatha (a series of raids, including one on the Jewish Agency, by the British) and was the deadliest directed at the British during the Mandate era. The Jewish insurgency continued throughout 1946 and 1947 despite concerted efforts by the British military and Palestine Police Force to suppress it.
British efforts to mediate with Jewish and Arab representatives were not successful as the Jews were unwilling to accept any solution that did not involve a Jewish state and suggested a partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, while the Arabs were adamant that a Jewish state in any part of Palestine was unacceptable and that the only solution was a unified Palestine under Arab rule. In February 1947, the British referred the Palestine issue to the newly formed United Nations. On 15 May 1947, the UN General Assembly resolved that a Special Committee be created "to prepare ... a report on the question of Palestine". The Report of the Committee proposed a plan to replace the British Mandate with "an independent Arab State, an independent Jewish State, and the City of Jerusalem [...] the last to be under an International Trusteeship System".
Meanwhile, the Jewish insurgency continued and peaked in July 1947, with a series of widespread guerrilla raids culminating in the Sergeants affair, in which the Irgun took two British sergeants hostage as attempted leverage against the planned execution of three Irgun operatives. After the executions were carried out, the Irgun killed the two British soldiers, hanged their bodies from trees, and left a booby trap at the scene which injured a British soldier. The incident caused widespread outrage in the UK. In September 1947, the British cabinet decided to evacuate Palestine as the Mandate was no longer tenable.
On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 (II). The plan attached to the resolution was essentially that proposed in the report of 3 September. The Jewish Agency, the recognised representative of the Jewish community, accepted the plan, which assigned 55–56% of Mandatory Palestine to the Jews. At the time, the Jews were about a third of the population and owned around 6–7% of the land. Arabs constituted the majority and owned about 20% of the land, with the remainder held by the Mandate authorities or foreign landowners.
The Arab League and Arab Higher Committee of Palestine rejected the partition plan on the basis that the partition plan privileged European interests over those of the Palestinians, and indicated that they would reject any other plan of partition. On 1 December 1947, the Arab Higher Committee proclaimed a three-day strike, and riots broke out in Jerusalem. The situation spiralled into a civil war. Colonial Secretary Arthur Creech Jones announced that the British Mandate would end on 15 May 1948, at which point the British would evacuate. As Arab militias and gangs attacked Jewish areas, they were faced mainly by the Haganah as well as the smaller Irgun and Lehi. In April 1948, the Haganah moved onto the offensive.
=== State of Israel ===
==== Independence and early years ====
On 14 May 1948, the day before the expiration of the British Mandate, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, declared "the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel". The following day, the armies of four Arab countries—Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, and Iraq—entered what had been Mandatory Palestine, launching the 1948 Arab–Israeli War; contingents from Yemen, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan joined the war. The purpose of the invasion was to prevent the establishment of the Jewish state. The Arab League stated the invasion was to restore order and prevent further bloodshed.
After a year of fighting, a ceasefire was declared and temporary borders, known as the Green Line, were established. Jordan annexed what became known as the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip. Over 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled by Zionist militias and the Israeli military—what would become known in Arabic as the Nakba ('catastrophe'). The events also led to the destruction of most of Palestine's Arab culture, identity, and national aspirations. Some 156,000 Arabs remained and became Arab citizens of Israel.
By United Nations General Assembly Resolution 273, Israel was admitted as a member of the UN on 11 May 1949. In the early years of the state, the Labour Zionist movement led by Prime Minister Ben-Gurion dominated Israeli politics. Immigration to Israel during the late 1940s and early 1950s was aided by the Israeli Immigration Department and the non-government sponsored Mossad LeAliyah Bet (lit. "Institute for Immigration B"). The latter engaged in clandestine operations in countries, particularly in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, where the lives of Jews were in danger and exit was difficult. Mossad LeAliyah Bet was disbanded in 1953. The immigration was in accordance with the One Million Plan. Some immigrants held Zionist beliefs or came for the promise of a better life, while others moved to escape persecution or were expelled from their homes.
An influx of Holocaust survivors and Jews from Arab and Muslim countries to Israel during the first three years increased the number of Jews from 700,000 to 1,400,000. By 1958, the population had risen to two million. Between 1948 and 1970, approximately 1,150,000 Jewish refugees relocated to Israel. Some immigrants arrived as refugees and were housed in temporary camps known as ma'abarot; by 1952, over 200,000 people were living in these tent cities. Jews of European background were often treated more favourably than Jews from Middle Eastern and North African countries—housing units reserved for the latter were often re-designated for the former, so Jews newly arrived from Arab lands generally ended up staying longer in transit camps. During this period, food, clothes and furniture were rationed in what became known as the austerity period. The need to solve the crisis led Ben-Gurion to sign a reparations agreement with West Germany that triggered mass protests by Jews angered at the idea that Israel could accept monetary compensation for the Holocaust.
==== Arab–Israeli conflict ====
There were further expulsions of Palestinians after the establishment of Israel. During the 1950s, Israel was frequently attacked by Palestinian fedayeen, nearly always against civilians, mainly from the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip, leading to several Israeli reprisal operations. In 1956, the UK and France aimed at regaining control of the Suez Canal, which Egypt had nationalised. The continued blockade of the Suez Canal and Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, together with increasing fedayeen attacks against Israel's southern population and recent Arab threatening statements, prompted Israel to attack Egypt. Israel joined a secret alliance with the UK and France and overran the Sinai Peninsula in the Suez Crisis but was pressured to withdraw by the UN in return for guarantees of Israeli shipping rights. The war resulted in significant reduction of Israeli border infiltration.
In the early 1960s, Israel captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina and brought him to Israel for trial. Eichmann remains the only person executed in Israel by conviction in an Israeli civilian court. In 1963, Israel was engaged in a diplomatic standoff with the United States in relation to the Israeli nuclear programme.
Since 1964 Arab countries, concerned over Israeli plans to divert waters of the Jordan River into the coastal plain, had been trying to divert the headwaters to deprive Israel of water resources, provoking tensions between Israel on the one hand, and Syria and Lebanon on the other. Arab nationalists led by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser refused to recognise Israel and called for its destruction. By 1966, Israeli-Arab relations had deteriorated to the point of battles taking place between Israeli and Arab forces.
In May 1967, Egypt massed its army near the border with Israel, expelled UN peacekeepers stationed in the Sinai Peninsula since 1957, and blocked Israel's access to the Red Sea. Other Arab states mobilised their forces. Israel reiterated that these actions were a casus belli and launched a pre-emptive strike (Operation Focus) against Egypt in June. Jordan, Syria and Iraq attacked Israel.
In the ensuing Six-Day War, Israel captured and occupied the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Israeli forces expelled ~300,000 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Jerusalem's boundaries were enlarged, incorporating East Jerusalem. The 1949 Green Line became the administrative boundary between Israel and the occupied territories.
Following the 1967 war and the "Three Nos" resolution of the Arab League, Israel faced attacks from the Egyptians in the Sinai Peninsula during the 1967–1970 War of Attrition, and from Palestinian groups targeting Israelis in the occupied territories, globally, and in Israel. Most important among the Palestinian and Arab groups was the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), established in 1964, which initially committed itself to "armed struggle as the only way to liberate the homeland". In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Palestinian groups launched attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world, including a massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The Israeli government responded with an assassination campaign against the organisers of the massacre, a bombing and a raid on the PLO headquarters in Lebanon.
On 6 October 1973, the Egyptian and Syrian armies launched a surprise attack against Israeli forces in the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights, opening the Yom Kippur War. The war ended on 25 October with Israel repelling Egyptian and Syrian forces but suffering great losses. An internal inquiry exonerated the government of responsibility for failures before and during the war, but public anger forced Prime Minister Golda Meir to resign. On 27 June 1976, Air France Flight 139 was hijacked in flight from Israel to France by Palestinian guerrillas; Israeli commandos rescued 102 of 106 Israeli hostages days later.
==== Peace process ====
The 1977 Knesset elections marked a major turning point in Israeli political history as Menachem Begin's Likud party took control from the Labour Party. Later that year, Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat made a trip to Israel and spoke before the Knesset in what was the first recognition of Israel by an Arab head of state. Sadat and Begin signed the Camp David Accords (1978) and the Egypt–Israel peace treaty (1979). In return, Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula and agreed to enter negotiations over autonomy for Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
On 11 March 1978, a PLO guerilla raid from Lebanon led to the Coastal Road massacre. Israel responded by launching an invasion of southern Lebanon to destroy PLO bases. Begin's government meanwhile provided incentives for Israelis to settle in the occupied West Bank, increasing friction with the Palestinians there.
The 1980 Jerusalem Law was believed by some to reaffirm Israel's 1967 annexation of Jerusalem by government decree and reignited international controversy over the status of the city. No Israeli legislation has defined the territory of Israel, and no act specifically included East Jerusalem therein. In 1981 Israel effectively annexed the Golan Heights. The international community largely rejected these moves, with the UN Security Council declaring both the Jerusalem Law and the Golan Heights Law null and void. Several waves of Ethiopian Jews immigrated to Israel since the 1980s, while between 1990 and 1994, immigration from the post-Soviet states increased Israel's population by twelve per cent.
On 7 June 1981, during the Iran–Iraq War, the Israeli air force destroyed Iraq's sole nuclear reactor, then under construction, in order to impede the Iraqi nuclear weapons programme. Following a series of PLO attacks in 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon to destroy the PLO bases. In the first six days, Israel destroyed the military forces of the PLO in Lebanon and decisively defeated the Syrians. An Israeli government inquiry (the Kahan Commission) held Begin and several Israeli generals indirectly responsible for the Sabra and Shatila massacre and held defence minister Ariel Sharon as bearing "personal responsibility". Sharon was forced to resign.
In 1985, Israel responded to a Palestinian terrorist attack in Cyprus by bombing the PLO headquarters in Tunisia. Israel withdrew from most of Lebanon in 1986 but continued to occupy a borderland buffer zone in southern Lebanon until 2000, from where Israeli forces engaged in conflict with Hezbollah. The First Intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule, broke out in 1987, with waves of uncoordinated demonstrations and violence in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Over the following six years, the intifada became more organised and included economic and cultural measures aimed at disrupting the Israeli occupation. Over 1,000 people were killed. During the 1991 Gulf War, the PLO supported Saddam Hussein and Iraqi missile attacks against Israel. Despite public outrage, Israel heeded American calls to refrain from hitting back.
In 1992, Yitzhak Rabin became prime minister following an election in which his party called for compromise with Israel's neighbours. The following year, Shimon Peres on behalf of Israel and Yasser Arafat for the PLO signed the Oslo Accords, which gave the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) the right to govern parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The PLO also recognised Israel's right to exist and pledged an end to terrorism. In 1994, the Israel–Jordan peace treaty was signed, making Jordan the second Arab country to normalise relations with Israel. Arab public support for the Accords was damaged by the continuation of Israeli settlements and checkpoints, and the deterioration of economic conditions. Israeli public support for the Accords waned after Palestinian suicide attacks. In November 1995, Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir, a far-right Jew who opposed the Accords.
During Benjamin Netanyahu's premiership at the end of the 1990s, Israel agreed to withdraw from Hebron, though this was never ratified or implemented, and he signed the Wye River Memorandum. The agreement dealt with further redeployments in the West Bank and security issues. The memorandum was criticised by major international human rights organisations for its "encouragement" of human rights abuses.
Ehud Barak, elected prime minister in 1999, withdrew forces from southern Lebanon and conducted negotiations with PNA Chairman Yasser Arafat and U.S. President Bill Clinton at the 2000 Camp David Summit. Barak offered a plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state, including the entirety of the Gaza Strip and over 90% of the West Bank with Jerusalem as a shared capital. Each side blamed the other for the failure of the talks.
==== 21st century ====
In late 2000, after a controversial visit by Sharon to the Temple Mount, the Second Intifada began. The popular uprising faced disproportionate repression from the Israeli state. Palestinian suicide bombings eventually developed into a recurrent feature of the intifada. Some commentators contend that the intifada was pre-planned by Arafat after the collapse of peace talks. Sharon became prime minister in a 2001 election; he carried out his plan to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip and spearheaded the construction of the West Bank barrier, ending the intifada. Between 2000 and 2008, 1,063 Israelis, 5,517 Palestinians and 64 foreign citizens were killed.
In July 2006, a Hezbollah artillery assault on Israel's northern border communities and a cross-border abduction of two Israeli soldiers precipitated the month-long Second Lebanon War, including an Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The war wound down in August 2006 after the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701; Israeli forces mostly withdrew from Lebanon by October 2006 but continued to occupy the Lebanese portion of Ghajar village. In 2007 the Israeli Air Force destroyed a nuclear reactor in Syria.
In 2008, a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel collapsed, resulting in the three-week Gaza War. In what Israel described as a response to over a hundred Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israeli cities, Israel began an operation in the Gaza Strip in 2012, lasting eight days. Israel started another operation in Gaza following an escalation of rocket attacks by Hamas in July 2014. In May 2021, another round of fighting took place in Gaza and Israel, lasting eleven days. By the 2010s, increasing regional cooperation between Israel and Arab League countries have been established, culminating in the signing of the Abraham Accords. The Israeli security situation shifted from the traditional Arab–Israeli conflict towards the Iran–Israel proxy conflict and direct confrontation with Iran during the Syrian civil war.
On 7 October 2023, Palestinian militant groups from Gaza, led by Hamas, launched a series of coordinated attacks on Israel, leading to the start of the Gaza war. On that day, approximately 1,300 Israelis, predominantly civilians, were killed in communities near the Gaza Strip border and during a music festival. Over 200 hostages were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip. Studies modeling trauma exposure and assessing mental health outcomes estimated that approximately 5.3% of Israelis may develop PTSD, with national data showing that probable PTSD nearly doubled from 16.2% to 29.8% and rates of anxiety and depression also rising sharply.
After clearing militants from its territory, Israel launched one of the most destructive bombing campaigns in modern history and invaded Gaza on 27 October with the stated objectives of destroying Hamas and freeing hostages. The fifth war of the Gaza–Israel conflict since 2008, it has been the deadliest for Palestinians in the entire Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the most significant military engagement in the region since the Yom Kippur War in 1973. A United Nations Special Committee, multiple governments, and various experts and human rights organisations have concluded that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people due to the harm and loss of life inflicted on civilians during the Gaza War.
In April 2024, Israel initiated a wave of airstrikes on Iran, after Iranian strikes targeted Israel, marking the 2024 Iran–Israel conflict the first time in which the two countries have ever directly exchanged fire. In October 2024, Israel invaded Lebanon and exchanged missile barrages with Iran three weeks later, in response of Iranian strikes earlier in that month. After nearly a year of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict from October 2023 due to Hezbollah shooting rockets at Israel to support Hamas in Gaza, Israel assassinated Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah in September 2024. A November 2024 ceasefire agreement instructed Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, which Israel mostly did by February 2025, but against the agreement, Israeli forces stayed in five military outposts on highlands in Southern Lebanon. In June 2025, Israel launched a renewed series of airstrikes on Iran, targeting Iran's air defence systems, missile launchers, their military leadership, and their nuclear programme, which escalated into a full-scale war.
== Geography ==
Israel is located in the Levant area of the Fertile Crescent. At the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, it is bounded by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan and the West Bank to the east, and Egypt and the Gaza Strip to the south-west. It lies between latitudes 29° and 34° N, and longitudes 34° and 36° E.
The sovereign territory of Israel (according to the demarcation lines of the 1949 Armistice Agreements and excluding all territories captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War) is approximately 20,770 square kilometres (8,019 sq mi), of which two per cent is water. However Israel is so narrow (100 km at its widest, compared to 400 km from north to south) that the exclusive economic zone in the Mediterranean is double the land area of the country. The total area under Israeli law, including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, is 22,072 square kilometres (8,522 sq mi), and the total area under Israeli control, including the military-controlled and partially Palestinian-governed territory of the West Bank, is 27,799 square kilometres (10,733 sq mi).
Despite its small size, Israel is home to a variety of geographic features, from the Negev desert in the south to the inland fertile Jezreel Valley, with mountain ranges of the Galilee, Carmel and towards the Golan in the north. The Israeli coastal plain on the shores of the Mediterranean is home to most of the population. East of the central highlands lies the Jordan Rift Valley, a small part of the 6,500-kilometre (4,039 mi) Great Rift Valley. The Jordan River runs along the Jordan Rift Valley, from Mount Hermon through the Hulah Valley and the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the surface of the Earth. Further south is the Arabah, ending with the Gulf of Eilat, part of the Red Sea. Makhtesh, or "erosion cirques" are unique to the Negev and the Sinai Peninsula, the largest being the Makhtesh Ramon at 38 km in length. Israel has the largest number of plant species per square metre of the countries in the Mediterranean Basin and contains four terrestrial ecoregions: Eastern Mediterranean conifer–sclerophyllous–broadleaf forests, Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests, Arabian Desert, and Mesopotamian shrub desert. Forests accounted for 8.5% of the area in 2016, up from 2% in 1948, as the result of a large-scale forest planting programme by the Jewish National Fund.
=== Tectonics and seismicity ===
The Jordan Rift Valley is the result of tectonic movements within the Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault system. The DST forms the transform boundary between the African Plate to the west and the Arabian Plate to the east. The Golan Heights and all of Jordan are part of the Arabian Plate, while the Galilee, West Bank, Coastal Plain, and Negev along with the Sinai Peninsula are on the African Plate. This tectonic disposition leads to a relatively high seismic activity. The entire Jordan Valley segment is thought to have ruptured repeatedly, for instance during the last two major earthquakes along this structure in 749 and 1033. The deficit in slip that has built up since 1033 is sufficient to cause an earthquake of Mw ~7.4.
The most catastrophic known earthquakes occurred in 31 BCE, 363, 749, and 1033 CE, that is every ca. 400 years on average. Destructive earthquakes strike about every 80 years, leading to serious loss of life . While stringent construction regulations are in place and recently built structures are earthquake resistant, as of 2007 many public buildings as well as 50,000 residential buildings did not meet the new standards and were "expected to collapse" if exposed to a strong earthquake.
=== Climate ===
Temperatures vary widely, especially during the winter. Coastal areas, such as those of Tel Aviv and Haifa, have a typical Mediterranean climate with cool, rainy winters and long, hot summers. The area of Beersheba and the northern Negev have a semi-arid climate with hot summers, cool winters, and fewer rainy days. The southern Negev and the Arabah areas have a desert climate with very hot, dry summers, and mild winters with few days of rain. The highest temperature of 54 °C (129 °F) was recorded in 1942 in the Tirat Zvi kibbutz. Mountainous regions can be windy and cold, and areas at elevation of 750 metres (2,460 ft) or more (same elevation as Jerusalem) usually receive at least one snowfall each year. From May to September, rain is rare.
There are four different phytogeographic regions, due to its location between the temperate and tropical zones. For this reason, the flora and fauna are extremely diverse. There are 2,867 known species of plants in Israel. Of these, at least 253 species are introduced and non-native. There are 380 Israeli nature reserves.
With scarce water resources, Israel has developed various water-saving technologies, including drip irrigation. The considerable sunlight available for solar energy makes Israel the leading nation in solar energy use per capita—practically every house uses solar panels for water heating. The Ministry of Environmental Protection has reported that climate change "will have a decisive impact on all areas of life", particularly for vulnerable populations.
== Government and politics ==
Israel has a parliamentary system, proportional representation and universal suffrage. A member of parliament supported by a parliamentary majority becomes the prime minister—usually this is the chair of the largest party. The prime minister is the head of government and of cabinet. The president is head of state, with largely ceremonial duties.
Israel is governed by a 120-member parliament, known as the Knesset. Membership of the Knesset is based on proportional representation of political parties, with a 3.25% electoral threshold, which in practice has resulted in coalition governments. Residents of Israeli settlements in the West Bank are eligible to vote, and after the 2015 election, 10 of the 120 members of the Knesset (8%) were settlers. Parliamentary elections are scheduled every four years, but unstable coalitions or a no-confidence vote can dissolve a government earlier. The first Arab-led party was established in 1988, and as of 2022, Arab-led parties hold about 10% of seats. A party cannot run for election to the Knesset if its objectives or actions include the "negation of the existence of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people".
The Basic Laws of Israel function as an uncodified constitution. These define Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and the nation-state of exclusively the Jewish people. In 2003, the Knesset began to draft an official constitution based on these laws.
Israel has no official religion, but the definition of the state as "Jewish and democratic" creates a strong connection with Judaism. On 19 July 2018, the Knesset passed a Basic Law that characterises Israel as principally a "Nation State of the Jewish People" and Hebrew as its official language. The bill ascribes an undefined "special status" to the Arabic language. The same bill gives Jews a unique right to national self-determination and views the developing of Jewish settlement in the country as "a national interest", empowering the government to "take steps to encourage, advance and implement this interest".
=== Administrative divisions ===
The State of Israel is divided into six main administrative districts, known as mehozot (Hebrew: מחוזות; sg.: mahoz)—Center, Haifa, Jerusalem, North, South, and Tel Aviv, as well as the Judea and Samaria Area in the West Bank. All of the Judea and Samaria Area and parts of the Jerusalem and Northern districts are not recognised internationally as part of Israel. Districts are divided into 15 sub-districts known as nafot (Hebrew: נפות; sg.: nafa), which are partitioned into 50 natural regions.
^a Including 361,700 Arabs and 233,900 Jews in East Jerusalem, as of 2020.
^b Israeli citizens only.
=== Israeli citizenship law ===
The 1950 Law of Return grants Jews the unrestricted right to immigrate to Israel and obtain Israeli citizenship. Individuals born within the country receive birthright citizenship if at least one parent is a citizen. Israeli law defines Jewish nationality as distinct from Israeli nationality, and the Supreme Court of Israel has ruled that an Israeli nationality does not exist. A Jewish national is defined as any person practicing Judaism and their descendants.
=== Israeli-occupied territories ===
In 1967, as a result of the Six-Day War, Israel captured and occupied the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Israel also captured the Sinai Peninsula but returned it to Egypt as part of the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty. Between 1982 and 2000, Israel occupied part of southern Lebanon, in what was known as the Security Belt. Since capture of these territories, Israeli settlements and military installations have been built within each of them, except Lebanon.
The Golan Heights and East Jerusalem have been fully incorporated under Israeli law but not under international law. Israel has applied civilian law to both areas and granted their inhabitants permanent residency status and the ability to apply for citizenship. The UN Security Council has declared the annexation of the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem to be "null and void" and continues to view the territories as occupied. The status of East Jerusalem in any future peace settlement has at times been a difficult issue in negotiations between Israeli governments and representatives of the Palestinians.
The West Bank area, excluding East Jerusalem, is known as the Judea and Samaria Area.The almost 400,000 Israeli settlers residing in the area are considered part of Israel's population, have Knesset representation, are subject to a large part of Israel's civil and criminal laws, and their output is considered part of Israel's economy. The land is not considered part of Israel under Israeli law, as Israel has consciously refrained from annexing the territory, without ever relinquishing its legal claim to the land or defining a border. Israeli political opposition to annexation primarily stems from the perceived "demographic threat" of incorporating the West Bank's Palestinian population into Israel. Outside of the Israeli settlements, the West Bank remains under direct Israeli military rule, and Palestinians in the area cannot become Israeli citizens.
The international community maintains that Israel does not have sovereignty in the West Bank and considers Israel's control of the area to be the longest military occupation in modern history. The West Bank was occupied and annexed by Jordan in 1950, following the 1949 Armistice Agreements. Only Britain recognised this annexation, and Jordan has since ceded its claim to the territory to the PLO. The population is mainly Palestinians, including refugees of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. From their occupation in 1967 until 1993, the Palestinians living in these territories were under Israeli military administration. Since the Israel–PLO letters of recognition, most of the Palestinian population and cities have been under the internal jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, and only partial Israeli military control, although Israel has redeployed its troops and reinstated full military administration during periods of unrest. Israel's claim of universal suffrage has been questioned due to its blurred territorial boundaries, its simultaneous extension of voting rights to Israeli settlers in the occupied territories and denial of voting rights to their Palestinian neighbours, as well as the alleged ethnocratic nature of the state.
The Gaza Strip is considered to be a "foreign territory" under Israeli law. Israel and Egypt operate a land, air, and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip was occupied by Israel after 1967. In 2005, as part of a unilateral disengagement plan, Israel removed its settlers and forces from the territory but continues to maintain control of its airspace and waters. The international community, including numerous international humanitarian organisations and UN bodies, consider Gaza to remain occupied. Following the 2007 Battle of Gaza, when Hamas assumed power in the Gaza Strip, Israel tightened control of the Gaza crossings along its border, as well as by sea and air, and prevented persons from entering and exiting except for isolated cases it deemed humanitarian. Gaza has a border with Egypt, and an agreement between Israel, the EU, and the PA governs how border crossings take place. The application of democracy to its Palestinian citizens and the selective application of Israeli democracy in the Israeli-controlled Palestinian territories have been criticised.
==== International opinion ====
The International Court of Justice said, in its 2004 advisory opinion on the legality of the construction of the West Bank barrier, that the lands captured by Israel in the Six-Day War, including East Jerusalem, are occupied territory and found that the construction of the wall within the occupied Palestinian territory violates international law. Most negotiations relating to the territories have been on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 242, which emphasises "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war", and calls on Israel to withdraw from occupied territories in return for normalisation of relations with Arab states ("Land for peace"). Israel has been criticised for engaging in systematic and widespread violations of human rights in the occupied territories, including occupation and war crimes against civilians. The allegations include violations of international humanitarian law by the UN Human Rights Council. The U.S. State Department has called reports of abuses of significant human rights of Palestinians "credible" both within Israel and the occupied territories. Amnesty International and other NGOs have documented mass arbitrary arrests, torture, unlawful killings, systemic abuses and impunity in tandem with a denial of the right to Palestinian self-determination. Prime Minister Netanyahu has defended the country's security forces for protecting the innocent from terrorists and expressed contempt for what he describes as a lack of concern about the human rights violations committed by "criminal killers".
The international community widely regards Israeli settlements in the occupied territories illegal under international law. United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 (passed 2016) states that Israel's settlement activity constitutes a "flagrant violation" of international law and demands that Israel stop such activity and fulfill its obligations as an occupying power under the Fourth Geneva Convention. A United Nations special rapporteur concluded that the settlement programme was a war crime under the Rome Statute, and Amnesty International found that the settlement programme constitutes an illegal transfer of civilians into occupied territory and "pillage", which is prohibited by the Hague Conventions and Geneva Conventions as well as being a war crime under the Rome Statute.
In a 2024 advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice stated that occupation of the Palestinian territories violated international law; Israel should end its occupation as quickly as possible and pay reparations. In addition, the court found that Israel was in breach of article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which requires states to prevent, prohibit and eradicate all practices of racial segregation and apartheid.
==== Accusations of apartheid ====
Treatment of Palestinians within the occupied territories and to a lesser extent in Israel itself have drawn widespread accusations that it is guilty of apartheid, a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute and the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid. The Washington Post's 2021 survey of scholars and academic experts on the Middle East found an increase from 59% to 65% of these scholars describing Israel as a "one-state reality akin to apartheid". The claim that Israel's policies for Palestinians within Israel or within Israeli-occupied territories amount to apartheid has been affirmed by Israeli human rights organisation B'tselem, University Network for Human Rights, and international human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din has also accused Israel of apartheid. Amnesty's claim was criticised by politicians and representatives from Israel and its closest allies such as, the US, the UK, the European Commission, Australia, Netherlands and Germany, while said accusations were welcomed by Palestinians and the Arab League. In 2022, Michael Lynk, a Canadian law professor appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council said that the situation met the legal definition of apartheid, and concluded: "Israel has imposed upon Palestine an apartheid reality in a post-apartheid world". Subsequent reports from his successor, Francesca Albanese and from Permanent United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Israel Palestine conflict chair Navi Pillay echoed the opinion.
In February 2024, the ICJ held public hearings in regards to the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory including East Jerusalem. During the hearings, 24 states and three international organisations said that Israeli practices amount to a breach of the prohibition of apartheid and/or amount to prohibited acts of racial discrimination. The International Court of Justice in its 2024 advisory opinion found that Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories constitutes systemic discrimination and is in breach of Article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which prohibits racial segregation and apartheid. The opinion is silent as to whether the discrimination amounts to apartheid; individual judges were split on the question.
=== Foreign relations ===
Israel maintains diplomatic relations with 165 UN member states, the Holy See, Kosovo, the Cook Islands and Niue. It has 107 diplomatic missions; countries with which it has no diplomatic relations include most Muslim countries. Six out of 22 nations in the Arab League have normalised relations with Israel. Israel remains formally in a state of war with Syria, dating back uninterrupted to 1948. It has been in a similarly formal state of war with Lebanon since the end of the Lebanese Civil War in 2000, with the Israel–Lebanon border remaining unagreed by treaty.
Despite the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, Israel is still widely considered an enemy country among Egyptians. Iran withdrew its recognition of Israel during the Islamic Revolution. Israeli citizens may not visit Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen without permission from the Ministry of the Interior. As a result of the 2008–09 Gaza War, Mauritania, Qatar, Bolivia, and Venezuela suspended political and economic ties with Israel, though Bolivia renewed ties in 2019.
The United States and the Soviet Union were the first two countries to recognise the State of Israel, having declared recognition roughly simultaneously. Diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union were broken in 1967 following the Six-Day War and renewed in 1991. The United States regards Israel as its "most reliable partner in the Middle East", based on "common democratic values, religious affinities, and security interests". The US has provided $68 billion in military assistance and $32 billion in grants to Israel since 1967, under the Foreign Assistance Act (period beginning 1962), more than any other country for that period until 2003. Most surveyed Americans have held consistently favourable views of Israel. The United Kingdom is seen as having a "natural" relationship with Israel because of the Mandate for Palestine. By 2007, Germany had paid 25 billion euros in reparations to Israel and individual Israeli Holocaust survivors. Israel is included in the European Union's European Neighbourhood Policy.
Although Turkey and Israel did not establish full diplomatic relations until 1991, Turkey has cooperated with the Jewish state since its recognition of Israel in 1949. Turkey's ties to other Muslim-majority nations in the region have at times resulted in pressure from Arab and Muslim states to temper its relationship with Israel. Relations took a downturn after the 2008–09 Gaza War and Israel's raid of the Gaza flotilla. Relations between Greece and Israel have improved since 1995 after decline of Israeli–Turkish relations. The two countries have a defence cooperation agreement and in 2010, the Israeli Air Force hosted Greece's Hellenic Air Force in a joint exercise. The joint Cyprus-Israel oil and gas explorations centered on the Leviathan gas field are an important factor for Greece, given its strong links with Cyprus. Cooperation in the world's longest submarine power cable, the EuroAsia Interconnector, has strengthened Cyprus–Israel relations.
Azerbaijan is one of the few majority Muslim countries to develop strategic and economic relations with Israel. Kazakhstan also has an economic and strategic partnership with Israel. India established full diplomatic ties with Israel in 1992 and has fostered a strong military, technological and cultural partnership with the country since then. India is the largest customer of the Israeli military equipment, and Israel is the second-largest military partner of India after Russia. Ethiopia is Israel's main ally in Africa due to common political, religious and security interests.
As of 2025, Israel is the only UN member state to recognize the Republic of Somaliland.
==== Foreign aid ====
Israel has a history of providing emergency foreign aid and humanitarian response to disasters across the world. In 1955 Israel began its foreign aid programme in Burma and then shifted to Africa. Israel's humanitarian efforts officially began in 1957 with the establishment of Mashav, the Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation. In this early period, whilst Israel's aid represented only a small percentage of total aid to Africa, its programme was effective in creating goodwill; however, following the 1967 war relations soured. Israel's foreign aid programme subsequently shifted its focus to Latin America.
Since the late 1970s Israel's foreign aid has gradually decreased, although in recent years Israel has tried to reestablish aid to Africa. There are additional Israeli humanitarian and emergency response groups that work with the government, including IsraAid, a joint programme run by Israeli organisations and North American Jewish groups, ZAKA, The Fast Israeli Rescue and Search Team, Israeli Flying Aid, Save a Child's Heart and Latet. Between 1985 and 2015, Israel sent 24 delegations of their search and rescue unit the Home Front Command to 22 countries. Currently Israeli foreign aid ranks low among OECD nations, spending less than 0.1% of its GNI on development assistance. The country ranked 38th in the 2018 World Giving Index.
=== Military ===
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces and is headed by its Chief of the General Staff, the Ramatkal, subordinate to the Cabinet. The IDF consists of the army, air force and navy. It was founded during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War by consolidating paramilitary organisations, chiefly the Haganah. The IDF also draws upon the resources of the Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman).
Most Israelis are conscripted at age 18. Men serve two years and eight months, and women serve two years. Following mandatory service, Israeli men join the reserve forces and usually do up to several weeks of reserve duty every year until their forties. Most women are exempt from reserve duty. Arab citizens of Israel (except the Druze) and those engaged in full-time religious studies are exempt, although the exemption of yeshiva students has been a source of contention. An alternative for those who receive exemptions on various grounds is Sherut Leumi, or national service, which involves a programme of service in social welfare frameworks. A small minority of Israeli Arabs also volunteer in the army. As a result of its conscription programme, the IDF maintains approximately 176,500 active troops and 465,000 reservists, giving Israel one of the world's highest percentage of citizens with military training.
The military relies heavily on high-tech weapons systems designed and manufactured in Israel as well as some foreign imports. The Arrow missile is one of the world's few operational anti-ballistic missile systems. The Python air-to-air missile series is often considered one of the most crucial weapons in its military history. Israel's Spike missile is one of the most widely exported anti-tank guided missiles in the world. Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile air defence system gained worldwide acclaim after intercepting hundreds of rockets fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip. Since the Yom Kippur War, Israel has developed a network of reconnaissance satellites. The Ofeq programme has made Israel one of seven countries capable of launching such satellites.
Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons and per a 1993 report, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. Israel has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and maintains a policy of deliberate ambiguity towards its nuclear capabilities. The Israeli Navy's Dolphin submarines are believed to be armed with nuclear missiles offering second-strike capability. Since the Gulf War in 1991, all homes in Israel are required to have a reinforced security room, Merkhav Mugan, impermeable to chemical and biological substances.
Since Israel's establishment, military expenditure constituted a significant portion of the country's gross domestic product, with peak of 30.3% of GDP in 1975. In 2021, Israel ranked 15th in the world by total military expenditure, with $24.3 billion, and 6th by defence spending as a percentage of GDP, with 5.2%. Since 1974, the United States has been a particularly notable contributor of military aid. Under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2016, the U.S. is expected to provide the country with $3.8 billion per year, or around 20% of Israel's defence budget, from 2018 to 2028. Israel ranked 8th globally for arms exports in 2020–2024. The majority of Israel's arms exports are unreported for security reasons. Israel is consistently rated low in the Global Peace Index, ranking 134th out of 163 nations in 2022.
=== Legal system ===
Israel has a three-tier court system. At the lowest level are magistrate courts, situated in most cities across the country. Above them are district courts, serving as both appellate courts and courts of first instance; they are situated in five of Israel's six districts. The third and highest tier is the Supreme Court, located in Jerusalem; it serves a dual role as the highest court of appeals and the High Court of Justice. In the latter role, the Supreme Court rules as a court of first instance, allowing both citizens and non-citizens to petition against the decisions of state authorities.
The legal system combines three legal traditions: English common law, civil law, and Jewish law. It is based on the principle of stare decisis (precedent) and is an adversarial system. Court cases are decided by professional judges. Marriage and divorce are under the jurisdiction of the religious courts: Jewish, Muslim, Druze, and Christian. The election of judges is carried out by a selection committee chaired by the justice minister (currently Yariv Levin). Israel's Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty seeks to defend human rights and liberties in Israel. The United Nations Human Rights Council and Israeli human rights organisation Adalah have highlighted that this law does not in fact contain a general provision for equality and non-discrimination. As a result of "Enclave law", large portions of Israeli civil law are applied to Israeli settlements and Israeli residents in the occupied territories.
== Economy ==
Israel is considered the most advanced country in West Asia and the Middle East in economic and industrial development. As of October 2023, the IMF estimated its GDP at 521.7 billion dollars and GDP per capita at 53.2 thousand (ranking 13th worldwide). It is the third richest country in Asia by nominal per capita income and has the highest average wealth per adult in the Middle East. The Economist ranked Israel as the fourth most successful economy among the developed countries for 2022. It has the most billionaires in the Middle East and the 18th most in the world. In recent years, Israel had one of the highest growth rates in the developed world. In 2010, it joined the OECD. The country is ranked 35th on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index. Economic data covers the economic territory of Israel, including the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Despite limited natural resources, intensive development of the agricultural and industrial sectors over the past decades has made Israel largely self-sufficient in food production, apart from grains and beef. Imports, totalling $96.5 billion in 2020, include raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, and consumer goods. Leading exports include machinery, equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles, and apparel; in 2020, exports reached $114 billion. The Bank of Israel holds $201 billion of foreign-exchange reserves, the 17th highest in the world. Since the 1970s, Israel has received military aid from the United States, as well as loan guarantees, which account for roughly half of Israel's external debt. Israel has one of the lowest external debts in the developed world, and is a lender in terms of net external debt (assets vs. liabilities abroad), which in 2015 stood at a surplus of $69 billion.
Israel has the second-largest number of startup companies after the United States and the third-largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies. It is the world leader for number of start-ups per capita and has been dubbed the "Start-Up Nation". Intel and Microsoft built their first overseas research and development facilities in Israel, and other high-tech multinational corporations have opened research and development centres in the country.
The days which are allocated to working times are Sunday through Thursday (for a five-day workweek), or Friday (for a six-day workweek). In observance of Shabbat, in places where Friday is a work day and the majority of population is Jewish, Friday is a "short day". Several proposals have been raised to adjust the work week with the majority of the world.
=== Science and technology ===
Israel's development of cutting-edge technologies in software, communications and the life sciences have evoked comparisons with Silicon Valley. Israel is first in the world in expenditure on research and development as a percentage of GDP. It is ranked 14th in the Global Innovation Index in 2025, and 5th in the 2019 Bloomberg Innovation Index. Israel has 140 scientists, technicians, and engineers per 10,000 employees, the highest number in the world and has produced six Nobel Prize-winning scientists, mostly in chemistry, since 2004 and has been frequently ranked as one of the countries with the highest ratios of scientific papers per capita. Israeli universities are ranked among the top 50 world universities in computer science (Technion and Tel Aviv University), mathematics (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and chemistry (Weizmann Institute of Science).
In 2012, Israel was ranked ninth in the world by the Futron's Space Competitiveness Index. The Israel Space Agency coordinates all space research programmes with scientific and commercial goals, and have designed and built at least 13 commercial, research and spy satellites. Some satellites are ranked among the world's most advanced space systems. Shavit is a space launch vehicle produced by Israel to launch small satellites into low Earth orbit. It was first launched in 1988, making Israel the eighth nation to have a space launch capability. In 2003, Ilan Ramon became Israel's first astronaut, serving on the fatal mission of Space Shuttle Columbia.
The ongoing water shortage has spurred innovation in water conservation techniques, and a substantial agricultural modernisation, drip irrigation, was invented in Israel. Israel is also at the technological forefront of desalination and water recycling. The Sorek desalination plant is the largest seawater reverse osmosis desalination facility in the world. By 2014, desalination programmes provided roughly 35% of the drinking water, and it is expected to supply 70% by 2050. As of 2015, over 50 per cent of the water for households, agriculture and industry is artificially produced. In 2011, Israel's water technology industry was worth around $2 billion per year with annual exports of products and services in the tens of millions of dollars. As a result of innovations in reverse osmosis technology, Israel is set to become a net exporter of water.
Israel has embraced solar energy; its engineers are on the cutting edge of solar energy technology, and its solar companies work on projects around the world. Over 90% of homes use solar energy for hot water, the highest per capita. According to government figures, the country saves 8% of its electricity consumption per year because of its solar energy use in heating. The high annual incident solar irradiance at its geographic latitude creates ideal conditions for what is an internationally renowned solar research and development industry in the Negev. Israel had a modern electric car infrastructure involving a countrywide network of charging stations; however, its electric car company Better Place shut down in 2013.
=== Energy ===
Israel began producing natural gas from its own offshore gas fields in 2004. In 2009 Tamar gas field was discovered near the coast, and Leviathan gas field was discovered in 2010. The natural gas reserves in these two fields could make Israel energy-secure for more than 50 years. Commercial production of natural gas from the Tamar field began in 2013, with over 7.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) produced annually. Israel had 199 billion bcm of proven reserves of natural gas as of 2016. The Leviathan gas field started production in 2019.
Ketura Sun is Israel's first commercial solar field. Built in 2011 by the Arava Power Company, the field will produce about 9 gigawatt-hours (32 TJ) of electricity per year, sparing the production of some 125,000 tonnes (123,000 long tons; 138,000 short tons) of carbon dioxide over 20 years.
=== Transport ===
As of 2016, Israel has 19,224 kilometres (11,945 mi) of paved roads and 3 million motor vehicles. The number of motor vehicles per 1,000 persons is 365, relatively low among developed countries. The country aims to have 30% of vehicles on its roads powered by electricity by 2030.
Israel has 5,715 buses on scheduled routes, operated by several carriers, the largest and oldest of which is Egged, serving most of the country. Railways stretch across 1,277 kilometres (793 mi) and are operated by government-owned Israel Railways. Following major investments beginning in the early to mid-1990s, the number of train passengers per year has grown from 2.5 million in 1990, to 53 million in 2015; railways transport 7.5 million tonnes (8.3 million short tons; 7.4 million long tons) of cargo per year.
Israel is served by three international airports: Ben Gurion Airport, the country's main hub for international air travel; Ramon Airport; and Haifa Airport. Ben Gurion handled over 21.1 million passengers in 2023. There are three main ports: the Port of Haifa, the oldest and largest; Ashdod Port; and the Port of Eilat on the Red Sea.
=== Tourism ===
Tourism, especially religious tourism, is an important industry, with beaches, archaeological, other historical and biblical sites, and unique geography also drawing tourists. In 2017, a record 3.6 million tourists visited Israel, yielding a 25 per cent growth since 2016 and contributed NIS 20 billion to the economy.
=== Real estate ===
Housing prices are listed in the top third of all countries, with an average of 150 salaries required to buy an apartment. As of 2022, there are about 2.7 million properties in Israel, with an annual increase of over 50,000. However, demand for housing exceeds supply, with a shortage of about 200,000 apartments as of 2021. As a result, by 2021 housing prices rose by 5.6%. In 2021, Israelis took a record of NIS 116.1 billion in mortgages, an increase of 50% from 2020.
== Demographics ==
Israel has the largest Jewish population in the world and is the only country where Jews are the majority, and the only country in which Jews make up more than 2% of the total national population. As of April 2025, the population was an estimated 10,094,000. In 2025, the government recorded 72% of the population as Jews, 21% as Arabs, and 7% as "Others" (non-Arab Christians and people who have no religion listed). Over the last decade, large numbers of migrant workers from Romania, Thailand, China, Africa, and South America have settled in Israel. Exact figures are unknown, as many of them are living in the country illegally, but estimates run from 166,000 to 203,000. By June 2012, approximately 60,000 African migrants had entered Israel.
About 93% of Israelis live in urban areas. 90% of Palestinian Israelis reside in 139 densely populated towns and villages concentrated in the Galilee, Triangle and Negev regions, with the remaining 10% in mixed cities and neighbourhoods. The OECD in 2016 estimated the average life expectancy at 82.5 years, the 6th-highest in the world. Israeli Arab life expectancy lags by 3 to 4 years and is higher than in most Arab and Muslim countries. The country has the highest fertility rate in the OECD and the only one which is above the replacement figure of 2.1. Retention of Israel's population since 1948 is about even or greater, when compared to other countries with mass immigration. Jewish emigration from Israel (called yerida), primarily to the United States and Canada, is described by demographers as modest, but is often cited by Israeli government ministries as a major threat to Israel's future.
Approximately 80% of Israeli Jews are born in Israel, 14% are immigrants from Europe and the Americas, and 6% are immigrants from Asia and Africa. Jews from Europe and the former Soviet Union and their descendants born in Israel, including Ashkenazi Jews, constitute approximately 44% of Jewish Israelis. Jews from Arab and Muslim countries and their descendants, including both Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews, form most of the rest of the Jewish population. Jewish intermarriage rates run at over 35% and recent studies suggest that the percentage of Israelis descended from both Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews increases by 0.5 per cent yearly, with over 25% of schoolchildren now originating from both. Around 4% of Israelis (300,000), ethnically defined as "others", are Russian descendants of Jewish origin or family who are not Jewish according to rabbinical law, but were eligible for citizenship under the Law of Return.
Israeli settlers beyond the Green Line number over 600,000 (≈10% of the Jewish Israeli population). In 2016, 399,300 Israelis lived in West Bank settlements, including those that predated the establishment of the State of Israel and which were re-established after the Six-Day War. Additionally there were more than 200,000 Jews living in East Jerusalem and 22,000 in the Golan Heights. Approximately 7,800 Israelis lived in settlements in the Gaza Strip, known as Gush Katif, until they were evacuated by the government as part of its 2005 disengagement plan.
Israeli Arabs (including the Arab population of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights) comprise 21.1% of the population or 1,995,000 people. In a 2017 poll, 40% of Arab citizens of Israel identified as "Arab in Israel" or "Arab citizen of Israel", 15% identified as "Palestinian", 8.9% as "Palestinian in Israel" or "Palestinian citizen of Israel", and 8.7% as "Arab"; a poll found that 60% of Israeli Arabs have a positive view of the state.
=== Major urban areas ===
Israel has four major metropolitan areas: Gush Dan (Tel Aviv metropolitan area; population 3,854,000), Jerusalem (population 1,253,900), Haifa (924,400), and Beersheba (377,100). The largest municipality, in population and area, is Jerusalem with 1,050,153 residents in an area of 125 square kilometres (48 sq mi). Statistics on Jerusalem include the population and area of East Jerusalem, the status of which is in international dispute. Tel Aviv and Haifa rank as Israel's next most populous cities, with populations of 494,900 and 297,082, respectively. The (mainly Haredi) city of Bnei Brak is the most densely populated city in Israel and one of the 10 most densely populated cities in the world.
Israel has 16 cities with populations over 100,000. As of 2018 there are 77 localities granted "municipalities" (or "city") status by the Ministry of the Interior, four of which are in the West Bank.
^a This number includes East Jerusalem and West Bank areas, which had a total population of 617,580 inhabitants in 2023. Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem is internationally unrecognized.
=== Language ===
The official language is Hebrew. Hebrew is the primary language of the state and is spoken daily by the majority of the population. Prior to 1948, opposition to Yiddish, the historical language of the Ashkenazi Jews, was common among supporters of the Zionist movement, including the Yishuv, who sought to promote Hebrew's revival as a unifying national language. These sentiments were reflected in the early policies of the Israeli government, which largely banned Yiddish theatre and publications. Until 2018, Arabic was also an official language; in 2018 it was downgraded to having a "special status in the state". Arabic is spoken by the Arab minority, with Arabic and Hebrew taught in Arab schools. Arabic is studied in most Jewish schools and is often used on signage and in transport announcements.
Due to mass immigration from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia (some 130,000 Ethiopian Jews live in Israel), Russian and Amharic are widely spoken. Over one million Russian-speaking immigrants arrived in Israel between 1990 and 2004. French is spoken by around 700,000 Israelis, mostly originating from France and North Africa (see Maghrebi Jews). English was an official language during the Mandate period; it lost this status after the establishment of Israel, but retains a role comparable to that of an official language. Many Israelis communicate reasonably well in English, as many television programmes are broadcast in English with subtitles and the language is taught in elementary school. Israeli universities offer courses in English.
=== Religion ===
The estimated religious affiliation as of 2022 was 73.5% Jewish, 18.1% Muslim, 1.9% Christian, 1.6% Druze, and 4.9% other. The religious affiliation of Israeli Jews varies widely: a 2016 survey by Pew Research indicates that 49% self-identify as Hiloni (secular), 29% as Masorti (traditional), 13% as Dati (religious) and 9% as Haredi (ultra-Orthodox). Haredi Jews are expected to represent over 20% of the Jewish population by 2028. Muslims constitute the largest religious minority, making up about 18.1% of the population. About 1.9% of the population is Christian, and 1.6% is Druze. The Christian population comprises primarily Arab Christians and Aramean Christians but also includes post-Soviet immigrants, foreign labourers, Armenian Christians, and followers of Messianic Judaism, considered by most Christians and Jews to be a form of Christianity. Members of many other religious groups, including Buddhists and Hindus, maintain a presence in Israel, albeit in small numbers. Out of over one million immigrants from the former Soviet Union, about 300,000 are considered not Jewish by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
Israel comprises a major part of the Holy Land, a region of significant importance to all Abrahamic religions. Jerusalem is of special importance to Jews, Muslims, and Christians, as it is the home of sites that are pivotal to their religious beliefs, such as the Old City that incorporates the Western Wall and the Temple Mount (Al-Aqsa Mosque compound) and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Other locations of religious importance are Nazareth (site of the Annunciation of Mary), Tiberias and Safed (two of the Four Holy Cities in Judaism), the White Mosque in Ramla (shrine of the prophet Saleh), and the Church of Saint George and Mosque of Al-Khadr, Lod (tomb of Saint George or Al Khidr). A number of other religious landmarks are located in the West Bank, including Joseph's Tomb, the birthplace of Jesus, Rachel's Tomb, and the Cave of the Patriarchs. The administrative center of the Baháʼí Faith and the Shrine of the Báb are located at the Baháʼí World Centre in Haifa; the leader of the faith is buried in Acre. The Mahmood Mosque is affiliated with the reformist Ahmadiyya movement. Kababir, Haifa's mixed neighbourhood of Jews and Ahmadi Arabs, is one of a few of its kind in the country.
=== Education ===
In 2015, Israel ranked third among OECD members for the percentage of 25–64-year-olds that have attained tertiary education with 49% compared with the OECD average of 35%. In 2012, the country ranked third in the number of academic degrees per capita (20 per cent of the population).
Israel has a school life expectancy of 16 years and a literacy rate of 97.8%. The State Education Law (1953) established five types of schools: state secular, state religious, ultra orthodox, communal settlement schools, and Arab schools. The public secular is the largest school group and is attended by the majority of Jewish and non-Arab pupils. Most Arabs send their children to schools where Arabic is the language of instruction. Education is compulsory for children between the ages of three and eighteen. Schooling is divided into three tiers—primary school (grades 1–6), middle school (grades 7–9), and high school (grades 10–12)—culminating with Bagrut matriculation exams. Proficiency in core subjects such as mathematics, the Hebrew language, Hebrew and general literature, the English language, history, Biblical scripture and civics is necessary to receive a Bagrut certificate.
The Jewish population maintains a relatively high level of educational attainment where just under half of all Israeli Jews (46%) hold post-secondary degrees. Israeli Jews 25 and older have an average 11.6 years of schooling, making them one of the most highly educated of all major religious groups in the world. In Arab, Christian and Druze schools, the exam on Biblical studies is replaced by an exam on Muslim, Christian or Druze heritage, respectively. In 2020, 68.7% of 12th graders earned a matriculation certificate.
Israel has a tradition of higher education where its university education has been largely responsible in spurring modern economic development. Israel has nine public universities subsidised by the state and 49 private colleges. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem houses the National Library of Israel, the world's largest repository of Judaica and Hebraica. The Technion and the Hebrew University consistently ranked among world's 100 top universities by ARWU ranking. Other major universities include the Weizmann Institute of Science, Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Bar-Ilan University, the University of Haifa, and the Open University of Israel.
== Culture ==
Cultural diversity stems from its diverse population: Jews from various diaspora communities brought their cultural and religious traditions with them. Arab influences are found in architecture, music, and cuisine, among others. Israel is the only country where life revolves around the Hebrew calendar, which is aligned to the seasons in the Levant. Public holidays are determined by the Jewish holidays, and except for Yom HaAtzma'ut (Independence Day) there are no annual civil holidays. The official day of rest is Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.
=== Literature ===
Israeli literature is primarily poetry and prose written in Hebrew, as part of the renaissance of Hebrew as a spoken language since the mid-19th century, although a small body of literature is published in other languages. By law, two copies of all works published in Israel must be deposited in the National Library. In 2016, 89 per cent of the 7,300 books transferred to the library were in Hebrew.
In 1966, Shmuel Yosef Agnon shared the Nobel Prize in Literature with German Jewish author Nelly Sachs. Leading poets include Yehuda Amichai, Nathan Alterman, Leah Goldberg, and Rachel Bluwstein. Internationally famous contemporary novelists include Amos Oz, Etgar Keret and David Grossman.
=== Music and dance ===
Israeli music includes Mizrahi and Sephardic music, Hasidic melodies, Greek music, jazz, and pop rock. The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra has been in operation for over seventy years and performs more than two hundred concerts each year. Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and Ofra Haza are among the internationally acclaimed musicians born in Israel. The country has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest nearly every year since 1973, winning it four times and hosting three times. Eilat has hosted its own international music festival, the Red Sea Jazz Festival, every summer since 1987. The nation's canonical folk songs are known as "Songs of the Land of Israel".
=== Cinema and theatre ===
Ten Israeli films have been final nominees for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. Palestinian Israeli filmmakers have made films dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict and status of Palestinians within Israel, such as Mohammad Bakri's 2002 film Jenin, Jenin and The Syrian Bride.
Continuing the strong theatrical traditions of the Yiddish theatre in Eastern Europe, Israel maintains a vibrant theatre scene. Founded in 1918, Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv is Israel's oldest repertory theatre company and national theatre. Other theatres include Ohel, the Cameri and Gesher.
=== Visual arts ===
Israeli Jewish art has been particularly influenced by the Kabbalah, the Talmud and the Zohar. Another art movement that held a prominent role in the 20th century was the School of Paris. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the Yishuv's art was dominated by art trends emanating Bezalel. Beginning in the 1920s, the local art scene was heavily influenced by modern French art, first introduced by Isaac Frenkel Frenel. Jewish masters of the school of Paris, such as Soutine, Kikoine, Frenkel, Chagall heavily influenced the development of Israeli art. Israeli sculpture took inspiration from modern European sculpture as well Mesopotamian, Assyrian and local art. Avraham Melnikov's The Roaring Lion, David Polus' Alexander Zaid and Ze'ev Ben Zvi's cubist sculpture exemplify some of the different streams in sculpture.
Common themes in art are the mystical cities of Safed and Jerusalem, the bohemian café culture of Tel Aviv, agricultural landscapes, biblical stories and war. Today Israeli art has delved into optical art, AI art, digital art and the use of salt in sculpture.
=== Architecture ===
Due to the immigration of Jewish architects, architecture has come to reflect different styles. In the early 20th century Jewish architects sought to combine Occidental and Oriental architecture producing buildings that showcase a myriad of infused styles. The eclectic style gave way to the modernist Bauhaus style with the influx of German Jewish architects (among them Erich Mendelsohn) fleeing Nazi persecution. The White City of Tel Aviv is a UNESCO heritage site. Following independence, multiple government projects were commissioned, a grand part built in a brutalist style with heavy emphasis on the use of concrete and acclimatisation to the desert climate.
Several novel ideas such as the Garden City were implemented in Israeli cities; the Geddes plan of Tel Aviv became renowned internationally for its revolutionary design and adaptation to the local climate. The design of kibbutzim also came to reflect ideology, such as the planning of the circular kibbutz Nahalal by Richard Kauffmann.
=== Museums ===
The Israel Museum in Jerusalem is one of Israel's most important cultural institutions, and houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, along with an extensive collection of Judaica and European art. Yad Vashem (Hebrew: יָד וַשֵׁם, lit. 'a memorial and a name') is the world's central Holocaust memorial institution and archive of Holocaust-related information. ANU - Museum of the Jewish People is an interactive museum devoted to the history of Jewish communities around the world.
Israel has the highest number of museums per capita. Several museums are devoted to Islamic culture, including the Rockefeller Museum and the L. A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art, both in Jerusalem. The Rockefeller specialises in archaeological remains from Middle East history. It is also the home of the first hominid fossil skull found in West Asia, called Galilee Man.
=== Mass media ===
Media is diverse. Notable newspapers include the left-wing Haaretz, centrist Yedioth Ahronoth, and center-right Israel Hayom. There are several major television channels which cater to different audiences, from Russian-language Channel 9 to Arabic-language Kan 33. The 2024 Freedom House report found Israeli media is "vibrant and free to criticise government policy". In the 2024 Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, Israel was placed 112th of 180 countries, second in the Middle East and North Africa.
Reporters Without Borders reported that the Israel Defence Forces had killed more than 100 Palestinian journalists in Gaza. During the 2023 Gaza war, Israel has been alleged to be "trying to suppress the reporting coming out of the besieged enclave while disinformation infiltrates its own media ecosystem". In May 2024, Israel shut down the local offices of Al Jazeera. In 2024, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Israel was the second leading country in jailing journalists, and responsible for the majority of journalists killed in the world.
=== Cuisine ===
Israeli cuisine includes local dishes as well as Jewish cuisine brought to the country by immigrants. Particularly since the late 1970s, a fusion cuisine has developed. The cuisine has adapted elements of the Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ashkenazi styles of cooking. It incorporates many foods traditionally eaten in the Levantine, Arab, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines, such as falafel, hummus, shakshouka, couscous, and za'atar. Schnitzel, pizza, hamburgers, French fries, rice and salad are common. Ptitim (Israeli couscous) is a notable Israeli food invented in the 1950s due to rice shortages during the austerity period.
Roughly half of the Jewish population attests to keeping kosher at home. Kosher restaurants make up around a quarter of the total as of 2015. Pork—often called "white meat" in Israel—is produced and consumed despite attempts to ban it; it is forbidden by both Judaism and Islam but is permitted by Christianity and mostly produced in traditionally Christian areas of northern Israel. Other non-kosher foods produced and eaten in Israel include rabbits, ostriches, and non-kosher fish.
=== Sports ===
The most popular spectator sports in Israel are association football and basketball. The Israeli Premier League is the country's premier football league, and the Israeli Basketball Premier League is the premier basketball league. Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem are the largest football clubs. Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Tel Aviv have competed in the UEFA Champions League and Hapoel Tel Aviv reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. Israel hosted and won the 1964 AFC Asian Cup; in 1970 the Israel national football team qualified for the FIFA World Cup, the only time it participated. The 1974 Asian Games, held in Tehran, were the last Asian Games in which Israel participated, plagued by Arab countries that refused to compete with Israel. Israel was excluded from the 1978 Asian Games and since then has not competed in Asian sport events. In 1994, UEFA agreed to admit Israel, and its football teams now compete in Europe. Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. has won the European championship in basketball six times.
Israel has won 20 Olympic medals since its first win in 1992, including a gold medal in windsurfing at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and seven medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics alone. Israel has won over 100 gold medals in the Paralympic Games and is ranked 20th in the all-time medal count. The 1968 Summer Paralympics were hosted by Israel. The Maccabiah Games, an Olympic-style event for Jewish and Israeli athletes, was inaugurated in the 1930s, and has been held every four years since. Krav Maga, a martial art developed by Jewish ghetto defenders, is used by the Israeli security forces and police.
Chess is a leading sport. There are many Israeli grandmasters and Israeli chess players have won a number of youth world championships. Israel stages an annual international championship and hosted the World Team Chess Championship in 2005. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Museum_of_History | Canadian Museum of History | The Canadian Museum of History (French: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related research. The museum is based in a 75,000-square-metre-building (810,000 sq ft) designed by Douglas Cardinal.
The museum originated from one established by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1856, which later expanded to include an anthropology division in 1910. In 1927, the institution was renamed the National Museum of Canada. The national museum was later split into several separate institutions in 1968, with the anthropology and human history departments forming the National Museum of Man. The museum relocated to its present location in Gatineau in 1989 and adopted the name Canadian Museum of Civilization (French: Musée canadien des civilisations) the following year. In 2013, the museum adopted its current name, the Canadian Museum of History, and modified its mandate to emphasize Canadian identity and history.
The museum's collection contains over three million artifacts and documents, with some on display in the museum's permanent exhibitions. The museum also hosts and organizes a number of temporary, travelling, and online exhibitions, like the Virtual Museum of New France.
== History ==
=== Early museum (1856–1968) ===
The Canadian Museum of History originates from the collecting efforts of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), an organization established in 1842 in Montreal. In 1856 the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada passed an act that enabled the GSC to establish a museum to exhibit items found from its geological and archaeological field trips; with the museum initially established in Montreal on Great St. James Street (now Saint Jacques Street). The museum held its first ethnological exhibit from 1862 to 1863, showcasing stone implements and fragments of pottery by First Nations. In 1877, the museum mandate was formally expanded to include the study of modern fauna and flora, in addition to human history, languages, and traditions.
In 1881, the museum relocated from Montreal to downtown Ottawa to what is now referred to as Former Geological Survey of Canada Building; although space in the new facility soon proved to be inadequate, with the Royal Society of Canada petitioning the federal government to build a new building for the museum by 1896. Preliminary plans for a new building were drawn up by 1899, although work on the building did not begin until 1906. In the following year, management of the museum was handed over from the GSC to the Department of Mines, with the mandate formally expanded to include anthropological studies. The new museum building, the Victoria Memorial Museum Building, was also completed in 1910, although it was not opened to the public until 1911.
Under the Department of Mines, the museum formally established an anthropology division under the direction of Edward Sapir in 1910. Another anthropologist, Marius Barbeau, was also hired by the museum in the following year to assist Sapir. The anthropology division was charged with the preservation of the cultural heritage of people in Canada and assembling objects related to these cultures. Under Sapir's direction, the institution's research initially focused on Aboriginal communities across Canada they believed were imperilled by rapid acculturation. The museum's first anthropological exhibits were organized by Sapir and his protege, Franz Boas. Since this period, the museum had become a centre for Canadian anthropology, having attracted notable anthropologists including Diamond Jenness after the Second World War.
In 1927, the museum division of the Department of Mines was renamed the National Museum of Canada. Management of the National Museum is transferred from the Department of Mines to the Department of Resources and Development in 1950. In 1965, the museum was split into two branches, one focused on natural history and another on human history. The mandate of the museum further expanded in the following decades, with the museum assuming the management of the Canadian War Museum in 1958, and its human history branch establishing a history division in 1964.
=== Museum of anthropology and history (1968–present) ===
On 1 April 1968, the branches of the National Museum of Canada were formally split into separate museums. The Canadian Museum of History originated from the human history branch of the museum, initially incorporated as the National Museum of Man. The natural history branch of the former National Museum of Canada became the National Museum of Natural Sciences (later renamed the Canadian Museum of Nature), while the science and technology branch became the National Museum of Science and Technology (later renamed the Canada Science and Technology Museum). The National Museums of Canada Corporation was formed by the federal government in order to manage these national museums, in addition to the National Gallery of Canada. Although the institutions were split, the National Museum of Man and the National Museum of Natural History continued to share the Victoria Memorial building; with the National Museum of Man occupying the western half of the building.
In April 1972, the National Museum of Man established a Communications Division in order to provide media communications regarding the museum's education and information programs. During the 1970s, the staff of the institution adopted a philosophy that stressed public access to its heritage collection. Because the Victoria Memorial Museum building had insufficient space to exhibit the museum's growing collection, the museum's collection and staff were scattered across 17 buildings, with these buildings acting as decentralized units of the museum.
In 1980, management of the National Museums of Canada Corporation is transferred to the Department of Communications. The following year in June 1981, the cabinet of Canada approved several plans concerning several national museums of Canada, including moving the National Museum of Man into a new structure. The plan was formally announced to the public in February 1982. After a study of potential locations saw four sites in Ottawa and one in Gatineau. A site acquired by the National Capital Commission (NCC) from the E.B Eddy Company in Gatineau was chosen as the site for the new museum; due to it already being public land, being linked to Confederation Boulevard, and because it was prominently visible from the Ottawa River. The site was also selected because the NCC had desired to develop Hull, and incorporate it into the design of the capital region; while officials in Gatineau had similar desires to develop the area into an urban park. On 10 February 1983, the site for the new museum was announced to the public; and Douglas Cardinal Architect Limited was named as the project's design architect, in association with Montreal-based architectural firm Tétreault, Parent, Languedoc et Associés. The design created by Cardinal was approved in 1983 by the Cabinet of Canada.
In an effort to avoid stereotypes in languages, the name of the museum was changed to the Canadian Museum of Civilization in 1986. In 1988, the institution absorbed the museum operated by the department of the Minister responsible for Canada Post Corporation, although its philatelic collection was transferred to the National Archives of Canada. The museum opened its new building in Gatineau in 1989. However, the building opened with only two permanent exhibitions, Canada Hall and the exhibitions on the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, as budgetary shortfalls prevented the museum from opening the exhibitions it had originally planned for the museum.
In 1990, the Museum Act was passed by the federal government, replacing the defunct National Museums of Canada Corporation and forming several new entities to manage the national museums of Canada; with the Canadian Museum of Civilization corporation formed on 1 July 1990 to manage the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and the Canadian War Museum.
==== 21st century ====
In 2007, the museum organized a temporary exhibition, Treasures from China, in partnership with the National Museum of China. The partnership saw artifacts leave China to be exhibited only at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. As a part of the agreement, the Canadian Museum of Civilization prepared Indigenous Canadian artifacts for its own exhibition, First Peoples of Canada: Masterworks from the Canadian Museum of Civilization, at the Palace Museum in Beijing.
In October 2012, James Moore, the minister of Canadian Heritage announced the ministry would provide $25 million to overhaul the museum and renovate Canada Hall. The government later announced plans to update and reopen the gallery in 2017, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of Canada. Approximately 24,000 people from across nine Canadian cities were surveyed about the updates to the exhibition. The museum consulted a women's history committee, an indigenous history committee, and three historic time-period committees.
In December 2013, the Canadian Museum of History Act received Royal Assent, which shifted the museum's mandate from developing a collection with a "special but not exclusive reference to Canada," to one that enhanced the knowledge of Canadian history and identity; and expanding the museum's focus to include social and political history. The Act also changed the institution's name from the Canadian Museum of Civilization to the Canadian Museum of History. The Canadian Postal Museum, a department of the Canadian Museum of Civilization corporation that operated from within the institution was shut down in 2012 as a result of the museum's transition into the Canadian Museum of History.
Some have criticized the new mandate and updating of Canada Hall as a part of a wider plan by the incumbent Conservative government to redirect public historical understanding to emphasize aspects of Canadian military history and monarchism; as well as elide problematic elements of Canadian history in favour of achievements. However, the museum contended that new exhibits planned for the museum will include a range of themes and topics, and will also explore the country's "dark episodes". The updated gallery was completed at approximately $30 million and was opened on Canada Day in 2017 by Charles, Prince of Wales and Mélanie Joly, the minister of Canadian Heritage. Partisan concerns were alleviated after Canadian History Hall was unveiled to the public.
In 2025, a hobbyist built a Lego replica of the museum. Architect Douglas Cardinal sent him 80 pages of architectural blueprints for the project.
== Site ==
The museum is situated on a 9.6-hectare (23.7-acre) plot of land, formerly known as Parc Laurier. The museum site is the first Canadian national museum to be located on the Gatineau side of the National Capital Region, and the first to be located adjacent to the Ottawa River.
The site is bounded by the western access point for the Alexandra Bridge, the Ottawa River to the east, a paper production plant to the south, and Laurier Street to the west. The median of the property extends 235 metres (771 ft) from Laurier Street to the river. From Laurier Street, the property descends towards the Ottawa River at a 5.5 per cent grade; with the portion of the property closest to Laurier Street at an elevation of 53.5 metres (176 ft), while the riverfront is at an elevation of 41 metres (135 ft). Because of the property's low elevation, the construction of the museum building was limited to the portion of the property closer to Laurier Street.
The site includes a museum building with two wings. The two wings wrap around and are connected by a large hemispherical entrance plaza which contains its food services, lounge, library, and underground parking. The parkland and open space between the two wings are intended to represent the "plains over which mankind migrated" over millennia. A large staircase east of the entrance plaza descends to the museum's lower plaza and gardens adjacent to the riverside park.
A pedestrian and cycling pathway is situated on the riverfront portion of the property, with the pathways continuing north into Jacques-Cartier Park, a municipal park north of the property.
=== Building ===
The 75,000 square metres (810,000 sq ft) structure was designed by Douglas Cardinal. The building's infrastructure includes approximately 56,000 square metres (600,000 sq ft) of concrete, and 7,300 tonnes of steel. Cardinal sought to create form a "sculptural icon" for the country, encouraged by then-prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, to develop a symbol that "enshrined our cultures". As a result, the building was the first structure in the National Capital Region that incorporates Indigenous architectural designs. Cardinal's design for the building was largely influenced by his understanding of how geography helped shaped Canada's history and culture.
The museum building has over 25,000 square metres (270,000 sq ft) of exhibition space, more than any other museum in Canada. In addition to exhibition space, the building also contains three restaurants, a boutique store, and two live performance theatres, including a 500-seat theatre for live performances. The building also has a 295-seat 3D theatre that uses a Barco digital projector. Before the installation of the Barco projector in 2016, the 3D theatre used a IMAX projector and was branded as an IMAX theatre.
Water is drawn from the Ottawa River to heat and cool the building. The building's energy needs are met by two substations in Gatineau, with two additional backup generators also available if both substations fail.
==== Exterior ====
The building's exterior is clad with 30,000 square metres (320,000 sq ft) of Tyndall stone; with the material being selected because of its durability and its relationship with glaciers.
Cardinal sought to build a structure that appeared to be "flowing with the contours of the land," and simple lines and forms could be used to display the idea of movement. The building's design draws upon Art Nouveau styles to illustrate Canada's geography at the end of the Last Glacial Period when the landscape was largely uniform; with certain elements of the building evoking igloos earth lodges, and longhouses.
The building includes a cantilevered northern/curatorial wing and a southern wing that houses most of the museum's public facilities, including its galleries, and theatres. The curatorial wing was designed to evoke outcroppings of the Canadian Shield, while the southern public wing with its glass-fronted Grand Hall, was intended to evoke an image of a melting glacier. The southern wing's copper roof represents vegetation's recolonization of the lands once covered by glacial till. The copper roof is nearly 11,000 square metres (120,000 sq ft) and weighs approximately 90 tonnes. Both wings are curvaceous on their river sides to blend into their landscapes, although their street-side façade is more angular.
The NCC placed several restrictions on the building design, that the building does not obstruct the view of the Ottawa River, and that the building does not obstruct delineated "viewing cones" of Parliament Hill from the Gatineau side of the river. Because of these restrictions, the buildings were designed with a low-profile, to avoid obscuring the view for buildings across the street. From certain angles, the building appears as two separate pavilions, with an opening between these two sections providing an unobstructed view of Parliament Hill from Laurier Street. Considerations also needed to be taken to protect artifacts displayed in the building. Windows were triple-glazed and coated with a film that helps contain radiant heat and reduce solar ultraviolet rays, and the southern wing's Grand Hall was intentionally designed to face direct sunlight only in the morning.
The building was designed to create an "ever-changing pattern" of shadows across the structure's surface, with most of the building's exterior lighting kept below 30 lux to allow viewers to see deeper shadows at night.
== Exhibitions ==
The museum hosts several permanent and temporary exhibitions on anthropology, ethnology, and history. Artifacts from the museum's collection are exhibited in these exhibitions. In addition, travelling exhibitions are occasionally held at the museum. The museum has also created several online exhibitions, like the Virtual Museum of New France.
Permanent exhibitions include First Peoples Hall, Canadian History Hall, the Canadian Children's Museum, the Canadian Stamp Collection, and two exhibitions on the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in the building's Grand Hall. First Peoples Hall is situated on the first floor of the building, whereas the Canada Hall is situated on the third level of the building. First Peoples Hall is situated next to the Grand Hall, with its exhibitions located on the ground floor.
Many of the exhibits that were designed in the 1980s for the new building were influenced by the director of the museum, George F. MacDonald, his personal admiration for Pacific Northwest Coast art and culture, and the communication theories of his mentor, Marshall McLuhan. Merging exhibits detailing the Indigenous peoples of Canada with other Canadian historical exhibits were considered by the exhibition design team when plans were being made to move the museum in the 1980s. However, it was later decided to depict both topics as separate exhibitions, resulting in both exhibitions being planned by different teams with separate budgets. This decision was later reversed in 2017 when the museum reopened the Canadian History Hall exhibition with Indigenous exhibits incorporated throughout its exhibit.
=== First Peoples Hall ===
First Peoples Hall is an exhibition opened in 2003, that explores Canada's First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. The exhibition occupies 3,300 square metres (35,000 sq ft) of space on the ground floor of the building. The hall contains more than 2,000 objects on display. Most of the exhibition space is devoted to changing exhibits, to keep up with contemporary views on traditional cultures and current issues. However, First Peoples Hall does have some space devoted to long-term exhibits. These long-term exhibits explore topics that are less subject to changing interpretations; like ancient history, Indigenous languages, and the history of the relationship between Indigenous and European cultures. The exhibition is organized into several sections, such as the "Ways of Knowing", "An Ancient Bond with the Land", and "The Arrival of Strangers".
The exhibition was designed to "deconstruct and supersede" histories that visitors are familiar with. Exhibits were designed to address issues of stereotyping Indigenous identity, and the diversity and cultural distinctiveness between Indigenous nations; with many of the exhibits linking identity to Indigenous land claims in Canada. Additionally, exhibits were designed to portray Indigenous peoples as living peoples in the modern world. Archaeological exhibits in First Peoples Hall are themed to reinforce the fact that the Indigenous peoples of Canada have occupied the land since time immemorial, and that Canadian history has a long and complex history preceding European colonization. Additionally, many of these archaeological exhibits are designed to confront the notion of Eurasian technological supremacy at the time of first contact with the Americas. The exhibition concludes with contemporary issue exhibits, which explore recent clashes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada over land and resources.
The curatorial model used to develop the exhibition conformed to the suggestions provided in the 1992 recommendations from the federal Task Force on Museums and First Peoples. The content and messaging of First Peoples Hall were determined in consultation with indigenous communities across Canada. Acting upon the task force's recommendation to establish partnerships with First Nation representatives whose cultures were being exhibited, an advisory committee of 15 Indigenous members was formed to help define the exhibition's thematic structure and messaging. As a result, exhibits in First Peoples Hall take a "multivocal" approach, where different perspectives can be distinguished within the exhibition; and explanatory fields like archaeology, ethnology and traditional Indigenous knowledge are juxtaposed, and contestatory with one another in some cases.
=== Canadian History Hall ===
Canadian History Hall is an exhibition that explores Canadian history. Canadian History Hall is approximately 4,690 square metres (50,500 sq ft), and includes over 14 projectors and 58 screens used in the exhibition. The exhibition includes three galleries and a long curved walkway that serves as the entrance to the three galleries. The entrance walkway is decorated with 101 silhouettes of Canadian cultural symbols and activities, as well as national landmarks. Canadian History Hall's galleries centre around a hub that was designed by Douglas Cardinal to resemble Chaudière Falls. The hub features a large 15.5 by 9.5 metres (51 ft × 31 ft) image of Canada on the floor. The image of Canada is made up of 121 satellite photos taken by the Canadian Space Agency, that were stitched together to form a single image.
The exhibition summarizes over 15,000 years of history and is divided into three era-centric galleries, Early Canada: From Earliest Times to 1763, Colonial Canada: 1763 to 1914, and Modern Canada: 1914 to the Present Day. The first two galleries are located on the same floor, while the third gallery occupies the mezzanine above the two galleries. The galleries are designed to showcase events and "turning points" in each respective era through the multimedia presentations and the artifacts on display. Each gallery is further organized into six separate "vignettes" that are thematically different, but interconnected with one another. The vignettes are primarily organized temporally, although some are specifically focused on a specific aspect of Canadian history. The exhibition takes a largely didactic approach with its subject and is particularly focused on the country's political and economic history, as well as the experience of Indigenous peoples. According to the exhibit team's head, David A. Morrison, Indigenous peoples and their relationship with newcomers will serve as an important overarching theme of Canadian History Hall.
Early Canada explores provides a summary of Indigenous history prior to the arrival of the Europeans as well as early Canadian colonies like New France. The gallery includes Indigenous artifacts, narrative recounts of Indigenous interactions between Norse, English and French explorers, and detailed accounts on the North American fur trade, the spread of disease within Indigenous populations, and the Beaver Wars. Colonial Canada explores Canada under British rule since the conquest of New France, as well as post-Confederation Canada to 1914. Modern Canada explores Canada's recent history, up to the arrival of Syrian refugees in the 2010s. The latter two galleries provide detailed histories on the Seven Years' War, treaties signed between various Indigenous groups and the Crown, the push for responsible government, Canadian Confederation, the world wars, the Canadian Indian residential school system, Quebec nationalism, and multiculturalism in Canada.
There are over 1,500 artifacts on display in Canadian History Hall. Historic artifacts include a 3,600 to 3,900 years old ivory carving believed to be the oldest representation of a human face found in Canada; James Wolfe coat; and handcuffs worn by Louis Riel prior to his execution; Maurice Richard's hockey jersey; Terry Fox's T-shirt; Tommy Douglas's hat; the table on which the proclamation of the Constitution Act, 1982 was signed by Queen Elizabeth II in 1982; Randy Bachman's guitar, and the sewing machine which Joan O'Malley sewed the first Maple Leaf flag. There are 40 linear films shown at the exhibition, including Origin Stories, a film that illustrates how the Anishinaabe believed the earth was formed. Origin Stories is displayed along the curved wall of the Canadian History Hall's entrance.
The modular structure of the exhibits enables the museum to swap segments easier. The number of exhibits in the galleries may also expand, with the museum having reserved enough space to allow for the addition of new exhibits in the three galleries.
==== Pre-2017 exhibition ====
Canadian History Hall's predecessor, Canada Hall, opened as an inaugural exhibit at the museum in 1989. The original exhibition was divided into 23 modules that were arranged chronologically, beginning with the Norse colonization of North America. The gallery aimed to promote Canadian multiculturalism, having portrayed a social history that depicted a "march of immigrants" from east to west, and the success of different groups in Canada. However, these modules provided little in-depth consideration for pre-colonial Indigenous cultures, which were only explored in the museum's other exhibitions prior to Canada Hall's updates in the 2010s. The original design of Canada Hall recreated historical settings with period rooms and full-scale historical buildings incorporated into the exhibition; reflecting McLuhan's theories, and innovations adopted by entertainment pavilions like Disney's Epcot.
Canada Hall was closed to the public in September 2014 to enable renovations and significant updates to the exhibition. The exhibition reopened in 2017 significantly changed from its original design. Nearly all of the life-sized dioramas were dismantled as a part of the exhibition's update. St. Onuphrius Church, an original early-20th-century Ukrainian church from the Canadian Prairies that was later relocated to the museum, is the only remaining life-sized diorama in the exhibition.
=== Canadian Children's Museum ===
The Canadian Children's Museum is Canada's largest exhibition centre designed specifically for children with over 3,000 square metres (32,000 sq ft) of space. The museum uses more than 15,000 artifacts, props, and hands-on items for use in its exhibitions and programs. These items include art, clothing, games, photographs, and toys. The museum includes an International Village, as well as Canadian-themed attractions that were added into the exhibition in 2007.
In 2018, the museum announced it would undertake a renewal project in January 2020. The museum announced the revamp would reflect how children play and learn, and will remove more dated exhibits from the exhibition, like the post office and telephone booth. It reopened in May 2022.
=== Canadian Stamp Collection ===
The Canadian Stamp Collection is a stamp collection of more than 3,000 stamps and includes every Canadian stamp issued since 1851. The stamp collection was housed at the Canadian Postal Museum until 2012 when the postal museum closed and its stamp collection relocated to the Canadian Museum of History. The Canadian Museum of History opened a permanent exhibition for the collection in 2014 in partnership with Canada Post. Stamps that are exhibited in the exhibition are showcased with artifacts that either inspired its creation or were used to make the stamp.
=== Grand Hall exhibitions ===
Grand Hall features two permanent exhibitions on the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, First Peoples of the Northwest Coast and From Time Immemorial — Tsimshian Prehistory. The exhibits include totem poles and other artifacts. The exhibitions were developed as a collaboration between the museum's curators and Indigenous cultural specialists in the 1980s.
In 1993, a large mural titled Morning Star was added to the domed ceiling of the Grand Hall. The mural was created by Alex Janvier and is symbolic of Indigenous life and history. In addition to the two permanent exhibitions, the Grand Hall is also used to host other major events. In addition to its permanent exhibitions, the Grand Hall has also been used to host temporary exhibitions.
== Collections ==
As of June 2021, the Canadian Museum of History's permanent collection includes more than three million artifacts, documents, works of art, and other specimens. This includes over one million photographs, 72,000 sound recordings and 18,000 films and videotapes. The collection takes up approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) of shelf space. Approximately 218,000 artifacts have been digitized and made accessible online by the museum.
The museum's permanent collection dates back to the collection established by the Geological Survey of Canada in the 1860s. The museum's collection of artifacts has expanded through the institution's research programs. The first collection representing Indigenous peoples was established by the Geological Survey of Canada, with other parts of the collection having been acquired by government officials and missionaries working outside Ottawa. The collection continued to expand after the anthropology department was established in 1910, and the museum began a systematic program of documenting Indigenous cultures and lineages.
The museum's collection of Indigenous items is the largest in Canada and is the only major collection with a national scope in the country. The museum also possesses the world's largest collection of totem poles. The Sacred Materials Project was created by the museum to help maintain Indigenous sacred items, and facilitate the repatriation of select items to their respective communities. The project provides funds for Indigenous representatives to view the museum's collections and discuss the repatriation of identified sacred items, as well as identify other objects in the collection that require ritualistic care.
The museum's permanent collection contains several smaller collections, like the Windfield Farm Collection. The Windfield Farm Collection was acquired by the museum in 2013 and contains documents, photographs, memorabilia and trophies, including the Kentucky Derby trophy won by Northern Dancer. The museum's collection of flags is also the largest in the country.
Other notable items in the museum's permanent collection includes a Contempra phone, the first telephone to be designed and manufactured in Canada; cough syrup from the 1918 influenza pandemic; the original plaster for Bill Reid's Spirit of Haida Gwaii; ten large heraldic sculptures known as The Queen's Beasts; and royal gown worn by Elizabeth II during her royal tours of Canada. The museum also contains a number of ice hockey artifacts, including game-used National Hockey League sticks, hockey cards, and the world's oldest existing ice hockey stick. The ice hockey stick dates back to the mid-1830s and was acquired by the museum in 2015 for $300,000.
In addition to its permanent collection, the Canadian Museum of History also co-manages collections with other institutions. In July 1999, the museum entered an agreement with the Canadian Nursing Association (CNA), the Canadian War Museum, and the National Archives of Canada to create the Canadian Nursing History Collection. This collection includes over 9,000 photographs, 1,600 audiovisual materials, and over 35 metres (115 ft) of textual records from the CNA, the Nursing Sisters Association of Canada, and the Helen Mussallem Collection. Approximately 950 documented artifacts from this collection are deposited at the Canadian Museum of History. Items from the collection at the Canadian Museum of History include 167 nurses' caps, dating from 1895 to 1983. In June 2005, the museum opened a temporary exhibition that focused on this collection. In 2021, the Canadian Museum of History entered into an agreement to house and maintain artifacts from Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
=== Library and archives ===
The museum's resource centre operates a library and archives. As of 2015, the museum's library has more than 60,000 books, over 2,000 journals and magazines, and over 1,000 DVDs, CDs, and video tapes. The museum's rare and old books collection includes Paul-Émile Borduas's Refus Global (1948) and Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix's Histoire et description générale de la Nouvelle-France (1744).
=== Research ===
The museum's collection is used to support research in anthropology, archaeology, Indigenous people in Canada, linguistics, material culture, multicultural communities, social and political history and museology in Canada. The museum also publishes its own academic journal, the Mercury Series; on history, archaeology, and anthropology. The journal has been published in partnership with the University of Ottawa Press since 2012. The museum has also published the academic journal Material Culture Review in partnership with the Canada Science and Technology Museum since the 1970s. The journal provides a forum for research on historical artifacts collected by Canadian museums.
== Management ==
The Canadian Museum of History is managed by a federal Crown corporation of the same name under the Department of Canadian Heritage's portfolio. The museum is one of two national museums managed by the corporation, the other being the Canadian War Museum. The corporation also administers the Virtual Museum of New France, a virtual museum and online exhibition of the Canadian Museum of History; and the Virtual Museum of Canada, an administrative program that supports the development of online projects for museums and heritage organizations across Canada. The Virtual Museum of Canada was an online portal for virtual exhibits in Canada until 2020, when the Virtual Museum of Canada's website was decommissioned, and the project was reoriented into a support program.
Management of the corporation is conducted through an 11-member board of trustees. Trustees are appointed by the Minister of Canadian Heritage, with approval from the Governor-in-Council. In turn, the board appoints the corporation's president and chief executive officer. The corporation reports to the Parliament of Canada through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. The corporation's mandate is defined under the Museums Act.
The corporation was established as the Canadian Museum of Civilization in June 1990 through the Museums Act; an Act that was later amended in 2014. The corporation adopted its current name in 2013. The Crown corporation was one of several that succeeded the defunct National Museums of Canada Corporation, a Crown corporation that managed most of the country's national museums until its dissolution in 1988. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_Revival_architecture#Roots | Gothic Revival architecture#Roots | Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or Neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century, mostly in England. Increasingly serious and learned admirers sought to revive medieval Gothic architecture, intending to complement or even supersede the neoclassical styles prevalent at the time. Gothic Revival draws upon features of medieval examples, including decorative patterns, finials, lancet windows, and hood moulds. By the middle of the 19th century, Gothic Revival had become the pre-eminent architectural style in the Western world, only to begin to fall out of fashion in the 1880s and early 1890s.
For some in England, the Gothic Revival movement had roots that were intertwined with philosophical movements associated with Catholicism and a re-awakening of high church or Anglo-Catholic belief concerned by the growth of religious nonconformism. The "Anglo-Catholic" tradition of religious belief and style became known for its intrinsic appeal in the third quarter of the 19th century. Gothic Revival architecture varied considerably in its faithfulness to both the ornamental styles and construction principles of its medieval ideal, sometimes amounting to little more than pointed window frames and touches of neo-Gothic decoration on buildings otherwise created on wholly 19th-century plans, using contemporary materials and construction methods; most notably, this involved the use of iron and, after the 1880s, steel in ways never seen in medieval exemplars.
In parallel with the ascendancy of neo-Gothic styles in 19th century England, interest spread to the rest of Europe, Australia, Asia and the Americas; the 19th and early 20th centuries saw the construction of very large numbers of Gothic Revival structures worldwide. The influence of Revivalism had nevertheless peaked by the 1870s. New architectural movements, sometimes related, as in the Arts and Crafts movement, and sometimes in outright opposition, such as Modernism, gained ground, and by the 1930s the architecture of the Victorian era was generally condemned or ignored. The later 20th century saw a revival of interest, manifested in the United Kingdom by the establishment of the Victorian Society in 1958.
== Roots ==
The rise of evangelicalism in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries saw in England a reaction in the high church movement which sought to emphasise the continuity between the established church and the pre-Reformation Catholic church. Architecture, in the form of the Gothic Revival, became one of the main weapons in the high church's armoury. The Gothic Revival was also paralleled and supported by "medievalism", which had its roots in antiquarian concerns with survivals and curiosities. As "industrialisation" progressed, a reaction against machine production and the appearance of factories also grew. Proponents of the picturesque such as Thomas Carlyle and Augustus Pugin took a critical view of industrial society and portrayed pre-industrial medieval society as a golden age. To Pugin, Gothic architecture was infused with the Christian values that had been supplanted by classicism and were being destroyed by industrialisation.
Gothic Revival also took on political connotations, with the "rational" and "radical" Neoclassical style being seen as associated with republicanism and liberalism (as evidenced by its use in the United States and to a lesser extent in Republican France). In contrast, the more spiritual and traditional Gothic Revival became associated with monarchism and conservatism, which was reflected by the choice of styles for the rebuilt government centres of the British Parliament's Palace of Westminster in London, the Canadian Parliament Buildings in Ottawa and the Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest.
In English literature, the architectural Gothic Revival and classical Romanticism gave rise to the Gothic novel genre, beginning with The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole, and inspired a 19th-century genre of medieval poetry that stems from the pseudo-bardic poetry of "Ossian". Poems such as "Idylls of the King" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson recast specifically modern themes in medieval settings of Arthurian romance. In German literature, the Gothic Revival also had a grounding in literary fashions.
== Survival and revival ==
Gothic architecture began at the Basilica of Saint Denis near Paris, and the Cathedral of Sens in 1140 and ended with a last flourish in the early 16th century with buildings like Henry VII's Chapel at Westminster. However, Gothic architecture did not die out completely in the 16th century but instead lingered in on-going cathedral-building projects; at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and in the construction of churches in increasingly isolated rural districts of England, France, Germany, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and in Spain.
=== Britain and Ireland ===
St Columb's Cathedral, in Derry, may be considered 'Gothic Survival', as it was completed in 1633 in a Perpendicular Gothic style. Similarly, Gothic architecture survived in some urban settings during the later 17th century, as shown in Oxford and Cambridge, where some additions and repairs to Gothic buildings were considered to be more in keeping with the style of the original structures than contemporary Baroque.
In contrast, Dromore Cathedral, built in 1660/1661, immediately after the end of the Protectorate, revived Early English forms, demonstrating the restitution of the monarchy and claiming Ireland for the English crown. At the same time, the Great Hall of Lambeth Palace, that had been despoiled by the Puritans, was rebuilt in a mixture of Baroque and older Gothic forms, demonstrating the restitution of the Anglican Church. These two buildings can be said to herald the onset of Gothic Revival architecture, several decades before it became mainstream. Sir Christopher Wren's Tom Tower for Christ Church, University of Oxford, consciously set out to imitate Cardinal Wolsey's architectural style. Writing to Dean Fell in 1681, he noted; "I resolved it ought to be Gothic to agree with the Founder's work", adding that to do otherwise would lead to "an unhandsome medley". Pevsner suggests that he succeeded "to the extent that innocent visitors never notice the difference". It was followed in 1697–1704 by the rebuilding of Collegiate Church of St Mary in Warwick as a stone-vaulted hall church, whereas the burnt church had been a basilica with timbered roofs. Also in Warwickshire, in 1729/30, the nave and aisles of the church of St Nicholas at Alcester were rebuilt by Edward and Thomas Woodward, the exterior in Gothic forms but with a Neoclassical interior. At the same time, 1722–1746, Nicholas Hawksmoor added the west towers to Westminster Abbey, which made him a pioneer of Gothic Revival completions of medieval buildings, which from the late 19th century were increasingly disapproved of, although work in this style continued into the 20th century. Back in Oxford, the redecoration of the dining hall at University College between 1766 and 1768 has been described as "the first major example of the Gothic Revival style in Oxford".
=== Continental Europe ===
Throughout France in the 16th and 17th centuries, churches continued to be built following Gothic principles (structure of the buildings, application of tracery) such as St-Eustache (1532–1640, façade 1754) in Paris and Orléans Cathedral (1601–1829). This newer construction incorporated some little changes like the use of round arches instead of pointed arches and the application of some Classical details, until largely being replaced in new construction with the arrival of Baroque architecture.
In Bologna, in 1646, the Baroque architect Carlo Rainaldi constructed Gothic vaults (completed 1658) for the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna, which had been under construction since 1390; there, the Gothic context of the structure overrode considerations of the current architectural mode. Similarly, in St. Salvator's Cathedral of Bruges, the timbered medieval vaults of nave and choir were replaced by "Gothic" stone vaults in 1635 resp. 1738/39. Guarino Guarini, a 17th-century Theatine monk active primarily in Turin, recognized the "Gothic order" as one of the primary systems of architecture and made use of it in his practice.
Even in Central Europe of the late 17th and 18th centuries, where Baroque dominated, some architects continued to use elements of the Gothic style. The most important example is Johann Santini Aichel, whose Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk in Žďár nad Sázavou, Czech Republic, represents a peculiar and creative synthesis of Baroque and Gothic. An example of another and less striking use of the Gothic style in the time is the Basilica of Our Lady of Hungary in Márianosztra, Hungary, whose choir (adjacent to a Baroque nave) was long considered authentically Gothic, because the 18th-century architect used medieval shapes to emphasize the continuity of the monastic community with its 14th-century founders.
=== Romantic challenges ===
During the mid-18th century rise of Romanticism, an increased interest and awareness of the Middle Ages among influential connoisseurs created a more appreciative approach to selected medieval arts, beginning with church architecture, the tomb monuments of royal and noble personages, stained glass, and late Gothic illuminated manuscripts. Other Gothic arts, such as tapestries and metalwork, continued to be disregarded as barbaric and crude, however sentimental and nationalist associations with historical figures were as strong in this early revival as purely aesthetic concerns.
German Romanticists (including philosopher and writer Goethe and architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel), began to appreciate the picturesque character of ruins—"picturesque" becoming a new aesthetic quality—and those mellowing effects of time that the Japanese call wabi-sabi and that Horace Walpole independently admired, mildly tongue-in-cheek, as "the true rust of the Barons' wars". The "Gothick" details of Walpole's Twickenham villa, Strawberry Hill House begun in 1749, appealed to the rococo tastes of the time, and were fairly quickly followed by James Talbot at Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire. By the 1770s, thoroughly neoclassical architects such as Robert Adam and James Wyatt were prepared to provide Gothic details in drawing-rooms, libraries and chapels and, for William Beckford at Fonthill in Wiltshire, a complete romantic vision of a Gothic abbey.
Some of the earliest architectural examples of the revived are found in Scotland. Inveraray Castle, constructed from 1746 for the Duke of Argyll, with design input from William Adam, displays the incorporation of turrets. The architectural historian John Gifford writes that the castellations were the "symbolic assertion of the still quasi-feudal power [the duke] exercised over the inhabitants within his heritable jurisdictions". Most buildings were still largely in the established Palladian style, but some houses incorporated external features of the Scots baronial style. Robert Adam's houses in this style include Mellerstain and Wedderburn in Berwickshire and Seton Castle in East Lothian, but it is most clearly seen at Culzean Castle, Ayrshire, remodelled by Adam from 1777. The eccentric landscape designer Batty Langley even attempted to "improve" Gothic forms by giving them classical proportions.
A younger generation, taking Gothic architecture more seriously, provided the readership for John Britton's series Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain, which began appearing in 1807. In 1817, Thomas Rickman wrote an Attempt... to name and define the sequence of Gothic styles in English ecclesiastical architecture, "a text-book for the architectural student". Its long antique title is descriptive: Attempt to discriminate the styles of English architecture from the Conquest to the Reformation; preceded by a sketch of the Grecian and Roman orders, with notices of nearly five hundred English buildings. The categories he used were Norman, Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular. It went through numerous editions, was still being republished by 1881, and has been reissued in the 21st century.
The most common use for Gothic Revival architecture was in the building of churches. Major examples of Gothic cathedrals in the U.S. include the cathedrals of St. John the Divine and St. Patrick in New York City and the Washington National Cathedral on Mount St. Alban in northwest Washington, D.C. One of the biggest churches in Gothic Revival style in Canada is the Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate in Guelph, Ontario.
Gothic Revival architecture remained one of the most popular and long-lived of the many revival styles of architecture. Although it began to lose force and popularity after the third quarter of the 19th century in commercial, residential and industrial fields, some buildings such as churches, schools, colleges and universities were still constructed in the Gothic style, often known as "Collegiate Gothic", which remained popular in England, Canada and in the United States until well into the early to mid-20th century. Only when new materials, like steel and glass along with concern for function in everyday working life and saving space in the cities, meaning the need to build up instead of out, began to take hold did the Gothic Revival start to disappear from popular building requests.
== Gothic Revival in the other decorative arts ==
The revived Gothic style was not limited to architecture. Classical Gothic buildings of the 12th to 16th Centuries were a source of inspiration to 19th-century designers in numerous fields of work. Architectural elements such as pointed arches, steep-sloping roofs and fancy carvings like lace and lattice work were applied to a wide range of Gothic Revival objects. Some examples of Gothic Revival influence can be found in heraldic motifs in coats of arms, furniture with elaborate painted scenes like the whimsical Gothic detailing in English furniture is traceable as far back as Lady Pomfret's house in Arlington Street, London (1740s), and Gothic fretwork in chairbacks and glazing patterns of bookcases is a familiar feature of Chippendale's Director (1754, 1762), where, for example, the three-part bookcase employs Gothic details with Rococo profusion, on a symmetrical form. Abbotsford in the Scottish Borders, rebuilt from 1816 by Sir Walter Scott and paid for by the profits from his hugely successful, historical novels, exemplifies the "Regency Gothic" style. Gothic Revival also includes the reintroduction of medieval clothes and dances in historical re-enactments staged especially in the second part of the 19th century, although one of the first, the Eglinton Tournament of 1839, remains the most famous.
During the Bourbon Restoration in France (1814–1830) and the Louis-Philippe period (1830–1848), Gothic Revival motifs start to appear, together with revivals of the Renaissance and of Rococo. During these two periods, the vogue for medieval things led craftsmen to adopt Gothic decorative motifs in their work, such as bell turrets, lancet arches, trefoils, Gothic tracery and rose windows. This style was also known as "Cathedral style" ("À la catédrale").
By the mid-19th century, Gothic traceries and niches could be inexpensively re-created in wallpaper, and Gothic blind arcading could decorate a ceramic pitcher. Writing in 1857, J. G. Crace, an influential decorator from a family of influential interior designers, expressed his preference for the Gothic style: "In my opinion there is no quality of lightness, elegance, richness or beauty possessed by any other style... [or] in which the principles of sound construction can be so well carried out". The illustrated catalogue for the Great Exhibition of 1851 is replete with Gothic detail, from lacemaking and carpet designs to heavy machinery. Nikolaus Pevsner's volume on the exhibits at the Great Exhibition, High Victorian Design published in 1951, was an important contribution to the academic study of Victorian taste and an early indicator of the later 20th century rehabilitation of Victorian architecture and the objects with which they decorated their buildings.
In 1847, eight thousand British crown coins were minted in proof condition with the design using an ornate reverse in keeping with the revived style. Considered by collectors to be particularly beautiful, they are known as 'Gothic crowns'. The design was repeated in 1853, again in proof. A similar two shilling coin, the 'Gothic florin' was minted for circulation from 1851 to 1887.
== Romanticism and nationalism ==
French neo-Gothic had its roots in the French medieval Gothic architecture, where it was created in the 12th century. Gothic architecture was sometimes known during the medieval period as the "Opus Francigenum", (the "French Art"). French scholar Alexandre de Laborde wrote in 1816 that "Gothic architecture has beauties of its own", which marked the beginning of the Gothic Revival in France. Starting in 1828, Alexandre Brogniart, the director of the Sèvres porcelain manufactory, produced fired enamel paintings on large panes of plate glass, for King Louis-Philippe's Chapelle royale de Dreux, an important early French commission in Gothic taste, preceded mainly by some Gothic features in a few jardins paysagers.
The French Gothic Revival was set on more sound intellectual footings by a pioneer, Arcisse de Caumont, who founded the Societé des Antiquaires de Normandie at a time when antiquaire still meant a connoisseur of antiquities, and who published his great work on architecture in French Normandy in 1830. The following year Victor Hugo's historical romance novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame appeared, in which the great Gothic cathedral of Paris was at once a setting and a protagonist in a hugely popular work of fiction. Hugo intended his book to awaken a concern for the surviving Gothic architecture left in Europe, however, rather than to initiate a craze for neo-Gothic in contemporary life. In the same year that Notre-Dame de Paris appeared, the new restored Bourbon monarchy established an office in the Royal French Government of Inspector-General of Ancient Monuments, a post which was filled in 1833 by Prosper Mérimée, who became the secretary of a new Commission des Monuments Historiques in 1837. This was the Commission that instructed Eugène Viollet-le-Duc to report on the condition of the Abbey of Vézelay in 1840. Following this, Viollet le Duc set out to restore most of the symbolic buildings in France including Notre Dame de Paris, Vézelay, Carcassonne, Roquetaillade castle, Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey on its peaked coastal island, Pierrefonds, and the Palais des Papes in Avignon. When France's first prominent neo-Gothic church was built, the Basilica of Saint-Clotilde, Paris, begun in 1846 and consecrated in 1857, the architect chosen was of German extraction, Franz Christian Gau, (1790–1853); the design was significantly modified by Gau's assistant, Théodore Ballu, in the later stages, to produce the pair of flèches that crown the west end.
In Germany, there was a renewal of interest in the completion of Cologne Cathedral. Begun in 1248, it was still unfinished at the time of the revival. The 1820s "Romantic" movement brought a new appreciation of the building, and construction work began once more in 1842, marking a German return for Gothic architecture. St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, begun in 1344, was also completed in the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. The importance of the Cologne completion project in German-speaking lands has been explored by Michael J. Lewis, "The Politics of the German Gothic Revival: August Reichensperger". Reichensperger was himself in no doubt as to the cathedral's central position in Germanic culture; "Cologne Cathedral is German to the core, it is a national monument in the fullest sense of the word, and probably the most splendid monument to be handed down to us from the past".
Because of Romantic nationalism in the early 19th century, the Germans, French and English all claimed the original Gothic architecture of the 12th century era as originating in their own country. The English boldly coined the term "Early English" for "Gothic", a term that implied Gothic architecture was an English creation. In his 1832 edition of Notre Dame de Paris, author Victor Hugo said "Let us inspire in the nation, if it is possible, love for the national architecture", implying that "Gothic" is France's national heritage. In Germany, with the completion of Cologne Cathedral in the 1880s, at the time its summit was the world's tallest building, the cathedral was seen as the height of Gothic architecture. Other major completions of Gothic cathedrals were of Regensburger Dom (with twin spires completed from 1869 to 1872), Ulm Münster (with a 161-meter tower from 1890) and St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague (1844–1929).
In Belgium, a 15th-century church in Ostend burned down in 1896. King Leopold II funded its replacement, the Saint Peter's and Saint Paul's Church, a cathedral-scale design which drew inspiration from the neo-Gothic Votive Church in Vienna and Cologne Cathedral. In Mechelen, the largely unfinished building drawn in 1526 as the seat of the Great Council of The Netherlands, was not actually built until the early 20th century, although it closely followed Rombout II Keldermans's Brabantine Gothic design, and became the 'new' north wing of the City Hall. In Florence, the Duomo's temporary façade erected for the Medici-House of Lorraine nuptials in 1588–1589, was dismantled, and the west end of the cathedral stood bare again until 1864, when a competition was held to design a new façade suitable to Arnolfo di Cambio's original structure and the fine campanile next to it. This competition was won by Emilio De Fabris, and so work on his polychrome design and panels of mosaic was begun in 1876 and completed by 1887, creating the Neo-Gothic western façade.
Eastern Europe also saw much Revival construction; in addition to the Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest, the Bulgarian National Revival saw the introduction of Gothic Revival elements into its vernacular ecclesiastical and residential architecture. The largest project of the Slavine School is the Lopushna Monastery cathedral (1850–1853), though later churches such as Saint George's Church, Gavril Genovo display more prominent vernacular Gothic Revival features.
In Scotland, while a similar Gothic style to that used further south in England was adopted by figures including Frederick Thomas Pilkington (1832–1898) in secular architecture it was marked by the re-adoption of the Scots baronial style. Important for the adoption of the style in the early 19th century was Abbotsford, which became a model for the modern revival of the baronial style. Common features borrowed from 16th- and 17th-century houses included battlemented gateways, crow-stepped gables, pointed turrets and machicolations. The style was popular across Scotland and was applied to many relatively modest dwellings by architects such as William Burn (1789–1870), David Bryce (1803–1876), Edward Blore (1787–1879), Edward Calvert (c. 1847–1914) and Robert Stodart Lorimer (1864–1929) and in urban contexts, including the building of Cockburn Street in Edinburgh (from the 1850s) as well as the National Wallace Monument at Stirling (1859–1869). The reconstruction of Balmoral Castle as a baronial palace and its adoption as a royal retreat from 1855 to 1858 confirmed the popularity of the style.
In the United States, the first "Gothic stile" church (as opposed to churches with Gothic elements) was Trinity Church on the Green, New Haven, Connecticut. It was designed by Ithiel Town between 1812 and 1814, while he was building his Federalist-style Center Church, New Haven next to this radical new "Gothic-style" church. Its cornerstone was laid in 1814, and it was consecrated in 1816. It predates St Luke's Church, Chelsea, often said to be the first Gothic-revival church in London. Though built of trap rock stone with arched windows and doors, parts of its tower and its battlements were wood. Gothic buildings were subsequently erected by Episcopal congregations in Connecticut at St John's in Salisbury (1823), St John's in Kent (1823–1826) and St Andrew's in Marble Dale (1821–1823). These were followed by Town's design for Christ Church Cathedral (Hartford, Connecticut) (1827), which incorporated Gothic elements such as buttresses into the fabric of the church. St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Troy, New York, was constructed in 1827–1828 as an exact copy of Town's design for Trinity Church, New Haven, but using local stone; due to changes in the original, St. Paul's is closer to Town's original design than Trinity itself. In the 1830s, architects began to copy specific English Gothic and Gothic Revival Churches, and these "'mature Gothic Revival' buildings made the domestic Gothic style architecture which preceded it seem primitive and old-fashioned".
There are many examples of Gothic Revival architecture in Canada. The first major structure was Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, Quebec, which was designed in 1824. The capital, Ottawa, Ontario, was predominantly a 19th-century creation in the Gothic Revival style. The Parliament Hill buildings were the preeminent example, of which the original library survives today (after the rest was destroyed by fire in 1916). Their example was followed elsewhere in the city and outlying areas, showing how popular the Gothic Revival movement had become. Other examples of Canadian Gothic Revival architecture in Ottawa are the Victoria Memorial Museum, (1905–1908), the Royal Canadian Mint, (1905–1908), and the Connaught Building, (1913–1916), all by David Ewart.
== Gothic as a moral force ==
=== Pugin and "truth" in architecture ===
In the late 1820s, A. W. N. Pugin, still a teenager, was working for two highly visible employers, providing Gothic detailing for luxury goods. For the Royal furniture makers Morel and Seddon he provided designs for redecorations for the elderly George IV at Windsor Castle in a Gothic taste suited to the setting. For the royal silversmiths Rundell Bridge and Co., Pugin provided designs for silver from 1828, using the 14th-century Anglo-French Gothic vocabulary that he would continue to favour later in designs for the new Palace of Westminster. Between 1821 and 1838 Pugin and his father published a series of volumes of architectural drawings, the first two entitled, Specimens of Gothic Architecture, and the following three, Examples of Gothic Architecture, that were to remain both in print and the standard references for Gothic Revivalists for at least the next century.
In Contrasts: or, a Parallel between the Noble Edifices of the Middle Ages, and similar Buildings of the Present Day (1836), Pugin expressed his admiration not only for medieval art but for the whole medieval ethos, suggesting that Gothic architecture was the product of a purer society. In The True Principles of Pointed or Christian Architecture (1841), he set out his "two great rules of design: 1st, that there should be no features about a building which are not necessary for convenience, construction or propriety; 2nd, that all ornament should consist of enrichment of the essential construction of the building". Urging modern craftsmen to seek to emulate the style of medieval workmanship as well as reproduce its methods, Pugin sought to reinstate Gothic as the true Christian architectural style.
Pugin's most notable project was the Houses of Parliament in London, after its predecessor was largely destroyed in a fire in 1834. His part in the design consisted of two campaigns, 1836–1837 and again in 1844 and 1852, with the classicist Charles Barry as his nominal superior. Pugin provided the external decoration and the interiors, while Barry designed the symmetrical layout of the building, causing Pugin to remark, "All Grecian, Sir; Tudor details on a classic body".
=== Ruskin and Venetian Gothic ===
John Ruskin supplemented Pugin's ideas in his two influential theoretical works, The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849) and The Stones of Venice (1853). Finding his architectural ideal in Venice, Ruskin proposed that Gothic buildings excelled above all other architecture because of the "sacrifice" of the stone-carvers in intricately decorating every stone. In this, he drew a contrast between the physical and spiritual satisfaction which a medieval craftsman derived from his work, and the lack of these satisfactions afforded to modern, industrialised labour.
By declaring the Doge's Palace to be "the central building of the world", Ruskin argued the case for Gothic government buildings as Pugin had done for churches, though mostly only in theory. When his ideas were put into practice, Ruskin often disliked the result, although he supported many architects, such as Thomas Newenham Deane and Benjamin Woodward, and was reputed to have designed some of the corbel decorations for that pair's Oxford University Museum of Natural History. A major clash between the Gothic and Classical styles in relation to governmental offices occurred less than a decade after the publication of The Stones of Venice. A public competition for the construction of a new Foreign Office in Whitehall saw the decision to award first place to a Gothic design by George Gilbert Scott overturned by the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, who successfully demanded a building in the Italianate style.
=== Ecclesiology and funerary style ===
In England, the Church of England was undergoing a revival of Anglo-Catholic and ritualist ideology in the form of the Oxford Movement, and it became desirable to build large numbers of new churches to cater for the growing population, and cemeteries for their hygienic burials. This found ready exponents in the universities, where the ecclesiological movement was forming. Its proponents believed that Gothic was the only style appropriate for a parish church, and favoured a particular era of Gothic architecture – the "decorated". The Cambridge Camden Society, through its journal The Ecclesiologist, was so savagely critical of new church buildings that were below its exacting standards and its pronouncements were followed so avidly that it became the epicentre of the flood of Victorian restoration that affected most of the Anglican cathedrals and parish churches in England and Wales.
St Luke's Church, Chelsea, was a new-built Commissioner's Church of 1820–1824, partly built using a grant of £8,333 towards its construction with money voted by Parliament as a result of the Church Building Act 1818. It is often said to be the first Gothic Revival church in London, and, as Charles Locke Eastlake put it: "probably the only church of its time in which the main roof was groined throughout in stone". Nonetheless, the parish was firmly low church, and the original arrangement, modified in the 1860s, was as a "preaching church" dominated by the pulpit, with a small altar and wooden galleries over the nave aisle.
The development of the private major metropolitan cemeteries was occurring at the same time as the movement; Sir William Tite pioneered the first cemetery in the Gothic style at West Norwood in 1837, with chapels, gates, and decorative features in the Gothic manner, attracting the interest of contemporary architects such as George Edmund Street, Barry, and William Burges. The style was immediately hailed a success and universally replaced the previous preference for classical design.
Not every architect or client was swept away by this tide. Although Gothic Revival succeeded in becoming an increasingly familiar style of architecture, the attempt to associate it with the notion of high church superiority, as advocated by Pugin and the ecclesiological movement, was anathema to those with ecumenical or nonconformist principles. Alexander "Greek" Thomson launched a famous attack; "We are told we should adopt [Gothic] because it is the Christian style, and this most impudent assertion has been accepted as sound doctrine even by earnest and intelligent Protestants; whereas it ought only to have force with those who believe that Christian truth attained its purest and most spiritual development at the period when this style of architecture constituted its corporeal form". Those rejecting the link between Gothic and Catholicism looked to adopt it solely for its aesthetic romantic qualities, to combine it with other styles, or look to northern European Brick Gothic for a more plain appearance; or in some instances all three of these, as at the non-denominational Abney Park Cemetery in east London, designed by William Hosking FSA in 1840.
== Viollet-le-Duc and Iron Gothic ==
France had lagged slightly in entering the neo-Gothic scene, but produced a major figure in the revival in Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. As well as a powerful and influential theorist, Viollet-le-Duc was a leading architect whose genius lay in restoration. He believed in restoring buildings to a state of completion that they would not have known even when they were first built, theories he applied to his restorations of the walled city of Carcassonne, and to Notre-Dame and Sainte Chapelle in Paris. In this respect he differed from his English counterpart Ruskin, as he often replaced the work of mediaeval stonemasons. His rational approach to Gothic stood in stark contrast to the revival's romanticist origins. Throughout his career he remained in a quandary as to whether iron and masonry should be combined in a building. Iron, in the form of iron anchors, had been used in the most ambitious buildings of medieval Gothic, especially but not only for tracery.
It had in fact been used in "Gothic" buildings since the earliest days of the revival. In some cases, cast iron enabled something like a perfection of medieval design. It was only with Ruskin and the archaeological Gothic's demand for historical truth that iron, whether it was visible or not, was deemed improper for a Gothic building. Ultimately, the utility of iron won out: "substituting a cast iron shaft for a granite, marble or stone column is not bad, but one must agree that it cannot be considered as an innovation, as the introduction of a new principle. Replacing a stone or wooden lintel by an iron breastsummer is very good". He strongly opposed illusion, however: reacting against the casing of a cast iron pillar in stone, he wrote; "il faut que la pierre paraisse bien être de la pierre; le fer, du fer; le bois, du bois" (stone must appear to be stone; iron, iron; wood, wood).
The arguments against modern construction materials began to collapse in the mid-19th century as great prefabricated structures such as the glass and iron Crystal Palace and the glazed courtyard of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History were erected, which appeared to embody Gothic principles. Between 1863 and 1872 Viollet-le-Duc published his Entretiens sur l'architecture, a set of daring designs for buildings that combined iron and masonry. Though these projects were never realised, they influenced several generations of designers and architects, notably Antoni Gaudí in Spain and, in England, Benjamin Bucknall, Viollet's foremost English follower and translator, whose masterpiece was Woodchester Mansion. The flexibility and strength of cast-iron freed neo-Gothic designers to create new structural Gothic forms impossible in stone, as in Calvert Vaux's cast-iron Gothic bridge in Central Park, New York dating from the 1860. Vaux enlisted openwork forms derived from Gothic blind-arcading and window tracery to express the spring and support of the arching bridge, in flexing forms that presage Art Nouveau.
== Collegiate Gothic ==
In the United States, Collegiate Gothic was a late and literal resurgence of the English Gothic Revival, adapted for American college and university campuses. The term "Collegiate Gothic" originated from American architect Alexander Jackson Davis's handwritten description of his own "English Collegiate Gothic Mansion" of 1853 for the Harrals of Bridgeport. By the 1890s, the movement was known as "Collegiate Gothic".
The firm of Cope & Stewardson was an early and important exponent, transforming the campuses of Bryn Mawr College, Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania in the 1890s. In 1872, Abner Jackson, the President of Trinity College, Connecticut, visited Britain, seeking models and an architect for a planned new campus for the college. William Burges was chosen and he drew up a four-quadrangled masterplan, in his Early French style. Lavish illustrations were produced by Axel Haig. However, the estimated cost, at just under one million dollars, together with the sheer scale of the plans, thoroughly alarmed the College Trustees and only one-sixth of the plan was executed, the present Long Walk, with Francis H. Kimball acting as local, supervising, architect, and Frederick Law Olmsted laying out the grounds. Hitchcock considers the result, "perhaps the most satisfactory of all of [Burges's] works and the best example anywhere of Victorian Gothic collegiate architecture".
The movement continued into the 20th century, with Cope & Stewardson's campus for Washington University in St. Louis (1900–1909), Charles Donagh Maginnis's buildings at Boston College (1910s) (including Gasson Hall), Ralph Adams Cram's design for the Princeton University Graduate College (1913), and James Gamble Rogers' reconstruction of the campus of Yale University (1920s). Charles Klauder's Gothic Revival skyscraper on the University of Pittsburgh's campus, the Cathedral of Learning (1926) exhibited Gothic stylings both inside and out, while using modern technologies to make the building taller.
== Vernacular adaptations and the revival in Oceania ==
Carpenter Gothic houses and small churches became common in North America and other places in the late 19th century. These structures adapted Gothic elements such as pointed arches, steep gables, and towers to traditional American light-frame construction. The invention of the scroll saw and mass-produced wood moldings allowed a few of these structures to mimic the florid fenestration of the High Gothic. But, in most cases, Carpenter Gothic buildings were relatively unadorned, retaining only the basic elements of pointed-arch windows and steep gables. A well-known example of Carpenter Gothic is a house in Eldon, Iowa, that Grant Wood used for the background of his painting American Gothic.
=== Australia ===
Australia, in particular in Melbourne and Sydney, saw the construction of large numbers of Gothic Revival buildings. William Wardell (1823–1899) was among the country's most prolific architects; born and trained in England, after emigrating his most notable Australian designs include St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne and St John's College and St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney. In common with many other 19th century architects, Wardell could deploy different styles at the command of his clients; Government House, Melbourne is Italianate. His banking house for the English, Scottish and Australian Bank in Melbourne has been described as "the Australian masterpiece of neo-Gothic". This claim has also been made for Edmund Blacket's MacLaurin Hall at the University of Sydney, which sits in the quadrangle complex described as "arguably the most important group of Gothic and Tudor Revival style architecture in Australia".
=== New Zealand ===
Benjamin Mountfort, born in Britain, trained in Birmingham, and subsequently resident in Canterbury, New Zealand imported the Gothic Revival style to his adopted country and designed Gothic Revival churches in both wood and stone, notably in the city of Christchurch.
Frederick Thatcher designed wooden churches in the Gothic Revival style, for example Old St. Paul's, Wellington, contributing to what has been described as New Zealand's "one memorable contribution to world architecture". St Mary of the Angels, Wellington by Frederick de Jersey Clere is in the French Gothic style, and was the first Gothic design church built in ferro-concrete. Other examples in Wellington include John Sydney Swan's now-demolished Erskine College.
The style also found favour in the southern New Zealand city of Dunedin, where the wealth brought in by the Otago gold rush of the 1860s allowed for substantial stone edifices to be constructed, using hard, dark breccia stone and a local white limestone, Oamaru stone. Among them were Maxwell Bury's University of Otago Registry Building and the Dunedin Law Courts by John Campbell.
Welsh-born William Skinner designed the third and current building for St Paul's in Auckland in the Gothic Revival style. Known as the 'Mother Church', due to its foundation within a year of the city’s establishment in 1841, the dark Rangitoto basalt and light Oamaru limestone church was consecrated in 1895. Skinner also designed the kauri timber St James' Union Church in Thames in the Gothic style.
=== Pacific islands ===
Several examples of Gothic Revival architecture can be found among the buildings of the Pacific islands. Notable among these is Sacred Heart Church in Levuka, Fiji, built by Father Louyot in 1858. This unusual structure consists of a church and presbytery in a local version of Carpenter Gothic alongside a stone church tower.
== Global Gothic ==
Henry-Russell Hitchcock, the architectural historian, noted the spread of the Gothic Revival in the 19th and early 20th centuries, "wherever English culture extended – as far as the West Coast of the United States and to the remotest Antipodes". The British Empire, almost at its geographic peak at the height of the Gothic Revival, assisted or compelled this spread. The English-speaking dominions, Canada, Australia particularly the state of Victoria and New Zealand generally adopted British styles in toto (see above); other parts of the empire saw regional adaptations. India saw the construction of many such buildings, in styles termed Indo-Saracenic or Hindu-Gothic. Notable examples include Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) and the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, both in Mumbai. At the hill station of Shimla, the summer capital of British India, an attempt was made to recreate the Home counties in the foothills of the Himalayas. Although Gothic Revival was the predominant architectural style, alternatives were also deployed; Rashtrapati Niwas, the former Viceregal Lodge, has been variously described as Scottish Baronial Revival, Tudor Revival and Jacobethan.
Other examples in the east include the late 19th century Church of the Saviour, Beijing, constructed on the orders of the Guangxu Emperor and designed by the Catholic missionary and architect Alphonse Favier; and the Wat Niwet Thammaprawat in the Bang Pa-In Royal Palace in Bangkok, by the Italian Joachim Grassi. In Indonesia, (the former colony of the Dutch East Indies), the Jakarta Cathedral was begun in 1891 and completed in 1901 by Dutch architect Antonius Dijkmans; while further north in the islands of the Philippines, the San Sebastian Church, designed by architects Genaro Palacios and Gustave Eiffel, was consecrated in 1891 in the still Spanish colony. Church building in South Africa was extensive, with little or no effort to adopt vernacular forms. Robert Gray, the first bishop of Cape Town, wrote; "I am sure we do not overestimate the importance of real Churches built after the fashion of our English churches". He oversaw the construction of some fifty such buildings between 1848 and his death in 1872. South America saw a later flourishing of the Revival, particularly in church architecture, for example the Metropolitan Cathedral of São Paulo in Brazil by the German Maximilian Emil Hehl, the Basilica of the National Vow in Ecuador, the Sanctuary of Las Lajas in Colombia, the Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro in Chile, the Church of the Virgin of Mount Carmel and St. Thérèse of Lisieux in Uruguay, or the Cathedral of La Plata in Argentina.
== 20th and 21st centuries ==
The Gothic style dictated the use of structural members in compression, leading to tall, buttressed buildings with interior columns of load-bearing masonry and tall, narrow windows. But, by the start of the 20th century, technological developments such as the steel frame, the incandescent light bulb and the elevator made this approach obsolete. Steel framing supplanted the non-ornamental functions of rib vaults and flying buttresses, providing wider open interiors with fewer columns interrupting the view.
Some architects persisted in using Neo-Gothic tracery as applied ornamentation to an iron skeleton underneath, for example in Cass Gilbert's 1913 Woolworth Building skyscraper in New York and Raymond Hood's 1922 Tribune Tower in Chicago. The Tower Life Building in San Antonio, completed in 1929, is noted for the arrays of decorative gargoyles on its upper floors. But, over the first half of the century, Neo-Gothic was supplanted by Modernism, although some modernist architects saw the Gothic tradition of architectural form entirely in terms of the "honest expression" of the technology of the day, and saw themselves as heirs to that tradition, with their use of rectangular frames and exposed iron girders.
In spite of this, the Gothic Revival continued to exert its influence, simply because many of its more massive projects were still being built well into the second half of the 20th century, such as Giles Gilbert Scott's Liverpool Cathedral and the Washington National Cathedral (1907–1990). Ralph Adams Cram became a leading force in American Gothic, his most ambitious project being the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York (claimed to be the largest cathedral in the world); another was the Collegiate Gothic buildings at Princeton University. Cram said "the style hewn out and perfected by our ancestors [has] become ours by uncontested inheritance".
Though the number of new Gothic Revival buildings declined sharply after the 1930s, they continue to be built. St Edmundsbury Cathedral, the cathedral of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, was expanded and reconstructed in a neo-Gothic style between the late 1950s and 2005, and a commanding stone central tower was added. A new church in the Gothic style is planned for St. John Vianney Parish in Fishers, Indiana. The Whittle Building at Peterhouse, University of Cambridge, opened in 2016, matches the neo-Gothic style of the rest of the courtyard in which it is situated.
== Appreciation ==
By 1872, the Gothic Revival was mature enough in the United Kingdom that Charles Locke Eastlake, an influential professor of design, could produce A History of the Gothic Revival. Kenneth Clark's, The Gothic Revival. An Essay, followed in 1928, in which he described the Revival as "the most widespread and influential artistic movement which England has ever produced." The architect and writer Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel covered the subject of the Revival in an appreciative way in his Slade Lectures in 1934. But the conventional early 20th century view of the architecture of the Gothic Revival was strongly dismissive, critics writing of "the nineteenth century architectural tragedy", ridiculing "the uncompromising ugliness" of the era's buildings and attacking the "sadistic hatred of beauty" of its architects. The 1950s saw further signs of a recovery in the reputation of Revival architecture. John Steegman's study, Consort of Taste (re-issued in 1970 as Victorian Taste, with a foreword by Nikolaus Pevsner), was published in 1950 and began a slow turn in the tide of opinion "towards a more serious and sympathetic assessment." In 1958, Henry-Russell Hitchcock published his Architecture: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, as part of the Pelican History of Art series edited by Nikolaus Pevsner. Hitchcock devoted substantial chapters to the Gothic Revival, noting that, while "there is no more typical nineteenth-century product than a Victorian Gothic church", the success of the Victorian Gothic saw its practitioners design mansions, castles, colleges, and parliaments. The same year saw the foundation of the Victorian Society in England and, in 1963, the publication of Victorian Architecture, an influential collection of essays edited by Peter Ferriday. By 2008, the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Victorian Society, the architecture of the Gothic Revival was more fully appreciated with some of its leading architects receiving scholarly attention and some of its best buildings, such as George Gilbert Scott's St Pancras Station Hotel, being magnificently restored. The Society's 50th anniversary publication, Saving A Century, surveyed a half-century of losses and successes, reflected on the changing perceptions toward Victorian architecture and concluded with a chapter entitled "The Victorians Victorious".
== Gallery ==
=== Europe ===
=== North America ===
=== South America ===
=== Australia and New Zealand ===
=== Asia ===
=== Decorative arts === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Summer_Olympics | 1984 Summer Olympics | The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was the second time that Los Angeles had hosted the Games, with the first in 1932. California was the home state of the incumbent U.S. president Ronald Reagan, who officially opened the Games. These were the first Summer Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Juan Antonio Samaranch.
The 1984 Games were boycotted by fourteen Eastern Bloc countries, including the Soviet Union and East Germany, in response to the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan; Romania was the only Soviet-aligned state that opted to attend the Games. Albania, Iran, Libya and Upper Volta also chose to boycott the Games, but for unrelated reasons.
Despite the field being depleted in certain sports due to the boycott, 140 National Olympic Committees took part in the 1984 Games, a record number at the time. The United States won the most gold and overall medals, followed by Romania and West Germany.
The 1984 Summer Olympics are widely considered to be the most financially successful modern Olympics, serving as a model on how to run an Olympic Games. As a result of low construction costs, due to the use of existing sport infrastructure, coupled with a reliance on private corporate funding, the 1984 Games generated a profit of over US$250 million.
On July 18, 2009, a 25th anniversary celebration of the 1984 Games was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The celebration included a speech by former Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee president Peter Ueberroth, a short re-enactment of the Flying Rocketman sequence, the presentation of more than 35 (mostly South California-based) gold medal winners from 1984 (which was part of Ceremonies producer David Wolper's original 1984 plans) as well as a re-lighting of the Olympic cauldron.
Los Angeles will host the Summer Olympics for the third time in 2028, becoming the third city in the world—following London and Paris—to do so.
== Host selection ==
After the terrorist attack at the 1972 Summer Olympics, the significant financial debts of Montreal (1976), and various boycotts by National Olympic Committees, few cities by the late 1970s were willing to bid for the Summer Olympics. Only two cities (Tehran and Los Angeles) made serious bids for the 1984 Summer Games. Tehran submitted its bid to host the 1984 Summer Olympics to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 29 August 1975. The selection of the host city was made at the 80th IOC Session in Athens on 18 May 1978, where Los Angeles was chosen as the host city.
Los Angeles had unsuccessfully bid for the two previous Summer Olympic Games (1976 and 1980, which went to Montreal and Moscow, respectively). The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) had submitted at least one bid for every Olympics since 1944 but had not succeeded since the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932, the previous time only a single bid had been issued for the Summer Olympics.
== Torch relay ==
The 1984 Olympic Torch Relay began in New York City and ended in Los Angeles, traversing 33 states and the District of Columbia. Unlike later torch relays, the torch was continuously carried by runners on foot. The route covered more than 9,320 mi (15,000 km) and involved 3,636 runners. Noted athlete O. J. Simpson was among the runners, carrying the torch up the California Incline in Santa Monica. Gina Hemphill, a granddaughter of Jesse Owens, carried the torch into the Coliseum, completed a lap around the track, then handed it off to the final runner, Rafer Johnson, winner of the decathlon at the 1960 Summer Olympics. With the torch, he touched off the flame which passed through a specially designed flammable Olympic logo, igniting all five rings. Johnson became the first person of African descent to light the cauldron in Olympic history. The flame then passed up to the cauldron atop the peristyle and remained aflame for the duration of the Games.
== Music ==
John Williams composed the theme for the Olympiad, "Los Angeles Olympic Theme" later also known as "Olympic Fanfare and Theme". This piece won a Grammy for Williams and became one of the most well-known musical themes of the Olympic Games, along with Leo Arnaud's "Bugler's Dream"; the latter is sometimes attached to the beginning of Olympic Fanfare and Theme. Composer Bill Conti also wrote a song to inspire the weightlifters called "Power". An album, The Official Music of the XXIII Olympiad—Los Angeles 1984, featured those three tracks along with sports themes written for the occasion by popular musical artists including Foreigner, Toto, Loverboy, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Christopher Cross, Philip Glass, Paul Engemann and Giorgio Moroder. "Reach Out" was the main soundtrack and is the official theme song of the 1984 Summer Olympics.
The Brazilian composer Sérgio Mendes also produced a special song for the 1984 Olympic Games, "Olympia," from his 1984 album Confetti. A choir of approximately one thousand voices was assembled of singers in the region. All were volunteers from nearby churches, schools and universities.
Etta James performed "When the Saints Go Marching In" at the Opening Ceremony.
Vicki McClure, along with the International Children's Choir of Long Beach, sang "Reach Out and Touch".
Alongside Williams and the house orchestra, 84 pianists performed an abridged version of George Gershwin's composition Rhapsody in Blue.
Lionel Richie performed a special extended 9-minute version of his hit single "All Night Long" at the closing ceremonies.
== Mascot ==
The mascot was a bald eagle named Sam the Olympic Eagle.
== Highlights ==
=== Olympic Arts Festival ===
The 1984 Summer Olympics was preceded by the 10-week-long adjunct Olympic Arts Festival or the Cultural Olympics, which opened on June 1 and ended on August 12. It provided more than 400 performances by 146 theater, dance, and music companies, representing every continent and 18 countries, as well as art exhibitions and films. It was organized by then-CalArts President Robert Fitzpatrick. Along with many famous American dance companies, such as the Dance Theatre of Harlem, the festival hosted three international debuts: German choreographer Pina Bausch and her Tanztheater Wuppertal, Groupe Emile Dubois from France, and the Japanese Butoh.
=== General ===
This was the first edition in which new rules of coexistence within the Olympic Village were implemented and it was decided that from this edition onwards all athletes would have to stay in the same place, as opposed to being divided by gender and sometimes even political blocs which was the case previously.
Also for the first time in history, the International Olympic Committee authorized the formal segments of the opening ceremony to be interspersed with the cultural segments. The start of the event featured the arrival of Bill Suitor by means of the Bell Aerosystems rocket pack (also known as a Jet Pack).
The United States topped the medal count for the first time since 1968, winning a record 83 gold medals and surpassing the Soviet Union's total of 80 golds at the 1980 Summer Olympics.
As a result of the Nagoya Resolution signed in 1979, and the designating the Republic of China (Taiwan) as Chinese Taipei, the People's Republic of China returned to the Summer Olympics for the first time since Helsinki 1952. The Military anthem of China was played for both teams during the opening ceremony.
Local Los Angeles artist Rodolfo Escalera was commissioned to create nine paintings depicting the Summer Games that would later be turned into collectible plates and presented as "The Official Gift of the 1984 Olympics". LAOOC also designated Ernie Barnes as "Sports Artist of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games" and Barnes was commissioned to create five Olympic-themed paintings and serve as an official Olympic spokesman to encourage inner-city youth.
=== Track and field ===
Carl Lewis of the United States, making his first of four appearances at the Olympics, equaled the 1936 performance of Jesse Owens by winning four gold medals, in the 100 m, 200 m, 4 × 100 m relay and long jump.
Edwin Moses of the United States won the gold medal in the 400m hurdles 8 years after winning in 1976.
Joaquim Cruz of Brazil won the 800 meter run with a time of 1:43.00 to set an Olympic record.
Nawal El Moutawakel of Morocco became the first female Olympic champion of a Muslim nation—and the first of her country—in the 400 m hurdles.
Carlos Lopes, from Portugal, won the Marathon at the age of 37, with a time of 2:09:21, an Olympic record that stood for 24 years. It was the first gold medal ever for Portugal. Gold medal favorite, World Record holder and the then World Champion, Robert de Castella from Australia, finished in 5th place, 1:48 behind Lopes.
A marathon for women was held for the first time at the Olympics (won by Joan Benoit of the U.S.). The event was also remembered for Swiss runner Gabriela Andersen-Schiess, who – suffering from heat exhaustion – entered the stadium for the final lap in a state of almost total exhaustion, barely able to walk but eventually completing the race, collapsing at the finishing line and being immediately treated by medical personnel.
Daley Thompson of Great Britain apparently missed a new world record in winning his second consecutive gold medal in the decathlon; the next year, his score was retroactively raised to 8847, giving him the record.
Sebastian Coe of Great Britain became the first man to win consecutive gold medals in the 1500m.
Maricica Puică of Romania won the 3000 meters, known for the Mary Decker vs. Zola Budd rivalry. World champion and heavy favorite Decker fell after a controversial collision with Budd. However, Puică had the best annual time at the distance, easily run away from silver medalist Wendy Sly of Great Britain and appeared to have more to give if it had been necessary. Puică was injured during the very first Track and Field World Championships in Helsinki the year before, in which Decker had won both the 1500 meters and the 3000 meters.
=== Other sports ===
The first gold medal to be awarded at the Los Angeles Olympics was also the first-ever medal to be won by an athlete from China when Xu Haifeng won the 50 m Pistol event.
Archer Neroli Fairhall from New Zealand was the first paraplegic Olympian at any Olympic Games, coming 35th in the Women's individual event.
Synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics debuted in Los Angeles as Olympic events, as did wind surfing.
Li Ning from the People's Republic of China won 6 medals in gymnastics, 3 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze, earning him the nickname "Prince of Gymnasts" in China. Li would later light the Olympic Cauldron at the 2008 Olympics.
Steve Redgrave of Great Britain won his first title in rowing of the record five he would go on to win in five Olympic competitions.
Victor Davis of Canada set a new world record in winning the gold medal in the 200-meter breaststroke in swimming.
Mary Lou Retton of the United States became the first gymnast outside Eastern Europe to win the gymnastics all-around competition.
In men's gymnastics, the American team won the gold medal.
France won the Olympic association football (soccer) tournament, defeating Brazil 2–0 in the final. Olympic football was unexpectedly played before massive crowds throughout America, with several sell-outs at the 100,000+ seat Rose Bowl. This interest eventually led to the U.S. hosting the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
The Soviet-led boycott affected weightlifting more than any other sport: 94 of the world's top 100 ranked lifters were absent, as were 29 of the 30 medalists from the recent world championships. All 10 of the defending world champions in the 10 weight categories were absent. The success of the Eastern Bloc countries might be explained by state-run doping programs that had been developed there.
Future Dream Team members Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, and Chris Mullin were on the team that won the gold medal in basketball. The 1984 U.S. men's Olympic basketball team was coached by Indiana Hoosiers head coach Bobby Knight.
Connie Carpenter-Phinney of the United States became the first woman to win an Olympic cycling event when she won the women's individual road race.
In the judo open division, four-time world champion Yasuhiro Yamashita of Japan tore a right calf muscle in the preliminary match against Arthur Schnabel. This put Yamashita at a huge disadvantage since he executed his throws by pivoting on his right leg. Though he managed to win the match with an Okuri-Eri-Jime, the injury caused him to visibly limp during the semi-final match against Laurent Del Colombo. Yamashita was thrown with an Osoto Gari only 30 seconds into the match, but managed to return an Osoto Gari and won the match with a Yoko-Shiho-Gatame (side four-quarter hold). He played the final match against Mohamed Ali Rashwan of Egypt. Yamashita won the final and the gold medal despite his injury. The match witnessed a remarkable fair play act from Rashwan who did not aim for Yamashita's right leg. Rashwan was even given an award from the International Fairplay Committee.
== Venues ==
=== Venues in the city of Los Angeles ===
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – opening/closing ceremonies, athletics
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena – boxing
Dodger Stadium – baseball
Pauley Pavilion, University of California, Los Angeles – gymnastics
Eagle's Nest Arena, California State University, Los Angeles – judo
Olympic Swim Stadium, University of Southern California – swimming, diving, synchronized swimming
Olympic Village (athlete housing), University of Southern California
Los Angeles Tennis Center, University of California, Los Angeles – tennis
Athletes Village, University of California, Los Angeles
Albert Gersten Pavilion, Loyola Marymount University, Westchester, California – weightlifting
Streets of Los Angeles – athletics (marathon)
=== Venues in Southern California ===
El Dorado Park, Long Beach, California – archery
The Forum, Inglewood, California – basketball and team handball finals
Lake Casitas, Ventura County, California – canoeing, rowing
Olympic Velodrome, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Carson, California – cycling (track)
Mission Viejo, Orange County, California – cycling (individual road race)
Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, California – equestrian
Fairbanks Ranch Country Club, Rancho Santa Fe, California, California – equestrian sports (eventing endurance)
Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, California – fencing
Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California – football (final)
Titan Gymnasium, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, California – handball
Weingart Stadium, East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park, California – field hockey
Coto de Caza, Orange County, California – modern pentathlon (fencing, riding, running, shooting)
Olympic Shooting Range, Prado Recreational Area, Chino, California – shooting
Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, California – volleyball
Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California – water polo
Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, California – wrestling
Long Beach Shoreline Marina, Long Beach, California – sailing
Artesia Freeway – cycling (road team time trial)
Heritage Park Aquatic Center, Irvine, California – modern pentathlon (swimming)
Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, California – athletics (marathon start)
Santa Monica, California – athletics (marathon)
=== Other venues ===
Harvard Stadium, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts – football preliminaries
Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland – football preliminaries
Stanford Stadium, Stanford University, Stanford, California – football preliminaries
== Sports ==
The 1984 Summer Olympic program featured 221 events in the following 21 sports:
=== Demonstration sports ===
Baseball (16)
Tennis (4)
== Calendar ==
All times are in Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7); the other two cities, Boston and Annapolis use Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)
== Medal count ==
These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1984 Games.
Key
‡ Changes in medal standings (see here)
* Host nation (United States)
== Participating National Olympic Committees ==
Athletes from 140 states competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Eighteen states made their Olympic debut: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, British Virgin Islands, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Grenada, Mauritania, Mauritius, North Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Rwanda, Western Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and the United Arab Emirates. Zaire had previously competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics as Congo-Kinshasa. The People's Republic of China made its first appearance in a Summer Olympics since 1952, while for the first time the Republic of China team participated under the politically contrived name of Chinese Taipei.
The Soviet Union led the Warsaw Pact members and other Communist countries in a boycott of the Los Angeles Olympics, in retaliation for the U.S.-led boycott of the Moscow Olympics four years earlier (over the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979). The pretexts for the 1984 Soviet-led boycott were concerns over security, "chauvinistic sentiments" and "an anti-Soviet hysteria ... being whipped up" in the United States. However, a handful of communist countries disregarded the boycott and attended the Games anyway, among them Yugoslavia (host of the 1984 Winter Olympics), the People's Republic of China, and Romania (the only Warsaw Pact country that had opted to ignore the Soviet demands). The Romanian team received a particularly warm reception from the United States; when the Romanian athletes entered during the opening ceremonies, they were greeted by a standing ovation from the spectators, who were mostly U.S. citizens. This would turn out to be Romania's most successful Olympic Games – they won 53 medals, including 20 golds.
In the table below, the number of athletes representing each state is shown in parentheses.
=== Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees ===
== Boycotting countries ==
Fifteen countries took part in the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics:
Afghanistan
Angola
Bulgaria
Cuba
Czechoslovakia
East Germany
Ethiopia
Hungary
Laos
Mongolia
North Korea
Poland
Soviet Union
South Yemen
Vietnam
Albania, Iran, Libya and Upper Volta (changed to Burkina Faso following August 4) also missed the Los Angeles Olympics, citing political reasons, but these countries were not a part of the Soviet-led boycott. Albania, Iran and Upper Volta were the only three countries to boycott both the 1980 and 1984 Summer Games.
Albania
Iran
Libya
/ Upper Volta/Burkina Faso
=== Soviet doping plan ===
A document obtained in 2016 by the New York Times revealed the Soviet Union's plans for a statewide doping system in track and field in preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Dated prior to the country's decision to boycott the Games, the document detailed existing steroids operations of the program, along with suggestions for further enhancements.
== Financial success of Los Angeles as host city ==
Following the news of the massive financial losses of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the only two cities to express a genuine interest in hosting the 1984 Games were Los Angeles and New York. Given that only one city per country is allowed to bid for any one Games, the USOC vote for the American bid city was effectively the deciding vote for the 1984 Olympics host city. In this case, the Los Angeles bid received 55 votes compared with New York's 39 votes – this is the closest that the city of New York has ever come to being selected to host the Olympic Games, coming closer in 1984 than they did in their 2012 bid (when they lost to London).
Ambitious construction projects for the two previous Summer Olympics, Montreal 1976 and Moscow 1980, had burdened organizers with substantial debts as expenses greatly exceeded revenues. Furthermore, the 1976 and 1980 Olympics were entirely government-funded. Unlike Montreal and Moscow, Los Angeles 1984 was privately funded, with strict controls imposed on expenditure; rather than constructing new venues with overly ambitious designs, the organizers chose instead to utilize existing venues and facilities wherever possible. The main example of this was the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which was also the Olympic Stadium for the 1932 Summer Olympics. The only two new venues constructed specifically for the 1984 Summer Olympics were secured with the backing of corporate sponsors: the Olympic Velodrome was largely funded by the 7-Eleven corporation and the Olympic Swim Stadium by McDonald's.
In addition to corporate support, the Olympic committee also used the income from the exclusive television rights, and for the first time these contracts would prove to be a significant source of revenue. Adjusted for inflation, the Los Angeles Games secured twice the amount of income received by the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics and four times that of the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics.
The low level of interest among potential host cities for the 1984 Games had been viewed as a major threat to the future of the Olympic Games. However, after the financial success of the Los Angeles Games, cities began to show a renewed interest in bidding to become host again. The Los Angeles and Montreal Games are seen as examples of best and worst practice when organizing the Olympics and serve as valuable lessons to prospective host cities.
Following the success of the 1984 Games, the Los Angeles OCOG, led by Peter Ueberroth, used the profits to create the LA84 Foundation for promoting youth sports in Southern California, educating coaches and maintaining a sports library.
== In popular culture ==
The games were the subject of the 1983–84 United States commemorative coin series.
American fast food chain McDonald's ran a promotion titled "When the U.S. Wins, You Win" where customers scratched off a ticket with the name of an Olympic event on it. If the U.S. won a medal in that event, then they would be given a free menu item: a Big Mac for a gold medal, an order of french fries for a silver medal, and a Coca-Cola for a bronze medal. The promotion became more popular than expected due to the Soviet boycott which led to the U.S. winning far more Olympic medals than expected. This promotion was parodied in The Simpsons episode "Lisa's First Word", where Krusty Burger runs a similar offer. The promotion was intended to be rigged so that prizes would only be offered in events dominated by the Eastern Bloc, but the Soviet-led boycott causes Krusty to personally lose $44 million. He vehemently promises "to spit in every fiftieth burger," to which Homer retorts "I like those odds!" Chief Wiggum also exclaims that he could kiss Carl Lewis, who won four gold medals at the Games.
On NCIS, Tim McGee has an obsession with jet packs, stemming from having attended the 1984 Olympic ceremony as a child and having Bill Suitor fly over his head in his jet pack. This storyline is based on the real experience of executive producer and writer Jesse Stern.
Pop-punk band Bowling for Soup references the games in the song "I Can't Stand LA". During a section showing appreciation for the city, the song states, "thank you for hair metal and the '84 Olympics."
Jilly Cooper's novel Riders has a storyline set at the show jumping event at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
In the Seinfeld episode "The Gymnast", Jerry dates a woman who competed in the 1984 Olympics and won a silver medal for Romania.
In American Horror Story: 1984, the characters watch it together on the TV in the girls cabin.
In the same week that the Games began, British pop star Howard Jones released a single called "Like to Get to Know You Well" which eventually made number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. On the sleeve, the record was "dedicated to the original spirit of the Olympic Games". |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrono_Trigger | Chrono Trigger | Chrono Trigger is a 1995 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the first installment of the Chrono series. The game's plot follows a group of adventurers who travel through time to prevent a global catastrophe.
The game's development team included three designers that Square dubbed the "Dream Team": Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of Square's Final Fantasy series; Yuji Horii, creator of Enix's Dragon Quest series; and Akira Toriyama, character designer of Dragon Quest and author of the Dragon Ball manga series. In addition, Takashi Tokita co-directed the game and co-wrote the scenario, Kazuhiko Aoki produced the game, while Masato Kato wrote most of the story.
Chrono Trigger was a critical and commercial success upon release, receiving multiple accolades from gaming publications, and is considered one of fourth-generation console gaming's most significant titles and one of the greatest video games ever made. Nintendo Power magazine described aspects of the game as revolutionary, including its multiple endings, plot-related side-quests focusing on character development, unique battle system, and detailed graphics. The game's soundtrack, scored by Yasunori Mitsuda with assistance from veteran Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu, has been hailed as one of the best video game soundtracks of all time. Chrono Trigger was the second best-selling game of 1995 in Japan, and the various incarnations of the game have shipped more than 5 million copies worldwide.
The game has been re-released on several other platforms with varying differences. A port by Tose for the PlayStation was released only in Japan in 1999, which was later repackaged with a Final Fantasy IV port as Final Fantasy Chronicles (2001) exclusively in North America. A slightly enhanced Chrono Trigger, again ported by Tose, was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan and North America in 2008, and PAL regions in 2009. The game has also been ported to i-mode, the Virtual Console, the PlayStation Network, iOS, and Android. In 2018, a higher resolution version was released for Windows via Steam.
== Gameplay ==
Chrono Trigger features standard turn-based role-playing video game gameplay. The player controls the protagonist and his companions in the game's two-dimensional world, consisting of various forests, cities, and dungeons. Navigation occurs via an overworld map, depicting the landscape from a scaled-down overhead view. Areas such as forests, cities, and similar places are depicted as more realistic scaled-down maps, in which players can converse with locals to procure items and services, solve puzzles and challenges, or encounter enemies. Chrono Trigger's gameplay deviates from that of traditional Japanese RPGs in that, rather than appearing in random encounters, many enemies are openly visible on field maps or lie in wait to ambush the party. Contact with enemies on a field map initiates a battle that occurs directly on the map rather than on a separate battle screen.
Players and enemies may use physical or magical attacks to wound targets during battle, and players may use items to heal or protect themselves. Each character and enemy has a certain number of hit points; successful attacks reduce that character's hit points, which can be restored with potions and spells. When a playable character loses all hit points, they faint; if all the player's characters fall in battle, the game ends and must be restored from a previously saved chapter, except in specific storyline-related battles that allow or force the player to lose. Between battles, a player can equip their characters with weapons, armor, helmets, and accessories that provide special effects (such as increased attack power or defense against magic), and various consumable items can be used both in and out of battles. Items and equipment can be purchased in shops or found on field maps, often in treasure chests. By exploring new areas and fighting enemies, players progress through Chrono Trigger's story.
Chrono Trigger uses an "Active Time Battle" system—a recurring element of Square's Final Fantasy game series designed by Hiroyuki Ito for Final Fantasy IV—named "Active Time Battle 2.0". Each character can take action in battle once a personal timer dependent on the character's speed statistic counts to zero. Magic and special physical techniques are handled through a system called "Techs". Techs deplete a character's magic points (a numerical meter similar to hit points), and often have special areas of effect; some spells damage huddled monsters, while others can harm enemies spread in a line. Enemies often change positions during battle, creating opportunities for tactical Tech use. A unique feature of Chrono Trigger's Tech system is that numerous cooperative techniques exist. Each character receives eight personal Techs which can be used in conjunction with others' to create Double and Triple Techs for greater effect. For instance, Crono's sword-spinning Cyclone Tech can be combined with Lucca's Flame Toss to create Fire Whirl. When characters with compatible Techs have enough magic points available to perform their techniques, the game automatically displays the combo as an option.
Chrono Trigger features several other distinct gameplay traits, including time travel. Players have access to seven eras of the game world's history, and past actions affect future events. Throughout history, players find new allies, complete side quests, and search for keynote villains. Time travel is accomplished via portals and pillars of light called "time gates", as well as a time machine named Epoch. The game contains twelve unique endings (thirteen in DS, iOS, Android and Steam versions); the ending the player receives depends on when and how they reach and complete the game's final battle. The DS version of Chrono Trigger features a new ending that can be accessed from the End of Time upon completion of the final extra dungeon and optional final boss. Chrono Trigger also introduces a New Game Plus option; after completing the game, the player may begin a new game with the same character levels, techniques, and equipment, excluding money, with which they ended the previous playthrough. However, certain items central to the storyline are removed and must be found again, such as the sword Masamune. Square has employed the New Game Plus concept in later games including Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy XV among others.
== Story ==
=== Setting ===
Chrono Trigger takes place in an Earth-like world, with eras such as the prehistoric age, in which primitive humans and dinosaurs share the earth; the Middle Ages, replete with knights, monsters, and magic; and the post-apocalyptic future, where destitute humans and sentient robots struggle to survive. The characters frequently travel through time to obtain allies, gather equipment, and learn information to help them in their quest. The party also gains access to the End of Time (represented as year ∞), which serves as a hub to travel back to other time periods. The party eventually acquires a time-machine vehicle known as the Wings of Time, nicknamed the Epoch (this default name can be changed by the player when the vehicle is acquired). The vehicle is capable of time travel between any time period without first having to travel to the End of Time.
=== Characters ===
Chrono Trigger's six playable characters (plus one optional character) come from different eras of history. Chrono Trigger begins in 1000 AD with Crono, Marle, and Lucca. Crono is the silent protagonist, characterized as a fearless young man who wields a katana in battle. Marle, revealed to be Princess Nadia, lives in Guardia Castle; though sheltered, she is at heart a princess who seeks independence from her royal identity. Lucca is a childhood friend of Crono's and a mechanical genius; her home is filled with laboratory equipment and machinery. From the era of 2300 AD comes Robo, or Prometheus (designation R-66Y), a robot with a near-human personality created to assist humans. Lying dormant in the future, Robo is found and repaired by Lucca, and joins the group out of gratitude. The fiercely confident Ayla dwells in 65,000,000 BC. Unmatched in raw strength, Ayla is the chief of Ioka Village and leads her people in war against a species of humanoid reptiles known as Reptites.
The last two playable characters are Frog and Magus. Frog originated in 600 AD. He is a former squire once known as Glenn, who was turned into an anthropomorphic frog by Magus, who also killed his friend Cyrus. Chivalrous but mired in regret, Frog dedicates his life to protecting Leene, the queen of Guardia, and avenging Cyrus. Meanwhile, Guardia in 600 AD is in a state of conflict against the Mystics (known as Fiends in the US/DS port), a race of demons and intelligent animals who wage war against humanity under the leadership of Magus, a powerful sorcerer. Magus's seclusion conceals a long-lost past; he was formerly known as Janus, the young prince of the Kingdom of Zeal, which was destroyed by Lavos in 12,000 BC. The incident sent him forward through time, and as he ages, he plots revenge against Lavos and broods over the fate of his sister, Schala. Lavos, the game's main antagonist who awakens and ravages the world in 1999 AD, is an extraterrestrial, parasitic creature that harvests DNA and the Earth's energy for its own growth.
=== Plot ===
In 1000 AD, Crono and Marle watch Lucca and her father demonstrate her new teleporter at the Millennial Fair in the Kingdom of Guardia. When Marle volunteers to be teleported, her pendant interferes with the device and creates a time portal into which she is drawn. After Crono and Lucca separately recreate the portal and find themselves in 600 AD, they locate Marle, only to see her vanish before their eyes. Lucca realizes that this time period's kingdom has mistaken Marle (who is actually Princess Nadia of Guardia) for Queen Leene, an ancestor of hers who had been kidnapped, thus putting off the recovery effort for her ancestor and creating a grandfather paradox. Crono and Lucca, with the help of Frog, restore history to normal by rescuing Leene. After the three part ways with Frog and return to the present, Crono is framed for kidnapping Marle and sentenced to death by the current chancellor of Guardia. Lucca and Marle help Crono escape prison, haphazardly using another time portal to evade their pursuers. This portal lands them in 2300 AD, where they learn that an advanced civilization has been wiped out by a giant creature known as Lavos that appeared in 1999 AD, and find the last remnants of humanity living in underground domes subsisting off of machine energy in place of food. The three vow to find a way to prevent the future destruction of their world. After meeting and repairing Robo, Crono and his friends find Gaspar, an old sage residing in an atemporal space known as the End of Time, who offers them the ability to travel through time by way of several pillars of light. (The party is able to challenge Lavos at any point after this scene, with completion of the game prior to its final chapter unlocking one of twelve different endings.)
The party discover that a powerful mage named Magus summoned Lavos into the world in 600 AD. To stop Magus, Frog requires the legendary sword, Masamune, to open the way to the mage's castle. In search of ore to re-forge the sword, the party travel to prehistoric times and meet Ayla, the chief of an ancient hunter-gatherer tribe. The subsequent battle with Magus disrupts his spell to summon Lavos, opening a temporal distortion that throws Crono and his friends to prehistory. The party assist Ayla in battling the Reptites, enemies of prehistoric humans. The battle is cut short as the party witness the true origin of Lavos, who descends from deep space and crashes into the planet before burrowing to its core. Entering a time gate created by Lavos's impact, the party arrive in the ice age of 12,000 BC. There, the utopic Kingdom of Zeal resides on islands raised above the icy surface using energy harnessed from Lavos's body beneath the earth's crust via a machine housed on the ocean floor. The party are imprisoned by the Queen of Zeal on the orders of its mysterious Prophet, and are ultimately banished, with the time gate leading to 12,000 BC sealed by the Prophet. Seeking a way to return, the party discover a time machine in 2300 AD called the Wings of Time (or Epoch), which can access any time period at will. The party return to 12,000 BC, where Zeal inadvertently awakens Lavos, leading the Prophet to reveal himself as Magus, who tries and fails to kill the creature. Lavos defeats Magus and kills Crono, before the remaining party are transported to the safety of the surface by Schala, Zeal's princess. Lavos annihilates the Kingdom of Zeal, whose fallen continent causes devastating floods that submerge most of the world's landmass.
Magus confesses to the party that he used to be Prince Janus of Zeal, Schala's brother, and that in the original timeline, he and the Gurus of Zeal were scattered across time by Lavos's awakening in 12,000 BC. Stranded as a child in 600 AD, Janus took the title of Magus and gained a cult of followers while plotting to summon and kill Lavos in revenge for the death of his sister. Magus tried once more after the party's battle in his castle returned him to Zeal, where he disguised himself as the Prophet. At this point, Magus is either killed by the party, killed in a duel with Frog, or spared and convinced to join the party. The ruined Ocean Palace then rises into the air as the Black Omen, Queen Zeal's floating fortress. The group turns to Gaspar for help, and he gives them a "Chrono Trigger", a device that allows the group to replace Crono just before the moment of death with an identical doppelgänger (doing so is optional, and the game's ending will change depending on the player's decision). The party then gather power by helping people across time with Gaspar's instructions. Their journeys involve defeating the remnants of the Mystics, stopping Robo's maniacal AI creator, giving Frog closure for Cyrus's death, locating and charging up the mythical Sun Stone, retrieving the legendary Rainbow Shell, unmasking Guardia's Chancellor as a saboteur, restoring a forest destroyed by a desert monster, and preventing an accident that disabled Lucca's mother. The party then enter the Black Omen and defeat Queen Zeal, after which they battle Lavos. They discover that Lavos is self-directing his evolution via absorbing DNA and energy from every living creature before razing the planet's surface in 1999 AD, so that it could spawn a new generation to destroy other worlds and continue the evolutionary cycle. The party slay Lavos, and celebrate at the final night of the Millennial Fair before returning to their own times.
If Magus joined the party, he departs to search for Schala. If Crono was resurrected before defeating Lavos, his sentence for kidnapping Marle is revoked by her father, King Guardia XXXIII, thanks to testimonies from Marle's ancestors and descendants, whom Crono had helped during his journey. Crono's mother accidentally enters the time gate at the Millennial Fair before it closes, prompting Crono, Marle, and Lucca to set out in the Epoch to find her while fireworks light up the night sky. If Crono was not resurrected, Frog, Robo, and Ayla (along with Magus if he was recruited) chase Gaspar to the Millennial Fair and back again, revealing that Gaspar knows how to resurrect Crono; Marle and Lucca then use the Epoch to travel through time to accomplish this. Alternatively, if the party used the Epoch to break Lavos's outer shell, Marle will help her father hang Nadia's bell at the festival and accidentally get carried away by several balloons. If resurrected, Crono jumps on to help her, but cannot bring them down to earth. Hanging on in each other's arms, the pair travel through the cloudy, moonlit sky.
Chrono Trigger DS added two new scenarios to the game. In the first, Crono and his friends can help a "lost sanctum" of Reptites, who reward powerful items and armor. The second scenario adds ties to Trigger's sequel, Chrono Cross. In a New Game Plus, the group can explore several temporal distortions to combat shadow versions of Crono, Marle, and Lucca, and to fight Dalton, who promises in defeat to raise an army in the town of Porre to destroy the Kingdom of Guardia. The group can then fight the Dream Devourer, a prototypical form of the Time Devourer—a fusion of Schala and Lavos seen in Chrono Cross. A version of Magus pleads with Schala to resist; though she recognizes him as her brother, she refuses to be helped and sends him away. Schala subsequently erases his memories and Magus awakens in a forest, determined to find what he had lost.
== Development ==
Chrono Trigger was conceived in October 1992 by Hironobu Sakaguchi, producer and creator of the Final Fantasy series; Yuji Horii, writer, game designer and creator of the Dragon Quest series; and Akira Toriyama, character designer of Dragon Quest and creator of the Dragon Ball manga series. Traveling to the United States to research computer graphics, the three, that Square dubbed the "Dream Team", decided to create something that "no one had done before". Toriyama's editor, Kazuhiko Torishima, later credited the concept to a fusion of "Dragon Quest plus Final Fantasy", and arranged for Enix to lend Yuji Horii to Squaresoft for development. After spending over a year considering the difficulties of developing a new game, the three received a call from Kazuhiko Aoki, who offered to produce. The four met and spent four days brainstorming ideas for the game. Square convened 50–60 developers, including scenario writer Masato Kato, whom Square designated story planner; development started in early 1993. An uncredited Square employee suggested that the team develop a time travel-themed game, which Kato initially opposed, fearing repetitive, dull gameplay. Kato and Horii then met several hours per day during the first year of development to write the game's plot; Horii desired a silent protagonist from the outset. Square intended to license the work under the Mana franchise and gave it the working title Maru Island; Hiromichi Tanaka (the future producer of Chrono Cross) monitored Toriyama's early designs. The team hoped to release it on Nintendo's planned Super Famicom Disk Drive; when Nintendo canceled the project, Square reoriented the game for release on a Super Famicom cartridge and rebranded it as Chrono Trigger. Tanaka credited the ROM cartridge platform for enabling seamless transition to battles on the field map. While Chrono Trigger had been planned for a 24-megabit cartridge, Square ultimately chose a 32-megabit platform, enabling additional graphics and music. Torishima later reflected that at least one early revision of the game had been scrapped.
Aoki ultimately produced Chrono Trigger, while director credits were attributed to Akihiko Matsui, Yoshinori Kitase and Takashi Tokita. Toriyama designed the game's aesthetic, including characters, monsters, vehicles, and the look of each era. Masato Kato also contributed character ideas and designs. Kato planned to feature Gaspar as a playable character and Toriyama sketched him, but he was cut early in development. The development staff studied the drawings of Toriyama to approximate his style. Sakaguchi and Horii supervised; Sakaguchi was responsible for the game's overall system and contributed several monster ideas. Other notable designers include Tetsuya Takahashi, the graphic director, and Yasuyuki Honne, Tetsuya Nomura, and Yusuke Naora, who worked as field graphic artists. Yasuhiko Kamata programmed graphics, and cited Ridley Scott's visual work in the film Alien as an inspiration for the game's lighting. Kamata made the game's luminosity and color choice lay between that of Secret of Mana and the Final Fantasy series. Features originally intended to be used in Secret of Mana or Final Fantasy IV, also under development at the same time, were appropriated by the Chrono Trigger team. According to Tanaka, Secret of Mana (which itself was originally intended to be Final Fantasy IV) was codenamed "Chrono Trigger" during development before being called Seiken Densetsu 2 (Secret of Mana), and then the name Chrono Trigger was adopted for a new project. After its release, the development team of Final Fantasy VI was folded into the Chrono Trigger team.
Yuji Horii, a fan of time travel fiction (such as the TV series The Time Tunnel), fostered a theme of time travel in his general story outline of Chrono Trigger with input from Akira Toriyama. Horii liked the scenario of the grandfather paradox surrounding Marle. Concerning story planning, Horii commented, "If there's a fairground, I just write that there's a fairground; I don't write down any of the details. Then the staff brainstorm and come up with a variety of attractions to put in." Horii also devised Lavos as the final boss, having wanted the final boss to be an ancient evil. Sakaguchi contributed some minor elements, including the character Gato; he liked Marle's drama and reconciliation with her father. Masato Kato subsequently edited and completed the outline by writing the majority of the game's story, including all the events of the 12,000 BC era. He took pains to avoid what he described as "a long string of errands [...] [such as] 'do this', 'take this', 'defeat these monsters', or 'plant this flag'." Kato and other developers held a series of meetings to ensure continuity, usually attended by around 30 personnel. Kato and Horii initially proposed Crono's death, though they intended he stay dead; the party would have retrieved an earlier, living version of him to complete the quest. Square deemed the scenario too depressing and asked that Crono be brought back to life later in the story. Kato also devised the system of multiple endings because he could not branch the story out to different paths. Yoshinori Kitase and Takashi Tokita then wrote various subplots. They also devised an "Active Time Event Logic" system, "where you can move your character around during scenes, even when an NPC is talking to you", and with players "talking to different people and steering the conversation in different directions", allowing each scene to "have many permutations." Kato became friends with composer Yasunori Mitsuda during development, and they would collaborate on several future projects. Katsuhisa Higuchi programmed the battle system, which hosted combat on the map without transition to a special battleground as most previous Square games had done. Higuchi noted extreme difficulty in loading battles properly without slow-downs or a brief, black loading screen. The game's use of animated monster sprites consumed much more memory than previous Final Fantasy games, which used static enemy graphics.
Hironobu Sakaguchi likened the development of Chrono Trigger to "play[ing] around with Toriyama's universe," citing the inclusion of humorous sequences in the game that would have been "impossible with something like Final Fantasy." When Square suggested a non-human player character, developers created Frog by adapting one of Toriyama's sketches. The team created the End of Time to help players with hints, worrying that they might become stuck and need to consult a walkthrough. The game's testers had previously complained that Chrono Trigger was too difficult; as Horii explained, "It's because we know too much. The developers think the game's just right; that they're being too soft. They're thinking from their own experience. The puzzles were the same. Lots of players didn't figure out things we thought they'd get easily." Sakaguchi later cited the unusual desire of beta testers to play the game a second time or "travel through time again" as an affirmation of the New Game Plus feature: "Wherever we could, we tried to make it so that a slight change in your behavior caused subtle differences in people's reactions, even down to the smallest details [...] I think the second playthrough will hold a whole new interest." The game's reuse of locations due to time traveling made bug-fixing difficult, as corrections would cause unintended consequences in other eras.
=== Music ===
Chrono Trigger was scored primarily by Yasunori Mitsuda, with contributions from veteran Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu and one track by Noriko Matsueda. A sound programmer at the time, Mitsuda was unhappy with his pay and threatened to leave Square if he could not compose music. Hironobu Sakaguchi suggested he score Chrono Trigger, remarking, "maybe your salary will go up." Mitsuda composed new music and drew on a personal collection of pieces composed over the previous two years. He reflected, "I wanted to create music that wouldn't fit into any established genre [...] music of an imaginary world. The game's director, Masato Kato, was my close friend, and so I'd always talk with him about the setting and the scene before going into writing." Mitsuda slept in his studio several nights, and attributed certain pieces—such as the game's ending theme, "To Far Away Times"—to inspiring dreams. He later attributed this song to an idea he was developing before Chrono Trigger, reflecting that the tune was made in dedication to "a certain person with whom [he] wanted to share a generation". He also tried to use leitmotifs of the Chrono Trigger main theme to create a sense of consistency in the soundtrack. Mitsuda wrote each tune to be around two minutes long before repeating, unusual for Square's games at the time. Mitsuda suffered a hard drive crash that lost around forty in-progress tracks. After Mitsuda contracted stomach ulcers, Uematsu joined the project to compose ten pieces and finish the score. Mitsuda returned to watch the ending with the staff before the game's release, crying upon seeing the finished scene.
At the time of the game's release, the number of tracks and sound effects was unprecedented—the soundtrack spanned three discs in its 1995 commercial pressing. Square also released a one-disc acid jazz arrangement called The Brink of Time by Guido that year. The Brink of Time came about because Mitsuda wanted to do something that no one else was doing, and he noted that acid jazz and its related genres were uncommon in the Japanese market. Mitsuda considers Chrono Trigger a landmark game which helped mature his talent. While Mitsuda later held that the title piece was "rough around the edges", he maintains that it had "significant influence on [his] life as a composer". In 1999, Square produced another one-disc soundtrack to complement the PlayStation release of the game, featuring orchestral tracks used in cutscenes. Tsuyoshi Sekito composed four new pieces for the game's bonus features which weren't included on the soundtrack. Some fans were displeased by Mitsuda's absence in creating the port, whose instruments sometimes aurally differed from the original game's. Mitsuda arranged versions of music from the Chrono series for Play! video game music concerts, presenting the main theme, "Frog's Theme", and "To Far Away Times". He worked with Square Enix to ensure that the music for the Nintendo DS would sound closer to the Super NES version. Mitsuda encouraged feedback about the game's soundtrack from contemporary children (who he thought would expect "full symphonic scores blaring out of the speakers"). Fans who preordered the DS version received a special music disc containing two orchestral arrangements of the game's music directed by Natsumi Kameoka; Square Enix also held a random prize drawing for two signed copies of Chrono Trigger sheet music. Mitsuda expressed difficulty in selecting the tune for the orchestral medley, eventually picking a tune from each era and certain character themes. Mitsuda later wrote:
I feel that the way we interact with music has changed greatly in the last 13 years, even for me. For better or for worse, I think it would be extremely difficult to create something as "powerful" as I did 13 years ago today. But instead, all that I have learned in these 13 years allows me to compose something much more intricate. To be perfectly honest, I find it so hard to believe that songs from 13 years ago are loved this much. Keeping these feelings in mind, I hope to continue composing songs which are powerful, and yet intricate...I hope that the extras like this bonus CD will help expand the world of Chrono Trigger, especially since we did a live recording. I hope there's another opportunity to release an album of this sort one day.
Music from the game was performed live by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in 1996 at the Orchestral Game Concert in Tokyo, Japan. A suite of music including Chrono Trigger is a part of the symphonic world-tour with video game music Play! A Video Game Symphony, where Mitsuda was in attendance for the concert's world-premiere in Chicago on May 27, 2006. His suite of Chrono music, comprising "Reminiscence", "Chrono Trigger", "Chrono Cross~Time's Scar", "Frog's Theme", and "To Far Away Times" was performed. Mitsuda has also appeared with the Eminence Symphony Orchestra as a special guest. Video Games Live has also featured medleys from Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross. A medley of Music from Chrono Trigger made of one of the four suites of the "Symphonic Fantasies" concerts in September 2009 which was produced by the creators of the Symphonic Game Music Concert series, conducted by Arnie Roth. Square Enix re-released the game's soundtrack, along with a video interview with Mitsuda in July 2009. "Frog's Theme" and "Robo's Theme" were among the video game music performed during the 2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. In 2022, the main theme continued to feature in the setlist of the 8-Bit Big Band, led by Charlie Rosen.
== Release ==
The team planned to release Chrono Trigger in late 1994, but release was pushed back to the following year. Early alpha versions of Chrono Trigger were demonstrated at the 1994 and 1995 V Jump festivals in Japan. A few months prior to the game's release, Square shipped a beta version to magazine reviewers and game stores for review. An unfinished build of the game dated November 17, 1994, it contains unused music tracks, locations, and other features changed or removed from the final release—such as a dungeon named "Singing Mountain" and its eponymous tune. Some names also differed; the character Soysaw (Slash in the US version) was known as Wiener, while Mayonnay (Flea in the US version) was named Ketchappa. The ROM image for this early version was eventually uploaded to the internet, prompting fans to explore and document the game's differences, including two unused world map NPC character sprites and presumed additional sprites for certain non-player characters. Around the game's release, Yuji Horii commented that Chrono Trigger "went beyond [the development team's] expectations", and Hironobu Sakaguchi congratulated the game's graphic artists and field designers. Sakaguchi intended to perfect the "sense of dancing you get from exploring Toriyama's worlds" in the event that they would make a sequel.
Chrono Trigger used a 32-megabit ROM cartridge with battery-backed RAM for saved games, lacking special on-cartridge coprocessors. The Japanese release of Chrono Trigger included art for the game's ending and running counts of items in the player's status menu. Developers created the North American version before adding these features to the original build, inadvertently leaving in vestiges of Chrono Trigger's early development (such as the piece "Singing Mountain"). Hironobu Sakaguchi asked translator Ted Woolsey to localize Chrono Trigger for English audiences and gave him roughly thirty days to work. Lacking the help of a modern translation team, he memorized scenarios and looked at drafts of commercial player's guides to put dialogue in context. Woolsey later reflected that he would have preferred 2+1⁄2 months, and blames his rushed schedule on the prevailing attitude in Japan that games were children's toys rather than serious works. Some of his work was cut due to space constraints, though he still considered Trigger "one of the most satisfying games [he] ever worked on or played". Nintendo of America censored certain dialogue, including references to breastfeeding, consumption of alcohol, and religion.
The original SNES edition of Chrono Trigger was released on the Wii download service Virtual Console in Japan on April 26, 2011, in the US on May 16, 2011, and in Europe on May 20, 2011. Previously in April 2008, a Nintendo Power reader poll had identified Chrono Trigger as the third-most wanted game for the Virtual Console. The game has also been ported to i-mode,, the PlayStation Network, iOS, Android, and Windows.
=== PlayStation ===
Square released an enhanced port of Chrono Trigger developed by Tose in Japan for the Sony PlayStation in 1999. Square timed its release before that of Chrono Cross, the 1999 sequel to Chrono Trigger, to familiarize new players with the story leading up to it. This version included anime cutscenes created by original character designer Akira Toriyama's Bird Studio and animated at Toei Animation, as well as several bonus features, accessible after achieving various endings in the game. Scenarist Masato Kato attended planning meetings at Bird Studio to discuss how the ending cutscenes would illustrate subtle ties to Chrono Cross. The port was released in North America in 2001—along with a newly translated version of Final Fantasy IV—as Final Fantasy Chronicles. Reviewers criticized Chronicles for its lengthy load times and an absence of new in-game features. This same iteration was also re-released as a downloadable game on the PlayStation Network on October 4, 2011, for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and PlayStation Portable.
=== Nintendo DS ===
On July 2, 2008, Square Enix announced that they were planning to bring Chrono Trigger to the Nintendo DS handheld platform. Composer Yasunori Mitsuda was pleased with the project, exclaiming "finally!" after receiving the news from Square Enix and maintaining, "it's still a very deep, very high-quality game even when you play it today. I'm very interested in seeing what kids today think about it when they play it." Square retained Masato Kato to oversee the port, and Tose to program it. Kato explained, "I wanted it to be based on the original Super NES release rather than the PlayStation version. I thought we should look at the additional elements from the PlayStation version, re-examine and re-work them to make it a complete edition. That's how it struck me and I told the staff so later on." Square Enix touted the game by displaying Akira Toriyama's original art at the 2008 Tokyo Game Show.
The DS re-release contains all of the bonus material from the PlayStation port, as well as other enhancements. The added features include a more accurate and revised translation by Tom Slattery, a dual-screen mode which clears the top screen of all menus, a self-completing map screen, and a default "run" option. It also features the option to choose between two control schemes: one mirroring the original SNES controls, and the other making use of the DS's touch screen. Masato Kato participated in development, overseeing the addition of the monster-battling Arena, two new areas, the Lost Sanctum and the Dimensional Vortex, and a new ending that further foreshadows the events of Chrono Cross. One of the areas within the Vortex uses the "Singing Mountain" song that was featured on the original Chrono Trigger soundtrack. Additionally, one of the dungeons absent from the original game was remade within the Vortex. These new dungeons met with mixed reviews; GameSpot called them "frustrating" and "repetitive", while IGN noted that "the extra quests in the game connect extremely well." It was a nominee for "Best RPG for the Nintendo DS" in IGN's 2008 video game awards. The Nintendo DS version of Chrono Trigger was the 22nd best-selling game of 2008 in Japan.
=== Mobile ===
A cellphone version was released in Japan on i-mode distribution service on August 25, 2011. An iOS version was released on December 8, 2011. This version is based on the Nintendo DS version, with graphics optimized for iOS. The game was later released for Android on October 29, 2012. An update incorporating most of the features of the Windows version—including the reintroduction of the animated cutscenes, which had been absent from the initial mobile release—was released on February 27, 2018, for both iOS and Android.
=== Windows ===
Square Enix released Chrono Trigger without an announcement for Windows via Steam on February 27, 2018. This version includes most content from the Nintendo DS port besides the arena mode, as well as the higher resolution graphics from the mobile device releases, support for mouse and keyboard controls, and autosave features, along with additional content such as wallpapers and music. The PC port initially received a negative reception due to its inferior graphical quality, additional glitches, UI adapted for touchscreens, and failure to properly adapt the control scheme for keyboards and controllers. In response, Square Enix provided various UI updates and several other improvements including adding an original graphics option based on the game's original version, fixing glitches introduced, and adding a true 16:9 widescreen presentation for the first time, to address the aforementioned complaints. In total, five major updates were released—the first on April 10, 2018, and the last on August 3, 2018—all of which have substantially improved its overall reception. On March 11, 2022, a sixth major patch was released; it added ultrawide 21:9 support and other quality of life features and improvements.
== Reception ==
=== SNES release ===
Chrono Trigger received critical acclaim upon its original SNES release. The gameplay received praise, with Nintendo Power and Next Generation considering it innovative. Both magazines and Super Play cited the visibility of enemies in the overworld map and the use of combos as reasons for their enjoyment. Both Edge and GamePro felt the game was easier than Final Fantasy VI, though GamePro enjoyed it nonetheless. The graphics and music received praise by Nintendo Power, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and Nintendo Magazine System. GamePro found them better than in prior role-playing video games such as Final Fantasy VI, and Game Informer felt the graphical upgrades shortened the quests, though Edge considered them lacking Final Fantasy VI's grandness. Evaluations of the story and characters were more mixed. The critics for Electronic Gaming Monthly generally found the storyline compelling, and Game Informer felt that the game's character arcs were well-developed. Next Generation and Super Play disagreed; they both negatively compared the character arcs to Final Fantasy VI, with Super Play finding Frog's story to be the only meaningful one.
=== Windows release ===
In contrast to the critical acclaim of Chrono Trigger's original SNES release, the 2018 Windows port of Chrono Trigger was critically panned. Grievances noted by reviewers included tiling errors on textures, the addition of aesthetically intrusive sprite filters, an unattractive GUI carried over from the 2011 mobile release, a lack of graphic customization options, and the inability to remap controls. In describing the port, Forbes commented: "From pretty awful graphical issues, such as tiling textures and quite a painful menu system, this port really doesn't do this classic game justice." USGamer characterized the Windows release as carrying "all the markings of a project farmed out to the lowest bidder. It's a shrug in Square-Enix's mind, seemingly not worth the money or effort necessary for a half-decent port." In a Twitter post detailing his experiences with the Windows version, indie developer Fred Wood derisively compared the port to "someone's first attempt at an RPG Maker game", a comment which was republished across numerous articles addressing the poor quality of the rerelease. Square Enix released six major updates to address the complaints, thus improving its overall reception; Alex Donaldson of VG247, commenting on the improvements, wrote that "Square Enix took the criticism to heart and over the course of a string of hefty patches have slowly turned this into something that actually could be argued as the best version of Chrono Trigger."
=== Sales ===
The game was a best-seller in Japan, where two million copies were sold in only two months. It ended the year as the second best-selling game of 1995 in Japan, below Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation. Chrono Trigger was also met with substantial success upon release in North America, and its re-release on the PlayStation as part of the Final Fantasy Chronicles package topped the NPD TRSTS PlayStation sales charts for over six weeks. By March 2003, the game's SNES and PS1 iterations had shipped 2.65 million copies worldwide, including 2.36 million in Japan and 290,000 abroad. The PS1 version was re-released in 2003 as part of Sony's Greatest Hits line. The original SNES version had sold 2.5 million copies by 2006. Chrono Trigger DS sold 790,000 copies worldwide, as of March 2009, including 490,000 in Japan, 240,000 in North America and 60,000 in Europe. The SNES, PS1 and DS versions shipped a combined 3.44 million copies worldwide by March 2009. Excluding the PC version, the game had shipped over 3.5 million copies worldwide by February 2018. As of March 2025, all versions together have shipped more than 5 million copies worldwide.
=== Awards and accolades ===
Chrono Trigger is frequently listed among the greatest video games of all time. In 1997 Electronic Gaming Monthly ranked it the 29th best console video game of all time; while noting that it was not as good as Final Fantasy VI (which ranked 9th), they gave superlative praise to its handling of time travel and its combat engine. It has placed highly on all six of multimedia website IGN's "top 100 games of all time" lists—4th in 2002, 6th in early 2005, 13th in late 2005, 2nd in 2006, 18th in 2007, and 2nd in 2008. Game Informer called it its 15th favorite game in 2001. Its staff thought that it was the best non-Final Fantasy game Square had produced at the time. GameSpot included Chrono Trigger in "The Greatest Games of All Time" list released in April 2006, and it also appeared as 28th on an "All Time Top 100" list in a poll conducted by Japanese magazine Famitsu the same year. In 2004, Chrono Trigger finished runner up to Final Fantasy VII in the inaugural GameFAQs video game battle. In 2008, readers of Dengeki Online voted it the eighth best game ever made. Nintendo Power's twentieth anniversary issue named it the fifth best Super NES game. In 2009, Official Nintendo Magazine ranked the DS version of the game 31st on a list of greatest Nintendo games. In 2012, it came 32nd place on GamesRadar's "100 best games of all time" list, and 1st place on its "Best JRPGs" list. GamesRadar named Chrono Trigger the 2nd best Super NES game of all time, behind Super Metroid. In 2023, Time Extension included the game on their "Best JRPGs of All Time" list.
== Legacy ==
=== Add-ons ===
Chrono Trigger inspired several related releases; the first were three games released for the Satellaview on July 31, 1995. They included Chrono Trigger: Jet Bike Special, a racing video game based on a minigame from the original; Chrono Trigger: Character Library, featuring profiles on characters and monsters from the game; and Chrono Trigger: Music Library, a collection of music from the game's soundtrack. The contents of Character Library and Music Library were later included as extras in the PlayStation rerelease of Chrono Trigger. Production I.G created a 16-minute OVA, Dimensional Adventure Numa Monjar, which was shown at the Japanese V Jump festival of July 31, 1996.
=== Fangames ===
There have been two notable attempts by Chrono Trigger fans to unofficially remake parts of the game for PC with a 3D graphics engine. Chrono Resurrection, an attempt at remaking ten small interactive cutscenes from Chrono Trigger, and Chrono Trigger Remake Project, which sought to remake the entire game, were forcibly terminated by Square Enix by way of a cease and desist order. Another group of fans created a sequel via a ROM hack of Chrono Trigger called Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes; developed from 2004 to 2009; although feature-length and virtually finished, it also was terminated through a cease & desist letter days before its May 2009 release. The letter also forbade the dissemination of existing Chrono Trigger ROM hacks and documentation. After the cease and desist was issued, an incomplete version of the game was leaked in May 2009, though due to the early state of the game, playability was limited.
This was followed by a more complete ROM leak in January 2011, which allowed the game to be played from beginning to end.
=== Sequels ===
Square released a related Satellaview game in 1996, named Radical Dreamers. Having thought that Trigger ended with "unfinished business", scenarist Masato Kato wrote and directed the game. Dreamers functioned as a side story to Chrono Trigger, resolving a loose subplot from its predecessor. A short, text-based game relying on minimal graphics and atmospheric music, the game never received an official release outside Japan—though it was translated by fans to English in April 2003. Square planned to release Radical Dreamers as an easter egg in the PlayStation edition of Chrono Trigger, but Kato was unhappy with his work and halted its inclusion.
Square released Chrono Cross for the Sony PlayStation in 1999. Cross is a sequel to Chrono Trigger featuring a new setting and cast of characters. Presenting a theme of parallel worlds, the story followed the protagonist Serge—a teenage boy thrust into an alternate reality in which he died years earlier. With the help of a thief named Kid, Serge endeavors to discover the truth behind his apparent death and obtain the Frozen Flame, a mythical artifact. Regarded by writer and director Masato Kato as an effort to "redo Radical Dreamers properly", Chrono Cross borrowed certain themes, scenarios, characters, and settings from Dreamers. Yasunori Mitsuda also adapted certain songs from Radical Dreamers while scoring Cross. Radical Dreamers was consequently removed from the series' main continuity, considered an alternate dimension. Chrono Cross shipped 1.5 million copies and was widely praised by critics.
There are no plans as of 2025 for a new title, despite a statement from Hironobu Sakaguchi in 2001 that the developers of Chrono Cross wanted to make a new Chrono game. The same year, Square applied for a trademark for the names Chrono Break in the United States and Chrono Brake in Japan. However, the United States trademark was dropped in 2003. Director Takashi Tokita mentioned "Chrono Trigger 2" in a 2003 interview which has not been translated to English. Yuji Horii expressed no interest in returning to the Chrono franchise in 2005, while Hironobu Sakaguchi remarked in April 2007 that his creation Blue Dragon was an "extension of [Chrono Trigger]." During a Cubed³ interview on February 1, 2007, Square Enix's Senior Vice President Hiromichi Tanaka said that although no sequel is currently planned, some sort of sequel is still possible if the Chrono Cross developers can be reunited. Yasunori Mitsuda has expressed interest in scoring a new game, but warned that "there are a lot of politics involved" with the series. He stressed that Masato Kato should participate in development. The February 2008 issue of Game Informer ranked the Chrono series eighth among the "Top Ten Sequels in Demand", naming the games "steadfast legacies in the Square Enix catalogue" and asking, "what's the damn holdup?!" In Electronic Gaming Monthly's June 2008 "Retro Issue", writer Jeremy Parish cited Chrono as the franchise video game fans would be most thrilled to see a sequel to. In the first May Famitsu of 2009, Chrono Trigger placed 14th out of 50 in a vote of most-wanted sequels by the magazine's readers. At E3 2009, SE Senior Vice President Shinji Hashimoto remarked, "If people want a sequel, they should buy more!"
In July 2010, Obsidian Entertainment designer Feargus Urquhart, replying to an interview question about what franchises he would like to work on, said that "if [he] could come across everything that [he] played", he would choose a Chrono Trigger game. At the time, Obsidian was making Dungeon Siege III for Square Enix. Urquhart said: "You make RPGs, we make RPGs, it would be great to see what we could do together. And they really wanted to start getting into Western RPGs. And, so it kind of all ended up fitting together." Yoshinori Kitase stated that he used the time travel mechanics of Chrono Trigger as a starting point for that of Final Fantasy XIII-2. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Harbor_(film) | Pearl Harbor (film) | Pearl Harbor is a 2001 American romantic war drama film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer and written by Randall Wallace. Starring Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale, Cuba Gooding Jr., Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight, Colm Feore, and Alec Baldwin, the film features a heavily fictionalized version of the attack on Pearl Harbor, focusing on a love triangle set amidst the lead up to the attack, its aftermath, and the Doolittle Raid.
The film was produced by Touchstone Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films and released by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution on May 25, 2001, and was a box office success, grossing $59 million in its opening weekend and $449.2 million worldwide, becoming the sixth highest-grossing film of 2001, but received generally negative reviews from critics, who criticized the performances, dialogue, runtime and historical inaccuracies, but was praised for the visual effects, action sequences and musical score. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning in the category of Best Sound Editing, but was also nominated for six Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture.
== Plot ==
In Tennessee in 1923, best friends Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker play together in the back of a biplane owned by Rafe's father, pretending to be combat airmen.
By 1941, Danny and Rafe are first lieutenants in the US Army Air Force under the command of Major Jimmy Doolittle. The United States is not yet in World War II and Rafe volunteers for the Eagle Squadron (an RAF unit for American volunteer pilots during the Battle of Britain). Nurse Evelyn Johnson signs off Rafe's medical exam despite his dyslexia, and the two strike up a relationship. Four weeks later, Rafe and Evelyn, now deeply in love, enjoy an evening of dancing at a nightclub and later a jaunt in the New York harbor in a borrowed police boat. Rafe shocks Evelyn by saying that he has joined the Eagle Squadron and is leaving the next day. During a mission to intercept a Luftwaffe bombing raid, Rafe is shot down over the English Channel and is presumed killed in action. Danny and Evelyn mourn Rafe's death together, which spurs a new romance between the two.
On the night of December 6, Evelyn is shocked to discover Rafe standing outside her door, having survived his drowning and the ensuing months trapped in Nazi-occupied France. Rafe, in turn, discovers Danny's romance with Evelyn and leaves for the Hula bar, where he is welcomed back by his overjoyed fellow pilots. Danny finds a drunken Rafe in the bar with the intention of reconciling, but the two get into a fight. They drive away, avoiding being put in the brig when the military police arrive at the bar. The two fall asleep in Danny's car.
Next morning, on December 7, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacks Pearl Harbor. The US Pacific Fleet is severely damaged in the surprise attack, and most of the defending airfields are destroyed before they can launch fighters to defend the harbor. Rafe and Danny take off in P-40 fighter planes and shoot down several attacking Zeros. They later assist in the rescue of the crew of the capsized USS Oklahoma, but are too late to save the crew of the USS Arizona.
The next day, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Day of Infamy Speech and requests the US Congress declare war on the Empire of Japan. Danny and Rafe are assigned to travel to the continental US with Doolittle. Before they leave, Evelyn reveals to Rafe she is pregnant with Danny's child. Evelyn reassures Rafe she loved him in the past and will love him her whole life, but says she is ready to give Danny her "whole heart" and have their family together. Danny and Rafe receive promotions to captain and Silver Stars for their actions at Pearl Harbor, and they volunteer for a secret mission organized by Doolittle. They spend three months training with other pilots for ultra-short takeoffs with specially modified B-25 Mitchell bombers. In April, the group departs aboard USS Hornet and their mission to bomb Tokyo is revealed.
The mission is successful, but Rafe's and Danny's planes run out of fuel and crash in Japanese-occupied China. Danny is mortally wounded in a gunfight with Japanese soldiers before the group is rescued by Chinese troops. Rafe tearfully reveals to Danny, "you're going to be a father"; with his last breath, Danny replies, "No, you are."
Rafe and Evelyn marry after the war and visit Danny's grave with Evelyn's son, named Danny after his biological father. Rafe takes his family flying into the sunset in Rafe's father's old biplane.
== Cast ==
=== Fictional characters ===
=== Historical characters ===
Although not intended to be an entirely accurate depiction of events, the film includes portrayals of several historical figures:
Cuba Gooding Jr. as Petty Officer Second Class Doris Miller, a messman aboard USS West Virginia who operated anti-aircraft guns during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Jon Voight as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States
Colm Feore as Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, the commander-in-chief of the United States Fleet and the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
Mako as Kaigun Taishō (admiral) Isoroku Yamamoto, Fleet Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy and mastermind of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Alec Baldwin as Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Jimmy Doolittle, USAF commander and leader of the Doolittle Raid.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Kaigun Chūsa (commander) Minoru Genda, lead planner of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Scott Wilson as General George C. Marshall, the US Army's Chief of Staff.
Graham Beckel as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, a US Naval commander who later succeeded Kimmel as the Pacific Fleet's Commander-in-Chief.
Tom Everett as Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy.
Tomas Arana as Rear-Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, Commander Cruiser Division Four.
Peter Firth as Captain Mervyn S. Bennion, commanding officer of USS West Virginia
Glenn Morshower as Vice Admiral William F. Halsey, commander of Carrier Division 2 and the Aircraft Battle Force.
Yuji Okumoto as Kaigun-Daii (Lieutenant) Zenji Abe (1916-2007), bomber pilot in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Madison Mason as Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, commander of Cruiser Division Five.
Michael Shamus Wiles as Captain Marc Mitscher, captain of USS Hornet.
Seth Sakai as Takeo Yoshikawa, a Japanese spy.
== Production ==
The proposed budget of $208 million that Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer wanted was an area of contention with Walt Disney Studios executives, since a great deal of the budget was to be expended on production aspects. The budget was eventually reduced to $140 million. Even at the reduced budget, Disney managed to get many of the crew and others to defer some of their pay until the film grossed in the region of $140 million. This included the director of photography, the editor, production designer and lighting director and their departments deferring around $5 to $10 million as well as Panavision, Technicolor and Industrial Light & Magic also agreeing to deferrals. Bay also deferred his salary but he and Bruckheimer were the only ones to receive profit participation.
Also controversial was the effort to change the film's rating from R to PG-13. Bay initially wanted to graphically portray the horrors of war and was not interested in primarily marketing the final product to a teen and young adult audience. However, even though he wanted to make an R-rated movie, Bay admitted that the problem was that young children would not be able to see it, and he felt that they should. As such, when he was ordered by Disney to make a PG-13 film, he did not argue. As a compromise, he was allowed to release an R-rated Director's Cut on DVD later on in 2002. Budget fights continued throughout the planning of the film, with Bay "walking" on several occasions. Dick Cook, chairman of Disney at the time, said "I think Pearl Harbor was one of the most difficult shoots of modern history."
In order to recreate the atmosphere of pre-war Pearl Harbor, the producers staged the film in Hawaii and used current naval facilities. Many active duty military members stationed in Hawaii and members of the local population served as extras during the filming. The set at Rosarito Beach in the Mexican state of Baja California was used for scale model work as required. Formerly the set of Titanic (1997), Rosarito was the ideal location to recreate the death throes of the battleships in the Pearl Harbor attack. A large-scale model of the bow section of USS Oklahoma mounted on the world's largest gimbal produced an authentic rolling and submerging of the doomed battleship. Production Engineer Nigel Phelps stated that the sequence of ship rolling out of the water and slapping down would involve one of the "biggest set elements" to be staged. Matched with computer generated imagery, the action had to reflect precision and accuracy throughout. Production was due to commence April 8, 2000 for 85 days.
Michael Fassbender read for the part of Rafe. Fassbender later said that Disney sent him a "really nice note" telling him that he did not get the part. Charlize Theron turned down a role in the film so that she could star in Sweet November. Neve Campbell auditioned and was offered a part but had to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts.
The vessel most seen in the movie was USS Lexington, representing both USS Hornet and a Japanese carrier. All aircraft take-offs during the movie were filmed on board the Lexington, a museum ship in Corpus Christi, Texas. The aircraft on display were removed for filming and were replaced with film aircraft as well as World War II anti-aircraft turrets. Other ships used in filler scenes included USS Hornet, and USS Constellation during filming for the carrier sequences. Filming was also done on board the museum battleship USS Texas located near Houston, Texas. The Naval Historical Center of the United States army was involved in the production of the film, the Center suggested changing the depiction of Doolittle who they considered to be written as "a boorish, oafish guy", this recommendation was accepted.
== Release ==
=== Marketing ===
The teaser trailer premiered in June 2000 in front of The Patriot's theatrical screenings. Disney premiered the film at Pearl Harbor itself, aboard the active nuclear aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, which made a six-day trip from San Diego to serve as "the world's largest and most expensive outdoor theater". More than 2,000 people attended the premiere on the Stennis, which had special grandstand seating and one of the world's largest movie screens assembled on the flight deck. The guests included various Hawaii political leaders, most of the lead actors from the film, and over 500 news media from around the world that Disney flew in to cover the event. The party was estimated to have cost Disney $5 million.
=== Box office ===
During its opening weekend, Pearl Harbor generated a total of $59 million, then made $75.1 million during its first four days. At the time, it achieved the second-highest Memorial Day weekend gross, behind The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The film also had the fourth-highest opening weekend, after the latter film, The Mummy Returns and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. For 15 years, it would have the highest opening weekend for a Ben Affleck film until 2016 when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice surpassed it. When the film was released, it topped the box office, knocking out Shrek. It earned $30 million during its second weekend while staying at the number one spot ahead of the latter film, Moulin Rouge! and The Animal. This was the most recent film to top the box office for multiple weeks until that August when American Pie 2 became the next one to do so. The film would then drop into third place behind Swordfish and Shrek, making $14.9 million and beating out fourth place newcomer Evolution.
In Japan, the film opened on 424 screens and grossed $7.2 million in its opening weekend (including $1.6 million in previews), a record for Buena Vista International in Japan, and the sixth highest opening of all-time. Meanwhile, Pearl Harbor generated a three-day gross of $4.5 million in the United Kingdom, becoming the country's fourth-highest June opening weekend, behind Batman & Robin, The Matrix and The Mummy. It had a record opening in China, grossing $3.9 million in 6 days. The film also made $2.5 million in Mexico, making it the fifth-highest opening for a live-action film in the country, trailing The Phantom Menace, The Mummy Returns, Mission: Impossible 2 and Godzilla. Making $870,000, it was Argentina's second-highest opening of 2001, after Hannibal.
Pearl Harbor grossed $198,542,554 at the US and Canadian box office and $250,678,391 overseas for a worldwide total of $449,220,945, making this the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2001. It is also the third-highest-grossing romantic drama film of all time, as of January 2013, behind Titanic and Ghost.
=== Home media ===
Pearl Harbor was released on VHS and DVD on December 4, 2001 by Buena Vista Home Entertainment (under the Touchstone Home Video label). Both home video versions are THX certified, featuring a historical documentary and a music video, while also having the film split into two parts. The VHS release has two separate cassettes and comes with widescreen and fullscreen versions. As for the DVD release, it includes two separate discs that feature the first and second halves of the film, along with Dolby Headphone and DTS audio tracks. In its first week, the film sold more than 7 million units and made more than $130 million in retail sales.
On July 2, 2002, Buena Vista Home Entertainment released the film on an R-rated four-disc Director's Cut DVD, which included about a minute of additional footage. This release also features three audio commentaries. The first one has Michael Bay and Jeanine Basinger, which was recorded 250 hours after the September 11 attacks.
At the 5th Annual DVD awards, Pearl Harbor won the Best Audio Presentation category, tying with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
== Reception ==
=== Critical response ===
On Rotten Tomatoes, Pearl Harbor holds an approval rating of 24% based on 194 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Pearl Harbor tries to be the Titanic of war movies, but it's just a tedious romance filled with laughably bad dialogue. The 40-minute action sequence is spectacular though." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 44 out of 100 based on 35 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A−" on scale of A to F.
Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert gave the film one and a half stars, writing: "Pearl Harbor is a two-hour movie squeezed into three hours, about how, on Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese staged a surprise attack on an American love triangle. Its centerpiece is 40 minutes of redundant special effects, surrounded by a love story of stunning banality. The film has been directed without grace, vision, or originality, and although you may walk out quoting lines of dialogue, it will not be because you admire them." Ebert also criticized the liberties the film took with historical facts: "There is no sense of history, strategy or context; according to this movie, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because America cut off its oil supply, and they were down to an 18-month reserve. Would going to war restore the fuel sources? Did they perhaps also have imperialist designs? Movie doesn't say." In his later "Great Movies" essay on Lawrence of Arabia, Ebert likewise wrote, "What you realize watching Lawrence of Arabia is that the word 'epic' refers not to the cost or the elaborate production, but to the size of the ideas and vision. Werner Herzog's Aguirre, the Wrath of God didn't cost as much as the catering in Pearl Harbor, but it is an epic, and Pearl Harbor is not." Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine gave the film one out of four stars and wrote, "Middlingly racist, humorless, and downright inept, Pearl Harbor is solely for fans of fireworks factories."
A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote, "Nearly every line of the script drops from the actors' mouths with the leaden clank of exposition, timed with bad sitcom beats." Mike Clark of USA Today gave the film two out of four stars and wrote, "Ships, planes and water combust and collide in Pearl Harbor, but nothing else does in one of the wimpiest wartime romances ever filmed."
In his review for The Washington Post, Desson Howe wrote, "although this Walt Disney movie is based, inspired and even partially informed by a real event referred to as Pearl Harbor, the movie is actually based on the movies Top Gun, Titanic and Saving Private Ryan. Don't get confused." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone magazine wrote, "Affleck, Hartnett and Beckinsale – a British actress without a single worthy line to wrap her credible American accent around – are attractive actors, but they can't animate this moldy romantic triangle." Time magazine's Richard Schickel criticized the love triangle: "It requires a lot of patience for an audience to sit through the dithering. They're nice kids and all that, but they don't exactly claw madly at one another. It's as if they know that someday they're going to be part of "the Greatest Generation" and don't want to offend Tom Brokaw. Besides, megahistory and personal history never integrate here." Robert W. Butler of The Kansas City Star wrote, "The dialogue is so unrelentingly banal as to make one reconsider whether James Cameron's writing on Titanic was really all that bad."
Entertainment Weekly was more positive, giving the film a "B−" rating, and Owen Gleiberman praised the Pearl Harbor attack sequence: "Bay's staging is spectacular but also honorable in its scary, hurtling exactitude. ... There are startling point-of-view shots of torpedoes dropping into the water and speeding toward their targets, and though Bay visualizes it all with a minimum of graphic carnage, he invites us to register the terror of the men standing helplessly on deck, the horrifying split-second deliverance as bodies go flying and explosions reduce entire battleships to liquid walls of collapsing metal."
In his review for The New York Observer, Andrew Sarris wrote, "here is the ironic twist in my acceptance of Pearl Harbor – the parts I liked most are the parts before and after the digital destruction of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese carrier planes" and felt that "Pearl Harbor is not so much about World War II as it is about movies about World War II. And what's wrong with that?"
Critics in Japan received the film more positively than in most countries with one likening it to Gone with the Wind set during World War II and another describing it as more realistic than Tora! Tora! Tora!
In 2023, Rolling Stone cited Bay's direction of Pearl Harbor as one of the fifty worst decisions in film history. Andy Greene described it as a less successful attempt to replicate the success of Titanic and Bay's previous film, Armageddon.
=== Accolades ===
The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning in the category of Best Sound Editing. It was also nominated for six Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture. This marked the first occurrence of a Worst Picture-nominated film winning an Academy Award; it is also the only film directed by Bay to win an Academy Award.
== Historical accuracy ==
Like many historical dramas, Pearl Harbor provoked debate about the artistic license taken by its producers and director. National Geographic Channel produced a documentary called Beyond the Movie: Pearl Harbor detailing some of the ways that "the film's final cut didn't reflect all the attacks' facts, or represent them all accurately". The film was ranked number three on Careeraftermilitary.com's "10 Most Inaccurate Military Movies Ever Made," which also included The Patriot, The Hurt Locker, U-571, The Green Berets, Windtalkers, Battle of the Bulge, Red Tails, Enemy at the Gates and Flyboys on its list of falsified war movie productions.
Many Pearl Harbor survivors dismissed the film as grossly inaccurate and pure Hollywood. In an interview done by Frank Wetta, producer Jerry Bruckheimer was quoted saying: "We tried to be accurate, but it's certainly not meant to be a history lesson." Historian Lawrence Suid's review is particularly detailed as to the major factual misrepresentations of the film and the negative impact they have even on an entertainment film, as he notes that "the very name of the film implies that audiences will be witnessing a historic event, accurately rendered."
The Battle of Britain had already ended in October 1940 whereas the film has it still happening in early 1941 with dogfights over the English Channel.
Critics decried the use of fictional replacements for real people, declaring that Pearl Harbor was an "abuse of artistic license." The roles the two male leads have in the attack sequence are analogous to the real historical deeds of United States Army Air Forces Second Lieutenants George Welch and Kenneth M. Taylor, who took to the skies in P-40 Warhawk aircraft during the Japanese attack and, together, claimed six Japanese aircraft and a few probables. Taylor called the film "a piece of trash... over-sensationalized and distorted."
The scene following the attack on Pearl Harbor, where President Roosevelt demands an immediate retaliatory strike on the soil of Japan, did not happen as portrayed in the film. Admiral Chester Nimitz and General George Marshall are seen denying the possibility of an aerial attack on Japan, but in real life they actually advocated such a strike. Another inconsistency in this scene is when President Roosevelt (who at this time in his life, used wheelchair due to his disease, Guillain–Barré syndrome or Polio) is able to stand up to challenge his staff's distrust in a strike on Japan, which never really happened.
The portrayal of the planning of the Doolittle Raid, the air raid itself, and the raid's aftermath, is considered one of the most historically inaccurate portions of the film. In the film, Jimmy Doolittle and the rest of the Doolittle raiders had to launch from USS Hornet 624 miles off the Japanese coast and after being spotted by a few Japanese patrol boats. In actuality, the Doolittle raiders had to launch 650 miles off the Japanese coast and after being spotted by only one Japanese patrol boat. The film shows all the bombers arriving in formation over Japan, omitting the fact that at least one bomber jettisoned its bombs over the ocean due to mechanical problems and thus did not participate in the raid. It actually took one hour to launch the 16 planes, each setting out on its own course, and at no time did the planes fly together. In the film, all sixteen raiders are depicted as converging on Tokyo and obliterating an entire industrial area. In reality, the bombers attacked in isolated groups of no more than three apiece, and their targets were spread out across the Tokyo metropolitan area along with three other cities - Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe. Prior to the raid, a chalkboard containing plans for the raid does accurately reflect other destination cities, but this is mostly obscured from view and never discussed in the dialogue. The firefight with Japanese soldiers after the raiders crash-land in China is entirely fictionalized, whereas the actual smuggling of the pilots back to the United States was omitted.
== Soundtrack ==
The soundtrack to Pearl Harbor on Hollywood Records was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score (Moulin Rouge! won). The original score was composed by Hans Zimmer. The song "There You'll Be" was nominated for the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.
=== Certifications === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I# | World War I# | World War I, or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Major areas of conflict included Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. The war saw important developments in weaponry including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, it resulted in an estimated 15 to 22 million military and civilian casualties and genocide. The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.
The causes of World War I included the rise of the German Empire and decline of the Ottoman Empire, which disturbed the long-standing balance of power in Europe, the exacerbation of imperial rivalries, and an arms race between the great powers. Growing tensions in the Balkans reached a breaking point on 28 June 1914 when Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb, assassinated Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia, and declared war on 28 July. After Russia mobilised in Serbia's defence, Germany declared war on Russia and France, who had an alliance. The United Kingdom entered the war after Germany invaded Belgium, and the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers in November. Germany's strategy in 1914 was to quickly defeat France before transferring its forces to the east, but its advance was halted in September, and by the end of the year the Western Front consisted of a near-continuous line of trenches from the English Channel to Switzerland. The Eastern Front was more dynamic, but neither side gained a decisive advantage, despite costly offensives. Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, and others entered the war from 1915 onward.
Major battles, including those at Verdun, the Somme, and Passchendaele, failed to break the stalemate on the Western Front. In April 1917, the United States joined the Allies after Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare against Atlantic shipping. Later that year, the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia in the October Revolution; Soviet Russia signed an armistice with the Central Powers in December, followed by a separate peace in March 1918. That month, Germany launched a spring offensive in the west, which despite initial successes left the German Army exhausted and demoralised. The Allied Hundred Days Offensive, beginning in August 1918, caused a collapse of the German front line. Following the Vardar Offensive, Bulgaria signed an armistice in late September. By early November, the Allies had signed armistices with the Ottomans and with Austria-Hungary, leaving Germany isolated. Facing a revolution at home, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated on 9 November, and the war ended with the Armistice of 11 November 1918.
The Paris Peace Conference of 1919–1920 imposed settlements on the defeated powers. Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany lost significant territories, was disarmed, and was required to pay large war reparations to the Allies. The dissolution of the Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman empires led to new national boundaries and the creation of new independent states including Poland, Finland, the Baltic states, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. The League of Nations was established to maintain world peace, but its failure to manage instability during the interwar period contributed to the outbreak of World War II in 1939.
== Names ==
Before World War II, the events of 1914–1918 were commonly referred to as the Great War or simply the World War. In August 1914, The Independent stated of the conflict, "This is the Great War. It names itself." In the decade after its end, many hoped it would be "the war to end all wars," because of its unprecedented destructiveness and death toll. The earliest known use of the term First World War appeared in September 1914, when German biologist and philosopher Ernst Haeckel wrote that the ongoing "European War" would become "the first world war in the full sense of the word."
== Background ==
=== Political and military alliances ===
For much of the 19th century, the major European powers maintained a tenuous balance of power, known as the Concert of Europe. After 1848, this was challenged by Britain's withdrawal into splendid isolation, the decline of the Ottoman Empire, New Imperialism, and the rise of Prussia under Otto von Bismarck. Victory in the 1870–1871 Franco-Prussian War allowed Bismarck to consolidate a German Empire. After 1871, French policy aimed to avenge this defeat and expand France's colonial empire.
In 1873, Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors, which included Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Germany. After the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War, the League was dissolved due to Austrian concerns over the expansion of Russian influence in the Balkans, an area they considered to be of vital strategic interest. Germany and Austria-Hungary then formed the 1879 Dual Alliance, which became the Triple Alliance when Italy joined in 1882. For Bismarck, the purpose of these agreements was to isolate France by ensuring the three empires resolved any disputes among themselves. In 1887, Bismarck set up the Reinsurance Treaty, a secret agreement between Germany and Russia to remain neutral if either were attacked by France or Austria-Hungary.
For Bismarck, peace with Russia was the foundation of German foreign policy, but in 1890, he was forced to retire by Wilhelm II. The latter was persuaded not to renew the Reinsurance Treaty by his new Chancellor, Leo von Caprivi. This gave France an opening to agree to the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1894, which was then followed by the 1904 Entente Cordiale with Britain. The Triple Entente was completed by the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention. While not formal alliances, by settling longstanding colonial disputes in Asia and Africa, British support for France or Russia in any future conflict became a possibility. This was accentuated by British and Russian support for France against Germany during the 1911 Agadir Crisis.
=== Arms race ===
German economic and industrial strength continued to expand rapidly post-1871. Backed by Wilhelm II, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz sought to use this growth to build an Imperial German Navy that could compete with the British Royal Navy. This policy was based on the work of US naval author Alfred Thayer Mahan, who argued that possession of a blue-water navy was vital for global power projection; Tirpitz had his books translated into German, while Wilhelm made them required reading for his advisors and senior military personnel.
Bismarck opposed any attempt to compete with the Royal Navy, since he believed Britain would not interfere in Europe as long as its maritime supremacy remained secure. His dismissal in 1890 led to a change in policy and the start of an Anglo-German naval arms race. Despite the vast sums spent by Tirpitz, the launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 made every existing battleship obsolete, and gave the British a technological advantage they never relinquished. Ultimately, Germany invested huge resources on creating a navy large enough to antagonise Britain, but not defeat it. In 1911, Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg acknowledged defeat, leading to the Rüstungswende or 'armaments turning point', when he switched expenditure from the navy to the army.
This decision was driven by German concerns over the speed of Russia's recovery from defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and the subsequent 1905 Russian Revolution. Economic reforms led to a significant post-1908 expansion of railways and transportation infrastructure, particularly in its western border regions. Since Germany and Austria-Hungary relied on faster mobilisation to compensate for their numerical inferiority compared to Russia, the threat posed by the closing of this gap was more important than competing with the Royal Navy. After Germany expanded its standing army by 170,000 troops in 1913, France extended compulsory military service from two to three years, sparking similar measures from the Balkan powers, Italy, the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary. Absolute figures are difficult to calculate due to differences in categorising expenditure since they often omit civilian infrastructure projects like railways which had logistical importance and military use. However, from 1908 to 1913, military spending by the six major European powers increased by over 50% in real terms.
=== Conflicts in the Balkans ===
The years before 1914 were marked by a series of crises in the Balkans, as other powers sought to benefit from the Ottoman decline. While Pan-Slavic and Orthodox Russia considered itself the protector of Serbia and other Slav states, they preferred the strategically vital Bosporus straits to be controlled by a weak Ottoman government, rather than an ambitious Slav power like Bulgaria. Russia had ambitions in northeastern Anatolia while its clients had overlapping claims in the Balkans. These competing interests divided Russian policy-makers and added to regional instability.
Austrian statesmen viewed the Balkans as essential for the continued existence of their Empire and saw Serbian expansion as a direct threat. The 1908–1909 Bosnian Crisis began when Austria annexed the former Ottoman territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which it had occupied since 1878. Timed to coincide with the Bulgarian Declaration of Independence from the Ottoman Empire, this unilateral action was denounced by the European powers, but accepted as there was no consensus on how to resolve the situation. Some historians see this as a significant escalation, ending any chance of Austria cooperating with Russia in the Balkans, while also damaging diplomatic relations between Serbia and Italy.
Tensions increased after the 1911–1912 Italo-Turkish War demonstrated Ottoman weakness and led to the formation of the Balkan League, an alliance of Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Greece. The League quickly overran most of the Ottomans' territory in the Balkans during the 1912–1913 First Balkan War, much to the surprise of outside observers. The Serbian capture of ports on the Adriatic resulted in partial Austrian mobilisation, starting on 21 November 1912, including units along the Russian border in Galicia. The Russian government decided not to mobilise in response, unprepared to precipitate a war.
The great powers sought to re-assert control through the 1913 Treaty of London, which had created an independent Albania while enlarging the territories of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece. However, disputes between the victors sparked the 33-day Second Balkan War, when Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece on 16 June 1913; it was defeated, losing most of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece, and Southern Dobruja to Romania. The result was that even countries which benefited from the Balkan Wars, such as Serbia and Greece, felt cheated of their "rightful gains", while for Austria it demonstrated the apparent indifference with which other powers viewed their concerns, including Germany. This complex mix of resentment, nationalism and insecurity helps explain why the pre-1914 Balkans became known as the "powder keg of Europe".
== Prelude ==
=== Sarajevo assassination ===
On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, visited Sarajevo, the capital of the recently annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. Cvjetko Popović, Gavrilo Princip, Nedeljko Čabrinović, Trifko Grabež, Vaso Čubrilović (Bosnian Serbs) and Muhamed Mehmedbašić (from the Bosniaks community), from the movement known as Young Bosnia, took up positions along the Archduke's motorcade route, to assassinate him. Supplied with arms by extremists within the Serbian Black Hand intelligence organisation, they hoped his death would free Bosnia from Austrian rule.
Čabrinović threw a grenade at the Archduke's car and injured two of his aides. The other assassins were also unsuccessful. An hour later, as Ferdinand was returning from visiting the injured officers in hospital, his car took a wrong turn into a street where Gavrilo Princip was standing. He fired two pistol shots, fatally wounding Ferdinand and his wife Sophie.
According to historian Zbyněk Zeman, in Vienna "the event almost failed to make any impression whatsoever. On 28 and 29 June, the crowds listened to music and drank wine, as if nothing had happened." Nevertheless, the impact of the murder of the heir to the throne was significant, and has been described by historian Christopher Clark as a "9/11 effect, a terrorist event charged with historic meaning, transforming the political chemistry in Vienna".
=== Expansion of violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina ===
Austro-Hungarian authorities encouraged subsequent anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo. Violent actions against ethnic Serbs were also organised outside Sarajevo, in other cities in Austro-Hungarian-controlled Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. Austro-Hungarian authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina imprisoned approximately 5,500 prominent Serbs, 700 to 2,200 of whom died in prison. A further 460 Serbs were sentenced to death. A predominantly Bosniak special militia known as the Schutzkorps was established, and carried out the persecution of Serbs.
=== July Crisis ===
The assassination initiated the July Crisis, a month of diplomatic manoeuvring among Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France and Britain. Believing that Serbian intelligence helped organise Franz Ferdinand's murder, Austrian officials wanted to use the opportunity to end Serbian interference in Bosnia and saw war as the best way of achieving this. However, the Foreign Ministry had no solid proof of Serbian involvement. On 23 July, Austria delivered an ultimatum to Serbia, listing ten demands made intentionally unacceptable to provide an excuse for starting hostilities.
Serbia ordered general mobilisation on 25 July, but accepted all the terms, except for those empowering Austrian representatives to suppress "subversive elements" inside Serbia, and take part in the investigation and trial of Serbians linked to the assassination. Claiming this amounted to rejection, Austria broke off diplomatic relations and ordered partial mobilisation the next day; on 28 July, they declared war on Serbia and began shelling Belgrade. Russia ordered general mobilisation in support of Serbia on 30 July.
Anxious to ensure backing from the SPD political opposition by presenting Russia as the aggressor, German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg delayed the commencement of war preparations until 31 July. That afternoon, the Russian government were handed a note requiring them to "cease all war measures against Germany and Austria-Hungary" within 12 hours. A further German demand for neutrality was refused by the French who ordered general mobilisation but delayed declaring war. The German General Staff had long assumed they faced a war on two fronts; the Schlieffen Plan envisaged using 80% of the army to defeat France, then switching to Russia. Since this required them to move quickly, mobilisation orders were issued that afternoon. Once the German ultimatum to Russia expired on the morning of 1 August, the two countries were at war.
At a meeting on 29 July, the British cabinet had narrowly decided its obligations to Belgium under the 1839 Treaty of London did not require it to oppose a German invasion with military force; however, Prime Minister Asquith and his senior Cabinet ministers were already committed to supporting France, the Royal Navy had been mobilised, and public opinion was strongly in favour of intervention. On 31 July, Britain sent notes to Germany and France, asking them to respect Belgian neutrality; France pledged to do so, but Germany did not reply. Aware of German plans to attack through Belgium, French Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre asked his government for permission to cross the border and pre-empt such a move. To avoid violating Belgian neutrality, he was told any advance could come only after a German invasion. Instead, the French cabinet ordered its Army to withdraw 10 km behind the German frontier, to avoid provoking war. On 2 August, Germany occupied Luxembourg and exchanged fire with French units when German patrols entered French territory; on 3 August, they declared war on France and demanded free passage across Belgium, which was refused. Early on the morning of 4 August, the Germans invaded, and Albert I of Belgium called for assistance under the Treaty of London. Britain sent Germany an ultimatum demanding they withdraw from Belgium; when this expired at midnight, without a response, the two empires were at war.
== Progress of the war ==
=== Opening hostilities ===
==== Confusion among the Central Powers ====
Germany promised to support Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia, but interpretations of what this meant differed. Previously tested deployment plans had been replaced early in 1914, but those had never been tested in exercises. Austro-Hungarian leaders believed Germany would cover its northern flank against Russia.
==== Serbian campaign ====
Beginning on 12 August, the Austrians and Serbs clashed at the battles of the Cer and Kolubara; over the next two weeks, Austrian attacks were repulsed with heavy losses. As a result, Austria had to keep sizeable forces on the Serbian front, weakening their efforts against Russia. Serbia's victory against Austria-Hungary in the 1914 invasion has been called one of the major upset victories of the twentieth century. In 1915, the campaign saw the first use of anti-aircraft warfare after an Austrian plane was shot down with ground-to-air fire, as well as the first medical evacuation by the Serbian army.
==== German offensive in Belgium and France ====
Upon mobilisation, in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan, 80% of the German Army was located on the Western Front, with the remainder acting as a screening force in the East. Rather than a direct attack across their shared frontier, the German right wing would sweep through the Netherlands and Belgium, then swing south, encircling Paris and trapping the French army against the Swiss border. The plan's creator, Alfred von Schlieffen, head of the German General Staff from 1891 to 1906, estimated that this would take six weeks, after which the German army would transfer to the East and defeat the Russians.
The plan was substantially modified by his successor, Helmuth von Moltke the Younger. Under Schlieffen, 85% of German forces in the west were assigned to the right wing, with the remainder holding along the frontier. By keeping his left-wing deliberately weak, he hoped to lure the French into an offensive into the "lost provinces" of Alsace-Lorraine, which was the strategy envisaged by their Plan XVII. However, Moltke grew concerned that the French might push too hard on his left flank and as the German Army increased in size from 1908 to 1914, he changed the allocation of forces between the two wings to 70:30. He also considered Dutch neutrality essential for German trade and cancelled the incursion into the Netherlands, which meant any delays in Belgium threatened the viability of the plan. Historian Richard Holmes argues that these changes meant the right wing was not strong enough to achieve decisive success.
The initial German advance in the West was very successful. By the end of August, the Allied left, which included the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), was in full retreat, and the French offensive in Alsace-Lorraine was a disastrous failure, with casualties exceeding 260,000. German planning provided broad strategic instructions while allowing army commanders considerable freedom in carrying them out at the front, but Alexander von Kluck used this freedom to disobey orders, opening a gap between the German armies as they closed on Paris. The French army, reinforced by the British expeditionary corps, seized this opportunity to counter-attack and pushed the German army 40 to 80 km back. Both armies were then so exhausted that no decisive move could be implemented, so they settled in trenches, with the vain hope of breaking through as soon as they could build local superiority.
In 1911, the Russian Stavka agreed with the French to attack Germany within fifteen days of mobilisation, ten days before the Germans had anticipated, although it meant the two Russian armies that entered East Prussia on 17 August did so without many of their support elements.
By the end of 1914, German troops held strong defensive positions inside France, controlled the bulk of France's domestic coalfields, and inflicted 230,000 more casualties than it lost itself. However, communications problems and questionable command decisions cost Germany the chance of a decisive outcome, while it had failed to achieve the primary objective of avoiding a long, two-front war. As was apparent to several German leaders, this amounted to a strategic defeat; shortly after the First Battle of the Marne, Crown Prince Wilhelm told an American reporter "We have lost the war. It will go on for a long time but lost it is already."
==== Asia and the Pacific ====
On 30 August 1914, New Zealand occupied German Samoa (now Samoa). On 11 September, the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force landed on the island of New Britain, then part of German New Guinea. On 28 October, the German cruiser SMS Emden sank the Russian cruiser Zhemchug in the Battle of Penang. Japan declared war on Germany before seizing territories in the Pacific, which later became the South Seas Mandate, as well as German Treaty ports on the Chinese Shandong peninsula at Tsingtao. After Vienna refused to withdraw its cruiser SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth from Tsingtao, Japan declared war on Austria-Hungary, and the ship was scuttled in November 1914. Within a few months, Allied forces had seized all German territories in the Pacific, leaving only isolated commerce raiders and a few holdouts in New Guinea.
==== African campaigns ====
Some of the first clashes of the war involved British, French, and German colonial forces in Africa. On 6–7 August, French and British troops invaded the German protectorates of Togoland and Kamerun. On 10 August, German forces in South-West Africa attacked South Africa; sporadic and fierce fighting continued for the rest of the war. The German colonial forces in German East Africa, led by Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, fought a guerrilla warfare campaign and only surrendered two weeks after the armistice took effect in Europe.
==== Indian support for the Allies ====
Before the war, Germany had attempted to use Indian nationalism and pan-Islamism to its advantage, a policy continued post-1914 by instigating uprisings in India, while the Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition urged Afghanistan to join the war on the side of Central Powers. However, contrary to British fears of a revolt in India, the outbreak of the war saw a reduction in nationalist activity. Leaders from the Indian National Congress and other groups believed support for the British war effort would hasten Indian Home Rule, a promise allegedly made explicit in 1917 by Edwin Montagu, the Secretary of State for India.
In 1914, the British Indian Army was larger than the British Army itself, and between 1914 and 1918 an estimated 1.3 million Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In all, 140,000 soldiers served on the Western Front and nearly 700,000 in the Middle East, with 47,746 killed and 65,126 wounded. The suffering engendered by the war, as well as the failure of the British government to grant self-government to India afterward, bred disillusionment, resulting in the campaign for full independence led by Mahatma Gandhi.
=== Western Front ===
==== Trench warfare begins ====
Pre-war military tactics that had emphasised open warfare and individual riflemen proved obsolete when confronted with conditions prevailing in 1914. Barbed wire, machine guns and artillery allowed the creation of strong defensive systems that made massed infantry advances extremely difficult. Both sides struggled to develop tactics for breaching entrenched positions without heavy casualties. In time, the tank helped to make the front more mobile.
After the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914, Allied and German forces unsuccessfully tried to outflank each other, a series of manoeuvres later known as the "Race to the Sea". By the end of 1914, the opposing forces confronted each other along an uninterrupted line of entrenched positions from the Channel to the Swiss border. Since the Germans were normally able to choose where to stand, they generally held the high ground, while their trenches tended to be better built; those constructed by the French and English were initially considered "temporary", only needed until an offensive would destroy the German defences. Both sides tried to break the stalemate using scientific and technological advances. On 22 April 1915, at the Second Battle of Ypres, the Germans (violating the Hague Convention) used chlorine gas for the first time on the Western Front.
==== Continuation of trench warfare ====
In February 1916, the Germans attacked French defensive positions at the Battle of Verdun, lasting until December 1916. Casualties were greater for the French, but the Germans bled heavily as well, with anywhere from 700,000 to 975,000 casualties between the two combatants. Verdun became a symbol of French determination and self-sacrifice.
The Battle of the Somme was an Anglo-French offensive from July to November 1916. The opening day, on 1 July 1916, was the bloodiest single day in the history of the British Army, which suffered 57,500 casualties, including 19,200 dead. As a whole, the Somme offensive led to an estimated 420,000 British casualties, along with 200,000 French and 500,000 Germans. The diseases that emerged in the trenches were a major killer on both sides. The living conditions led to disease and infection, such as trench foot, lice, typhus, trench fever, and the 'Spanish flu'.
=== Naval war ===
At the start of the war, German cruisers were scattered across the globe, some of which were subsequently used to attack Allied merchant shipping. These were systematically hunted down by the Royal Navy, though not before causing considerable damage. One of the most successful was the SMS Emden, part of the German East Asia Squadron stationed at Qingdao, which seized or sank 15 merchantmen, a Russian cruiser and a French destroyer. Most of the squadron was returning to Germany when it sank two British armoured cruisers at the Battle of Coronel in November 1914, before being virtually destroyed at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December. The SMS Dresden escaped with a few auxiliaries, but after the Battle of Más a Tierra, these too were either destroyed or interned.
Soon after the outbreak of hostilities, Britain began a naval blockade of Germany. This proved effective in cutting off vital supplies, though it violated accepted international law. Britain also mined international waters which closed off entire sections of the ocean, even to neutral ships. Since there was limited response to this tactic, Germany expected a similar response to its unrestricted submarine warfare.
The Battle of Jutland in May/June 1916 was the only full-scale clash of battleships during the war, and one of the largest in history. The clash was indecisive, though the Germans inflicted more damage than they received; thereafter the bulk of the German High Seas Fleet was confined to port.
German U-boats attempted to cut the supply lines between North America and Britain. The nature of submarine warfare meant that attacks often came without warning, giving the crews of the merchant ships little hope of survival. The United States launched a protest, and Germany changed its rules of engagement. After the sinking of the passenger ship RMS Lusitania in 1915, Germany promised not to target passenger liners, while Britain armed its merchant ships, placing them beyond the protection of the "cruiser rules", which demanded warning and movement of crews to "a place of safety" (a standard that lifeboats did not meet). Finally, in early 1917, Germany adopted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, realising the Americans would eventually enter the war. Germany sought to strangle Allied sea lanes before the United States could transport a large army overseas, but, after initial successes, eventually failed to do so.
The U-boat threat lessened in 1917, when merchant ships began travelling in convoys, escorted by destroyers. This tactic made it difficult for U-boats to find targets, which significantly lessened losses; after the hydrophone and depth charges were introduced, destroyers could potentially successfully attack a submerged submarine. Convoys slowed the flow of supplies since ships had to wait as convoys were assembled; the solution was an extensive program of building new freighters. Troopships were too fast for the submarines and did not travel the North Atlantic in convoys. The U-boats sunk more than 5,000 Allied ships, at the cost of 199 submarines.
World War I also saw the first use of aircraft carriers in combat, with HMS Furious launching Sopwith Camels in a successful raid against the Zeppelin hangars at Tondern in July 1918, as well as blimps for antisubmarine patrol.
=== Southern theatres ===
==== War in the Balkans ====
Faced with Russia in the east, Austria-Hungary could spare only one-third of its army to attack Serbia. After suffering heavy losses, the Austrians briefly occupied the Serbian capital, Belgrade. A Serbian counter-attack in the Battle of Kolubara succeeded in driving them from the country by the end of 1914. For the first 10 months of 1915, Austria-Hungary used most of its military reserves to fight Italy. German and Austro-Hungarian diplomats scored a coup by persuading Bulgaria to join the attack on Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian provinces of Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia provided troops for Austria-Hungary. Montenegro allied itself with Serbia.
Bulgaria declared war on Serbia on 14 October 1915, and joined in the attack by the Austro-Hungarian army under Mackensen's army of 250,000 that was already underway. Serbia was conquered in a little more than a month, as the Central Powers, now including Bulgaria, sent in 600,000 troops in total. The Serbian army, fighting on two fronts and facing certain defeat, retreated into northern Albania. The Serbs suffered defeat in the Battle of Kosovo. Montenegro covered the Serbian retreat toward the Adriatic coast in the Battle of Mojkovac on 6–7 January 1916, but ultimately the Austrians also conquered Montenegro. The surviving Serbian soldiers were evacuated to Greece. After the conquest, Serbia was divided between Austro-Hungary and Bulgaria.
In late 1915, a Franco-British force landed at Salonica in Greece to offer assistance and to pressure its government to declare war against the Central Powers. However, the pro-German King Constantine I dismissed the pro-Allied government of Eleftherios Venizelos before the Allied expeditionary force arrived.
The Macedonian front was at first mostly static. French and Serbian forces retook limited areas of Macedonia by recapturing Bitola on 19 November 1916, following the costly Monastir offensive, which brought stabilisation of the front.
Serbian and French troops finally made a breakthrough in September 1918 in the Vardar offensive, after most German and Austro-Hungarian troops had been withdrawn. The Bulgarians were defeated at the Battle of Dobro Pole, and by 25 September British and French troops had crossed the border into Bulgaria proper as the Bulgarian army collapsed. Bulgaria capitulated four days later, on 29 September 1918. The German high command responded by despatching troops to hold the line, but these forces were too weak to re-establish a front.
The Allied breakthrough on the Macedonian front cut communications between the Ottoman Empire and the other Central Powers, and made Vienna vulnerable to attack. Hindenburg and Ludendorff concluded that the strategic and operational balance had now shifted decidedly against the Central Powers and, a day after the Bulgarian collapse, insisted on an immediate peace settlement.
==== Ottoman Empire ====
The Ottomans threatened Russia's Caucasian territories and Britain's communications with India via the Suez Canal. The Ottoman Empire took advantage of the European powers' preoccupation with the war and conducted large-scale ethnic cleansing of the Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian Christian populations—the Armenian genocide, Greek genocide, and Assyrian genocide respectively.
The British and French opened overseas fronts with the Gallipoli (1915) and Mesopotamian campaigns (1914). In Gallipoli, the Ottoman Empire successfully repelled the British, French, and Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs). In Mesopotamia, by contrast, after the defeat of the British defenders in the siege of Kut by the Ottomans (1915–1916), British Imperial forces reorganised and captured Baghdad in March 1917. The British were aided in Mesopotamia by local Arab and Assyrian fighters, while the Ottomans employed local Kurdish and Turcoman tribes.
The Suez Canal was defended from Ottoman attacks in 1915 and 1916; in August 1916, a German and Ottoman force was defeated at the Battle of Romani by the ANZAC Mounted Division and the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division. Following this victory, an Egyptian Expeditionary Force advanced across the Sinai Peninsula, pushing Ottoman forces back in the Battle of Magdhaba in December and the Battle of Rafa on the border between the Egyptian Sinai and Ottoman Palestine in January 1917.
Russian armies generally had success in the Caucasus campaign. Enver Pasha, supreme commander of the Ottoman armed forces, dreamed of re-conquering central Asia and areas that had been previously lost to Russia. He was, however, a poor commander. He launched an offensive against the Russians in the Caucasus in December 1914 with 100,000 troops, insisting on a frontal attack against mountainous Russian positions in winter. He lost 86% of his force at the Battle of Sarikamish. General Nikolai Yudenich, the Russian commander from 1915 to 1916, drove the Turks out of most of the southern Caucasus.
The Ottoman Empire, with German support, invaded Persia (modern Iran) in December 1914 to cut off British and Russian access to petroleum reservoirs around Baku. Persia, ostensibly neutral, had long been under British and Russian influence. The Ottomans and Germans were aided by Kurdish and Azeri forces, together with a large number of major Iranian tribes, while the Russians and British had the support of Armenian and Assyrian forces. The Persian campaign lasted until 1918 and ended in failure for the Ottomans and their allies. However, the Russian withdrawal from the war in 1917 led Armenian and Assyrian forces to be cut off from supply lines, outnumbered, outgunned and isolated, forcing them to fight and flee towards British lines in northern Mesopotamia.
The Arab Revolt, instigated by the British Foreign Office, started in June 1916 with the Battle of Mecca, led by Sharif Hussein. The Sharif declared the independence of the Kingdom of Hejaz and, with British assistance, conquered much of Ottoman-held Arabia, resulting finally in the Ottoman surrender of Damascus. Fakhri Pasha, the Ottoman commander of Medina, resisted for more than 2+1⁄2 years during the siege of Medina before surrendering in January 1919.
The Senussi tribe, along the border of Italian Libya and British Egypt, incited and armed by the Turks, waged a small-scale guerrilla war against Allied troops. The British were forced to dispatch 12,000 troops to oppose them in the Senussi campaign. Their rebellion was finally crushed in mid-1916.
Total Allied casualties on the Ottoman fronts amounted to 650,000 men. Total Ottoman casualties were 725,000, with 325,000 dead and 400,000 wounded.
==== Italian Front ====
Though Italy joined the Triple Alliance in 1882, a treaty with its traditional Austrian enemy was so controversial that subsequent governments denied its existence and the terms were only made public in 1915. This arose from nationalist designs on Austro-Hungarian territory in Trentino, the Austrian Littoral, Rijeka and Dalmatia, considered vital to secure the borders established in 1866. In 1902, Rome secretly had agreed with France to remain neutral if the latter was attacked by Germany, effectively nullifying its role in the Triple Alliance.
When the war began in 1914, Italy argued the Triple Alliance was defensive and it was not obliged to support an Austrian attack on Serbia. Opposition to joining the Central Powers increased when Turkey became a member in September, since in 1911 Italy had occupied Ottoman possessions in Libya and the Dodecanese islands. To secure Italian neutrality, the Central Powers offered them Tunisia, while in return for an immediate entry into the war, the Allies agreed to their demands for Austrian territory and sovereignty over the Dodecanese. Although they remained secret, these provisions were incorporated into the April 1915 Treaty of London, and Italy joined the Allies. On 23 May, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary, and on Germany fifteen months later.
The pre-1914 Italian army was short of officers, trained men, adequate transport and modern weapons; by April 1915, some of these deficiencies had been remedied but it was still unprepared for the major offensive required by the Treaty of London. The advantage of superior numbers was offset by the difficult terrain; much of the fighting took place high in the Alps and Dolomites, where trench lines had to be cut through rock and ice and keeping troops supplied was a major challenge. These issues were exacerbated by unimaginative strategies and tactics. Between 1915 and 1917, the Italian commander, Luigi Cadorna, undertook a series of frontal assaults along the Isonzo, which made little progress and cost many lives; by the end of the war, Italian combat deaths totalled around 548,000.
In the spring of 1916, the Austro-Hungarians counterattacked in Asiago in the Strafexpedition, but made little progress and were pushed by the Italians back to Tyrol. Although Italy occupied southern Albania in May 1916, their main focus was the Isonzo front which, after the capture of Gorizia in August 1916, remained static until October 1917. After a combined Austro-German force won a major victory at Caporetto, Cadorna was replaced by Armando Diaz who retreated more than 100 kilometres (62 mi) before holding positions along the Piave River. A second Austrian offensive was repulsed in June 1918. On 24 October, Diaz launched the Battle of Vittorio Veneto and initially met stubborn resistance, but with Austria-Hungary collapsing, Hungarian divisions in Italy demanded they be sent home. When this was granted, many others followed and the Imperial army disintegrated, the Italians taking over 300,000 prisoners. On 3 November, the Armistice of Villa Giusti ended hostilities between Austria-Hungary and Italy which occupied Trieste and areas along the Adriatic Sea awarded to it in 1915.
=== Eastern Front ===
==== Initial actions ====
As previously agreed with French president Raymond Poincaré, Russian plans at the start of the war were to simultaneously advance into Austrian Galicia and East Prussia as soon as possible. Although their attack on Galicia was largely successful, and the invasions achieved their aim of forcing Germany to divert troops from the Western Front, the speed of mobilisation meant they did so without much of their heavy equipment and support functions. These weaknesses contributed to Russian defeats at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes in August and September 1914, forcing them to withdraw from East Prussia with heavy losses. By spring 1915, they had also retreated from Galicia, and the May 1915 Gorlice–Tarnów offensive allowed the Central Powers to invade Russian-occupied Poland.
Despite the successful June 1916 Brusilov offensive against the Austrians in eastern Galicia, shortages of supplies, heavy losses and command failures prevented the Russians from fully exploiting their victory. However, it was one of the most significant offensives of the war, diverting German resources from Verdun, relieving Austro-Hungarian pressure on the Italians, and convincing Romania to enter the war on the side of the Allies on 27 August. It also fatally weakened both the Austrian and Russian armies, whose offensive capabilities were badly affected by their losses and increased disillusion with the war that ultimately led to the Russian revolutions.
Meanwhile, unrest grew in Russia as Tsar Nicholas II remained at the front, with the home front controlled by Empress Alexandra. Her increasingly incompetent rule and food shortages in urban areas led to widespread protests and the murder of her favourite, Grigori Rasputin, at the end of 1916.
==== Romanian participation ====
Despite secretly agreeing to support the Triple Alliance in 1883, Romania increasingly found itself at odds with the Central Powers over their support for Bulgaria in the Balkan Wars and the status of ethnic Romanian communities in Hungarian-controlled Transylvania, which comprised an estimated 2.8 million of the region's 5.0 million population. With the ruling elite split into pro-German and pro-Entente factions, Romania remained neutral for two years while allowing Germany and Austria to transport military supplies and advisors across Romanian territory.
In September 1914, Russia acknowledged Romanian rights to Austro-Hungarian territories including Transylvania and Banat, whose acquisition had widespread popular support, and Russian success against Austria led Romania to join the Entente in the August 1916 Treaty of Bucharest. Under the strategic plan known as Hypothesis Z, the Romanian army planned an offensive into Transylvania, while defending Southern Dobruja and Giurgiu against a possible Bulgarian counterattack. On 27 August 1916, they attacked Transylvania and occupied substantial parts of the province before being driven back by the recently formed German 9th Army, led by former Chief of Staff Erich von Falkenhayn. A combined German-Bulgarian-Turkish offensive captured Dobruja and Giurgiu, although the bulk of the Romanian army managed to escape encirclement and retreated to Bucharest, which surrendered to the Central Powers on 6 December 1916.
In the summer of 1917, a Central Powers offensive began in Romania under the command of August von Mackensen to knock Romania out of the war, resulting in the battles of Oituz, Mărăști and Mărășești, where up to 1,000,000 Central Powers troops were present. The battles lasted from 22 July to 3 September and eventually the Romanian army was victorious advancing 500 km2. August von Mackensen could not plan for another offensive as he had to transfer troops to the Italian Front. Following the Russian revolution, Romania found itself alone on the Eastern Front and signed the Treaty of Bucharest with the Central Powers, which recognised Romanian sovereignty over Bessarabia in return for ceding control of passes in the Carpathian Mountains to Austria-Hungary and leasing its oil wells to Germany. Although approved by Parliament, King Ferdinand I refused to sign it, hoping for an Allied victory in the west. Romania re-entered the war on 10 November 1918, on the side of the Allies and the Treaty of Bucharest was formally annulled by the Armistice of 11 November 1918.
=== Central Powers peace overtures ===
On 12 December 1916, after ten brutal months of the Battle of Verdun and a successful offensive against Romania, Germany attempted to negotiate a peace with the Allies. However, this attempt was rejected out of hand as a "duplicitous war ruse".
US president Woodrow Wilson attempted to intervene as a peacemaker, asking for both sides to state their demands. Lloyd George's War Cabinet considered the German offer to be a ploy to create divisions among the Allies. After initial outrage and much deliberation, they took Wilson's note as a separate effort, signalling that the US was on the verge of entering the war against Germany following the "submarine outrages". While the Allies debated a response to Wilson's offer, the Germans chose to rebuff it in favour of "a direct exchange of views". Learning of the German response, the Allied governments were free to make clear demands in their response of 14 January. They sought restoration of damages, the evacuation of occupied territories, reparations for France, Russia and Romania, and a recognition of the principle of nationalities. The Allies sought guarantees that would prevent or limit future wars. The negotiations failed and the Entente powers rejected the German offer on the grounds of honour, and noted Germany had not put forward any specific proposals.
=== Final years of the war ===
==== Russian Revolution and withdrawal ====
By the end of 1916, Russian casualties totalled nearly five million killed, wounded or captured, with major urban areas affected by food shortages and high prices. In March 1917, Tsar Nicholas ordered the military to forcibly suppress strikes in Petrograd but the troops refused to fire on the crowds. Revolutionaries set up the Petrograd Soviet and fearing a left-wing takeover, the State Duma forced Nicholas to abdicate and established the Russian Provisional Government, which confirmed Russia's willingness to continue the war. However, the Petrograd Soviet refused to disband, creating competing power centres and causing confusion and chaos, with frontline soldiers becoming increasingly demoralised.
Following the tsar's abdication, Vladimir Lenin—with the help of the German government—was ushered from Switzerland into Russia on 16 April 1917. Discontent and the weaknesses of the Provisional Government led to a rise in the popularity of the Bolshevik Party, led by Lenin, which demanded an immediate end to the war. The Revolution of November was followed in December by an armistice and negotiations with Germany. At first, the Bolsheviks refused the German terms, but when German troops began marching across Ukraine unopposed, they acceded to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918. The treaty ceded vast territories, including Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and parts of Poland and Ukraine to the Central Powers.
With the Russian Empire out of the war, Romania found itself alone on the Eastern Front and signed the Treaty of Bucharest with the Central Powers in May 1918. Under the terms of the treaty, Romania ceded territory to Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria and leased its oil reserves to Germany. However, the terms also included the Central Powers' recognition of the union of Bessarabia with Romania.
==== United States enters the war ====
The United States was a major supplier of war materiel to the Allies but remained neutral in 1914, in large part due to domestic opposition. The most significant factor in creating the support Wilson needed was the German submarine offensive, which not only cost American lives but paralysed trade as ships were reluctant to put to sea.
On 6 April 1917, Congress declared war on Germany as an "Associated Power" of the Allies. The US Navy sent a battleship group to Scapa Flow to join the Grand Fleet, and provided convoy escorts. In April 1917, the US Army had fewer than 300,000 men, including National Guard units, compared to British and French armies of 4.1 and 8.3 million respectively. The Selective Service Act of 1917 drafted 2.8 million men, though training and equipping such numbers was a huge logistical challenge. By June 1918, over 667,000 members of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) were transported to France, a figure which reached 2 million by the end of November.
Despite his conviction that Germany must be defeated, Wilson went to war to ensure the US played a leading role in shaping the peace, which meant preserving the AEF as a separate military force, rather than being absorbed into British or French units as his Allies wanted. He was strongly supported by AEF commander General John J. Pershing, a proponent of pre-1914 "open warfare" who considered the French and British emphasis on artillery misguided and incompatible with American "offensive spirit". Much to the frustration of his Allies, who had suffered heavy losses in 1917, he insisted on retaining control of American troops, and refused to commit them to the front line until able to operate as independent units. As a result, the first significant US involvement was the Meuse–Argonne offensive in late September 1918.
==== Nivelle Offensive (April–May 1917) ====
In December 1916, Robert Nivelle replaced Pétain as commander of French armies on the Western Front and began planning a spring attack in Champagne, part of a joint Franco-British operation. Poor security meant German intelligence was well informed on tactics and timetables, but despite this, when the attack began on 16 April the French made substantial gains, before being brought to a halt by the newly built and extremely strong defences of the Hindenburg Line. Nivelle persisted with frontal assaults and, by 25 April, the French had suffered nearly 135,000 casualties, including 30,000 dead, most incurred in the first two days.
Concurrent British attacks at Arras were more successful, though ultimately of little strategic value. Operating as a separate unit for the first time, the Canadian Corps' capture of Vimy Ridge is viewed by many Canadians as a defining moment in creating a sense of national identity. Though Nivelle continued the offensive, on 3 May the 21st Division, which had been involved in some of the heaviest fighting at Verdun, refused orders to go into battle, initiating the French Army mutinies; within days, "collective indiscipline" had spread to 54 divisions, while over 20,000 deserted.
==== Sinai and Palestine campaign (1917–1918) ====
In March and April 1917, at the First and Second Battles of Gaza, German and Ottoman forces stopped the advance of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, which had begun in August 1916 at the Battle of Romani. At the end of October 1917, the Sinai and Palestine campaign resumed, when General Edmund Allenby's XXth Corps, XXI Corps and Desert Mounted Corps won the Battle of Beersheba. Two Ottoman armies were defeated a few weeks later at the Battle of Mughar Ridge and, early in December, Jerusalem had been captured following another Ottoman defeat at the Battle of Jerusalem.
About this time, Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein was relieved of his duties as the Eighth Army's commander, replaced by Djevad Pasha, and a few months later the commander of the Ottoman Army in Palestine, Erich von Falkenhayn, was replaced by Otto Liman von Sanders.
In early 1918, the front line was extended and the Jordan Valley was occupied, following the First Transjordan and the Second Transjordan attacks by British Empire forces in March and April 1918.
==== German offensive and Allied counter-offensive (March–November 1918) ====
In December 1917, the Central Powers signed an armistice with Russia, thus freeing large numbers of German troops for use in the West. With German reinforcements and new American troops pouring in, the outcome was to be decided on the Western Front. The Central Powers knew that they could not win a protracted war, but they held high hopes for success in a final quick offensive. Ludendorff drew up plans (Operation Michael) for the 1918 offensive on the Western Front. The operation commenced on 21 March 1918, with an attack on British forces near Saint-Quentin. German forces achieved an unprecedented advance of 60 kilometres (37 mi). The initial offensive was a success; after heavy fighting, however, the offensive was halted. Lacking tanks or motorised artillery, the Germans were unable to consolidate their gains. The problems of re-supply were also exacerbated by increasing distances that now stretched over terrain that was shell-torn and often impassable to traffic.
Germany launched Operation Georgette against the northern English Channel ports. The Allies halted the drive after limited territorial gains by Germany. The German Army to the south then conducted Operations Blücher and Yorck, pushing broadly towards Paris. Germany launched Operation Marne (Second Battle of the Marne) on 15 July, in an attempt to encircle Reims. The resulting counter-attack, which started the Hundred Days Offensive on 8 August, led to a marked collapse in German morale.
==== Allied advance to the Hindenburg Line ====
By September, the Germans had fallen back to the Hindenburg Line. The Allies had advanced to the Hindenburg Line in the north and centre. German forces launched numerous counterattacks, but positions and outposts of the Line continued falling, with the BEF alone taking 30,441 prisoners in the last week of September. On 24 September, the Supreme Army Command informed the leaders in Berlin that armistice talks were inevitable.
The final assault on the Hindenburg Line began with the Meuse-Argonne offensive, launched by American and French troops on 26 September. Two days later the Belgians, French and British attacked around Ypres, and the day after the British at St Quentin in the centre of the line. The following week, cooperating American and French units broke through in Champagne at the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge ( 3–27 October), forcing the Germans off the commanding heights, and closing towards the Belgian frontier. On 8 October, the Hindenburg Line was pierced by British and Dominion troops of the First and Third British Armies at the Second Battle of Cambrai.
==== Breakthrough of Macedonian front (September 1918) ====
Allied forces started the Vardar offensive on 15 September at two key points: Dobro Pole and near Dojran Lake. In the Battle of Dobro Pole, the Serbian and French armies had success after a three-day-long battle with relatively small casualties, and subsequently made a breakthrough in the front, something which was rarely seen in World War I. After the front was broken, Allied forces started to liberate Serbia and reached Skopje at 29 September, after which Bulgaria signed an armistice with the Allies on 30 September.
=== Armistices and capitulations ===
The collapse of the Central Powers came swiftly. Bulgaria was the first to sign an armistice, the Armistice of Salonica on 29 September 1918. Wilhelm II, in a telegram to Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria described the situation thus: "Disgraceful! 62,000 Serbs decided the war!". On the same day, the German Supreme Army Command informed Wilhelm II and the Imperial Chancellor Count Georg von Hertling, that the military situation facing Germany was hopeless.
On 24 October, the Italians began a push that rapidly recovered territory lost after the Battle of Caporetto. This culminated in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, marking the end of the Austro-Hungarian Army as an effective fighting force. The offensive also triggered the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the last week of October, declarations of independence were made in Budapest, Prague, and Zagreb. On 29 October, the imperial authorities asked Italy for an armistice, but the Italians continued advancing, reaching Trento, Udine, and Trieste. On 3 November, Austria-Hungary sent a flag of truce and accepted the Armistice of Villa Giusti, arranged with the Allied Authorities in Paris. Austria and Hungary signed separate armistices following the overthrow of the Habsburg monarchy. In the following days, the Italian Army occupied Innsbruck and all Tyrol, with over 20,000 soldiers. On 30 October, the Ottoman Empire capitulated, and signed the Armistice of Mudros.
==== German government surrenders ====
With the military faltering and with widespread loss of confidence in the kaiser, Germany moved towards surrender. Prince Maximilian of Baden took charge on 3 October as Chancellor of Germany. Negotiations with President Wilson began immediately, in the hope that he would offer better terms than the British and French. Wilson demanded a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary control over the German military.
The German Revolution of 1918–1919 began at the end of October 1918. Units of the German Navy refused to set sail for a large-scale operation in a war they believed to be as good as lost. The sailors' revolt, which then ensued in the naval ports of Wilhelmshaven and Kiel, spread across the whole country within days and led to the proclamation of a republic on 9 November 1918, shortly thereafter to the abdication of Wilhelm II, and German surrender.
== Aftermath ==
In the aftermath of the war, the German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian empires disappeared. Numerous nations regained their former independence, and new ones were created. Four dynasties fell as a result of the war: the Romanovs, the Hohenzollerns, the Habsburgs, and the Ottomans. Belgium and Serbia were badly damaged, as was France, with 1.4 million soldiers dead, not counting other casualties. Germany and Russia were similarly affected.
=== Formal end of the war ===
A formal state of war between the two sides persisted for another seven months, until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles with Germany on 28 June 1919. The US Senate did not ratify the treaty despite public support for it,and did not formally end its involvement in the war until the Knox–Porter Resolution was signed on 2 July 1921 by President Warren G. Harding. For the British Empire, the state of war ceased under the provisions of the Termination of the Present War (Definition) Act 1918 concerning:
Germany on 10 January 1920.
Austria on 16 July 1920.
Bulgaria on 9 August 1920.
Hungary on 26 July 1921.
Turkey on 6 August 1924.
Some war memorials date the end of the war as being when the Versailles Treaty was signed in 1919, which was when many of the troops serving abroad finally returned home; by contrast, most commemorations of the war's end concentrate on the armistice of 11 November 1918.
=== Peace treaties and national boundaries ===
The Paris Peace Conference imposed a series of peace treaties on the Central Powers officially ending the war. The 1919 Treaty of Versailles dealt with Germany and, building on Wilson's 14th point, established the League of Nations on 28 June 1919.
The Central Powers had to acknowledge responsibility for "all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by" their aggression. In the Treaty of Versailles, this statement was Article 231. This article became known as the "War Guilt Clause", as the majority of Germans felt humiliated and resentful. The Germans felt they had been unjustly dealt with by what they called the "diktat of Versailles". German historian Hagen Schulze said the Treaty placed Germany "under legal sanctions, deprived of military power, economically ruined, and politically humiliated." Belgian historian Laurence Van Ypersele emphasises the central role played by memory of the war and the Versailles Treaty in German politics in the 1920s and 1930s:
Active denial of war guilt in Germany and German resentment at both reparations and continued Allied occupation of the Rhineland made widespread revision of the meaning and memory of the war problematic. The legend of the "stab in the back" and the wish to revise the "Versailles diktat", and the belief in an international threat aimed at the elimination of the German nation persisted at the heart of German politics. Even a man of peace such as [Gustav] Stresemann publicly rejected German guilt. As for the Nazis, they waved the banners of domestic treason and international conspiracy in an attempt to galvanise the German nation into a spirit of revenge. Like a Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany sought to redirect the memory of the war to the benefit of its policies.
Meanwhile, new nations liberated from German rule viewed the treaty as a recognition of wrongs committed against small nations by much larger aggressive neighbours.Austria-Hungary was partitioned into several successor states, largely but not entirely along ethnic lines. Apart from Austria and Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia received territories from the Dual Monarchy (the formerly separate and autonomous Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia was incorporated into Yugoslavia). The details were contained in the treaties of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Trianon. As a result, Hungary lost 64% of its total population, decreasing from 20.9 million to 7.6 million, and losing 31% (3.3 out of 10.7 million) of its ethnic Hungarians. According to the 1910 census, speakers of the Hungarian language included approximately 54% of the entire population of the Kingdom of Hungary. Within the country, numerous ethnic minorities were present: 16.1% Romanians, 10.5% Slovaks, 10.4% Germans, 2.5% Ruthenians, 2.5% Serbs, and 8% others. Between 1920 and 1924, 354,000 Hungarians fled former Hungarian territories attached to Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia.
The Russian Empire lost much of its western frontier as the newly independent nations of Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland were carved from it. Romania took control of Bessarabia in April 1918.
=== National identities ===
After 123 years, Poland re-emerged as an independent country. The Kingdom of Serbia and its dynasty, as a "minor Entente nation" and the country with the most casualties per capita, became the backbone of a new multinational state, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later renamed Yugoslavia. Czechoslovakia, combining the Kingdom of Bohemia with parts of the Kingdom of Hungary, became a new nation. Romania would unite all Romanian-speaking people under a single state, leading to Greater Romania.
In Australia and New Zealand, the Battle of Gallipoli became known as those nations' "Baptism of Fire". It was the first major war in which the newly established countries fought, and it was one of the first times that Australian troops fought as Australians, not just subjects of the British Crown, and independent national identities for these nations took hold. Anzac Day, named after the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), commemorates this defining moment.
In the aftermath of World War I, Greece fought against Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal, a war that eventually resulted in a massive population exchange between the two countries under the Treaty of Lausanne. According to various sources, several hundred thousand Greeks died during this period, which was tied in with the Greek genocide.
== Casualties ==
An estimated number of military and civilian casualties in World War I was about 15 to 22 million deaths and about 23 million wounded military personnel, ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history. The total number of deaths includes between 9 and 11 million military personnel, with an estimated civilian death toll of about 6 to 13 million.
Of the 60 million European military personnel who were mobilised from 1914 to 1918, an estimated 8 million were killed, 7 million were permanently disabled, and 15 million were seriously injured. Germany lost 15.1% of its active male population, Austria-Hungary lost 17.1%, and France lost 10.5%. France mobilised 7.8 million men, of which 1.4 million died and 3.2 million were injured. Approximately 15,000 deployed men sustained gruesome facial injuries, causing social stigma and marginalisation; they were called the gueules cassées (broken faces). In Germany, civilian deaths were 474,000 higher than in peacetime, due in large part to food shortages and malnutrition that had weakened disease resistance. These excess deaths are estimated as 271,000 in 1918, plus another 71,000 in the first half of 1919 when the blockade was still in effect. Starvation caused by famine killed approximately 100,000 people in Lebanon.
Diseases flourished in the chaotic wartime conditions. In 1914 alone, louse-borne epidemic typhus killed 200,000 in Serbia. Starting in early 1918, a major influenza epidemic known as Spanish flu spread across the world, accelerated by the movement of large numbers of soldiers, often crammed together in camps and transport ships with poor sanitation. The Spanish flu killed at least 17 to 25 million people, including an estimated 2.64 million Europeans and as many as 675,000 Americans. Between 1915 and 1926, an epidemic of encephalitis lethargica affected nearly 5 million people worldwide.
Eight million equines, mostly horses, donkeys and mules died, three-quarters of them from the extreme conditions they worked in.
=== War crimes ===
==== Chemical weapons in warfare ====
The German army was the first to successfully deploy chemical weapons during the Second Battle of Ypres (April–May 1915), after German scientists under the direction of Fritz Haber at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute developed a method to weaponise chlorine. The use of chemical weapons had been sanctioned by the German High Command to force Allied soldiers out of their entrenched positions, complementing rather than supplanting more lethal conventional weapons. Chemical weapons were deployed by all major belligerents throughout the war, inflicting approximately 1.3 million casualties, of which about 90,000 were fatal. The use of chemical weapons in warfare was a direct violation of the 1899 Hague Declaration Concerning Asphyxiating Gases and the 1907 Hague Convention on Land Warfare, which prohibited their use.
==== Genocides by the Ottoman Empire ====
The ethnic cleansing of the Ottoman Empire's Armenian population, including mass deportations and executions, during the final years of the Ottoman Empire is considered genocide. The Ottomans carried out organised and systematic massacres of the Armenian population at the beginning of the war and manipulated acts of Armenian resistance by portraying them as rebellions to justify further extermination. In early 1915, several Armenians volunteered to join the Russian forces and the Ottoman government used this as a pretext to issue the Tehcir Law (Law on Deportation), which authorised the deportation of Armenians from the Empire's eastern provinces to Syria between 1915 and 1918. The Armenians were intentionally marched to death and a number were attacked by Ottoman brigands. While the exact number of deaths is unknown, the International Association of Genocide Scholars estimates around 1.5 million. The government of Turkey continues to deny the genocide to the present day, arguing that those who died were victims of inter-ethnic fighting, famine, or disease during World War I; these claims are rejected by most historians.
Other ethnic groups were similarly attacked by the Ottoman Empire during this period, including Assyrians and Greeks, and some scholars consider those events to be part of the same policy of extermination. At least 250,000 Assyrian Christians, about half of the population, and 350,000–750,000 Anatolian and Pontic Greeks were killed between 1915 and 1922.
=== Prisoners of war ===
About 8 million soldiers surrendered and were held in POW camps during the war. All nations pledged to follow the Hague Conventions on fair treatment of prisoners of war, and the survival rate for POWs was generally much higher than that of combatants at the front.
Around 25–31% of Russian losses (as a proportion of those captured, wounded, or killed) were to prisoner status; for Austria-Hungary 32%; for Italy 26%; for France 12%; for Germany 9%; for Britain 7%. Prisoners from the Allied armies totalled about 1.4 million (not including Russia, which lost 2.5–3.5 million soldiers as prisoners). From the Central Powers, about 3.3 million soldiers became prisoners; most of them surrendered to Russians.
== Soldiers' experiences ==
Allied personnel was around 42,928,000, while Central personnel was near 25,248,000. British soldiers of the war were initially volunteers but were increasingly conscripted. Surviving veterans returning home often found they could discuss their experiences only among themselves, so formed "veterans' associations" or "Legions".
=== Conscription ===
Conscription was common in most European countries, but was controversial in English-speaking countries. It was especially unpopular among minority ethnicities, especially the Irish Catholics in Ireland, Australia, and the French Catholics in Canada.
In the US, conscription began in 1917; while the country avoided the outright draft riots that occurred during the Civil War, and was able to splinter opposition through heavy pressure and sometimes outright repression, resistance was nonetheless considerable, particularly in rural areas and in the South. The administration decided to rely primarily on conscription, rather than voluntary enlistment, to raise military manpower after only 73,000 volunteers enlisted out of the initial 1 million target in the first six weeks of war.
=== Military attachés and war correspondents ===
Military and civilian observers from every major power closely followed the course of the war. Many were able to report on events from a perspective somewhat akin to modern "embedded" positions within the opposing land and naval forces.
== Economic effects ==
Macro- and micro-economic consequences devolved from the war. Families were altered by the departure of many men. With the death or absence of the primary wage earner, women were forced into the workforce in unprecedented numbers. At the same time, the industry needed to replace the lost labourers sent to war. The movement of women into industry and traditionally male labor ultimately aided the struggle for voting rights for women.
In all nations, the government's share of GDP increased, surpassing 50% in both Germany and France and nearly reaching that level in Britain. To pay for purchases in the US, Britain cashed in its extensive investments in American railroads and then began borrowing heavily from Wall Street. President Wilson was on the verge of cutting off the loans in late 1916 but allowed a great increase in US government lending to the Allies. After 1919, the US demanded repayment of these loans. The repayments were, in part, funded by German reparations that, in turn, were supported by American loans to Germany. This circular system collapsed in 1931 and some loans were never repaid. Britain still owed the United States $4.4 billion of World War I debt in 1934; the last installment was finally paid in 2015.
Britain turned to her colonies for help in obtaining essential war materials whose supply from traditional sources had become difficult. Geologists such as Albert Kitson were called on to find new resources of precious minerals in the African colonies. Kitson discovered important new deposits of manganese, used in munitions production, in the Gold Coast.
Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles (the so-called "war guilt" clause) stated Germany accepted responsibility for "all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies." It was worded as such to lay a legal basis for reparations, and a similar clause was inserted in the treaties with Austria and Hungary. However, neither of them interpreted it as an admission of war guilt. In 1921, the total reparation sum was placed at 132 billion gold marks. However, "Allied experts knew that Germany could not pay" this sum. The total sum was divided into three categories, with the third being "deliberately designed to be chimerical" and its "primary function was to mislead public opinion ... into believing the 'total sum was being maintained.'" Thus, 50 billion gold marks (12.5 billion dollars) "represented the actual Allied assessment of German capacity to pay" and "therefore ... represented the total German reparations" figure that had to be paid.
This figure could be paid in cash or in-kind (coal, timber, chemical dyes, etc.). Some of the territory lost—via the Treaty of Versailles—was credited towards the reparation figure as were other acts such as helping to restore the Library of Louvain. By 1929, the Great Depression caused political chaos throughout the world. In 1932 the payment of reparations was suspended by the international community, by which point Germany had paid only the equivalent of 20.598 billion gold marks. With the rise of Adolf Hitler, all bonds and loans that had been issued and taken out during the 1920s and early 1930s were cancelled. David Andelman notes "Refusing to pay doesn't make an agreement null and void. The bonds, the agreement, still exist." Thus, following the Second World War, at the London Conference in 1953, Germany agreed to resume payment on the money borrowed. On 3 October 2010, Germany made the final payment on these bonds.
The Australian prime minister, Billy Hughes, wrote to the British prime minister, David Lloyd George, "You have assured us that you cannot get better terms. I much regret it, and hope even now that some way may be found of securing agreement for demanding reparation commensurate with the tremendous sacrifices made by the British Empire and her Allies." Australia received £5,571,720 in war reparations, but the direct cost of the war to Australia had been £376,993,052, and, by the mid-1930s, repatriation pensions, war gratuities, interest and sinking fund charges were £831,280,947.
== Support and opposition for the war ==
=== Support ===
In the Balkans, Yugoslav nationalists such as the leader, Ante Trumbić, strongly supported the war, desiring the freedom of Yugoslavs from Austria-Hungary and other foreign powers and the creation of an independent Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav Committee, led by Trumbić, was formed in Paris on 30 April 1915, but shortly moved its office to London. In April 1918, the Rome Congress of Oppressed Nationalities met, including Czechoslovak, Italian, Polish, Transylvanian, and Yugoslav representatives who urged the Allies to support national self-determination for the peoples residing within Austria-Hungary.
In the Middle East, Arab nationalism soared in Ottoman territories in response to the rise of Turkish nationalism during the war. Arab nationalist leaders advocated the creation of a pan-Arab state. In 1916, the Arab Revolt began in Ottoman-controlled territories of the Middle East to achieve independence.
In East Africa, Iyasu V of Ethiopia was supporting the Dervish state who were at war with the British in the Somaliland campaign. Von Syburg, the German envoy in Addis Ababa, said, "now the time has come for Ethiopia to regain the coast of the Red Sea driving the Italians home, to restore the Empire to its ancient size." The Ethiopian Empire was on the verge of entering World War I on the side of the Central Powers before Iyasu's overthrow at the Battle of Segale due to Allied pressure on the Ethiopian aristocracy.
Several socialist parties initially supported the war when it began in August 1914. But European socialists split on national lines, with the concept of class conflict held by radical socialists such as Marxists and syndicalists being overborne by their patriotic support for the war. Once the war began, Austrian, British, French, German, and Russian socialists followed the rising nationalist current by supporting their countries' intervention in the war.
Italian nationalism was stirred by the outbreak of the war and was initially strongly supported by a variety of political factions. One of the most prominent and popular Italian nationalist supporters of the war was Gabriele D'Annunzio, who promoted Italian irredentism and helped sway the Italian public to support intervention in the war. The Italian Liberal Party, under the leadership of Paolo Boselli, promoted intervention in the war on the side of the Allies and used the Dante Alighieri Society to promote Italian nationalism. Italian socialists were divided on whether to support the war or oppose it; some were militant supporters of the war, including Benito Mussolini and Leonida Bissolati. However, the Italian Socialist Party decided to oppose the war after anti-militarist protestors were killed, resulting in a general strike called Red Week. The Italian Socialist Party purged itself of pro-war nationalist members, including Mussolini. Mussolini formed the pro-interventionist Il Popolo d'Italia and the Fasci Rivoluzionario d'Azione Internazionalista ("Revolutionary Fasci for International Action") in October 1914 that later developed into the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento in 1919, the origin of fascism. Mussolini's nationalism enabled him to raise funds from Ansaldo (an armaments firm) and other companies to create Il Popolo d'Italia to convince socialists and revolutionaries to support the war.
==== Patriotic funds ====
On both sides, there was large-scale fundraising for soldiers' welfare, their dependents and those injured. The Nail Men were a German example. Around the British Empire, there were many patriotic funds, including the Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation, Canadian Patriotic Fund, Queensland Patriotic Fund and, by 1919, there were 983 funds in New Zealand. At the start of the next world war the New Zealand funds were reformed, having been criticised as overlapping, wasteful and abused, but 11 were still functioning in 2002.
=== Opposition ===
Many countries jailed those who spoke out against the conflict. These included Eugene Debs in the US and Bertrand Russell in Britain. In the US, the Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act of 1918 made it a federal crime to oppose military recruitment or make any statements deemed "disloyal". Publications at all critical of the government were removed from circulation by postal censors, and many served long prison sentences for statements of fact deemed unpatriotic.
Several nationalists opposed intervention, particularly within states that the nationalists were hostile to. Although the vast majority of Irish people consented to participate in the war in 1914 and 1915, a minority of advanced Irish nationalists had staunchly opposed taking part. The war began amid the Home Rule crisis in Ireland that had resurfaced in 1912, and by July 1914 there was a serious possibility of an outbreak of civil war in Ireland. Irish nationalists and Marxists attempted to pursue Irish independence, culminating in the Easter Rising of 1916, with Germany sending 20,000 rifles to Ireland to stir unrest in Britain. The British government placed Ireland under martial law in response to the Easter Rising, though once the immediate threat of revolution had dissipated, the authorities did try to make concessions to nationalist feeling. However, opposition to involvement in the war increased in Ireland, resulting in the Conscription Crisis of 1918.
Other opposition came from conscientious objectors—some socialist, some religious—who had refused to fight. In Britain, 16,000 people asked for conscientious objector status. Some of them, most notably prominent peace activist Stephen Hobhouse, refused both military and alternative service. Many suffered years of prison, including solitary confinement. Even after the war, in Britain, many job advertisements were marked "No conscientious objectors need to apply".
On 1–4 May 1917, about 100,000 workers and soldiers of Petrograd, and after them, the workers and soldiers of other Russian cities, led by the Bolsheviks, demonstrated under banners reading "Down with the war!" and "all power to the Soviets!". The mass demonstrations resulted in a crisis for the Russian Provisional Government. In Milan, in May 1917, Bolshevik revolutionaries organised and engaged in rioting calling for an end to the war, and managed to close down factories and stop public transportation. The Italian army was forced to enter Milan with tanks and machine guns to face Bolsheviks and anarchists, who fought violently until 23 May when the army gained control of the city. Almost 50 people (including three Italian soldiers) were killed and over 800 people were arrested.
== Technology ==
World War I began as a clash of 20th-century technology and 19th-century tactics, with the inevitably large ensuing casualties. By the end of 1917, however, the major armies had modernised and were making use of telephone, wireless communication, armoured cars, tanks (especially with the advent of the prototype tank, Little Willie), and aircraft.
Several types of poison gas were used by both sides. Although it never proved a decisive weapon, it became one of the most feared of the war.
Artillery also underwent a revolution. In 1914, cannons were positioned in the front line and fired directly at their targets. By 1917, indirect fire with guns (as well as mortars and even machine guns) was commonplace, using new techniques for spotting and ranging, notably, aircraft and the field telephone.
Fixed-wing aircraft were initially used for reconnaissance and ground attack. To shoot down enemy planes, anti-aircraft guns and fighter aircraft were developed. Strategic bombers were created, principally by the Germans and British, though the former used Zeppelins as well. Towards the end of the conflict, aircraft carriers were used for the first time, with HMS Furious launching Sopwith Camels in a raid to destroy the Zeppelin hangars at Tønder in 1918.
== Diplomacy ==
The non-military diplomatic and propaganda interactions among the nations were designed to build support for the cause or to undermine support for the enemy. For the most part, wartime diplomacy focused on five issues: propaganda campaigns; defining and redefining the war goals, which became harsher as the war went on; luring neutral nations (Italy, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, Romania) into the coalition by offering slices of enemy territory; and encouragement by the Allies of nationalistic minority movements inside the Central Powers, especially among Czechs, Poles, and Arabs. In addition, multiple peace proposals were coming from neutrals, or one side or the other; none of them progressed very far.
== Legacy and memory ==
=== Memorials ===
Memorials were built in thousands of villages and towns. Close to battlefields, those buried in improvised burial grounds were gradually moved to formal graveyards under the care of organisations such as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the American Battle Monuments Commission, the German War Graves Commission, and Le Souvenir français. Many of these graveyards also have monuments to the missing or unidentified dead, such as the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing and the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme.
In 1915, John McCrae, a Canadian army doctor, wrote the poem In Flanders Fields as a salute to those who perished in the war. It is still recited today, especially on Remembrance Day and Memorial Day.
National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, is a memorial dedicated to all Americans who served in World War I. The Liberty Memorial was dedicated on 1 November 1921.
The British government budgeted substantial resources to the commemoration of the war during the period 2014 to 2018. The lead body is the Imperial War Museum. On 3 August 2014, French President François Hollande and German President Joachim Gauck together marked the centenary of Germany's declaration of war on France by laying the first stone of a memorial in Vieil Armand, known in German as Hartmannswillerkopf, for French and German soldiers killed in the war. As part of commemorations for the centenary of the 1918 Armistice, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the site of the signing of the Armistice of Compiègne and unveiled a plaque to reconciliation.
=== Historiography ===
The first efforts to comprehend the meaning and consequences of modern warfare began during the initial phases of the war and are still underway more than a century later. Teaching World War I has presented special challenges. When compared with World War II, the First World War is often thought to be "a wrong war fought for the wrong reasons"; it lacks the metanarrative of good versus evil that characterises retellings of the Second World War. Lacking recognisable heroes and villains, it is often taught thematically, invoking simplified tropes that obscure the complexity of the conflict.
Historian Heather Jones argues that the historiography has been reinvigorated by a cultural turn in the 21st century. Scholars have raised entirely new questions regarding military occupation, radicalisation of politics, race, medical science, gender and mental health. Among the major subjects that historians have long debated regarding the war include why the war began, why the Allies won, whether generals were responsible for high casualty rates, how soldiers endured the poor conditions of trench warfare, and to what extent the civilian home front accepted and endorsed the war effort.
=== Unexploded ordnance ===
As late as 2007, unexploded ordnance at battlefield sites like Verdun and Somme continued to pose a danger. In France and Belgium, locals who discover caches of unexploded munitions are assisted by weapons disposal units. In some places, plant life has still not recovered from the effects of the war. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_von_Tell | Michel von Tell | Michel von Tell (born October 8, 1980) is a Swiss journalist, consultant, artist and racing driver.
== Life ==
Von Tell was a professional baseball player in the Swiss NLB league. Von Tell studied economics and was active in the financial investment sector. In 2012 he sold most of his companies and began to work in media. Since 2020 von Tell worked as a consultant in the German Parliament (Bundestag).
He occasionally participates in Poker tournaments and appears to be, according to the "Swiss Money List" by HedonMob, among the best 100 Players in the country (place 70).
His podcast recorded more than 10 million views and he was listed in the 100 most important European YouTubers by the biggest Lifestyle Magazine of Germany Top Magazin (Place 30). In his 2012 podcast, numerous notable guests appeared, such as: Ulrich Kienzle, Ariadne von Schirach, Winfried Hassemer (vice president Federal Constitutional Court), Rainer Langhans, Hans Söllner, Sepp Holzer, Christoph Sieber, and Gerhart Baum (Federal Minister of the Interior). He also ran a comedy show inspired by American late-night formats, with his podcasts and videos amassing over 20 million views in total and peaking at more than 2 million views per month. In his late 20s, he spent two years living a reclusive, hermit-like lifestyle in a secluded forest cabin, accompanied by his Doberman dog, seeking to continue the studies of Henry David Thoreau and compare them to modern times, 150 years later. Von Tell occasionally performs as a DJ at festivals and big clubs like the Zürich Street Parade or the Ibiza Space Club. In 2023, he performed at the legendary Full Moon Party in Asia, one of the top five music festivals in the world. He is involved in charitable activities associated with the Love Ride in his hometown of Zurich, a major motorcycle event that attracts 20,000 visitors and is dedicated to supporting sick children.
In 2013 he did a documentary with Peter Scholl-Latour and worked together with him in some projects. Also he did the last big Interview with Scholl-Latour which died in 2014. Scholl-Latour was one of the most famous European journalists for over a half century, comparable to Walter Cronkite in the USA. In 2023, he played a pivotal role in the international effort to liberalize cannabis laws in Germany and was instrumental in implementing several significant changes. In April 2024, cannabis was ultimately legalized in Germany, with more liberal regulations than initially expected.
== Motorsport ==
During 2000 Von Tell placed sixth at the Rwanda Mountain Rally in a Toyota. The Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally known originally as the Fraternity Rally and is an international rally event by WRC.
In 2020 he drove a world record on a LiveWire, the first electric Harley Davidson motorcycle. He drove 1724 km (1070 Miles) in less than 24 hours. His ride went through four countries, more than 400 km more than the old record which was 1316 km . He started in Switzerland over Germany to Austria and finished the record in the Microstate Liechtenstein. The ride was accompanied by an audience, a Harley team from the local press and 6 independent judge observers which documented the record officially. The record obtained huge attention all over the world and is still unbroken as of 2022.
Von Tell was part at the Eco Grand Prix in Team Porsche. At the 24 hours Grand Prix of Nürburgring he started on the new Porsche Taycan. The first full electric car by Porsche. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrobe,_Pennsylvania | Latrobe, Pennsylvania | Latrobe ( lə-TROHB) is a borough with home-rule status in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,060 at the 2020 census. It is located near Chestnut Ridge within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
Latrobe was the home of the Latrobe Brewing Company, the original brewer of Rolling Rock beer. Latrobe was the birthplace and childhood home of children's television personality Fred Rogers and former professional golfer Arnold Palmer. The banana split was invented there by David Strickler in 1904. Latrobe is also home to the training camp of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Latrobe was long believed to be the site of the first professional American football game in 1895 until research found an 1892 game with paid players.
== History ==
In 1852, Pennsylvania Railroad civil engineer Oliver Barnes laid out the plans for the community that was incorporated in 1854 as the borough of Latrobe. Barnes named the town for his best friend and college classmate, Benjamin Henry Latrobe II, who was chief engineer for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Its location along the route of the Pennsylvania Railroad helped Latrobe develop into a significant industrial hub. Latrobe was also served by the Ligonier Valley Railroad from 1877 to 1952.
From 1895 until 1909, Latrobe was the home of the Latrobe Athletic Association, one of the earliest professional football teams. The team's quarterback, John Brallier, became the first football player to admit playing for money. In 1895, he accepted $10 and expenses to play for Latrobe in a 12–0 victory over the Jeannette Athletic Club. Brallier was thought to be the first professional football player until the 1960s. Then, documents surfaced showing that Pudge Heffelfinger, a former three-time All-American from Yale, was employed to play guard for the Allegheny Athletic Association three years earlier. In 1897, Latrobe was the first football team to play a full season with a team composed entirely of professional players. In 1898, Latrobe and two players from their rivals, the Greensburg Athletic Association, formed the first professional football all-star team for a game against the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club, to be played at Pittsburgh's Exposition Park. Duquesne went on to win the game 16–0. On November 18, 1905, Latrobe defeated the Canton Bulldogs, which later became a founding member, and two-time champion, of the National Football League, 6–0. Aside from Brallier, the Latrobe Athletic Association included several of the era's top players, such as Ed Abbaticchio, Charles Barney, Alf Bull, Jack Gass, Walter Okeson, Harry Ryan, Doggie Trenchard, and Eddie Wood, and manager Dave Berry.
The banana split was invented in 1904 in Latrobe by David Evans Strickler at the pharmacy that later became named Strickler's Drug Store. In 2004, the National Ice Cream Retailers Association (NICRA) certified Latrobe as the birthplace of the banana split. The town holds an annual festival in honor of the dessert.
Historically, two interurban lines served Latrobe. The Westmoreland County Railway Company connected Latrobe to Derry and operated from 1904 to 1932. The Latrobe Street Railway Company connected Latrobe to Kingston and began operations in 1900. This line was purchased by West Penn Railways, which eventually linked it with its network running through Youngstown, Pleasant Unity, and eventually to Greensburg and Uniontown. Service ceased in 1952.
Coal mining was once an important industry in Westmoreland County. While mining activity has largely ceased, most of the city of Latrobe lies in a zone where abandoned underground mines are prevalent, according to a March 1, 2022, article in The Latrobe Bulletin. In 2017, a home in the city's Cramer Heights neighborhood started to collapse after its foundation shifted. The house was condemned and eventually had to be torn down. After this incident, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection urged Latrobe residents to research whether their properties are undermined and consider applying for mine subsidence insurance.
Latrobe has two sites on the National Register of Historic Places. Pennsylvania Railroad Station at Latrobe was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1903. Citizens National Bank of Latrobe is a 1926 structure designed by the Greensburg firm Batholomew and Smith.
== Geography ==
Latrobe is located at 40°18′54″N 79°22′52″W (40.314940, -79.381171). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.3 square miles (6.0 km2), all land. It has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) and average monthly temperatures range from 28.9 °F in January to 72.0 °F in July.
Loyalhanna Creek, a popular fishing spot, flows through Latrobe. Latrobe shares borders with the townships of Derry to the north, northwest, east, and southeast, and Unity to the west and southwest.
== Demographics ==
As of the census of 2010, 8,338 people, 3,786 households, and 2,458 families resided in the city. The population density was 3,913.6 people per square mile (1,511.0 people/km2). The 4,258 housing units averaged 1,852.8 per square mile (715.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 98.78% White, 0.32% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.31% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 0.37% of the population.
Of 3,786 households, 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.0% were not families. About 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city, the population was distributed as 1,730 persons under the age of 18, 429 persons from 20 to 24, 2583 persons from 25 to 49, 1780 persons from 50 to 64, and 1614 persons who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,268, and for a family was $42,168. Males had a median income of $31,802 versus $22,227 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,208. About 6.5% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.
== Economy ==
The Latrobe Brewing Company, founded in 1939, was one of the largest breweries in the United States and the maker of Rolling Rock beer. In May 2006, Anheuser-Busch purchased the Rolling Rock brands, but not the brewery. Later in 2006, the plant was bought by City Brewing Company and has since produced beers under contract for other vendors.
Metals manufacturer Kennametal was founded in Latrobe in 1938.
== Government ==
Latrobe was incorporated as a borough in 1854, and as a borough with home-rule status known as the "City of Latrobe" in 1999. Federally, Latrobe is part of Pennsylvania's 14th congressional district.
== Education ==
Latrobe is served by the public Greater Latrobe School District, which includes three elementary schools, one junior high school, and Greater Latrobe Senior High School. Additionally, Saint Vincent College and Saint Vincent Seminary are in the borough, both of which are operated by Saint Vincent Archabbey.
== Media ==
Latrobe is part of the Pittsburgh Media Market. The local newspaper, the Latrobe Bulletin, has been in print since the 1870s. Radio stations WJFG and WXVE are licensed to the borough.
== Transportation ==
Latrobe station is served by Amtrak's Pennsylvanian. Westmoreland Transit Daily runs locally and commuter runs to Pittsburgh and Johnstown. Arnold Palmer Regional Airport is two miles (3 km) southwest of Latrobe.
== Notable people ==
Mary Temple Bayard (1853–1916), American writer, journalist
John Brallier (1876–1960), first openly paid professional football player and the first star of the professional game.
Victory Brinker, an opera singer who achieved prominence at the age of nine
Walt Corey, National Football League player and coach
Keith Ferrazzi, author and entrepreneur
Dennis Ferry, trumpeter for Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Gregory S. Forbes, meteorologist and severe weather expert for the Weather Channel
Hanna Green, track and field runner
Kevin Guskiewicz, Chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Francis J. Harvey, United States Secretary of the Army
Daniel Lentz, classical and electronic music composer
Chris Lightcap, jazz bassist
Jackie Mason, comedian and actor after serving as a rabbi in Latrobe
Arnold Palmer, iconic professional golfer, member of World Golf Hall of Fame
Fred Rogers, creator and host of PBS series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, lived in Latrobe from birth through high school. He is buried in Unity Cemetery.
Eliza Kennedy Smith, also known as Mrs. R. Templeton Smith; suffragist, civic activist, and government watchdog, and president of the Allegheny County League of Women Voters
Andy Stynchula, National Football League player
Scott Warner, lighting designer and fixture development
Boniface Wimmer, Benedictine monk, founded Saint Vincent Archabbey in 1846 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Volkswagen_vehicles | List of Volkswagen vehicles | Volkswagen, the core brand of Volkswagen Group produces various models since its inception, ranging from passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. It also consists of global products and regional products, specifically for large markets including Europe, China and Latin America.
Volkswagen AG annual report in 2022 reported that the best-selling model under the Volkswagen brand globally was the Tiguan, followed by the B-segment range of Polo, Virtus, Nivus and Taigo, and Passat/Magotan.
== Current models ==
=== Passenger vehicles ===
Vehicles exclusive to Latin America Vehicles exclusive to China Other vehicles not sold in the core European market
=== Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles ===
== Former models ==
=== Aircooled models ===
Volkswagen Beetle (Type 1) (1938–2003)
Volkswagen Kübelwagen (1940–1945) light military vehicle
Volkswagen Kommandeurswagen (1941–1944) staff car for Wehrmacht
Volkswagen Schwimmwagen (1942–1944)
Volkswagen Type 18A (1949–?)
Volkswagen Hebmüller Cabriolet (1949–1953)
Volkswagen Karmann Ghia (1955–1975, also sold as Type 34 Karmann Ghia, 1500 Karmann Ghia Coupe)
Volkswagen 1500/1600 (Type 3) (1961–1973)
Volkswagen Type 147 Kleinlieferwagen (1964–1974)
Volkswagen 411/412 (Type 4) (1967–1973)
Volkswagen Country Buggy (1967–1969)
Volkswagen 181 (1968–1983, also sold as Kurierwagen, Trekker, Thing, Safari)
Volkswagen-Porsche 914 (1969–1976, also sold as Porsche 914)
Volkswagen SP1/SP2 (1973–1976)
Volkswagen Brasília (1973–1982)
Volkswagen Gacel (1983–1991)
Volkswagen Senda (1991–1994)
=== Watercooled models ===
Volkswagen K70 (1968–1972)
Volkswagen Scirocco (1974–2017)
Volkswagen Dasher (1974–1982)
Volkswagen Rabbit (1975–1984)
Volkswagen Derby (1977–1985), (1995–2009, also sold as Polo Classic)
Volkswagen Caribe (1977–1987)
Volkswagen Iltis (1978–1988)
Volkswagen Cabriolet (1979–2002)
Volkswagen Cabrio (1979–2002)
Volkswagen Gol (1980–2023)
Volkswagen Atlantic (1981–1984)
Volkswagen Santana (1981–2022)
Volkswagen Quantum (1982–1988)
Volkswagen Parati (1982–2013)
Volkswagen Voyage (1983–2023)
Volkswagen Corsar (1984–1988)
Volkswagen Citi Golf (1984–2009)
Volkswagen Carat (1987–1991)
Volkswagen Corrado (1988–1995)
Volkswagen Taro (1989–1997)
Volkswagen Apollo (1990–1992)
Volkswagen Logus (1993–1997)
Volkswagen Pointer (1994–1996)
Volkswagen Sharan (1995–2022)
Volkswagen Polo Playa (1996–2006)
Volkswagen New Beetle (1997–2011)
Volkswagen Jetta King (1997–2010)
Volkswagen Lupo (1998–2005)
Volkswagen Phaeton (2002–2016)
Volkswagen Fox (2003–2021)
Volkswagen Golf Plus (2004–2014)
Volkswagen Passat Lingyu (2005–2011)
Volkswagen Eos (2006–2016)
Volkswagen Suran/SpaceFox (2006–2019)
Volkswagen Routan (2008–2014)
Volkswagen Clásico (2010–2014)
Volkswagen Jetta Pioneer (2010–2013)
Volkswagen Vento/Polo Sedan (2010–2022)
Volkswagen Beetle (2011–2019)
Volkswagen Up (2011–2023)
Volkswagen Passat NMS (2011–2022)
Volkswagen New Jetta (2013–2020)
Volkswagen Golf Sportsvan (2014–2020)
Volkswagen SpaceCross (2014–2019)
Volkswagen XL1 (2015–2016)
Volkswagen C-Trek (2016–2018)
Volkswagen Ameo (2016–2020)
Volkswagen Phideon (2016–2023)
Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace (2018–2024)
Volkswagen Polo (Russia) (2020–2022)
== Volkswagen engines ==
List of Volkswagen Group engines |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates | United Arab Emirates | The United Arab Emirates (UAE), also known simply as the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, situated at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal semi-constitutional monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as its national capital. The UAE borders Oman to the east and northeast, and Saudi Arabia to the southwest. It shares maritime borders with Qatar and Iran in the Persian Gulf, and with Oman in the Gulf of Oman. In 2024, the UAE had an estimated population of over 11 million. Dubai is the country's largest city. Islam is the state religion. Arabic is the official language while English remains the most spoken language and the language of business.
The present-day United Arab Emirates is located within the historical region of Eastern Arabia, which was oriented to maritime trade and seafaring. The Portuguese arrived in the region around 1500 and set up bases on the territory while waging wars against the Persians. After their expulsion in 1622 the Dutch controlled the straits and established global maritime dominance. By the 19th century, with pearling becoming a major economic activity, piracy became rampant in the gulf, prompting British intervention. Local sheikhdoms formed a pact with the United Kingdom to create the Trucial States, a British protectorate that was effectively shielded from attempted Saudi and Omani suzerainty. The Trucial States remained under British influence until full independence as the United Arab Emirates in 1971. Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, ruler of Abu Dhabi and the country's first president (1971–2004), oversaw rapid development of the Emirates by investing revenues from newly found oil into healthcare, education, and infrastructure.
The UAE is considered a middle power in global affairs; Dubai serves as an international hub of finance, tourism, and commerce. Only 11% of the population are native Emiratis; the vast majority of inhabitants are expatriates and migrant workers, most of whom are from South Asia. The United Arab Emirates has the world's seventh-largest oil reserves and seventh-largest natural gas reserves. The UAE has the most diversified economy among the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), having become less reliant on natural resources in the 21st century and increasingly focusing on tourism and business. The UAE is a member of the United Nations, Arab League, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OPEC, Non-Aligned Movement, World Trade Organization, and BRICS; it is also a dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
The Federal Supreme Council, made up of the seven ruling emirs, is the highest state authority. It jointly appoints one member as federal president, who appoints a prime minister, who forms and leads the cabinet. The UAE is an authoritarian state but generally liberal by regional standards. It ranks highly in several social indicators such as housing, healthcare, education and personal safety, as well as the highest regionally in the Human Development Index. Human rights organisations consider the UAE substandard on human rights, ranking low in the human freedom index due to reports of government critics being imprisoned and tortured, families harassed by the state security apparatus, and cases of forced disappearances. Individual rights such as the freedoms of assembly, association, expression, and the freedom of the press are severely repressed.
== Etymology ==
The United Arab Emirates is named after the seven emirates that formed a federation: the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the Emirate of Dubai, the Emirate of Ajman, the Emirate of Sharjah, the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain, and the Emirate of Fujairah.
== History ==
=== Antiquity ===
Stone tools recovered reveal a settlement of people from Africa some 127,000 years ago and a stone tool used for butchering animals discovered on the Arabian coast suggests an even older habitation from 130,000 years ago. In time, lively trading links developed with civilisations in Mesopotamia, Iran, and the Harappan culture of the Indus Valley. This contact persisted and became wider, probably motivated by the trade in copper from the Hajar Mountains, which commenced around 3,000 BCE. Sumerian sources talk of the Magan civilisation, which has been identified as encompassing the modern UAE and Oman.
There are six periods of human settlement with distinctive behaviours in the region before Islam, which include the Hafit period from 3,200 to 2,600 BCE, the Umm Al Nar culture from 2,600 to 2,000 BCE, and the Wadi Suq culture from 2,000 to 1,300 BCE. From 1,200 BCE to the advent of Islam in Eastern Arabia, through three distinctive Iron Ages and the Mleiha period, the area was variously occupied by the Achaemenids and other forces, and saw the construction of fortified settlements and extensive husbandry thanks to the development of the falaj irrigation system.
=== Islam ===
The spread of Islam to the northeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula is thought to have followed directly from a letter sent by the Islamic prophet Muhammad to the rulers of Oman in 630 CE. This led to a group of rulers travelling to Medina, converting to Islam, and subsequently driving a successful uprising against the unpopular Sassanids, who dominated the coast at the time. Following the death of Muhammad, the new Islamic communities south of the Persian Gulf threatened to disintegrate, with insurrections against the Muslim leaders. Caliph Abu Bakr sent an army from the capital Medina which completed its reconquest of the territory (the Ridda Wars) with the Battle of Dibba in which 10,000 lives are thought to have been lost. This assured the integrity of the Caliphate and the unification of the Arabian Peninsula under the newly emerging Rashidun Caliphate.
In 637, Julfar (in the area of today's Ras Al Khaimah) was an important port that was used as a staging post for the Islamic invasion of the Sasanian Empire. The area of the Al Ain/Buraimi Oasis was known as Tu'am and was an important trading post for camel routes between the coast and the Arabian interior.
The earliest Christian site in the UAE was first discovered in the 1990s, an extensive monastic complex on what is now known as Sir Bani Yas Island and which dates back to the seventh century. Thought to be Nestorian and built in 600 CE, the church appears to have been abandoned peacefully in 750 CE. It forms a rare physical link to a legacy of Christianity, which is thought to have spread across the peninsula from 50 to 350 CE following trade routes. Certainly, by the fifth century, Oman had a bishop named John – the last bishop of Oman being Etienne, in 676 CE.
=== Portuguese era ===
The harsh desert environment led to the emergence of the "versatile tribesman", nomadic groups who subsisted due to a variety of economic activities, including animal husbandry, agriculture, and hunting. The seasonal movements of these groups led not only to frequent clashes between groups but also to the establishment of seasonal and semi-seasonal settlements and centres. These formed tribal groupings whose names are still carried by modern Emiratis, including the Bani Yas and Al Bu Falah of Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Liwa, and the west coast; the Dhawahir, Awamir, Al Ali, and Manasir of the interior; the Sharqiyin of the east coast; and the Qawasim to the north.
With the expansion of European colonial empires, Portuguese, English, and Dutch forces appeared in the Persian Gulf region. By the 18th century, the Bani Yas confederation was the dominant force in most of the area now known as Abu Dhabi, while the Northern Al Qawasim (Al Qasimi) dominated maritime commerce. The Portuguese maintained an influence over the coastal settlements, building forts in the wake of the bloody 16th-century conquests of coastal communities by Albuquerque and the Portuguese commanders who followed him – particularly on the east coast at Muscat, Sohar, and Khor Fakkan.
The southern coast of the Persian Gulf was known to the British as the "Pirate Coast", as boats of the Al Qawasim federation harassed British-flagged shipping from the 17th century into the 19th. The charge of piracy is disputed by modern Emirati historians, including the current ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan Al Qasimi, in his 1986 book The Myth of Arab Piracy in the Gulf.
British expeditions to protect their Indian trade routes led to campaigns against Ras Al Khaimah and other harbours along the coast, including the Persian Gulf campaign of 1809 and the more successful campaign of 1819. The following year, Britain and a number of local rulers signed a maritime truce, giving rise to the term Trucial States, which came to define the status of the coastal emirates. A further treaty was signed in 1843 and in 1853, the Perpetual Maritime Truce was agreed. To this was added the 'Exclusive Agreements', signed in 1892, which made the Trucial States a British protectorate.
Under the 1892 treaty, the trucial sheikhs agreed not to dispose of any territory except to the British and not to enter into relationships with any foreign government other than the British without their consent. In return, the British promised to protect the Trucial Coast from all aggression by sea and to help in case of land attack. British maritime policing meant that pearling fleets could operate in relative security. However, the British prohibition of the slave trade meant an important source of income was lost to some sheikhs and merchants.
In 1869, the Qubaisat tribe settled at Khor Al Adaid and tried to enlist the support of the Ottomans. Khor Al Adaid was claimed by Abu Dhabi at that time, a claim supported by the British. In 1906, the British Political Resident, Percy Cox, confirmed in writing to the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan ('Zayed the Great'), that Khor Al Adaid belonged to his sheikhdom.
=== British era and discovery of oil ===
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the pearling industry thrived, providing both income and employment to the people of the Persian Gulf. The First World War had a severe impact on the industry, but it was the economic depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s, coupled with the invention of the cultured pearl, that wiped out the trade. The remnants of the trade eventually faded away shortly after the Second World War, when the newly independent Government of India imposed heavy taxation on imported pearls. The decline of pearling resulted in extreme economic hardship in the Trucial States.
In 1922, the British government secured undertakings from the rulers of the Trucial States not to sign concessions with foreign companies without their consent. Aware of the potential for the development of natural resources such as oil, following finds in Persia (from 1908) and Mesopotamia (from 1927), a British-led oil company, the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), showed an interest in the region. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC, later to become British Petroleum, or BP) had a 23.75% share in IPC. From 1935, onshore concessions to explore for oil were granted by local rulers, with APOC signing the first one on behalf of Petroleum Concessions Ltd (PCL), an associate company of IPC.
APOC was prevented from developing the region alone because of the restrictions of the Red Line Agreement, which required it to operate through IPC. A number of options between PCL and the trucial rulers were signed, providing useful revenue for communities experiencing poverty following the collapse of the pearl trade. However, the wealth of oil which the rulers could see from the revenues accruing to surrounding countries remained elusive. The first bore holes in Abu Dhabi were drilled by IPC's operating company, Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Ltd (PDTC) at Ras Sadr in 1950, with a 13,000-foot-deep (4,000-metre) bore hole taking a year to drill and turning out dry, at the tremendous cost at the time of £1 million.
The British set up a development office that helped in some small developments in the emirates. The seven sheikhs of the emirates then decided to form a council to coordinate matters between them and took over the development office. In 1952, they formed the Trucial States Council, and appointed Adi Al Bitar, Dubai's Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum's legal advisor, as secretary general and legal advisor to the council. The council was terminated once the United Arab Emirates was formed. The tribal nature of society and the lack of definition of borders between emirates frequently led to disputes, settled either through mediation or, more rarely, force. The Trucial Oman Scouts was a small military force used by the British to keep the peace.
In 1953, a subsidiary of BP, D'Arcy Exploration Ltd, obtained an offshore concession from the ruler of Abu Dhabi. BP joined with Compagnie Française des Pétroles (later Total) to form operating companies, Abu Dhabi Marine Areas Ltd (ADMA) and Dubai Marine Areas Ltd (DUMA). A number of undersea oil surveys were carried out, including one led by the famous marine explorer Jacques Cousteau.
In 1958, a floating platform rig was towed from Hamburg, Germany, and positioned over the Umm Shaif pearl bed, in Abu Dhabi waters, where drilling began. In March, it struck oil in the Upper Thamama rock formation. This was the first commercial discovery of the Trucial Coast, leading to the first exports of oil in 1962. ADMA made further offshore discoveries at Zakum and elsewhere, and other companies made commercial finds such as the Fateh oilfield off Dubai and the Mubarak field off Sharjah (shared with Iran).
Meanwhile, onshore exploration was hindered by territorial disputes. In 1955, the United Kingdom represented Abu Dhabi and Oman in their dispute with Saudi Arabia over the Buraimi Oasis. A 1974 agreement between Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia seemed to have settled the Abu Dhabi-Saudi border dispute, but this has not been ratified. The UAE's border with Oman was ratified in 2008.
PDTC continued its onshore exploration away from the disputed area, drilling five more bore holes that were also dry. However, on 27 October 1960, the company discovered oil in commercial quantities at the Murban No. 3 well on the coast near Tarif. In 1962, PDTC became the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company. As oil revenues increased, the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, undertook a massive construction program, building schools, housing, hospitals, and roads. When Dubai's oil exports commenced in 1969, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, was able to invest the revenues from the limited reserves found to spark the diversification drive that would create the modern global city of Dubai.
=== Independence ===
By 1966, it had become clear that the British government could no longer afford to administer and protect the Trucial States, what is now the United Arab Emirates. British Members of Parliament (MPs) debated the preparedness of the Royal Navy to defend the sheikhdoms. On 24 January 1968, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson announced the government's decision, reaffirmed in March 1971 by Prime Minister Edward Heath, to end the treaty relationships with the seven trucial sheikhdoms. Days after the announcement, the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, fearing vulnerability, tried to persuade the British to honour the protection treaties by offering to pay the full costs of keeping the British Armed Forces in the Emirates. The British Conservative government rejected the offer. After Labour MP Goronwy Roberts informed Sheikh Zayed of the news of British withdrawal, the nine Persian Gulf sheikhdoms attempted to form a union of Arab emirates, but by mid-1971 they were still unable to agree on terms of union even though the British treaty relationship was to expire in December of that year.
Fears of vulnerability were realised the day before independence. An Iranian destroyer group broke formation from an exercise in the lower Gulf, sailing to the Tunb islands. On 30 November 1971 the islands were taken by force, civilians and Arab defenders alike allowed to flee. Two British warships, the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle and the HMS Albion, stood idle during the course of the invasion. A destroyer group approached the island of Abu Musa as well. But there, Sheikh Khalid bin Muhammad Al Qasimi had already negotiated with the Iranian shah, and the island was quickly leased to Iran for $3 million a year. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia laid claim to swathes of Abu Dhabi. It was not until 1974 that a border agreement was signed with Saudi Arabia, formally demarcating the frontiers between the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The UAE's sense of threat from Iran influenced its financial support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War.
Originally intended to be part of the proposed Federation of Arab Emirates, Bahrain became independent in August, and Qatar in September 1971. When the British-Trucial Sheikhdoms treaty expired on 1 December 1971, both emirates became fully independent. On 2 December 1971, six of the emirates (Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Sharjah, and Umm Al Quwain) agreed to enter into a union named the United Arab Emirates. Ras al-Khaimah joined later, on 10 January 1972. In February 1972, the Federal National Council (FNC) was created; it was a 40-member consultative body appointed by the seven rulers. The UAE joined the Arab League on 6 December 1971 and the United Nations on 9 December. It was a founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council in May 1981, with Abu Dhabi hosting the first GCC summit.
=== Post-independence period ===
The founding fathers of the United Arab Emirates were: Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi; Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum of Dubai; Khalid bin Muhammad Al Qasimi of Sharjah; Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi of Ajman; Ahmad bin Rashid Al Mualla of Umm Al Quwain; Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi of Ras Al Khaimah and Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi of Fujairah.
The UAE supported military operations by the US and other coalition states engaged in the Gulf War against Saddam Hussein in Ba'athist Iraq (1991), as well as operations supporting the global war on terror for the Horn of Africa at Al Dhafra Air Base located outside of Abu Dhabi. The air base also supported Allied operations during the 1991 Persian Gulf War and Operation Northern Watch. The country had already signed a military defence agreement with the U.S. in 1994 and one with France in 1995. In January 2008, France and the UAE signed a deal allowing France to set up a permanent military base in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The UAE joined international military operations in Libya in March 2011.
On 2 November 2004, the UAE's first president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, died. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan was elected as the president of the UAE. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan succeeded Sheikh Khalifa as crown prince of Abu Dhabi. In January 2006, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the prime minister of the UAE and the ruler of Dubai, died, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum assumed both roles.
The first ever national elections were held on 16 December 2006. A number of voters chose half of the members of the Federal National Council. The UAE has largely escaped the Arab Spring, which other countries have experienced; however, 60 Emirati activists from Al Islah were apprehended for an alleged coup attempt and the attempt of the establishment of an Islamist state in the UAE. Mindful of the protests in nearby Bahrain, in November 2012 the UAE outlawed online mockery of its government or attempts to organise public protests through social media.
On 29 January 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the UAE. Two months later, in March, the government announced the closure of shopping malls, schools, and places of worship, in addition to imposing a 24-hour curfew, and suspending all Emirates passenger flights. This resulted in a major economic downturn, which eventually led to the merger of more than 50% of the UAE's federal agencies.
On 29 August 2020, the UAE established normal diplomatic relations with Israel and with the help of the United States, they signed the Abraham Accords with Bahrain.
On 9 February 2021, the UAE achieved a historic milestone when its probe, named Hope, successfully reached Mars's orbit. The UAE became the first country in the Arab world to reach Mars, the fifth country to successfully reach Mars, and the second country, after an Indian probe, to orbit Mars on its maiden attempt.
On 14 May 2022, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was elected as the UAE's new president after the death of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
== Geography ==
The United Arab Emirates is situated in the Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia; it is in a strategic location slightly south of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil.
The UAE lies between 22°30' and 26°10' north latitude and between 51° and 56°25′ east longitude. It shares a 530-kilometre (330 mi) border with Saudi Arabia on the west, south, and southeast, and a 450-kilometre (280 mi) border with Oman on the southeast and northeast. The land border with Qatar in the Khor Al Adaid area is about nineteen kilometres (12 miles) in the northwest; however, it is a source of ongoing dispute. Following Britain's military departure from the UAE in 1971, and its establishment as a new state, the UAE laid claim to Iranian-occupied islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and the Lesser Tunbs, when Iran captured them during the British rule, resulting in disputes with Iran that remain unresolved. The UAE also disputes claim on other islands against the neighbouring state of Qatar. The largest emirate, Abu Dhabi, accounts for 87% of the UAE's total area, 67,340 square kilometres (26,000 sq mi). The smallest emirate, Ajman, encompasses only 259 km2 (100 sq mi).
The UAE coast stretches for nearly 650 km (404 mi) along the southern shore of the Persian Gulf, briefly interrupted by an isolated outcrop of the Sultanate of Oman. Six of the emirates are situated along the Persian Gulf, and the seventh, Fujairah, is on the eastern coast of the peninsula with direct access to the Gulf of Oman. Most of the coast consists of salt pans that extend 8–10 km (5.0–6.2 mi) inland. The largest natural harbor is at Dubai, although other ports have been dredged at Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and elsewhere. Numerous islands are found in the Persian Gulf, and the ownership of some of them has been the subject of international disputes with both Iran and Qatar. The smaller islands, as well as many coral reefs and shifting sandbars, are a menace to navigation. Strong tides and occasional windstorms further complicate ship movements near the shore. The UAE also has a stretch of the Al Bāţinah coast of the Gulf of Oman. The Musandam Peninsula, the very tip of Arabia by the Strait of Hormuz, and Madha are exclaves of Oman separated by the UAE.
South and west of Abu Dhabi, vast, rolling sand dunes merge into the Rub al-Khali (Empty Quarter) of Saudi Arabia. The desert area of Abu Dhabi includes two important oases with adequate underground water for permanent settlements and cultivation. The extensive Liwa Oasis is in the south near the undefined border with Saudi Arabia. About 100 km (62 mi) to the northeast of Liwa is the Al-Buraimi oasis, which extends on both sides of the Abu Dhabi-Oman border. Lake Zakher in Al Ain is a human-made lake near the border with Oman that was created from treated waste water.
Prior to withdrawing from the area in 1971, Britain delineated the internal borders among the seven emirates in order to preempt territorial disputes that might hamper formation of the federation. In general, the rulers of the emirates accepted the British interventions, but in the case of boundary disputes between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and also between Dubai and Sharjah, conflicting claims were not resolved until after the UAE became independent. The most complicated borders were in the Western Hajar Mountains, where five of the emirates contested jurisdiction over more than a dozen enclaves.
=== Biodiversity ===
The UAE contains the following terrestrial ecoregions: Al Hajar montane woodlands and shrublands, Gulf of Oman desert and semi-desert, and Al-Hajar foothill xeric woodlands and shrublands.
The oases grow date palms, acacia, and eucalyptus trees. In the desert, the flora is very sparse and consists of grasses and thorn bushes. The indigenous fauna had come close to extinction because of intensive hunting, which has led to a conservation program on Sir Bani Yas Island initiated by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in the 1970s, resulting in the survival of, for example, Arabian Oryx, Arabian camel, and leopards. Coastal fish and mammals consist mainly of mackerel, perch, and tuna, as well as sharks and whales.
=== Climate ===
The climate of the UAE is subtropical-arid with hot summers and warm winters. The climate is categorised as desert climate. The hottest months are July and August, when average maximum temperatures reach above 45 °C (113 °F) on the coastal plain. In the Hajar Mountains, temperatures are considerably lower, a result of increased elevation. Average minimum temperatures in January and February are between 10 and 14 °C (50 and 57 °F). During the late summer months, a humid southeastern wind known as Sharqi (i.e. "Easterner") makes the coastal region especially unpleasant. The average annual rainfall in the coastal area is less than 120 mm (4.7 in), but in some mountainous areas annual rainfall often reaches 350 mm (13.8 in). Rain in the coastal region falls in short, torrential bursts during the winter months, sometimes resulting in floods in ordinarily dry wadi beds. The region is prone to occasional, violent dust storms, which can severely reduce visibility.
On 28 December 2004, snow was recorded in the UAE for the first time, in the Jebel Jais mountain cluster in Ras al-Khaimah. A few years later, there were more sightings of snow and hail. The Jebel Jais mountain cluster has experienced snow only twice since records began.
== Government and politics ==
The United Arab Emirates is a federal semi-presidential state under a semi-constitutional monarchy made up of seven hereditary tribal monarchy-styled political units called Sheikhdoms. It is governed by a Federal Supreme Council made up of the ruling Sheikhs of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, and Umm Al Quwain. All responsibilities not granted to the federal government are reserved to the individual emirate. A percentage of revenues from each emirate is allocated to the UAE's central budget.
The UAE uses the title Sheikh instead of Emir to refer to the rulers of individual emirates. The title is used due to the sheikhdom-styled governing system in adherence to the culture of tribes of Arabia, where Sheikh means leader, elder, or the tribal chief of the clan who partakes in shared decision making with his followers. The president and vice president are elected by the Federal Supreme Council. Usually, the Head of the Al Nahyan family, who are based in Abu Dhabi, holds the presidency and the Head of the Al Maktoum family, based in Dubai, the prime ministership. All prime ministers but one have served concurrently as vice president.
The federal government is composed of three branches:
Legislative: A unicameral Federal Supreme Council and the advisory Federal National Council (FNC).
Executive: The President, who is also commander-in-chief of the military, the prime minister, and the Council of Ministers.
Judicial: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts.
The UAE e-Government is the extension of the UAE federal government in its electronic form. The UAE's Council of Ministers (Arabic: مجلس الوزراء) is the chief executive branch of the government presided over by the prime minister. The prime minister, who is appointed by the Federal Supreme Council, appoints the ministers. The Council of Ministers is made up of 22 members and manages all internal and foreign affairs of the federation under its constitutional and federal law. In December 2019, the UAE became the only Arab country, and one of only five countries in the world, to attain gender parity in a national legislative body, with its lower house being 50 percent women.
The UAE is the only country in the world that has a Ministry of Tolerance, a Ministry of Happiness, and a Ministry of Artificial Intelligence. The UAE also has a virtual ministry called the Ministry of Possibilities, designed to find solutions to challenges and improve quality of life. The UAE also has a National Youth Council, which is represented in the UAE cabinet by the Minister of Youth.
The UAE legislative body is the Federal National Council which convenes nationwide elections every four years. The FNC consists of 40 members drawn from all the emirates. Each emirate is allocated specific seats to ensure full representation. Half are appointed by the rulers of the constituent emirates, and the other half are elected by a small percentage of Emirati citizens, currently 33%, hand-picked by the rulers of each emirate. By law, the council members have to be equally divided between males and females. The FNC is restricted to a largely consultative role.
The UAE is an authoritarian federal monarchy. The UAE has been described as a "tribal autocracy" where the seven constituent monarchies are led by tribal rulers in an autocratic fashion. There are no democratically elected institutions, and there is no formal commitment to free speech. According to human rights organizations, there are systematic human rights violations, including the torture and forced disappearance of government critics. The UAE ranks poorly in freedom indices measuring civil liberties and political rights. The UAE has consistently ranked poorly across a number of freedom indices, including being ranked as "Not Free" in Freedom House's annual Freedom in the World report from 1999 to present day, ranks poorly in the annual Reporters without Borders' Press Freedom Index, International IDEA's Global State of Democracy (GSoD) Indices, the Democracy Tracker, and the Bertelsmann Transformation Index - which describes the UAE as a "moderate monarchy". The country was ranked 91 out of 137 states and is far below the average scoring for development towards a democracy, and is the third least democratic country in the Middle East. The country, by all measurements is not democratic, with particular weaknesses in political representation, including inclusive suffrage and credible elections.
=== Administrative divisions ===
The United Arab Emirates comprises seven emirates. The Emirate of Dubai is the most populous emirate with 35.6% of the UAE population. The Emirate of Abu Dhabi has 31.2%, meaning that over two-thirds of the UAE population lives in either Abu Dhabi or Dubai.
Abu Dhabi has an area of 67,340 square kilometres (26,000 square miles), which is 86.7% of the country's total area, excluding the islands. It has a coastline extending for more than 400 km (250 mi) and is divided for administrative purposes into three major regions. The Emirate of Dubai extends along the Persian Gulf coast of the UAE for approximately 72 km (45 mi). Dubai has an area of 3,885 square kilometres (1,500 square miles), which is equivalent to 5% of the country's total area, excluding the islands. The Emirate of Sharjah extends along approximately 16 km (10 mi) of the UAE's Persian Gulf coastline and for more than 80 km (50 mi) into the interior. The northern emirates which include Fujairah, Ajman, Ras al-Khaimah, and Umm al-Qaiwain all have a total area of 3,881 square kilometres (1,498 square miles). There are two areas under joint control. One is jointly controlled by Oman and Ajman, the other by Fujairah and Sharjah.
There is an Omani exclave surrounded by UAE territory, known as Wadi Madha. It is located halfway between the Musandam peninsula and the rest of Oman in the Emirate of Sharjah. It covers approximately 75 square kilometres (29 square miles) and the boundary was settled in 1969. The north-east corner of Madha is closest to the Khor Fakkan-Fujairah road, barely 10 metres (33 feet) away. Within the Omani exclave of Madha, is a UAE exclave called Nahwa, also belonging to the Emirate of Sharjah. It is about eight kilometres (5.0 miles) on a dirt track west of the town of New Madha. It consists of about forty houses with its own clinic and telephone exchange.
=== Foreign relations ===
The United Arab Emirates has broad diplomatic and commercial relations with most countries and members of the United Nations, despite significant human rights abuses. It plays a significant role in OPEC, and is one of the founding members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The UAE is a member of the United Nations and several of its specialised agencies (ICAO, ILO, UPU, WHO, WIPO), as well as the World Bank, IMF, Arab League, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the Non-Aligned Movement. Also, it is an observer in the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. Most countries have diplomatic missions in the capital Abu Dhabi with most consulates being in UAE's largest city, Dubai.
Emirati foreign relations are motivated to a large extent by identity and relationship to the Arab world. The United Arab Emirates has strong ties with Bahrain, China, Egypt, India, Jordan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.
Following the British withdrawal from the UAE in 1971 and the establishment of the UAE as a state, the UAE disputed rights to three islands in the Persian Gulf against Iran, namely Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb. The UAE tried to bring the matter to the International Court of Justice, but Iran dismissed the notion. Pakistan was the first country to formally recognise the UAE upon its formation. The UAE alongside multiple Middle Eastern and African countries cut diplomatic ties with Qatar in June 2017 due to allegations of Qatar being a state sponsor of terrorism, resulting in the Qatar diplomatic crisis. Ties were restored in January 2021. The UAE recognised Israel in August 2020, reaching a historic Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement and leading towards full normalisation of relations between the two countries.
Gulf Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates, showed interest in engaging with the Syrian transitional government to promote political transition and address regional concerns following the fall of the Assad regime. Additionally, the UAE leadership see the change in Syria as an opportunity to undermine Iranian influence in the Levant. The hope is to help push Iran out of Syria and cut its pathways between Iraq and Lebanon.
The UAE is the primary supporter of the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the ongoing Sudanese Civil War. In 2025, multiple reports exposed the UAE for supplying the RSF with weapons, in violation of international sanctions, and used to commit genocide in the region. On 6 March 2025, Sudan filed a case against the UAE at the International Court of Justice, accusing the UAE of complicity in genocide by supporting the RSF, which are alleged to have committed atrocities against the Masalit people in Darfur. In late 2025, the fall of El Fasher to the RSF led to widespread massacres and intensified global scrutiny of the UAE for its role in supporting the paramilitary group.
Joining US Senator Chris Van Hollen, United States Congress has pushed for an export ban of weapons to the UAE. As of November 2025, the bill remained in Congress.
=== Military ===
The armed forces of the United Arab Emirates consist of 44,000 active personnel in the Army, 2,500 personnel and 46 ships in the Navy, 4,500 personnel and 386 aircraft in the Air Force, and 12,000 personnel in the Presidential Guard. In 2022 the country spent US$20.4 billion on defense, which is 4% of its GDP. The UAE is considered to have the most capable military among the Gulf states.
Although initially small in number, the UAE armed forces have grown significantly over the years and are presently equipped with some of the most modern weapon systems, purchased from a variety of western military advanced countries, mainly France, the US, and the UK. Most officers are graduates of the United Kingdom's Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, with others having attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, the Royal Military College, Duntroon in Australia, and St Cyr, the military academy of France. France and the United States have played the most strategically significant roles with defence cooperation agreements and military material provision.
Some of the UAE military deployments include an infantry battalion to the United Nations UNOSOM II force in Somalia in 1993, the 35th Mechanised Infantry Battalion to Kosovo, a regiment to Kuwait during the Iraq War, demining operations in Lebanon, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, American-led intervention in Libya, American-led intervention in Syria, and the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen. The active and effective military role, despite its small active personnel, has led the UAE military to be nicknamed as "Little Sparta" by United States Armed Forces Generals and former US defense secretary James Mattis.
The UAE intervened in the Libyan Civil War in support of General Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army in its conflict with the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).
Examples of the military assets deployed include the enforcement of the no-fly-zone over Libya by sending six UAEAF F-16 and six Mirage 2000 multi-role fighter aircraft, ground troop deployment in Afghanistan, 30 UAEAF F-16s and ground troops deployment in Southern Yemen, and helping the US launch its first airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria.
The UAE has begun production of a greater amount of military equipment, in a bid to reduce foreign dependence and help with national industrialisation. Example of national military development include the Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding company (ADSB), which produces a range of ships and is a prime contractor in the Baynunah Programme, a programme to design, develop, and produce corvettes customised for operation in the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf. The UAE is also producing weapons and ammunition through Caracal International, military transport vehicles through Nimr LLC, and unmanned aerial vehicles collectively through Emirates Defence Industries Company. The UAE operates the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon F-16E Block 60 unique variant unofficially called "Desert Falcon", developed by General Dynamics in collaboration with the UAE and specifically for the United Arab Emirates Air Force. The United Arab Emirates Army operates a customised Leclerc tank and is the only other operator of the tank aside from the French Army. The largest defence exhibition and conference in the Middle East, International Defence Exhibition, takes place biennially in Abu Dhabi.
The UAE introduced a mandatory military service for adult males, since 2014, for 16 months to expand its reserve force. The highest loss of life in the history of UAE military occurred on Friday 4 September 2015, in which 52 soldiers were killed in Marib area of central Yemen by a Tochka missile which targeted a weapons cache and caused a large explosion.
=== Law ===
The United Arab Emirates has a federal court system, and the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ras Al Khaimah also have local court systems. The UAE's judicial system is derived from the civil law system and Sharia law. The court system consists of civil courts and Sharia courts. Sharia courts have exclusive jurisdiction in Muslim family law matters, while civil courts deal with all other legal matters. Since September 2020, corporal punishment is no longer a legal form of punishment under UAE federal law. Under the decree, legal forms of punishment are retribution and blood money payments, capital punishment, life imprisonment, temporary imprisonment, indefinite detention, and fines. Article 1 of the Federal Penal Code was amended in 2020 to state that Islamic Law applies only to retribution and blood money punishments; previously the article stated that "provisions of the Islamic Law shall apply to the crimes of doctrinal punishment, punitive punishment and blood money." Before 2020, flogging, stoning, amputation, and crucifixion were technically legal punishments for criminal offences such as adultery, premarital sex, and drug or alcohol use. In recent history, the UAE has declared its intention to move towards a more tolerant legal code, and to phase out corporal punishment altogether in favour of private punishment. With alcohol and cohabitation laws being loosened in advance of the 2020 World Expo, Emirati laws have become increasingly acceptable to visitors from non-Muslim countries.
Sharia courts have exclusive jurisdiction over Muslim family law matters such as marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance. Muslim women must receive permission from a male guardian to marry and remarry. This requirement is derived from Sharia law and has been federal law since 2005. It is illegal for Muslim women to marry non-Muslims and is punishable by law. Non-Muslim expatriates were liable to Sharia rulings on marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance, however, federal law was changed to introduce non-Sharia personal status law for non-Muslims. Recently, the emirate of Abu Dhabi opened a civil law family court for non-Muslims and Dubai has announced that non-Muslims can opt for civil marriages.
Apostasy is a technically capital crime in the UAE, however, there are no documented cases of apostates being executed. Blasphemy is illegal; expatriates involved in insulting Islam are liable for deportation.
Sodomy is illegal and is punishable by a minimum of 6-month imprisonment or a fine or both, but the law does not apply "except on the basis of a complaint from the husband or legal guardian", but the penalty may be suspended if the complaint is waived. In 2013, an Emirati man was on trial for being accused of a "gay handshake".
Due to local customs, public shows of affection in certain public places are illegal and could result in deportation, but holding hands is tolerated. Expats in Dubai have been deported for kissing in public. In several cases, the courts of the UAE have jailed women who have reported rape. Federal law in the UAE prohibits swearing on social media. Dancing in public is illegal in the UAE. In November 2020, UAE announced that it decriminalised alcohol, lifted the ban on unmarried couples living together, and ended lenient punishment on honor killing. Foreigners living in the Emirates were allowed to follow their native country's laws on divorce and inheritance.
Despite the Sharia laws that restrict gambling tools and machines in the UAE, the country granted its first commercial gaming operator's licence to Wynn Resorts that was developing a luxury resort, including a 224,000 ft2 (20,800 m2) casino component, at Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah. In September 2023, the UAE established the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), hinting towards its plans to legalise gambling. The GCGRA has outlined a comprehensive framework that includes licenses for casinos, slot machines, and poker tables, as well as lotteries, internet gaming, and sports wagering. The GCGRA emphasises responsible gaming, requiring operators to implement socially responsible gaming programs and undergo audits every two years. These programs include player education, responsible marketing, employee training, and evaluation plans to measure their effectiveness. Gaming operators must have a "qualifying domestic entity" in the UAE, defined as any UAE company with substantial business operations in the jurisdiction. The GCGRA also mandates player management tools, including deposit limits and cooling-off periods for online gaming.
The first lottery license has been granted to The Game LLC, operating under the banner of the 'UAE Lottery'. This move supersedes existing lottery operators like Mahzooz and Big Ticket, which are no longer legally permitted to offer their services. Players are required to engage only with licensed gaming operators to avoid severe penalties. The regulations also specify that operators must enable players to restrict themselves from online gaming platforms for a period of at least 72 hours upon request. This is part of the broader initiative to ensure a secure and responsible commercial gaming environment in the UAE.
The UAE's move to legalise gaming is seen as a strategic step to enhance its tourism and entertainment sector, leveraging its existing infrastructure and business-friendly environment. This development is expected to attract major gaming operators and contribute significantly to the country's economy.
The country does not have any formal gaming laws, and therefore the project details about the casino were not completely made public. Local citizens are not permitted for gambling, which remains a legal and cultural taboo.
=== Human rights violations ===
Human Rights Watch has reported on the country's ongoing unfair mass trials, restrictions of freedom of speech and abuses to migrant labor forces. The annual Freedom House report on Freedom in the World has listed the United Arab Emirates as "Not Free" every year since 1999, the first year for which records are available on their website. In 2025, the country ranked 18 out of 100 in terms of the freedom index, due to a lack of free elections, lack of government transparency and accountability, and a lack of free media and independent judicial system, and low scores against other metrics.
Freedom of association is also severely curtailed, and in most cases, banned under existing law. In the UAE an association requires twenty individuals, none of which can have previous convictions and must be preauthorized and registered with the government. All associations have to be submitted to censorship guidelines and all publications have first to be approved by the government. Updated in 2022, article 188 in the Penal Code makes the establishment of an association with the intended goal of challenging the existing regime punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty. In its 2025 Annual Report, Amnesty International has continuously identified severe human rights violations, particularly against freedom of assembly, freedom speech and an uptick in arbitrary arrest and torture.
Immigrant workers are often subject to harsh forms of the law within the country, and are often victims of arbitrary detention or torture within the country. One notable example is Ryan Cornelius, a 71-year-old British citizen who has been unlawfully detained in the UAE since 2008. The Arab Organization for Human Rights obtained testimonies from defendants who claimed being kidnapped, tortured and abused in detention centers; they reported sixteen methods of torture including beatings, threats with electrocution and denial of medical care. Repressive measures, including deportation, were applied on foreigners based on allegations of attempts to destabilize the country. The issue of sexual abuse among female domestic workers is another area of concern, particularly given that domestic servants are not covered by the UAE labour law of 1980 or the draft labour law of 2007. Additionally, the kafala system, or sponsorship for work results in a significant cost to migrant workers and conditions comparable to indentured servitude. Protests by foreign workers have been suppressed, and protesters imprisoned without due process; including in 2008, 2012, and most recently in 2023.
The state security apparatus in the UAE has been accused of human rights abuses including forced disappearance, arbitrary arrests and torture. In a mass trial in 2013, human rights activist and lawyer, Salim al-Shehhi claimed he was held in solitary confinement and forced to give a confession to crimes he was accused of. In 2023, the country held its largest mass trial where defendants were not given fair treatment. Beginning in December 2023, a trial with 84 defendants resulted in 43 people sentenced to life in prison, ten received sentences up to fifteen years for peaceful protests against the government. Those convicted were Bangladeshi individuals in the UAE, protesting their home government, while the UAE claimed the defendants were a part of a terrorist organization. The trial took place in secrecy with no documents or evidence provided in the court. In January 2025, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report highlighting the human rights abuses committed by the UAE in 2024, majorly focusing on the unfair mass trial, where the UAE's use of Federal Penal Code and the Cybercrime Law were used to silence government critics, journalists, dissidents and activists, while restricting their freedom of expression.
A December 2024 report by European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR) highlights the country's acute issue with unlawful, political persecution and absence of judicial independence. Trials are often held in secrecy and the defendants' lawyers are neglected from accessing case files and court documents. The UAE's 2014 Counter-Terrorism Law is used to enforce travel bans, life imprisonment and even death penalty for peaceful critics of the regime and those managing an organization. The UAE's counterterrorism law represses freedom of expression. The country's judicial system lacks any form of transparency or independence, and international organizations have called on the UN to form an independent committee to review all allegations of torture, incommunicado detention, and unfair trials.
Investigations have found that Qatari men have been abducted by the UAE government and allegedly withheld information about the men's fate from their families. Over 4,000 Shia expatriates have been deported from the UAE; including Lebanese Shia families for their alleged sympathies for Hezbollah. In 2013, 94 Emirati activists were held in secret detention centres and put on trial for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government; a relative of a defendant was arrested for tweeting about the trial, and sentenced to 10 months in jail. The latest forced disappearance involves three sisters from Abu Dhabi.
The UAE has expanded its international influence, subsequently committing human rights abuses across national borders. The country has been funding the genocide in Sudan, through direct support and supply of weapons to the Rapid Support Forces in the Sudanese civil war.
On 29 March 2024, Sudan filed a formal complaint with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), in response to the UAE's planning and backing the RSF militias against the Sudanese army. The ongoing conflict has reached new heights of violence with the continued support of the RSF by the UAE in terms of weapons and other equipment. Reports stating the Emirates wanted to provide humanitarian support for the Sudanese people turned out to be an expansion of a covert operation to funnel money, weapons - including drone technology - to opposition forces. Officials said the UAE was playing the most consequential role by inflaming the crisis, while pledging to ease it. In October 2024, Sudan wrote a second official letter to the UNSC, calling for it to take strong action against the UAE's continued aggression towards Sudan, with the Sudanese Foreign Ministry also claimed that the UAE is not just an indirect supporter of RSF, but rather a "vicious frontline player in the war of aggression" against Sudan.
As a response to their poor human rights records, the government of the UAE has tried to strengthen relations with a number of western private and public entities through whitewashing, to improve their public image. They established a Soft Power Council in 2017 in order to address their international image. The UAE deploys a number of these techniques, including gender-washing, green-washing and sports-washing; as evident in hosting major events like COP28, sporting events including Formula One races, the Abu Dhabi Cup in 2026; or promoting tourism and business to Dubai. The growing interest in playing a role in the international entertainment industriy is an attempt to scour the country's image of its ongoing human rights violations. They continue to face criticism for its ongoing contribution to climate change and human rights abuses, despite participating in these international events. In 2018, the country hosted the Second Annual World Tolerance Summit, which was protested by a number of NGOs and scholars.
=== Migrant workers ===
Migrant workers in the UAE are not allowed to join trade unions or go on strike. Those who strike may risk prison and deportation, as seen in 2014 when dozens of workers were deported for striking. The International Trade Union Confederation has called on the United Nations to investigate evidence that thousands of migrant workers in the UAE are treated as slave labour.
In 2019, an investigation performed by The Guardian revealed that thousands of migrant construction workers employed on infrastructure and building projects for the UAE's Expo 2020 exhibition were working in an unsafe environment. Some were even exposed to potentially fatal situations due to cardiovascular issues. Long hours in the sun made them vulnerable to heat strokes.
A report in January 2020 highlighted that the employers in the United Arab Emirates have been exploiting the Indian labor and hiring them on tourist visas, which is easier and cheaper than work permits. These migrant workers are left open to labor abuse, where they also fear reporting exploitation due to their illegal status. Besides, the issue remains unknown as the visit visa data is not maintained in both the UAE and Indian migration and employment records.
In a 22 July 2020 news piece, Reuters reported human rights groups as saying conditions had deteriorated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many migrant workers racked up debt and depended on the help of charities. The report cited salary delays and layoffs as a major risk, in addition to overcrowded living conditions, lack of support and problems linked with healthcare and sick pay. Reuters reported at least 200,000 workers, mostly from India but also from Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Nepal, had been repatriated, according to their diplomatic missions.
On 2 May 2020, the Consul General of India in Dubai, Vipul, confirmed that more than 150,000 Indians in the United Arab Emirates registered to be repatriated through the e-registration option provided by Indian consulates in the UAE. According to the figures, 25% of applicants lost their jobs and nearly 15% were stranded in the country due to lockdown. Besides, 50% of the total applicants were from the state of Kerala, India.
On 9 October 2020, The Telegraph reported that many migrant workers were left abandoned, as they lost their jobs amidst the tightening economy due to COVID-19.
Various human rights organisations have raised serious concerns about the alleged abuse of migrant workers by major contractors organising Expo 2020. UAE's business solution provider German Pavilion is also held accountable for abusing migrant workers.
=== Environmental policy ===
Environmental issues in the United Arab Emirates are caused by the exploitation of natural resources, rapid population growth, and high energy demand. Climate change contributes to UAE's water scarcity, drought, and rising sea level. The country is a leading oil and gas producer. Its energy consumption per capita is around 370 Gigajoule. The UAE's carbon dioxide emissions per capita are high, ranking sixth among countries globally. Recently, it made efforts to make itself more sustainable. Those include:
Setting a target to reduce GHG emissions by 31% in comparison to business scenario by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.
Launching a program to make the 3 most emissions-intensive sectors, 40% more energy efficient.
Launching some programs related to green building. Retrofitting of 30,000 buildings alone, should cut 1 million tons emissions.
Promoting public transport and more.
According to official sources, in Dubai, "the share of mass transport in people's mobility increased from 6 per cent in 2006 to 20.61 per cent in 2022." Together with the USA the country invested 17 billion dollars in sustainable agriculture.
== Economy ==
The United Arab Emirates has developed from a juxtaposition of Bedouin tribes to one of the world's wealthiest states in only about 50 years, boasting one of the highest GDP (PPP) per capita figures in the world. Economic growth has been impressive and steady throughout the history of this young confederation of emirates with brief periods of recessions only, e.g. in the global financial and economic crisis years 2008–09, and a couple of more mixed years starting in 2015 and persisting until 2019. Between 2000 and 2018, average real gross domestic product (GDP) growth was at close to 4%. It is the second largest economy in the GCC (after Saudi Arabia), with a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of US$414.2 billion, and a real GDP of 392.8 billion constant 2010 USD in 2018. Since its independence in 1971, the UAE's economy has grown by nearly 231 times to 1.45 trillion AED in 2013. The non-oil trade has grown to 1.2 trillion AED, a growth by around 28 times from 1981 to 2012. Supported by the world's seventh-largest oil reserves and aided by prudent investments coupled with a resolute commitment to economic liberalism and strong governmental oversight, the UAE has witnessed its real GDP increase by more than three times over the past four decades. Presently, the UAE is among the wealthiest countries globally, with GDP per capita nearly 80% higher than the OECD average.
As impressive as economic growth has been in the UAE, the total population has increased from just around 550,000 in 1975 to close to 10 million in 2018. This growth is mainly due to the influx of foreign workers into the country, making the national population a minority. The UAE features a unique labour market system, in which residence in the UAE is conditional on stringent visa rules. This system is a major advantage in terms of macroeconomic stability, as labour supply adjusts quickly to demand throughout economic business cycles. This allows the government to keep unemployment in the country on a very low level of less than 3%, and it also gives the government more leeway in terms of macroeconomic policies – where other governments often need to make trade-offs between fighting unemployment and fighting inflation.
Between 2014 and 2018, the accommodation and food, education, information and communication, arts and recreation, and real estate sectors overperformed in terms of growth, whereas the construction, logistics, professional services, public, and oil and gas sectors underperformed.
As for competitiveness, in June 2024 it was reported that the UAE has moved up three place to the 7th place among the top 10 countries in the IMD World Competitiveness. This ranking is issued by the World Competitiveness Centre of the Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland.
=== Business and finance ===
The UAE is ranked as the 26th best country in the world for doing business by the Doing Business 2017 Report published by the World Bank Group. The UAE are in the top ranks of several other global indices, such as the World Happiness Report (WHR) and 30th in the Global Innovation Index in 2025. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) assigns the UAE rank two regionally in terms of business environment and 22 worldwide. From the 2018 Arab Youth Survey, the UAE emerges as the top Arab country in areas such as living, safety and security, economic opportunities, and starting a business, and as an example for other states to emulate.
The weaker points remain the level of education across the UAE population, limitations in the financial and labour markets, barriers to trade and some regulations that hinder business dynamism. The major challenge for the country, though, remains translating investments and strong enabling conditions into innovation and creative outputs.
UAE law does not allow trade unions to exist. The right to collective bargaining and the right to strike are not recognised, and the Ministry of Labour has the power to force workers to go back to work. Migrant workers who participate in a strike can have their work permits cancelled and be deported. Consequently, there are very few anti-discrimination laws in relation to labour issues, with Emiratis – and other GCC Arabs – getting preference in public sector jobs despite lesser credentials than competitors and lower motivation. In fact, just over eighty per cent of Emirati workers hold government posts, with many of the rest taking part in state-owned enterprises such as Dubai Properties and the airline Emirates. Western states, including the United Kingdom, were also warned by the Emirati Trade Minister, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, to keep politics separate from trade and the economy, as it dilutes the agreements' main objectives. In 2023, Al Zeyoudi indicated that these countries should "tone down" the human and workers' rights provisions in the trade deals, in order to gain greater market access and business opportunities.
The UAE's monetary policy stresses stability and predictability. The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) keeps a peg to the US Dollar (USD) and moves interest rates close to the Federal Funds Rate.
According to Fitch Ratings, the decline in property sector follows risks of progressively worsening the quality of assets in possession with UAE banks, leading the economy to rougher times ahead. Even though as compared to retail and property, UAE banks fared well. The higher US interest rates followed since 2016 – which the UAE currency complies to – have boosted profitability. However, the likelihood of plunging interest rates and increasing provisioning costs on bad loans, point to difficult times ahead for the economy.
Since 2015, economic growth has been more mixed due to a number of factors impacting both demand and supply. In 2017 and 2018, growth has been positive but on a low level of 0.8 and 1.4%, respectively. To support the economy, the government is currently following an expansionary fiscal policy. However, the effects of this policy are partially offset by monetary policy, which has been contractionary. If not for the fiscal stimulus in 2018, the UAE economy would probably have contracted in that year. One of the factors responsible for slower growth has been a credit crunch, which is due to, among other factors, higher interest rates. Government debt has remained on a low level, despite high deficits in a few recent years. Risks related to government debt remain low. Inflation has been picking up in 2017 and 2018. Contributing factors were the introduction of a value added tax (VAT) of 5% in 2018 as well as higher commodity prices. Despite the government's expansionary fiscal policy and a growing economy in 2018 and at the beginning of 2019, prices have been dropping in late 2018 and 2019 owing to oversupply in some sectors of importance to consumer prices.
The UAE has an attractive tax system for companies and wealthy individuals, making it a preferred destination for companies seeking tax avoidance. The NGO Tax Justice Network places them in 2021 in the group of the ten largest tax havens. In 2023, the UAE's legal system fell under international scrutiny, as the members of the British Parliament opened an inquiry into how the foreign business executives are treated in the country, in case of accusations of breaking the law.
2024 will be the third consecutive year that the UAE holds first place as the world's leading wealth magnet, as 6,700 wealthy migrants are set to move to the country.
=== VAT ===
The UAE government implemented value-added tax (VAT) in the country from 1 January 2018, at a standard rate of 5%.
While the government may still adjust the exact arrangement of the VAT, it is not likely that any new taxes will be introduced in the foreseeable future. Additional taxes would destroy one of the UAE's main enticements for businesses to operate in the country and put a heavy burden on the economy.
=== Energy ===
Oil and gas production is an important part of the economy of the UAE. In 2018, the oil and gas sector contributed 26% to overall GDP. The UAE leadership initiated economic diversification efforts even before the oil price crash in the 1980s, resulting in the UAE having the most diversified economy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region at present. Although the oil and gas sector continues to be significant to the UAE economy, these efforts have yielded great resilience during periods of oil price fluctuations and economic turbulence. The introduction of the VAT has provided the government with an additional source of income – approximately 6% of the total revenue in 2018, or 27 billion United Arab Emirates dirham (AED) – affording its fiscal policy more independence from oil- and gas-related revenue, which constitutes about 36% of the total government revenue.
The Barakah nuclear power plant is the first on the Arabian peninsula and expected to reduce the carbon footprint of the country.
The UAE has solar generation potential, and its energy policy has shifted due to the declining price of solar. The Dubai Clean Energy Strategy aims to provide 7 per cent of Dubai's energy from clean energy sources by 2020. It will increase this target to 25 per cent by 2030 and 75 per cent by 2050.
In 2023, ADNOC and its CEO Sultan Al Jaber closed at least 20 business deals worth nearly $100 billion. The state oil firm was alleged of exploiting the UAE's COP28 presidency to pursue oil and gas deals. As per leaked documents, Al Jaber's team targeted 16 nations to lobby firms, delegates or ministers on such deals. ADNOC sought deals with companies from 12 countries, which included 11 of the 16 target nations. Al Jaber and senior ADNOC officials openly discussed deals. COP28 organising teams were excluded from meetings and replaced by ADNOC officials, leaving a closed group that made deals.
=== Tourism ===
Tourism acts as a growth sector for the entire UAE economy. Dubai is the top tourism destination in the Middle East. According to the annual MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index, Dubai is the fifth most popular tourism destination in the world. Dubai holds up to 66% share of the UAE's tourism economy, with Abu Dhabi having 16% and Sharjah 10%. Dubai welcomed 10 million tourists in 2013.
The UAE has the most advanced and developed infrastructure in the region. Since the 1980s, the UAE has been spending billions of dollars on infrastructure. These developments are particularly evident in the larger emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The northern emirates are rapidly following suit, providing major incentives for developers of residential and commercial property.
The inbound tourism expenditure in the UAE for 2019 accounted for 118.6 per cent share of the outbound tourism expenditure. Since 6 January 2020, tourist visas to the United Arab Emirates are valid for five years. It has been projected that the travel and tourism industry will contribute about 280.6 billion United Arab Emirati dirham to the UAE's GDP by 2028.
The country's major tourist attraction includes the famous Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest tower in the world; The World archipelago and Palm Jumeirah also in Dubai; Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi; Al Hajar Mountains in Fujairah. The uniqueness of the country's natural desert life, especially with the Bedouins, also facilitates the country's tourist industry.
The UAE will diversify its tourism sector with the introduction of casino gambling. Wynn Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah will feature the first casino in the country and will also be the country's first integrated resort when it opens in March 2027.
Abu Dhabi is set to become the home of Disneyland Abu Dhabi, the first Disney theme park in the Middle East.
=== Transport ===
Dubai International Airport became the busiest airport in the world by international passenger traffic in 2014, overtaking London Heathrow. Abu Dhabi International Airport is the second-largest airport in the UAE. Due to the announced expansion of Al Maktoum Airport on 28 April 2024, Dubai International Airport will be shut down once Al Maktoum Airport expansion will be completed.
Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, and Ras Al Khaimah are connected by the E11 highway, which is the longest road in the UAE. In Dubai, in addition to the Dubai Metro, The Dubai Tram and Palm Jumeirah Monorail also connect specific parts of the city. There is also a bus, taxi, abra (traditional boat), and water taxi network run by RTA. T1, a double-decker tram system in Downtown Dubai, were operational from 2015 to 2019.
Salik, meaning "open" or "clear", is Dubai's electronic toll collection system that was launched in July 2007 and is part of Dubai's traffic congestion management system. Each time one passes through a Salik tolling point, a toll is deducted from the drivers' prepaid toll account using advanced Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. There are four Salik tolling points placed in strategic locations in Dubai: at Al Maktoum Bridge, Al Garhoud Bridge, and along Sheikh Zayed Road at Al Safa and Al Barsha.
A 1,200 km (750 mi) country-wide railway is under construction which will connect all the major cities and ports. The Dubai Metro is the first urban train network in the Arabian Peninsula.
The major ports of the United Arab Emirates are Khalifa Port, Zayed Port, Port Jebel Ali, Port Rashid, Port Khalid, Port Saeed, and Port Khor Fakkan. The Emirates are increasingly developing their logistics and ports in order to participate in trade between Europe and China or Africa. For this purpose, ports are being rapidly expanded and investments are being made in their technology.
The Emirates have historically been and currently still are part of the Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast to the south via the southern tip of India to Mombasa, from there through the Red Sea via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region and the northern Italian hub of Trieste with its rail connections to Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the North Sea.
=== Telecommunications ===
The United Arab Emirates is served by two telecommunications operators, Etisalat and Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company ("du"). Etisalat operated a monopoly until du launched mobile services in February 2007. Internet subscribers were expected to increase from 0.904 million in 2007 to 2.66 million in 2012. The regulator, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, mandates filtering websites for religious, political, and sexual content.
5G wireless services were installed nationwide in 2019 through a partnership with Huawei.
== Demographics ==
According to an estimate by the World Bank, the UAE's population in 2020 was 9,890,400. Immigrants accounted for 88.52% while Emiratis made up the remaining 11.48%. This unique imbalance is due to the country's exceptionally high net migration rate of 21.71, the world's highest. UAE citizenship is very difficult to obtain other than by filiation and only granted under very special circumstances.
The UAE is ethnically diverse. The five most populous nationalities in the emirates of Dubai, Sharjah, and Ajman are Indian (25%), Pakistani (12%), Emirati (9%), Bangladeshi (7%), and Filipino (5%). Immigrants from Europe, Australia, and North America make up around 100,000 of the population. The rest of the population are from other Arab states.
About 88% of the population of the United Arab Emirates is urban. The average life expectancy was 76.7 in 2012, higher than for any other Arab country. With a male/female sex ratio of 2.2 males for each female in the total population and 2.75 to 1 for the 15–65 age group, the UAE's gender imbalance is second highest in the world after Qatar.
=== Largest cities ===
=== Language ===
Modern Standard Arabic is the national language of the United Arab Emirates. English is the most commonly spoken language, following British English conventions. Emirati Arabic, a variety of Gulf Arabic, is spoken natively by Emirati people.
=== Religion ===
Islam is the largest and the official state religion of the United Arab Emirates. The government follows a policy of tolerance toward other religions and rarely interferes in the religious activities of non-Muslims.
There are more Sunni than Shia Muslims in the United Arab Emirates, and 85% of the Emirati population are Sunni Muslims with most of them adhering to the Maliki school of jurisprudence. The vast majority of the remainder 15% are Shia Muslims, who are concentrated in the Emirates of Dubai and Sharjah. Although no official statistics are available for the breakdown between Sunni and Shia Muslims among noncitizen residents, media estimates suggest less than 20% of the noncitizen Muslim population are Shia. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is the largest mosque in the country and a major tourist attraction. Ibadi is common among Omanis in the UAE, while Sufi influences exist as well.
Christians account for 9% of the total population of the United Arab Emirates, according to the 2005 census; estimates in 2010 suggested a figure of 12.6%. Roman Catholics and Protestants form significant proportions of the Christian minority. The country has over 52 churches in 2023. Many Christians in the United Arab Emirates are of Asian, African, and European origin, along with fellow Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt. The United Arab Emirates forms part of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia and the Vicar Apostolic Bishop Paul Hinder is based in Abu Dhabi.
There is a small Jewish community in the United Arab Emirates. Before 2023, there was only one known synagogue in Dubai, which has been open since 2008 and the synagogue also welcomes visitors. Another synagogue, Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue, was completed in 2023 as part of the Abrahamic Family House complex in Abu Dhabi. As of 2019, according to Rabbi Marc Schneier of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, it is estimated that there are about 150 families to 3,000 Jews who live and worship freely in the UAE.
South Asians in the United Arab Emirates constitute the largest ethnic group in the country. Over 2 million Indian migrants (mostly from the southern states of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Coastal Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu) are estimated to be living in the UAE. There are currently three Hindu temples in the country. Other religions also exist in the United Arab Emirates, including Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Judaism, Baháʼís, and Druze.
The UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Abdullah bin Zayed, announced in 2019 the design and construction plan of the Abrahamic Family House, which will serve as an interfaith complex that houses a synagogue, mosque, and a church on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi.
=== Education ===
The education system through secondary level is administered by the Ministry of Education in all emirates except Abu Dhabi, where it falls under the authority of the Department of Education and Knowledge. Public schools are divided into primary schools, middle schools, and high schools. The public schools are government-funded and the curriculum is created to match the United Arab Emirates' development goals. The medium of instruction in the public school is Arabic with emphasis on English as a second language. There are also many private schools which are internationally accredited. Public schools in the country are free for citizens of the UAE, while the fees for private schools vary.
The higher education system is monitored by the Ministry of Higher Education. The ministry also is responsible for admitting students to its undergraduate institutions. The adult literacy rate in 2015 was 93.8%.
The UAE has shown a strong interest in improving education and research. Enterprises include the establishment of the CERT Research Centres and the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology and Institute for Enterprise Development. According to the QS Rankings, the top-ranking universities in the country are the United Arab Emirates University (421–430th worldwide), Khalifa University (441–450th worldwide), the American University of Sharjah (431–440th), and University of Sharjah (551–600th worldwide). United Arab Emirates was ranked 33rd in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, up from 36th in 2019.
=== Health ===
In 2018, the life expectancy at birth in the UAE was 76.96 years. Cardiovascular disease is the principal cause of death in the UAE, constituting 28% of total deaths; other major causes are accidents and injuries, malignancies, and congenital anomalies. According to World Health Organization data from 2016, 34.5% of adults in the UAE are clinically obese, with a body mass index (BMI) score of 30 or more.
In February 2008, the Ministry of Health unveiled a five-year health strategy for the public health sector in the northern emirates, which fall under its purview and which, unlike Abu Dhabi and Dubai, do not have separate healthcare authorities. The strategy focuses on unifying healthcare policy and improving access to healthcare services at reasonable cost, at the same time reducing dependence on overseas treatment. The ministry plans to add three hospitals to the current 14, and 29 primary healthcare centres to the current 86. Nine were scheduled to open in 2008.
The introduction of mandatory health insurance in Abu Dhabi for expatriates and their dependents was a major driver in reform of healthcare policy. Abu Dhabi nationals were brought under the scheme in June 2008 and Dubai followed for its government employees. Eventually, under federal law, every Emirati and expatriate in the country will be covered by compulsory health insurance under a unified mandatory scheme.
The UAE has benefited from medical tourists from all over the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. The UAE attracts medical tourists seeking cosmetic surgery and advanced procedures, cardiac and spinal surgery, and dental treatment, as health services have higher standards than other Arab countries in the Persian Gulf.
== Culture ==
Emirati culture is based on Arabian culture and has been influenced by the cultures of Persia, India, and East Africa. Arabian and Arabian inspired architecture is part of the expression of the local Emirati identity. Arabian influence on Emirati culture is noticeably visible in traditional Emirati architecture and folk arts. For example, the distinctive wind tower that tops traditional Emirati buildings, the barjeel, has become an identifying mark of Emirati architecture and is attributed to Arabian influence. This influence is derived both from traders who fled the tax regime in Persia in the early 19th century and from Emirati ownership of ports on the Arabian coast, for instance the Al Qassimi port of Lingeh.
Major holidays in the United Arab Emirates include Eid al Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, and National Day (2 December), which marks the formation of the United Arab Emirates.
Literature and other written works by modern Emiratis are not well known globally because the majority of writers in country do not publish in English, women are restricted from participating in traditional literary groups, and freedom of expression is surpessed. The earliest known poet in the UAE is Ibn Majid, born between 1432 and 1437 in Ras Al-Khaimah. The most famous Emirati writers were Mubarak Al Oqaili (1880–1954), Salem bin Ali al Owais (1887–1959), and Ahmed bin Sulayem (1905–1976). Three other poets from Sharjah, known as the Hirah group, are observed to have been heavily influenced by the Apollo and Romantic poets. The Sharjah International Book Fair is the oldest and largest in the country.
Traditional folk dances, such as Al-Ayyala, are performed by men and women in the UAE during festivals, holidays, and weddings. Liwa is a type of music and dance performed locally, mainly in communities that contain descendants of Bantu peoples from the African Great Lakes region.
The list of museums in the United Arab Emirates includes some of regional repute, most famously Sharjah with its Heritage District containing 17 museums, which in 1998 was the Cultural Capital of the Arab World. In Dubai, the area of Al Quoz has attracted a number of art galleries as well as museums such as the Salsali Private Museum. Abu Dhabi has established a culture district on Saadiyat Island. Six grand projects are planned, including the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Dubai also plans to build a Kunsthal museum and a district for galleries and artists. There are very few cinemas of the United Arab Emirates, and any published material is subject to strict censorship guidelines, despite a repeal of the harshest guidelines in 2021. To view a movie in the country you must be 21 years old.
=== Media ===
The UAE's media is annually classified as "not free" in the Freedom of the Press report by Freedom House. The UAE ranks poorly in the annual Press Freedom Index by Reporters without Borders. Dubai Media City is the UAE's main media zone. The UAE is home to some pan-Arab broadcasters, including the Middle East Broadcasting Centre and Orbit Showtime Network. In 2007, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum decreed that journalists can no longer be prosecuted or imprisoned for reasons relating to their work.
At the same time, the UAE has made it illegal to disseminate online material that can threaten "public order", and hands down prison terms for those who "deride or damage" the reputation of the state and "display contempt" for religion. Journalists who are arrested for violating this law are often brutally beaten by the police.
According to UAE Year Book 2013, there are seven Arabic newspapers and eight English language newspapers, as well as a Tagalog newspaper produced and published in the UAE.
New media, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram are used widely in the UAE by the government entities and by the public as well. The UAE government avails official social media accounts to communicate with public and hear their needs.
In recent years, there has been a notable surge in digital media consumption in the UAE, driven by the widespread use of platforms like Snapchat and TikTok among the younger population. Influencers on these platforms play a significant role in shaping trends and promoting various products and services. The government has also implemented digital initiatives to enhance e-Government services and promote smart city concepts, further demonstrating the UAE's commitment to technological advancements.
=== Cuisine ===
The traditional food of the Emirates has always been rice, fish, and meat. The people of the United Arab Emirates have adopted most of their foods from other West and South Asian countries including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan, and India. Seafood has been the mainstay of the Emirati diet for centuries. Meat and rice are other staple foods, with lamb and mutton preferred to goat and beef. Popular beverages are coffee and tea, which can be complemented with cardamom or saffron to give them a distinctive flavour.
Popular cultural Emirati dishes include threed, machboos, khubisa, khameer, and chabab bread among others while lugaimat is a famous Emirati dessert.
With the influence of western culture, fast food has become very popular among young people, to the extent that campaigns have been held to highlight the dangers of fast food excesses. Alcohol is allowed to be served only in hotel restaurants and bars. All nightclubs are permitted to sell alcohol. Specific supermarkets may sell alcohol, but these products are sold in separate sections. Likewise, pork, which is haram (not permitted for Muslims), is sold in separate sections in all major supermarkets. Although alcohol may be consumed, it is illegal to be intoxicated in public or drive a motor vehicle with any trace of alcohol in the blood.
=== Sports ===
Formula One is particularly popular in the United Arab Emirates, and a Grand Prix is annually held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The race takes place in the evening, and was the first ever Grand Prix to start in daylight and finish at night. Other popular sports include camel racing, falconry, endurance riding, and tennis. The emirate of Dubai is also home to two major golf courses: the Dubai Golf Club and Emirates Golf Club.
Aside from the leisure aspect, sports can play an important part in shaping national identity. Falconry, for example, has functioned as a national symbol since its inception in 1971. Aside from the national prevalence of falconry, the UAE have played a formative role internationally in the co-ordination of UNESCO's recognition of falconry as intangible heritage.
In the past, child camel jockeys were used, leading to widespread criticism. Eventually, the UAE passed laws banning the use of children for the sport, leading to the prompt removal of almost all child jockeys. Recently robot jockeys have been introduced to overcome the problem of child camel jockeys which was an issue of human rights violations. Ansar Burney is often praised for the work he has done in this area.
==== Football ====
Football is a popular sport in the UAE. Al Nasr, Al Ain, Al Wasl, Sharjah, Al Wahda, Shabab Al Ahli, Baniyas, Emirates, and Al Jazira are the most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The United Arab Emirates Football Association was established in 1974 and since then has dedicated its time and effort to promoting the game, organising youth programmes, and improving the abilities of not only its players, but also the officials and coaches involved with its regional teams.
The UAE’s senior men's team qualified for the Italy FIFA World Cup in 1990 (along with Egypt) and finished at 24th place. It was the third consecutive World Cup with two Arab nations qualifying, after Kuwait and Algeria in 1982, and Iraq and Algeria again in 1986. The UAE has won the Gulf Cup Championship twice: the first cup won in January 2007 held in Abu Dhabi and the second in January 2013, held in Bahrain; they were runners-up four times and placed third four times.
The UAE hosted the 1996 AFC Asian Cup and went all the way to the final, where they were defeated by the eventual champions and placed 2nd; subsequently they qualified for the 1997 Confederations Cup as Asian champions and finished in 6th place. They also finished 3rd at the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia. In the Olympic level the UAE finished 2nd in 2010 and 3rd in 2018 Asian Games, and participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics at London to finish 15th. In the Arab Cup they finished 2nd in 2005 at Switzerland and 3rd in 2025 at Qatar. Other tournaments they Won were the 2005 Kirin Cup, 2000 LG Cup, 2013 OSN Cup in Saudi Arabia, and Friendship Tournament which they won twice, placed 2nd twice and placed 3rd once.
Regarding Emirati clubs' international level, Al Ain qualified for the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup, defeating the champions of Oceania, Africa, and South America to ultimately face European champions Real Madrid in the final and finish as runners-up. Al Ain also qualified for the expanded 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, finishing with three points and being eliminated in the group stage. Al Ain won the AFC Champions League Elite twice, in 2003 and 2024, and finished as runners-up twice, in 2005 and 2016, a feat also achieved by Shabab Al Ahli in 2015. They also finished third in 1999, a position also attained by Al Wasl in 1993.
In the AFC Champions League Two, Al Shaab (now Sharjah) finished as runners-up in 1995 and won the title 30 years later in 2025. Eight editions of the AGCFF Champions League were won by Emirati clubs, most of whom were Al Shabab Al Arabi (part of Shabab Al Ahli today), finished as runners-up four times and third place twice. Al Ain also finished as runners-up for the 2024 African–Asian–Pacific Cup, part of the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup. The only two editions of the UAE–Morocco Super Cup, which were held in 2015 and 2016, ended with the Emirati clubs winning, and the four Qatar-UAE Super/Challenge Cups and Shields in 2025 ended with all Emirati clubs winning them.
Emirati ownership extends to several professional football clubs outside the United Arab Emirates through City Football Group, a UK-based holding company majority owned by an Abu Dhabi–registered investment vehicle controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The group holds full or partial ownership of clubs in multiple countries, including Manchester City FC (England), New York City FC (United States), Melbourne City FC (Australia), Yokohama F. Marinos (Japan), Girona FC (Spain), ESTAC Troyes (France), Lommel SK (Belgium), and Palermo FC (Italy).
==== Cricket ====
Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the UAE, largely because of the expatriate population from the SAARC countries, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The headquarters of the International Cricket Council (ICC) have been located in the Dubai Sports City complex since 2005, including the ICC Academy which was established in 2009. There are a number of international cricket venues in the UAE, which are frequently used for international tournaments and "neutral" bilateral series due to the local climate and Dubai's status as a transport hub.
Notable international tournaments hosted by the UAE have included the 2014 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, and three editions of the Asia Cup (1984, 1995, and 2018). Notable grounds include the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium in Sharjah, Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, and Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.
The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) became a member of the ICC in 1990. The UAE national cricket team has qualified for the Cricket World Cup on two occasions (1996 and 2015) and the ICC Men's T20 World Cup on two occasions (2014 and 2022). The national women's team is similarly one of the strongest associate teams in Asia, notably participating in the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 Qualifier.
Following the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, the UAE served as the de facto home of the Pakistan national cricket team for nearly a decade, as well as hosting the Pakistan Super League. The UAE has also hosted one full edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2020 and two partial editions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2014 and 2021. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Little_Devils | All Little Devils | All Little Devils is the third studio album by the Norwegian gothic metal band Dismal Euphony. It was released in 1999, and was the band's first album with Nuclear Blast.
== Track listing ==
"Days of Sodom" (5:22)
"Rage of Fire" (3:44)
"Victory" (4:31)
"All Little Devils" (4:12)
"Lunatic" (4:19)
"Psycho Path" (4:03)
"Shine for Me, Misery" (6:20)
"Scenario" (4:12)
"Dead Words" (2:17)
== Production ==
Recorded and mixed at Woodhouse Studios
Produced by Waldemar Sorychta
Engineered by Siggi Bemm & Waldemar Sorychta
Mastered by Siggi Bemm
Logo by Vibeke Tveiten
Cover and layout by Thomas Ewerhard |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clofazimine | Clofazimine | Clofazimine, sold under the brand name Lamprene, is a medication used together with rifampicin and dapsone to treat leprosy. It is specifically used for multibacillary (MB) leprosy and erythema nodosum leprosum, and its discovery greatly improved the overall efficiency of the treatment. Evidence is insufficient to support its use in other conditions, though a retrospective study found it 95% effective in the treatment of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) when administered together with a macrolide and ethambutol, as well as the drugs amikacin and clarithromycin. However, in the United States, clofazimine is currently considered an orphan drug, is unavailable in pharmacies, and its use in the treatment of MAC is overseen by the Food and Drug Administration. It is taken orally.
Common side effects include abdominal pain, diarrhea, itchiness, dry skin, and change in skin color. It can also cause swelling of the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, increased blood sugar, and sensitivity to the sun. It is unclear if use during pregnancy is safe. Clofazimine is a phenazine dye and is believed to work by interfering with DNA.
Clofazimine was discovered in the 1950s at Trinity College, Dublin, and approved for medical use in the United States in 1986. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. In the United States it is not available commercially but can be obtained from the US Department of Health and Human Services.
== Medical uses ==
The primary use of clofazimine is for the treatment of leprosy. Other uses have not been proven to be safe or effective.
It has been studied in combination with other antimycobacterial drugs to treat Mycobacterium avium infections in people with HIV/AIDS and Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis. Clofazimine also has a marked anti-inflammatory effect and is given to control the leprosy reaction, erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL). (From AMA Drug Evaluations Annual, 1993, p1619). The drug is given as an alternative to people who can not tolerate the effects of dapsone for leprosy.
Early research suggested clofazimine inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and reduce viral load and inflammation in the lung in animal models
== Side effects ==
Clofazimine produces pink to brownish skin pigmentation in 75-100% of patients within a few weeks, as well as similar discoloration of most bodily fluids and secretions. These discolorations are reversible but may take months to years to disappear. There is evidence in medical literature that as a result of clofazimine administration, several patients have developed depression which in some cases resulted in suicide. It has been hypothesized that the depression was a result of this chronic skin discoloration.
Cases of ichthyosis and skin dryness are also reported in response to this drug (8%-28%), as well as rash and itchiness (1-5%).
== Mechanism ==
Clofazimine works by binding to the guanine bases of bacterial DNA, thereby blocking the template function of the DNA and inhibiting bacterial proliferation. It also increases activity of bacterial phospholipase A2, leading to release and accumulation of lysophospholipids, which are toxic and inhibit bacterial proliferation.
Clofazimine is also a FIASMA (functional inhibitor of acid sphingomyelinase).
== Metabolism ==
Clofazimine has a biological half life of about 70 days. Autopsies performed on those who have died while on clofazimine show crystal-like aggregates in the intestinal mucosa, liver, spleen, and lymph nodes.
== History ==
Clofazimine, initially known as B663, was first synthesised in 1954 by a team of scientists at Trinity College, Dublin: Frank Winder, J.G. Belton, Stanley McElhinney, M.L. Conalty, Seán O'Sullivan, and Dermot Twomey, led by Vincent Barry. Clofazimine was originally intended as an anti-tuberculosis drug but proved ineffective. In 1959, a researcher named Y. T. Chang identified its effectiveness against leprosy. After clinical trials in Nigeria and elsewhere during the 1960s, Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis launched the product in 1969 under the brand name Lamprene.
Novartis was granted FDA approval of clofazimine in December 1986 as an orphan drug. The drug is currently no longer commercially available in the United States as Novartis has discontinued production of clofazimine for the US market and no generic or other brand names are marketed in the US although it retains FDA approval.
== Society and culture ==
Clofazimine is marketed under the trade name Lamprene by Novartis although its discontinued in some countries like the US. Other brands are also available in many countries. Another producer of the clofazimine molecule is Sangrose Laboratories, located in Mavelikara, India.
== Research ==
The immunosuppressive effects of clofazimine were immediately noticed when applied in animal model. Macrophages were first reported to be inhibited due to the stabilization of lysosomal membrane by clofazimine. Clofazimine also showed a dosage-dependent inhibition of neutrophil motility, lymphocyte transformation, mitogen-induced PBMC proliferation and complement-mediated solubilization of pre-formed immune complexes in vitro. A mechanistic studying of clofazimine in human T cells revealed that this drug is a Kv1.3 (KCNA3) channel blocker. This indicates that clofazimine will be potentially used for treatment of multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes. Because the Kv1.3-high effector memory T cells (TEM) are actively involved in the development of these diseases, and Kv1.3 activity is essential for stimulation and proliferation of TEM by regulating calcium influx in the T cells.
Several clinical trials were also conducted looking for its immunosuppressive activity even before it was approved for leprosy by FDA. It was first reported to be effective in treating chronic discoid lupus erythematosus with 17 out of 26 patients got remission. But later another group found it was ineffective in treating diffuse, photosensitive, systemic lupus erythematosus. Clofazimine also has been sporadically reported with some success in other autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, Miescher's granulomatous cheilitis. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alejandro_González_Iñárritu | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Alejandro González Iñárritu (born 15 August 1963) is a Mexican filmmaker primarily known for making modern psychological drama films about the human condition. His most notable films include Amores perros (2000), 21 Grams (2003), Babel (2006), Biutiful (2010), Birdman (2014), The Revenant (2015), and Bardo (2022). His projects have garnered critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including five Academy Awards.
In 2006, Iñárritu became the first Mexican filmmaker to receive the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival. He became the first Mexican filmmaker to be nominated as director or producer in the history of the Academy Awards, as well as the first to win for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture. In 2019, Iñárritu served as the first Latin American president of the jury for the 72nd Cannes Film Festival.
In 2015, Iñárritu was awarded the Academy Award for Best Director for Birdman (2014) and a year later received the same award for The Revenant (2015), making him the third director to win the award back-to-back, following in the footsteps of John Ford and Joseph L. Mankiewicz. To date, he is the only director in history to have won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directing two years in a row.
Iñárritu was later awarded a Special Achievement Academy Award for his virtual reality installation Carne y Arena (2017), the first ever VR installation to be presented at the Cannes Film Festival.
== Early life ==
Iñárritu was born on 15 August 1963 in Mexico City, the youngest of seven siblings, to Luz María Iñárritu and Héctor González Gama. His maternal grandfather, Alfredo Iñárritu y Ramírez de Aguilar, was a prominent lawyer, judge, and justice of the Supreme Court of Mexico with partial Basque origins. The surname Iñárritu is of Basque origin. Héctor was a banker who owned a ranch, but went bankrupt when Iñárritu was five. A poor student, Iñárritu was expelled from high school at the age of 16 or 17 due to poor grades and misbehavior. He briefly ran off with a girl from a wealthy family to Acapulco, having been influenced by the Miloš Forman film Hair, but returned to Mexico City after a week.
Soon after, Iñárritu left home and worked as a sailor on cargo boats, taking two trips at the ages of 16 and 18, sailing through the Mississippi River and then visiting Europe and Africa. With $1,000 supplied by his father, Iñárritu stayed in Europe for a year on the second trip. Around this time, Iñárritu had the opportunity to watch the Palme d'Or-winning film Yol by world-famous Kurdish director Yılmaz Güney. Iñárritu was very impressed by Yol and later said in interviews that this film was the reason he turned to cinema. According to some Turkish journalists, the scene in The Revenant (2015) where Leonardo DiCaprio enters the belly of a dying horse was a reference to Yılmaz Güney and his film Yol, because there was a similar scene in that film.
He has noted that these early travels as a young man have had a great influence on him as a filmmaker, and the settings of his films have often been in the places he visited during this period. After his travels, Iñárritu returned to Mexico City and majored in communications at Universidad Iberoamericana.
== Career ==
=== 1984–1999: Early career ===
Iñárritu began his career in 1984 as a radio host at the Mexican radio station WFM, the country's most popular rock music station, where he "pieced together playlists into a loose narrative arc". He worked with and interviewed artists like Robert Plant, David Gilmour, Elton John, Bob Geldof and Carlos Santana. He also wrote and broadcast small audio stories and storytelling promos. He later became the youngest producer for Televisa, the largest mass media company in Latin America. From 1987 to 1989, he composed music for six Mexican feature films. During this time, Iñárritu became acquainted with Mexican writer Guillermo Arriaga, beginning their screenwriting collaborations. Iñárritu has stated that he believes music has had a bigger influence on him as an artist than film itself. In the early 1990s, Iñárritu created Z Films, a production company, with Raúl Olvera in Mexico. Under Z Films, he started writing, producing and directing short films and advertisements. Making the final transition into TV and film directing, he studied under well-known theater director Ludwik Margules, as well as Judith Weston in Los Angeles. In 1995, Iñárritu wrote and directed his first TV pilot for Z Films, called Detrás del dinero, or Behind the Money, starring Miguel Bosé.
=== 2000–2009: Directorial debut and breakthrough ===
In 2000, Iñárritu directed his first feature film Amores perros, written by Guillermo Arriaga. Amores perros explored Mexican society in Mexico City told via three intertwining stories. In 2000, Amores perros premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Critics' Week Grand Prize. It was the film debut of actor Gael García Bernal, who would later appear in Babel and the Iñárritu-produced Mexican film Rudo y Cursi. Amores perros was
the first installment in Iñárritu's and Arriaga's thematic "Death trilogy", and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 2002, Iñárritu directed "Powder Keg", an episode for the BMW short film series The Hire, starring Clive Owen as the driver and Stellan Skarsgård as a war photographer. It won the Cannes Gold Lion Advertising Award.
After the success of Amores Perros, Iñárritu and Arriaga revisited the intersected-stories structure of Amores perros in Iñárritu's second feature film, 21 Grams (2003). The film starred Benicio del Toro, Naomi Watts and Sean Penn. It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, where Penn received the Volpi Cup for Best Actor. At the 76th Academy Awards, Del Toro and Watts received nominations for their performances. From 2001 to 2011, Iñárritu directed several short films. In 2001, he directed an 11-minute film segment for 11'09"01 September 11 - which is composed of several short films that explore the effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks from different points of view around the world. In 2007, he made ANNA, part of French anthology film Chacun son cinéma, which screened at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Chacun son cinéma, a collection of 33 short films by 35 renowned film directors representing 25 countries, was produced for the 60th anniversary of the film festival. In 2012, Iñárritu made the experimental short film Naran Ja: One Act Orange Dance, inspired by L.A Dance Project's premiere performance, featuring excerpts from the new choreography Benjamin Millepied crafted for Moving Parts. The story takes place in a secluded, dusty space and centers around LADP dancer Julia Eichten.
Iñárritu embarked on his third and last film that formed the "Death Trilogy", Babel (2006), written again by Arriaga. Babel comprises four interrelated stories set in Morocco, Mexico, the United States, and Japan, in four different languages. The film stars Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Adriana Barraza, Gael Garcia Bernal, Rinko Kikuchi and Kōji Yakusho. The rest of the cast comprised non-professional actors. The film competed at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, where Iñárritu received the Best Director Award (Prix de la mise en scène), becoming the first Mexican-born director to win the award. Babel was a critical and box office success. It received seven nominations at the 79th Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Gustavo Santaolalla, the film's composer, won the Academy Award for Best Original Score. The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama in 2007. Iñárritu became the first Mexican director to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Directing and the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing. After this third feature film collaboration with writing partner Arriaga, Iñárritu and he professionally parted ways, following Iñárritu's barring of Arriaga from the set during filming. Arriaga told the Los Angeles Times in 2009, "It had to come to an end, but I still respect [González Iñárritu]."
=== 2010–2019: Prominence and acclaim ===
In 2010, Iñárritu directed and produced Biutiful, starring Javier Bardem, written by Iñárritu, Armando Bó Jr., and Nicolás Giacobone. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2010. Bardem went on to win Best Actor (shared with Elio Germano for La nostra vita) at Cannes. Biutiful is Iñárritu's first film in his native Spanish since his debut feature Amores perros. The film was nominated at the 2011 Golden Globes for Best Foreign Language Film, and at the BAFTA Awards for Best Film Not in the English Language and Best Actor. For the second time in his career, Iñárritu's film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards; Javier Bardem's performance was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2010, Iñárritu directed "Write the Future", a football-themed commercial for Nike ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which went on to win the Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival. In 2012, he directed Procter & Gamble's "Best Job" commercial spot for the 2012 Olympic Ceremonies. It won the Best Primetime Commercial Emmy at Creative Arts Emmy Awards and the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials. On 4 October 2012, Facebook released an Iñárritu-directed brand film titled The Things That Connect Us to celebrate the social network reaching one billion users.
In December 2013, Warner Bros. hired Iñárritu to direct a live-action adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's 1894 book The Jungle Book. Eventually, Andy Serkis directed the film titled Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018). In 2014, Iñárritu won three Academy Awards for directing, co-writing and co-producing Best Picture winner Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), starring Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, and Andrea Riseborough. The film is an existential dark comedy exploring the ego of a forgotten superhero actor, experienced as if filmed on a single shot. It was the first time a Mexican Filmmaker received Best Picture at the Academy Awards. He also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, a DGA Award and a PGA Award for the film. Iñárritu was also set to direct and produce the tv series One Percent, an organic farming drama which he co-created with Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolas Giacobone, and Armando Bo for Starz. Starz gave the show a straight-to-series order, but dropped out in 2017 as the U.S. broadcaster of the series, with production company MRC shopping the project to other networks or streaming platforms.
In 2015, Iñárritu directed The Revenant, initially adapted by Mark L. Smith, before joined the writing process, based on Michael Punke's novel of the same name. The film is a remake of the film Man in the Wilderness (1971) and starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, and Domhnall Gleeson. It is a "gritty" 19th-century period drama-thriller about fur trapper Hugh Glass, a real person who joined the Rocky Mountain Fur Company on a "journey into the wild" and was robbed and abandoned after being mauled by a grizzly bear. The film considers the nature and stresses on relationships under the duress of the wilderness, and issues of revenge and pardon via Glass's pursuit of the man who was responsible for his hardship. The Revenant took nine months to shoot. With The Revenant being a critical and commercial success, Iñárritu won a second consecutive Oscar for Best Director and was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, winning Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Actor. Iñárritu is one of only three directors to ever win consecutive Oscars, and the first to do it in 65 years. He was also nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, winning three, including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director; received nine Critics' Choice Movie Awards nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director; five BAFTAs including Best Picture and Best Director; and a DGA Award, making history as the first person to ever win two in a row.
The One Percent, originally planned as an upcoming American television drama series created and written by Iñárritu, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., Nicolás Giacobone and Armando Bó, was eventually postponed on early March 2017 due to Alejandro feeling burnt out after the production of The Revenant. The quartet, who also collaborated on Birdman, were to serve as executive producers. Iñárritu was set to direct the first two episodes and set the visual style of the show. Iñárritu's virtual reality project Carne y Arena was the first ever VR installation presented at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017. Carne y Arena was also presented, at LACMA, Washington, D.C., and featured at the Prada Foundation in Milan. Additionally, Carne y Arena was awarded the first Special Achievement Academy Award in over 20 years at the Academy's 9th Annual Governors Awards.
=== 2020–present ===
Iñárritu co-wrote, co-produced and directed the 2022 Spanish-language film Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, starring Daniel Giménez Cacho and Griselda Siciliani. It is his first film made in Mexico since Amores Perros (2000). It premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Lion and was later distributed by Netflix. Bardo polarized critics and received mixed reviews. Film critic Wendy Ide of The Guardian called the film "occasionally brilliant" and "audacious, bold film-making" but "cluttered with symbolism and bloated with self-regard". Iñárritu described the response from critics as being "racist" saying, "You can like it or not — that's not the discussion. But for me, there's a kind of racist undercurrent where because I'm Mexican, I'm pretentious". It earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography at the 95th Academy Awards.
In February 2024, it was announced that he is co-writing and directing a then-untitled English-language film distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, with Legendary Pictures co-producing. Tom Cruise is set to star, with Sandra Hüller, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Sophie Wilde, Riz Ahmed, and Emma D'Arcy in supporting roles. In December 2025, the film was revealed to be titled Digger, and is set to be released on October 2, 2026.
== Influences ==
Iñarritu's cinematic influences include Max Ophüls, Robert Altman, Sidney Lumet, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Luis Buñuel, Andrei Tarkovsky, Sergio Leone, Martin Scorsese, Yılmaz Güney, and John Cassavetes. However, his influences are not limited to film and come from a variety of sources.
== Personal life ==
Iñárritu has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
He is married to Maria Eladia Hagerman, an editor and graphic designer. They have a daughter and a son.
In 2009, Iñárritu, along with several filmmakers and actors, signed a petition in support of director Roman Polanski, who had been detained while traveling to a film festival following his arrest in relation to his 1977 sexual abuse charges, which the petition argued would undermine the tradition of film festivals as a place for works to be shown "freely and safely", and that arresting filmmakers traveling to neutral countries could open the door "for actions of which no-one can know the effects".
== Filmography ==
=== Feature films ===
=== Short films ===
=== Commercials ===
== Accolades and honors ==
Iñárritu has been recognized with multiple awards for his films, including five Academy Awards, two Directors Guild of America Awards, a Producers Guild of America Award, three British Academy Film Awards, three AACTA Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, two Independent Spirit Awards, two American Film Institute Awards, and three Cannes Film Festival Award. He is the first Mexican director to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing, and the first to win the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2015, Iñárritu won, among many other accolades, the Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Directing, the Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture, and the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Directing for Birdman, becoming the first Mexican to win three Academy awards. In 2016, Iñárritu won the Academy Award for Best Director for his work on The Revenant, marking the first time in 65 years that a director has won the award in two consecutive years. Iñárritu is the third director to accomplish this feat, following John Ford and Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
In 2006, Iñárritu was honored at the Gotham Awards' World Cinema Tribute, alongside fellow Mexican filmmakers Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro. In 2011, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at Zurich Film Festival. In 2015, Iñárritu received the Sundance Institute's Vanguard Leadership Award for the "originality and independent spirit" of his films. He was also honored by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art at its Art + Film Gala. That year, he received an honorary doctorate from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. In 2016, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California. In 2019, he was also made Commander of the Order of the Arts and Letters in France.
Directed Academy Award performances
Under Iñárritu's direction, these actors have received the Academy Award nominations and wins for their performances in their respective roles. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenna_Ortega | Jenna Ortega | Jenna Marie Ortega (born September 27, 2002) is an American actress. Known for her work in horror, Ortega has been dubbed "Gen Z's scream queen" by media publications. She has also been featured on the Power 100 list from The Hollywood Reporter in 2023 and the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2024.
Ortega began acting professionally at age nine and received recognition for her role as a younger version of Jane in The CW comedy-drama series Jane the Virgin (2014–2019). She then played a leading role as Harley Diaz in the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle (2016–2018), for which she won an Imagen Award. She expanded into more mature projects afterwards, playing Ellie Alves in the thriller series You (2019) and co-starring in the horror-comedy film The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020), both for Netflix. She received praise for her performance as a traumatized high school student in the drama film The Fallout (2021).
Ortega rose to wider prominence as a scream queen after co-starring in the successful slasher films Scream (2022), X (2022), and Scream VI (2023). She gained international recognition and critical plaudits for her portrayal of Wednesday Addams in the Netlix horror comedy series Wednesday (2022–present), for which she received nominations at the Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy, and Screen Actors Guild awards. She has since starred in the blockbuster fantasy film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) and the ill-received thriller film Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025). Aside from acting, Ortega has been noted for her goth glam style in addition to supporting various charitable causes.
== Early life ==
Jenna Marie Ortega was born on September 27, 2002, in Rancho Mirage, California. Her father, Edward Ortega, a former sheriff who works at a California district attorney's office, is of Mexican descent, and her mother, Natalie Ortega, an emergency room nurse, is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent. She is the fourth of their six children. Ortega's maternal great-grandmother was an undocumented immigrant from Sinaloa, Mexico, and her maternal grandfather relocated from Puerto Rico to the Bronx, New York, before moving to the Western United States. Ortega grew up in La Quinta, California, and has described her childhood self as "loud and extroverted".
Ortega wanted to act from the age of six after watching Dakota Fanning in the 2004 thriller film Man on Fire. Ortega was unable to understand how a young child could perform in a way that could scare her so much; she analyzed the film several times and decided she wanted to be "the Puerto Rican version of [Fanning]". Ortega later said that acting served as an escape from the pressure she placed on herself due to being a "very existential" and worrisome child. She begged her mother for three years to let her pursue that career path. Her mother attempted to distract her with activities including soccer and schoolwork. Soccer almost convinced Ortega to quit pursuing acting. Ortega's mother bought her a monologue book when she was nine and posted a video of her performing online. A casting director saw it and signed her to an agency.
Ortega's mother began driving her to Los Angeles as often as five days per week for auditions, a journey that could take six hours round trip. She struggled to land roles, because few parts existed for Latinas and she "didn't look [a certain] way". Such rejection challenged her self-esteem. She considered dyeing her hair blonde in an attempt to book more roles. For the first year, with no connections in the film industry, Ortega only auditioned for TV commercials. She managed to secure parts in 12 national campaigns, including three for McDonald's. During the school week, she would act in Los Angeles for a few days and subsequently return home to attend school. She attended public school, including Amelia Earhart Elementary School and John Glenn Middle School. She stopped attending public school during eighth grade to act in Disney productions and got an apartment in Los Angeles after booking a role in Stuck in the Middle (2016–2018). During that time, Ortega acted in Los Angeles during the workweek and returned home on weekends. Ortega has said that her early teenage years were "full of tension and fear" due to being terrified of making mistakes while working.
== Career ==
=== 2012–2017: Early acting roles and Disney ===
Ortega made her acting debut in the sitcom Rob (2012) and later made a guest appearance in the CSI: NY episode "Unspoken". In 2013, she made her film debut in an uncredited role as the vice president's daughter in the superhero film Iron Man 3. In the same year, Ortega appeared in the horror film Insidious: Chapter 2 as a part of the supporting cast. From 2014 to 2019, Ortega had a recurring role on The CW comedy television series Jane the Virgin as a younger version of Jane Villanueva, who is portrayed by Gina Rodriguez as an adult. Declan Gallagher of Entertainment Weekly commended Ortega's performance, writing that she avoided "the trappings of a typical child actor". She also starred in the direct-to-video comedy film The Little Rascals Save the Day (2014) and the Netflix sitcom Richie Rich (2015). Ortega appeared in the comedy-drama film After Words (2015) as Anna Chapa, the daughter of a male escort. The Los Angeles Times praised her as "adorable", whereas The Arizona Republic found her "horribly cloying".
From 2016 to 2018, Ortega led the Disney Channel sitcom Stuck in the Middle as Harley Diaz, an aspiring inventor who is the middle child of the seven siblings. Ortega drew inspiration from her own family and relationships with her siblings; she felt her experience starring on the show was akin to reality television. Common Sense Media praised Ortega's performance, saying she "commands this role, pleading her case as a long-suffering middle kid while finding the humor in the many calamities that befall her efforts to shine". Ortega garnered three Imagen Award nominations for Best Young Actor – Television, including a win in 2018. She also voiced Princess Isabel in Elena and the Secret of Avalor (2016) and Elena of Avalor (2016–2020).
=== 2018–2021: Transition to mature roles ===
In 2018, Ortega starred in the film Saving Flora in the lead role of Dawn, a circus owner's daughter. After Stuck in the Middle ended, she aimed to act in more mature projects but found people assumed Disney roles were "all you can do, or all you were meant for". She considered quitting acting several times, saying that she "was too old for the young roles and too young for the older roles". In 2018, she was cast as Ellie Alves in the second season of the Netflix thriller series You, which was released on December 26, 2019. Like the show's first season, the second season received positive reviews; The Hollywood Reporter's Robyn Bahr noted Ortega as "a standout performer". Ortega was slated to return for the third and fourth seasons but was unable to do so due to scheduling conflicts.Ortega played Phoebe, the love interest of Judah Lewis's character, in Netflix's horror film The Babysitter: Killer Queen, which was released in September 2020 to negative critical reviews. She also voiced a travel vlogger named Brooklynn in the Netflix animated show Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous (2020–2022). In 2021, she made her writing debut with the book It's All Love: Reflections for Your Heart & Soul, which contains a series of quotes and statements regarding faith and love. She starred in the Netflix comedy movie Yes Day (2021), portraying a stubborn teenager who wants more independence from her parents. It was released in March 2021 to mixed reviews. IndieWire lauded Ortega as "very capable", and the Associated Press referred to her as "an impressively poised young actor".
Ortega had a leading role in the high-school drama film The Fallout, starring as a student who is navigating her emotional trauma after a school shooting. To prepare for the role, she looked at photographs and watched videos and interviews about school shootings; processing such events afterward "kind of came naturally". She also participated in the March for Our Lives movement, which led demonstrations in support of U.S. gun control legislation. The Fallout premiered at South by Southwest on March 17, 2021, and was released on HBO Max on January 27, 2022. The film received a positive response from critics, and Ortega's acting was applauded. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times described her performance as "grounded and deeply moving", while The Hollywood Reporter wrote that her "beautifully nuanced turn understands the nothing-to-look-at-here façade and the chinks in the armor".
=== 2022–2023: Mainstream breakthrough ===
In the slasher film Scream (2022)—the fifth film in the Scream franchise—Ortega played Tara Carpenter, on which she stated: "I don't even think there are words in the English language to correctly express how happy, excited and nervous I am for this journey". Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett cast Ortega because of her ability to play both horror and comic tones, and for the sound of her scream. She felt nervous about joining a well-known franchise, wanting to respect its legacy while avoiding derivation. She said that working on the film taught her the importance of cast chemistry to the natural flow of the production process. Scream was a critical and commercial success, becoming the 28th-highest-grossing film of 2022. According to The A.V. Club, Ortega demonstrated "incredible" resilience and resolve in her role. She also won the MTV Movie Award for Most Frightened Performance.
Ortega later appeared in the Foo Fighters–led horror film Studio 666 (2022). Reviewers said she was underused. She then starred in the slasher film X (2022), which was directed and written by Ti West, who said Ortega was "fearless in her commitment". Ortega signed onto the project because of its script, calling it "the most outrageous thing I've ever read", and the opportunity to work with West. X became Ortega's best-reviewed film on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes; The Australian dubbed her and co-star Mia Goth "scene-stealers". The comedy-horror American Carnage was Ortega's final film release of 2022. The A.V. Club said she was continuing "her streak as the new it-girl of horror with a stubborn punk persona that masks her care for other people", while IGN lauded her "no-shits-given shell".
In May 2021, Ortega was cast as Wednesday Addams in the Netflix comedy-horror series Wednesday (2022), which she called a "new chapter" in her career. She auditioned through a Zoom call with director Tim Burton, during which she read a four-page monologue. The casting team felt her portrayal offered the character the necessary empathy. She was initially hesitant to accept the part because she wanted to focus on film acting and feared working on another television series would prevent her from booking the roles she wanted. To prepare for the role, Ortega underwent "the most physical transformation I've ever done", cutting her hair and dying it black, as well as altering her mannerisms, style of speaking, and facial expressions. She also learned to play cello and speak German, read the original Addams Family comic, and watched the 1960s television adaptation. Ortega called the production of Wednesday's first season her "most overwhelming job" in 2022, and spoke about being in a constant state of confusion and stress over the direction of the series and character. She said that she had never "had to put my foot down on a set in the way that I had to on Wednesday", believing that the initial writing was nonsensical from a character standpoint and did not suit Wednesday's personality. While filming some scenes, Ortega would change her lines without informing the crew.
Upon Wednesday's release, critics widely praised Ortega's performance; CNN said that she sets the series apart from similar spin-offs, being "relentlessly strange, a portrait in unblinking intensity and oddly endearing all at once". Wednesday became one of Netflix's most-watched shows, receiving over 1 billion viewing hours within a month. Ortega's performance received nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, becoming the category's second-youngest nominee. Journalists have credited the show with garnering Ortega international recognition. She later spoke about her discomfort with becoming well known for her work on the show, having had a creatively unpleasant experience filming it.
In March 2023, Ortega hosted an episode of NBC's sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live. Ortega reprised her role as Tara Carpenter in Scream VI. The film was released in March 2023 and grossed over $169 million on a budget of $33–35 million. Deadline Hollywood attributed its box-office success partially to Ortega's star power. In a review, Variety's Owen Gleiberman praised her "surly spunk", and Slant Magazine said she "fantastically embodie[d] the role". In November 2023, Ortega exited the Scream franchise after her co-star Melissa Barrera was fired due to her pro-Palestinian comments on the Gaza war; she stated a subsequent film did not appear to be the "right move" due to the changing cast and crew. Earlier reports suggested that Ortega left the franchise because of scheduling conflicts with the filming of Wednesday's second season and an unsuccessful request for seven-figure pay. In the crime thriller film Finestkind (2023), Ortega played Mabel, a drug dealer's daughter who is seeking her own path in life. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to negative reviews. Many journalists said Ortega had been miscast.
=== 2024–present: Continued film roles ===
Ortega began 2024 with a starring role in the drama Miller's Girl, opposite Martin Freeman. The film tells the story of Cairo Sweet (Ortega), a high schooler whose writing ability captures her teacher's interest, which leads to a complicated relationship between the two. She called her character "the most complex character that I've ever played" and described the material as risky since she thought it would provoke discussions on topics people may find disturbing. RogerEbert.com's Christy Lemire found Ortega "magnetic enough" to maintain the viewer's interest, although she thought the character's motives were predictable and illogical; Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press dubbed the film "a pointless, awkward turn" in her career. Ortega appeared in the romantic drama Winter Spring Summer or Fall, which premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Festival. Director Tiffany Paulsen described Ortega as the casting team's first choice for the role of Remi Aguilar, a driven genius who falls in love with a rebellious musician. She later starred in the music video for Sabrina Carpenter's song "Taste".
Ortega starred in Burton's fantasy film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)—a sequel to Beetlejuice (1988)—playing Astrid Deetz, the cynical teenage daughter of Lydia Deetz. It opened the 81st Venice International Film Festival and received generally positive reviews. Rolling Stone said Ortega was an "unimpeachable" casting choice and commended the emotions she conveyed using a "world-class deadpan stare". In a more negative review, The Independent stated that she "can't help but seem a little bland and strait-laced" acting opposite Michael Keaton as Betelgeuse. The film has grossed $451 million worldwide; publications such as Boxoffice Pro and TheWrap credited Ortega for attracting younger audiences, particularly members of Generation Z.
In the dark comedy Death of a Unicorn (2025), Paul Rudd and Ortega starred as a father and daughter who accidentally kill a unicorn, leading to brutal consequences. Ortega said she was drawn to the project because of its original and unique script. The film received mixed reviews. Peter Travers of ABC News said Ortega "takes this horror comedy into human territory and gives it a beating heart", bringing energy to the story despite its perceived shortcomings. Another review in IGN described her portrayal as a "wonderfully lived-in performance" of a withdrawn youth, praising her ability to "inject great thought and subtext into any scenario". She next featured in Trey Edward Shults' Hurry Up Tomorrow, co-starring alongside Abel Tesfaye and Barry Keoghan. Ortega played Anima, a troubled young woman who pulls Tesfaye's character into an existential odyssey. The film was panned by critics, but Ortega's performance was generally praised. Clint Worthington of RogerEbert.com felt that she did "her best to uplift her half of the movie", while Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter commended her "intense" energy. IndieWire's Charles Bramesco, however, dismissed her performance as "imitative and hollow".
Ortega reprised her role as Wednesday in the second season of Wednesday. She became a producer, which she described as a "natural progression" due to the first season's collaborative nature, though she said her new role made her feel "more empowered to speak my mind". Ortega was involved with writing, design, and casting, where she discussed scripts, oversaw prosthetics, and observed auditions and chemistry reads. She stated the experience was "a great education" where she sought to immerse herself and absorb as much as possible. Upon the season's 2025 release, Ortega's performance continued to received positive reviews. RogerEbert.com described her portrayal as "expertly calibrated between menacing and inquisitive", and The Guardian said her "charisma could power a thousand hearses". She also received her second Golden Globe and Actor Award nominations. In 2026, she starred opposite Natalie Portman in The Gallerist.
==== Upcoming projects ====
Ortega is slated portray the titular character in Klara and the Sun, directed by Taika Waititi, and appear in J. J. Abrams's The Great Beyond, for which she was given creative control over her character's appearance.
Ortega is also attached to co-star and produce Single Female, a remake of the 1992 thriller film Single White Female, opposite Taylor Russell.
== Other ventures ==
=== Activism and philanthropy ===
Ortega has used her platform to support various causes, including Pride Over Prejudice—a DoSomething campaign that advocates for immigrants and refugees—the National Bullying Prevention Center, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, Planned Parenthood, and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS. She is pro-immigration and anti-discrimination, telling Teen Vogue: "It's important to embrace your culture today because there are so many different ethnicities in America. At the end of the day, you are you. You've got to stay true to yourself, and you can't change yourself in order to fit in or to make someone else feel comfortable." Ortega is also an advocate for women's rights.
In 2016, Ortega organized a meet-and-greet event for fans to raise money for a young girl with cancer. At the 2018 Radio Disney Music Awards, Ortega wore a jacket displaying the words "I Do Care and U Should Too" in response to the clothing First Lady of the United States Melania Trump wore on a visit to see immigrant children who were being housed without their parents. Trump's jacket read, "I Really Don't Care, Do U?". Ortega's protest gained significant media coverage; she told the Associated Press that Trump's apparel displayed a lack of judgement and as the first lady, she ought to show concern for migrant children. Ortega later said: "We should all care about each other and our country ... we are one country under God". In 2019, Ortega appeared at numerous We Day benefit concerts across the U.S. and Canada to raise funds for WE Charity.
In 2023, Ortega, as part of a group called Artists4Ceasefire, signed a letter urging the United States Congress and President Joe Biden to call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. She later condemned the Tel al-Sultan attack and emphasized the need for a ceasefire. In 2026, she denounced the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti.
=== Endorsements ===
In 2020, Ortega was named a brand ambassador for the cosmetics manufacturer Neutrogena and was the face of its "My Quinceañera Journey" campaign. In 2023, she became an ambassador for the sportswear company Adidas and the luxury fashion brand Dior. She was the face of Adidas Sportswear, the company's first new line in 50 years, as well as one of the faces of the #DareInGrisDior campaign. In 2025, she was announced as a global beauty ambassador for Dior. Ortega starred alongside Danny Ramirez, Olivia Negron, and Patricia Mauceri in an advertisement for Doritos that aired at the Super Bowl LVIII in February 2024.
== Artistry ==
Megan Park, who directed Ortega in The Fallout, said that she knows "when to give her all and when to hold back" while acting, adding that "to have that understanding of herself as a performer at such a young age" is extremely rare. Burton compared Ortega's acting style to silent film acting, saying she expresses emotion through her eyes without words. Ortega says she tries not to be more prepared than necessary for a scene because "you never know what you're going to say next or what your next facial expression is going to be" in real life. She has stated that she finds it natural for actors to assimilate into their characters' environment, for instance, using sarcasm and rewatching films in preparation for Wednesday.
The Dodge College professor and agent Joe Rosenberg describes Ortega as an actress who has "a feel for the right project at the right time" and is "savvy" with her role choices. Ortega feels taking more varied acting roles is important to her to avoid being typecast; she told Entertainment Tonight in 2021 that she did not want to be "pigeonholed as an actor" and that her desire to accept the most diverse roles possible made the transition to mature roles easier for her. Ortega stated that she looks for projects that will have a "forever effect" for her, such as The Fallout. She has said she feels most comfortable starring in horror works, describing such projects as "very therapeutic". In 2023, Ortega said she is mindful of not becoming overly associated with violent films and feels "very conflicted" about her interests, because there is "a part of me that always feels like the girl in the Coachella Valley".
== Media image ==
Commenting on Ortega's off-screen persona, Who What Wear wrote in 2022 that she is "poised, mature, and wise beyond her years" while providing "an essence of relatability". A 2023 Harper's Bazaar story describes her as "quiet and contemplative", while Vanity Fair wrote that she has a "black-hole persona" but is "much warmer and more cheerful than you'd expect". Ortega stated that the media's public persona of her is inaccurate and that she can feel "incredibly misunderstood". Ortega has been noted for her work in horror and has been described as a horror icon by journalists. Media publications have dubbed her "Gen Z's scream queen", and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association called her the "scream queen for the 21st century". Ortega attributes her "instinctive" scream and "really ugly crying face" for the positive reception her horror work has received from audiences.
In 2018, The Hollywood Reporter named Ortega one of "Hollywood's Top 30 Stars Under Age 18". The magazine later referred to her as the "Next Big Thing" in 2022 and "The Gen Z Obsession" in 2024. In 2023, Ortega appeared on Variety's "Young Hollywood Impact Report", a list of breakthrough performers, and The Hollywood Reporter's Power 100, a list of the most powerful women in entertainment. Complex also listed her among the best actors in their 20s. Forbes included her on the 2024 edition of its 30 Under 30 in the Hollywood & Entertainment category.
Ortega has also been called a style icon by Harper's Bazaar. Her initial red-carpet style featured bright colors, patterned clothing, and many accessories. Enrique Melendez, her stylist, dressed Ortega in RED Valentino and Thom Browne, wanting her wardrobe to be age-appropriate, fashionable, and stylistically interesting. They later tried to move away from the "feminine and flirty and frilly" style of other Disney actresses. After her role in You, Ortega began wearing heavier makeup and darker clothing. Media publications said her later style borrowed from Wednesday's while incorporating high fashion and described it as goth glam. During the press tour for Wednesday, Vogue and WWD highlighted her choice of Miista boots as part of that evolving aesthetic. Ortega said that playing Wednesday has "changed my taste a lot" and she has "a hard time getting her off of me, at least clothing-wise". The New York Observer and Harper's Bazaar credited her with popularizing "Wednesdaycore", a high-fashion interpretation of gothic style. In 2025, Vogue listed her among the best dressed of the year; the magazine stated that she is noted for "[l]eading the goth resurgence in dramatic silhouettes, strange textures, monochromatic palettes, bleached brows, and smudgy, undone glam". Ortega cited Siouxsie Sioux as an inspiration for her aesthetic saying: "I love everything about her and her presence, she’s always been quite impactful for me."
Ortega is active on Instagram but has described social media overall as being a "comparing game" and "very manipulative". She has said she became fearful of her comments on social media being misinterpreted following the release of Wednesday, since her sarcasm and dry humour are easily misconstrued, adding: "[People] see your vulnerability and twist it in a way that you don't always expect." As a minor, Ortega was sent explicit images of herself that were AI-generated, which later led to her deleting her Twitter account.
== Personal life ==
Ortega stated that she would like to be a "private person" and not discuss her romantic life publicly, believing that it distracts audiences from her work. She has described the concept of celebrity as "absolutely ridiculous". Ortega has said that her friends and family give her a sense of safety that helps her deal with the more challenging parts of her career. She states that growing up in an industry dominated by adults forced her to mature faster than normal.
Ortega stated in 2025 that she has anxiety and obsessive–compulsive disorder.
== Acting credits and awards == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WrestleMania_XII#Results | WrestleMania XII#Results | WrestleMania XII was a 1996 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the 12th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 31, 1996, at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California. Eight matches were held at the event, including two on the Free for All pre-show.
In the main event, Bret Hart lost the WWF Championship to Shawn Michaels in the first televised Iron Man match in company history, lasting over 60 minutes. In his return to the company after a four-year hiatus, The Ultimate Warrior defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Roddy Piper had his first match since 1994, taking on and defeating Goldust in a "Hollywood Backlot Brawl" match.
== Production ==
=== Background ===
WrestleMania is considered the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF, now WWE) flagship professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event, having first been held in 1985. It has become the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. It was the first of the WWF's original four pay-per-views, which includes Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, which were dubbed the "Big Four", and was considered one of the "Big Five" PPVs, along with King of the Ring. WrestleMania XII was scheduled to be held on March 31, 1996, at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California.
=== Storylines ===
The main attraction of this WrestleMania was the WWF Championship contested in an Iron Man match; whereby the winner would be the man to win most falls over sixty minutes. Shawn Michaels had earned the opportunity to face reigning champion Bret Hart by winning the 1996 Royal Rumble, and had also defeated Owen Hart at In Your House 6 for the right to keep his WrestleMania title shot.
The main event was built on Hart wanting to retain the WWF Championship against Michaels, who had suffered a number of setbacks over the course of the previous year, including failing to win Diesel's WWF Championship the previous year at WrestleMania XI in April 1995, being accosted at a Syracuse, New York nightclub in October 1995 (and subsequently forfeiting the WWF Intercontinental Championship to Dean Douglas at In Your House 4), and suffering a storyline concussion at the hands of Owen Hart in November 1995.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley made his debut in the WWF in May 1995, with his wrestling gimmick being in that he was a rich snob born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He went on an undefeated winning streak throughout the year until the Royal Rumble. The Ultimate Warrior, meanwhile, had left the WWF in 1992 after failing a drug test. His last match was on the November 14, 1992, edition of Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI, where he and "Macho Man" Randy Savage defeated Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster in a tag team match. WWF officials later signed a match between Ultimate Warrior, who re-signed to the WWF in an attempt to increase ratings, and Helmsley for WrestleMania XII.
Diesel began feuding with The Undertaker after interfering in a bout between The Undertaker and Bret Hart at the 1996 Royal Rumble. Undertaker responded by interfering in Diesel's WWF Championship steel cage match against champion Bret Hart at In Your House 6, which saw Undertaker pull Diesel under the ring, costing Diesel the match. In an episode of Monday Night Raw that aired on March 18, 1996, Diesel was battling Barry Horowitz when he caught a glimpse of Paul Bearer pushing a casket up the entrance ramp. Believing it to be The Undertaker's casket, Diesel armed himself with a wrench before opening the casket's lid and seeing his own "corpse" lying in repose inside (which was actually an illusion made possible by having live footage cut to a pre-recorded close-up footage of Diesel himself in the same casket, lying in a relaxed position with his eyes closed, filmed at some time before the episode, thus avoiding showing the mannequin in the casket up-close); seeing "himself" in the casket terrified him, as it foreshadowed The Undertaker's upcoming match against Diesel in WrestleMania XII.
A match that was originally planned for WrestleMania XII was a Miami Street Fight between Razor Ramon and Goldust, which would later be changed to a "Hollywood Backlot Brawl" between Goldust and interim WWF President Roddy Piper. After debuting in late 1995 and defeating both Marty Jannetty at In Your House 4 and Bam Bam Bigelow at Survivor Series, Goldust would begin an angle with then-Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon, in which the former had expressed his personal love and admiration for the latter, which had disgusted Razor. The two would wrestle at the 1996 Royal Rumble, leading to Goldust defeating Razor and winning the Intercontinental Championship after outside interference from both Goldust's debuting manager Marlena and The 1-2-3 Kid. Both Goldust and Razor were scheduled to face each other in a Miami Street Fight at WrestleMania, but Scott Hall (portraying the Razor Ramon character) had no intention of re-signing with the WWF and was planning on leaving for WCW. Because of this, the angle was soon changed with Roddy Piper taking Razor Ramon's place and the Miami Street Fight becoming the Hollywood Backlot Brawl. Before this, Piper was pencilled in to have a celebrity match against O. J. Simpson, who had been acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman 5 months before WrestleMania. Despite getting into contact with O. J.'s representatives, the WWF abandoned their plans due to fears of potential public backlash and loss of sponsorship.
== Event ==
The opening bout, which aired on the free-for-all broadcast, was a tag team match for the vacant WWF Tag Team Championship between the Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip) and the Godwinns (Henry O. Godwinn and Phineas I. Godwinn). This match was the final bout of a tournament held to determine the new champions after the titles were vacated in February 1996. The match ended when Skip pinned Phineas I. Godwinn using a roll-up, making the Bodydonnas the new WWF Tag Team Champions.
The second bout, which also aired on the free-for-all broadcast, was a singles match (billed as a "geriatric match") between "The Huckster" and "Nacho Man", two characters created to parody Hulk Hogan and "Macho Man" Randy Savage (former WWF performers who had joined its competitor World Championship Wrestling). The referee for the match was "Billionaire Ted", a parody of Ted Turner, the owner of World Championship Wrestling's parent company Turner Broadcasting System. This bout marked the culmination of a series of skits the WWF had aired featuring the three characters. This match did not take place in the Arrowhead Pond, having been pre-recorded elsewhere. The match ended in a no contest when both competitors, along with Billionaire Ted, seemingly died in the ring.
The third bout, and the first bout to air on the pay-per-view broadcast proper, was a six-man tag team match pitting The British Bulldog, Owen Hart, and Vader (Camp Cornette) against Ahmed Johnson, Jake Roberts, and Yokozuna, with the stipulation that if Yokozuna's team won he would receive five minutes in the ring with Jim Cornette, the manager of Camp Cornette. The match ended when Roberts attempted to give Cornette a DDT, only for Vader to knock Roberts down and pin him following a Vader Bomb.
The fourth bout was a "Hollywood Backlot Brawl" between Goldust and Roddy Piper. The match began in a parking lot, with the men brawling and using weapons. After Goldust fled in a golden Cadillac, Piper pursued him in a white Ford Bronco.
The fifth bout was a singles match between Savio Vega and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Austin won the bout by technical knockout after hitting Vega with the Million Dollar Championship then applying the Million Dollar Dream to Vega until he passed out.
During and after the fifth bout, footage aired of what was purportedly Piper pursuing Goldust (the actual footage aired was from the Los Angeles Police Department's pursuit of O.J. Simpson in 1994).
The sixth bout was a singles match between Hunter Hearst Helmsley and The Ultimate Warrior. Early in the match, Helmsley performed his finishing move, The Pedigree, on The Ultimate Warrior. However, The Ultimate Warrior no-sold the move and went on to pin Helmsley following a flying shoulder tackle, gorilla press slam, and Warrior Splash.
Following the sixth bout, Todd Pettengill interviewed the debuting Marc Mero backstage. The interview was interrupted by Hunter Hearst Helmsley, resulting in a brawl between Helmsley and Mero.
The seventh bout was a singles match between Diesel and The Undertaker. The Undertaker won the match by pinfall following a chokeslam and Tombstone Piledriver, marking his fifth consecutive win at WrestleMania.
Following the seventh bout, Goldust and Piper arrived at the Arrowhead Pond, with Piper crashing his car into Goldust's car. Piper then chased Goldust to the ring, where the match continued. The match ended when Piper tore off Goldust's bodysuit - revealing him to be wearing woman's lingerie - and gave him a low blow, after which Goldust fled from the ring, leaving Piper the winner.
The main event saw WWF Champion Bret Hart defend his title against Shawn Michaels in an Iron Man match, with the stipulation that whichever wrestler won the most falls in 60 minutes would win the match. Towards the end of the match, with neither men having won any falls, Hart applied his Sharpshooter hold to Michaels, but time expired without Michaels submitting. As Hart began to leave with his title, WWF President Gorilla Monsoon instructed referee Earl Hebner to continue the match under "sudden death" rules, with ring announcer Howard Finkel announcing that "there must be a winner!" The match ended shortly thereafter when Michaels pinned Hart after giving him Sweet Chin Music twice, thus becoming the new WWF Champion.
== Reception ==
WrestleMania XII received generally positive reviews from critics, who aimed praise, particularly at the main event. Rob McNew of 411Mania called the opening match "really good," and gave it 3 and 1/4 stars (out of 5 stars). However, he called the match between Helmsley and The Ultimate Warrior the worst of the night, going on to call it the "funniest squash ever, considering that HHH is now arguably a bigger star than Warrior was." He gave the main event the highest score of the night, with 4 stars. However, he says the match "isn't for everyone." Continuing, he says, "It's about a three-star match for the first 40 minutes, the last 20+ are an easy five stars". He gave the entire event a score of 7 out of 10. In 2015, Ryan Dilbert of Bleacher Report called it the 16th greatest of the first 30 WrestleMania events.
While the Iron Man match got positive reviews, PWInsider's Mike Johnson pointed that in the match both wrestlers "were working in spite of each other, not together".
== Results ==
=== WWF Tag Team Championship tournament ===
In February 1996, WWF Tag Team Champions The Smoking Gunns were forced to vacate the titles after Billy Gunn sustained a neck injury. As a result, a tournament was staged in February and March 1996 to determine the new champions.
=== Iron Man match === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand_of_Austria | Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria | Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (Francis Ferdinand, 18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
Franz Ferdinand was the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Following the death of Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889 and the death of Karl Ludwig in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His courtship of Sophie Chotek, a lady-in-waiting, caused conflict within the imperial household, and their morganatic marriage in 1900 was only allowed after he renounced his descendants' rights to the throne. Franz Ferdinand held significant influence over the military, and in 1913 he was appointed inspector general of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces.
On 28 June 1914, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo by the 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, a member of Young Bosnia. Franz Ferdinand's assassination led to the July Crisis and precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia, which in turn triggered a series of events that eventually led – four weeks after his death – to Austria-Hungary's allies and Serbia's allies declaring war on each other, starting World War I.
== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
Franz Ferdinand was born in Graz, then part of the Austrian Empire, the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria (the younger brother of Franz Joseph and Maximilian) and of his second wife, Princess Maria Annunziata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. In 1875, when he was eleven years old, his cousin Francis V, Duke of Modena, died, naming Franz Ferdinand his heir on condition that he add the name "Este" to his own. This inheritance made Franz Ferdinand one of the wealthiest men in Austria.
=== Heir presumptive ===
In 1889, Franz Ferdinand's life changed dramatically. His cousin Crown Prince Rudolf committed suicide at his hunting lodge in Mayerling. This left Franz Ferdinand's father, Karl Ludwig, first in line to the throne. When Karl Ludwig died of typhoid fever in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne.
Despite this burden, he found time for travel and personal pursuits, such as his circumnavigation of the world between 1892 and 1893. After visiting India he spent time hunting kangaroos and emus in Australia in 1893, then travelled on to Nouméa, New Hebrides, Solomon Islands, New Guinea, Sarawak, Hong Kong and Japan. After sailing across the Pacific on the RMS Empress of China from Yokohama to Vancouver he crossed the United States, arriving at the World's Columbian Exposition 1893 on the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad on a private Pullman car named Mascotte, and staying at the Lexington Hotel, before continuing through to New York and returning to Europe.
Franz Ferdinand had a fondness for trophy hunting that was excessive even by the standards of European nobility in his day. In his diaries he kept track of 272,511 game kills, 5,000 of which were deer. About 100,000 trophies were on exhibit at his Bohemian castle at Konopiště which he also stuffed with various antiquities, his other great passion.
=== Military career ===
Franz Ferdinand, like most males in the ruling Habsburg line, entered the Austro-Hungarian Army at a young age. He was frequently and rapidly promoted, given the rank of lieutenant at age fourteen, captain at twenty-two, colonel at twenty-seven, and major general at thirty-one. While never receiving formal staff training, he was considered eligible for command and at one point briefly led the primarily Hungarian 9th Hussar Regiment. In 1898 he was given a commission "at the special disposition of His Majesty" to make inquiries into all aspects of the military services and military agencies were commanded to share their papers with him.
He also held honorary ranks in the Austro-Hungarian Navy, and received the rank of admiral at the close of the Austro-Hungarian naval maneuvers in September 1902.
Franz Ferdinand exerted influence on the armed forces even when he did not hold a specific command through a military chancery that produced and received documents and papers on military affairs. This was headed by Alexander Brosch von Aarenau and eventually employed a staff of sixteen. His authority was reinforced in 1907 when he secured the retirement of the Emperor's confidant Friedrich von Beck-Rzikowsky as Chief of the General Staff. Beck's successor, Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, was personally selected by Franz Ferdinand.
Franz in 1913, as heir-presumptive to the elderly emperor, had been appointed inspector general of all the armed forces of Austria-Hungary (Generalinspektor der gesamten bewaffneten Macht), a position superior to that previously held by Archduke Albrecht and including presumed command in wartime.
=== Marriage and family ===
In 1894, Franz Ferdinand met Countess Sophie Chotek, a lady-in-waiting to Archduchess Isabella, wife of Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen. Franz began to visit Archduke Friedrich's villa in Pressburg (now Bratislava), and in turn Sophie wrote to Franz Ferdinand during his convalescence from tuberculosis on the island of Lošinj in the Adriatic. They kept their relationship a secret, until it was discovered by Isabella.
To be eligible to marry a member of the imperial House of Habsburg, one had to be a member of one of the reigning or formerly reigning dynasties of Europe. The Choteks were not one of these families. Deeply in love, Franz Ferdinand refused to consider marrying anyone else. Finally, in 1899, Emperor Franz Joseph agreed to permit Franz Ferdinand to marry Sophie, provided that the marriage would be morganatic and that their descendants would not have succession rights to the throne. Sophie would not share her husband's rank, title, precedence, or privileges, nor would she normally appear in public beside him. She would not be allowed to ride in the royal carriage or sit in the royal box in theaters.
The wedding took place on 1 July 1900, at Reichstadt (now Zákupy) in Bohemia; Franz Joseph did not attend the ceremony, nor did Franz Ferdinand's brothers or any other archduke. The only members of the imperial family present were Franz Ferdinand's stepmother, Princess Maria Theresa of Braganza, and her two daughters. Upon the marriage, Sophie was given the title "Princess of Hohenberg" (Fürstin von Hohenberg) with the style "Her Serene Highness" (Ihre Durchlaucht). In 1909, she was given the more senior title "Duchess of Hohenberg" (Herzogin von Hohenberg) with the style "Her Highness" (Ihre Hoheit). This raised her status considerably, but she was still required to yield precedence at court to all the archduchesses. Whenever a function required the couple to assemble with the other members of the imperial family, Sophie had to stand far down the line, separated from her husband.
Franz Ferdinand's children were:
Princess Sophie of Hohenberg (1901–1990), married Count Friedrich von Nostitz-Rieneck (1891–1973)
Maximilian, Duke of Hohenberg (1902–1962), married Countess Elisabeth von Waldburg zu Wolfegg und Waldsee (1904–1993)
Prince Ernst of Hohenberg (1904–1954), married Marie-Therese Wood (1910–1985)
Stillborn son (1908), buried in Artstetten Castle, near his parents
Franz Ferdinand and Sophie visited England in the autumn of 1913, spending a week with George V and Queen Mary at Windsor Castle before going to stay for another week with the Duke of Portland at Welbeck Abbey, Nottinghamshire, where they arrived on 22 November. He attended a service at the local Catholic church in Worksop. Franz Ferdinand and the Duke of Portland went game shooting on the Welbeck estate when, according to Portland's memoirs, Men, Women and Things:
One of the loaders fell down. This caused both barrels of the gun he was carrying to be discharged, the shot passing within a few feet of the archduke and myself. I have often wondered whether the Great War might not have been averted, or at least postponed, had the archduke met his death there and not in Sarajevo the following year.
=== Assassination ===
On Sunday, 28 June 1914, at about 10:45 am, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The perpetrator was 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, a member of Young Bosnia and one of a group of assassins organized and armed by the Black Hand.
Earlier in the day, the couple had been attacked by Nedeljko Čabrinović, also a Young Bosnia conspirator, who had thrown a grenade at their car. However, the bomb detonated behind them, injuring the occupants in the following car. On arriving at the Governor's residence, Franz asked "So you welcome your guests with bombs!"
After a short rest at the Governor's residence, the royal couple insisted on seeing all those who had been injured by the bomb at the local hospital. However, no one told the drivers that the itinerary had been changed. When the error was discovered, the drivers had to turn around. As the cars backed down the street and onto a side street, the line of cars stalled. At this time, Princip was sitting at a cafe across the street. He instantly seized his opportunity and walked across the street and shot the royal couple. He first shot Sophie in the abdomen and then shot Franz Ferdinand in the neck. Franz leaned over his crying wife. He was still alive when witnesses arrived to render aid. His dying words to Sophie were, "Don't die darling, live for our children." Princip's weapon was the pocket-sized FN Model 1910 pistol chambered for the .380 ACP cartridge provided him by Serbian Army Military Intelligence Lieutenant-Colonel and Black Hand leader Dragutin Dimitrijević. Franz Ferdinand's aides attempted to undo his coat but realized they needed scissors to cut it open: the outer lapel had been sewn to the inner front of the jacket for a smoother fit to improve his appearance to the public. Whether or not as a result of this obstacle, his wound could not be attended to in time to save him, and he died within minutes. Sophie also died en route to the hospital.
A detailed account of the shooting can be found in Sarajevo by Joachim Remak:
One bullet pierced Franz Ferdinand's neck while the other pierced Sophie's abdomen. ... As the car was reversing (to go back to the Governor's residence because the entourage thought the Imperial couple were unhurt) a thin streak of blood shot from the Archduke's mouth onto Count Harrach's right cheek (he was standing on the car's running board). Harrach drew out a handkerchief to still the gushing blood. The Duchess, seeing this, called: "For Heaven's sake! What happened to you?" and sank from her seat, her face falling between her husband's knees.
Harrach and Potoriek ... thought she had fainted ... only her husband seemed to have an instinct for what was happening. Turning to his wife despite the bullet in his neck, Franz Ferdinand pleaded: "Sopherl! Sopherl! Sterbe nicht! Bleibe am Leben für unsere Kinder! – Sophie dear! Don't die! Stay alive for our children!" Having said this, he seemed to sag down himself. His plumed hat ... fell off; many of its green feathers were found all over the car floor. Count Harrach seized the Archduke by the uniform collar to hold him up. He asked "Leiden Eure Kaiserliche Hoheit sehr? – Is Your Imperial Highness suffering very badly?" "Es ist nichts. – It is nothing." said the Archduke in a weak but audible voice. He seemed to be losing consciousness during his last few minutes, but, his voice growing steadily weaker, he repeated the phrase perhaps six or seven times more.
A rattle began to issue from his throat, which subsided as the car drew in front of the Konak bersibin (Town Hall).
Despite several doctors' efforts, the Archduke died shortly after being carried into the building while his beloved wife was almost certainly dead from internal bleeding before the motorcade reached the Konak.
The assassinations, along with the arms race, nationalism, imperialism, militarism of Imperial Germany and the alliance system all contributed to the origins of World War I, which began a month after Franz Ferdinand's death, with Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand is considered the most immediate cause of World War I.
After his death, Archduke Karl became the heir presumptive of Austria-Hungary. Franz Ferdinand was buried with his wife Sophie in Artstetten Castle, Austria.
== Character ==
The German historian Michael Freund described Franz Ferdinand as "a man of uninspired energy, dark in appearance and emotion, who radiated an aura of strangeness and cast a shadow of violence and recklessness ... a true personality amidst the amiable inanity that characterized Austrian society at this time." As his sometime admirer Karl Kraus put it, "he was not one who would greet you ... he felt no compulsion to reach out for the unexplored region which the Viennese call their heart." His relations with Emperor Franz Joseph were tense; the emperor's personal servant recalled in his memoirs that "thunder and lightning always raged when they had their discussions." The commentaries and orders which the heir to the throne wrote as margin notes to the documents of the Imperial central commission for architectural conservation (where he was Protector) reveal what can be described as "choleric conservatism". The Italian historian Leo Valiani provided the following description.
Francis Ferdinand was a prince of absolutist inclinations, but he had certain intellectual gifts and undoubted moral earnestness. One of his projects – though because of his impatient, suspicious, almost hysterical temperament, his commitment to it, and the methods by which he proposed to bring it about, often changed – was to consolidate the structure of the state and the authority and popularity of the Crown, on which he saw clearly that the fate of the dynasty depended, by abolishing, if not the dominance of the German Austrians, which he wished to maintain for military reasons, though he wanted to diminish it in the civil administration, certainly the far more burdensome sway of the Magyars over the Slav and Romanian nationalities which in 1848–49 had saved the dynasty in armed combat with the Hungarian revolution. Baron Margutti (de), Francis Joseph's aide-de-camp, was told by Francis Ferdinand in 1895 and – with a remarkable consistency in view of the changes that took place in the intervening years – again in 1913, that the introduction of the dual system in 1867 had been disastrous and that, when he ascended the throne, he intended to re-establish strong central government: this objective, he believed, could be attained only by the simultaneous granting of far-reaching administrative autonomy to all the nationalities of the monarchy. In a letter of February 1, 1913, to Berchtold, the Foreign Minister, in which he gave his reasons for not wanting war with Serbia, Franz Ferdinand said that "irredentism in our country ... will cease immediately if our Slavs are given a comfortable, fair and good life" instead of being trampled on (as they were being trampled on by the Hungarians). It must have been this which caused Berchtold, in a character sketch of Francis Ferdinand written ten years after his death, to say that, if he had succeeded to the throne, he would have tried to replace the dual system by a supranational federation.
After the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie in 1914, Marie Valerie, the daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph, observed that her father had placed more trust in the newly designated heir, his grandnephew Archduke Charles. The emperor confessed to his daughter about the assassination, stating: "For me, it is a relief from a great worry."
== Political views ==
"The three cornerstones of Ferdinand's political conviction were clericalism, anti-democratic views, and anti-Hungarianism," and the basis of his worldview was that "politics is a matter only for the ruler, while the people, the masses have to obey." Franz Ferdinand often complained that in Hungary, the glorification of revolutionary hero Lajos Kossuth, the decline of the monarchical principle, and the dominance of the Freemasons and the Jewish people was prevalent. Historians have disagreed on how to characterize the political philosophies of Franz Ferdinand, some attributing generally liberal views on the empire's nationalities while others have emphasized his dynastic centralism, Catholic conservatism, and tendency to clash with other leaders.
He advocated granting greater autonomy to ethnic groups within the Empire and addressing their grievances, especially the Czechs in Bohemia and the south Slavic peoples in Croatia and Bosnia, who had been left out of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. Yet his feelings towards the Hungarians were less generous, often described as antipathy. For example, in 1904 he wrote that "The Hungarians are all rabble, regardless of whether they are minister or duke, cardinal or burgher, peasant, hussar, domestic servant, or revolutionary", and he regarded even István Tisza as a revolutionary and "patented traitor". He regarded Hungarian nationalism as a revolutionary threat to the Habsburg dynasty and reportedly became angry when officers of the 9th Hussars Regiment (which he commanded) spoke Hungarian in his presence – despite the fact that it was the official regimental language. He further regarded the Hungarian branch of the Dual Monarchy's army, the Honvédség, as an unreliable and potentially threatening force within the empire, complaining at the Hungarians' failure to provide funds for the joint army and opposing the formation of artillery units within the Hungarian forces.
He also advocated a cautious approach towards Serbia – repeatedly locking horns with Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, Vienna's hard-line Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff, warning that harsh treatment of Serbia would bring Austria-Hungary into open conflict with Russia, to the ruin of both empires.
He was disappointed when Austria-Hungary failed to act as a great power, such as during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Other nations, including, in his description, "dwarf states like Belgium and Portugal", had soldiers stationed in China, but Austria-Hungary did not. However, Austria-Hungary did participate in the Eight-Nation Alliance to suppress the Boxers, and sent soldiers as part of the "international relief force".
Franz Ferdinand was a prominent and influential supporter of the Austro-Hungarian Navy in a time when sea power was not a priority in Austrian foreign policy and the Navy was relatively little known or supported by the public. After his assassination in 1914, the Navy honoured Franz Ferdinand and his wife with a lying in state aboard SMS Viribus Unitis.
== Commemorations ==
Memorial for archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was erected at the bridgehead of Latin Bridge, Sarajevo on the 28th of June, 1917.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his Castle of Artstetten were selected as a main motif for the Austrian 10 euro The Castle of Artstetten commemorative coin, minted on 13 October 2004. The reverse shows the entrance to the crypt of the Hohenberg family. There are two portraits below, showing Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg.
== Titles, styles, honours and arms ==
=== Titles and styles ===
18 December 1863 – 20 November 1875: His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke and Prince Franz Ferdinand of Austria, Royal Prince of Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia
20 November 1875 – 28 June 1914: His Imperial and Royal Highness Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria-Este
=== Honours and awards ===
Domestic
Knight of the Golden Fleece, 1878
Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1893
Military Merit Cross, in Diamonds
Silver Military Merit Medal on Red Ribbon
Long Service Cross for Officers, 2nd Class
1898 Jubilee Medal for the Armed Forces
1908 Military Jubilee Cross
Sea Voyage Medal 1892-1893
Foreign |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Record_Company | Australian Record Company | The Australian Record Company (ARC) was a record label and manufacturer later acquired by CBS Records International.
== History ==
ARC was originally known as Featuradio, a company formed in 1933 by George Sutton and his brother-in-law James M. Sayer. They sold the business in 1936, and Sutton continued to work there until it became The Australian Record Company (ARC) in 1938. At the time, ARC shared a studio with the radio station 2GB in Sydney and produced transcription discs for radio broadcast, and later began pressing and distributing records. They created original radio programs directed by Gordon Grimsdale.
In 1949, ARC started two new labels, Rodeo and Pacific. Rodeo released music by Reg Lindsay and recordings of Tex Morton while Pacific produced local versions of pop songs from Capitol Records, but Pacific stopped when ARC purchased the rights to distribute the London Records and Capitol Records catalogue in Australia in 1951. They later sold its rights to Capitol to EMI.
In 1953, The Australian Record Company became The Australian Record Company Limited, and released the first 10" LP and first 45 RPM record in Australia. They acquired the license to press records from the US Columbia Records, and did so under the name Coronet.
ARC was the largest record company in Australia in 1960 and employed 167 people at the time. That year, ARC was acquired by CBS Records International and changed their name to CBS Records Australia in 1977. By the end of the 1980s, the company had become Sony Music Australia, and later Sony Music Entertainment (Australia) Limited. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_CONCACAF_Women%27s_Olympic_Qualifying_Championship#Group_A | 2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship#Group A | The 2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship was the 4th edition of the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the quadrennial international football tournament organized by CONCACAF to determine which women's national teams from the North, Central American and Caribbean region qualify for the Olympic football tournament. CONCACAF announced on 12 August 2015 that the United States would host the tournament between 10–21 February 2016 in Houston and Frisco, Texas. A total of eight teams played in the tournament.
The top two teams of the tournament qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics women's football tournament in Brazil as the CONCACAF representatives.
The United States won the tournament with a 2–0 final win over Canada. Both teams qualified for the Olympics, their sixth and third in a row respectively.
== Qualification ==
The eight berths were allocated to the three regional zones as follows:
Three teams from the North American Zone (NAFU), i.e., Canada, Mexico and the hosts United States, who all qualified automatically due to being the only teams in the zone
Two teams from the Central American Zone (UNCAF)
Three teams from the Caribbean Zone (CFU)
Regional qualification tournaments were held to determine the five teams joining Canada, Mexico, and the United States at the final tournament.
=== Qualified teams ===
The following eight teams qualified for the final tournament.
== Venues ==
The two venues were announced by CONCACAF on 12 August 2015.
BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston
Toyota Stadium, Frisco
== Draw ==
The draw for the tournament took place on 23 November 2015 at 10:00 EST (UTC−5) at the InterContinental Doral in Doral, Florida. The draw was conducted by Cat Whitehill and Tiffany Roberts.
The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. Tournament host, defending CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship champion and 2012 Olympic gold medalist United States were seeded in Group A.
== Squads ==
Each team could register a maximum of 20 players (two of whom must be goalkeepers).
== Group stage ==
The top two teams of each group advanced to the semi-finals. The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order:
Goal difference in all group matches;
Greatest number of goals scored in all group matches;
Greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
Greater number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned;
Drawing of lots.
All times were local, CST (UTC−6).
=== Group A ===
=== Group B ===
== Knockout stage ==
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out would be used to decide the winner if necessary.
=== Bracket ===
=== Semi-finals ===
Winners qualified for 2016 Summer Olympics.
=== Final ===
== Final ranking ==
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.
=== Qualified teams for Olympics ===
The following two teams from CONCACAF qualified for the Olympic football tournament.
== Goalscorers ==
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Own goal
Ashley Rivera (playing against United States)
== Awards ==
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.
Best XI
Goalkeeper: Hope Solo
Right Defender: Kelley O'Hara
Central Defender: Becky Sauerbrunn
Central Defender: Kadeisha Buchanan
Left Defender: Allysha Chapman
Right Midfielder: Tobin Heath
Central Midfielder: Lindsey Horan
Central Midfielder: Morgan Brian
Left Midfielder: Ashley Lawrence
Forward: Alex Morgan
Forward: Carli Lloyd
Golden Ball
Morgan Brian
Golden Boot
Crystal Dunn (6 goals)
Golden Glove
Hope Solo
Fair Play Award
United States |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemotherapy#History | Chemotherapy#History | Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard regimen. Chemotherapy may be given with a curative intent (which almost always involves combinations of drugs), or it may aim only to prolong life or to reduce symptoms (palliative chemotherapy). Chemotherapy is one of the major categories of the medical discipline specifically devoted to pharmacotherapy for cancer, which is called medical oncology.
The term chemotherapy now means the non-specific use of intracellular poisons to inhibit mitosis (cell division) or to induce DNA damage (so that DNA repair can augment chemotherapy). This meaning excludes the more-selective agents that block extracellular signals (signal transduction). Therapies with specific molecular or genetic targets, which inhibit growth-promoting signals from classic endocrine hormones (primarily estrogens for breast cancer and androgens for prostate cancer), are now called hormonal therapies. Other inhibitions of growth-signals, such as those associated with receptor tyrosine kinases, are targeted therapy.
The use of drugs (whether chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, or targeted therapy) is systemic therapy for cancer: they are introduced into the blood stream (the system) and therefore can treat cancer anywhere in the body. Systemic therapy is often used with other, local therapy (treatments that work only where they are applied), such as radiation, surgery, and hyperthermia.
Traditional chemotherapeutic agents are cytotoxic by means of interfering with cell division (mitosis) but cancer cells vary widely in their susceptibility to these agents. To a large extent, chemotherapy can be thought of as a way to damage or stress cells, which may then lead to cell death if apoptosis is initiated. Many of the side effects of chemotherapy can be traced to damage to normal cells that divide rapidly and are thus sensitive to anti-mitotic drugs: cells in the bone marrow, digestive tract and hair follicles. This results in the most common side-effects of chemotherapy: myelosuppression (decreased production of blood cells, hence that also immunosuppression), mucositis (inflammation of the lining of the digestive tract), and alopecia (hair loss). Because of the effect on immune cells (especially lymphocytes), chemotherapy drugs often find use in a host of diseases that result from harmful overactivity of the immune system against self (so-called autoimmunity). These include rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, vasculitis and many others.
== Treatment strategies ==
There are a number of strategies in the administration of chemotherapeutic drugs used today. Chemotherapy may be given with a curative intent or it may aim to prolong life or to palliate symptoms.
Induction chemotherapy is the first line treatment of cancer with a chemotherapeutic drug. This type of chemotherapy is used for curative intent.
Combined modality chemotherapy is the use of drugs with other cancer treatments, such as surgery, radiation therapy, or hyperthermia therapy.
Consolidation chemotherapy is given after remission in order to prolong the overall disease-free time and improve overall survival. The drug that is administered is the same as the drug that achieved remission.
Intensification chemotherapy is identical to consolidation chemotherapy but a different drug than the induction chemotherapy is used.
Combination chemotherapy involves treating a person with a number of different drugs simultaneously. The drugs differ in their mechanism and side-effects. The biggest advantage is minimising the chances of resistance developing to any one agent. Also, the drugs can often be used at lower doses, reducing toxicity.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is given prior to a local treatment such as surgery, and is designed to shrink the primary tumor. It is also given for cancers with a high risk of micrometastatic disease.
Adjuvant chemotherapy is given after a local treatment (radiotherapy or surgery). It can be used when there is little evidence of cancer present, but there is risk of recurrence. It is also useful in killing any cancerous cells that have spread to other parts of the body. These micrometastases can be treated with adjuvant chemotherapy and can reduce relapse rates caused by these disseminated cells.
Maintenance chemotherapy is a repeated low-dose treatment to prolong remission.
Salvage chemotherapy or palliative chemotherapy is given without curative intent, but simply to decrease tumor load and increase life expectancy. For these regimens, in general, a better toxicity profile is expected.
All chemotherapy regimens require that the recipient be capable of undergoing the treatment. Performance status is often used as a measure to determine whether a person can receive chemotherapy, or whether dose reduction is required. Because only a fraction of the cells in a tumor die with each treatment (fractional kill), repeated doses must be administered to continue to reduce the size of the tumor. Current chemotherapy regimens apply drug treatment in cycles, with the frequency and duration of treatments limited by toxicity.
=== Effectiveness ===
The effectiveness of chemotherapy depends on the type of cancer and the stage. The overall effectiveness ranges from being curative for some cancers, such as some leukemias, to being ineffective, such as in some brain tumors, to being needless in others, like most non-melanoma skin cancers.
=== Dosage ===
Dosage of chemotherapy can be difficult: If the dose is too low, it will be ineffective against the tumor, whereas, at excessive doses, the toxicity (side-effects) will be intolerable to the person receiving it. The standard method of determining chemotherapy dosage is based on calculated body surface area (BSA). The BSA is usually calculated with a mathematical formula or a nomogram, using the recipient's weight and height, rather than by direct measurement of body area. This formula was originally derived in a 1916 study and attempted to translate medicinal doses established with laboratory animals to equivalent doses for humans. The study only included nine human subjects. When chemotherapy was introduced in the 1950s, the BSA formula was adopted as the official standard for chemotherapy dosing for lack of a better option.
The validity of this method in calculating uniform doses has been questioned because the formula only takes into account the individual's weight and height. Drug absorption and clearance are influenced by multiple factors, including age, sex, metabolism, disease state, organ function, drug-to-drug interactions, genetics, and obesity, which have major impacts on the actual concentration of the drug in the person's bloodstream. As a result, there is high variability in the systemic chemotherapy drug concentration in people dosed by BSA, and this variability has been demonstrated to be more than ten-fold for many drugs. In other words, if two people receive the same dose of a given drug based on BSA, the concentration of that drug in the bloodstream of one person may be 10 times higher or lower compared to that of the other person. This variability is typical with many chemotherapy drugs dosed by BSA, and, as shown below, was demonstrated in a study of 14 common chemotherapy drugs.
The result of this pharmacokinetic variability among people is that many people do not receive the right dose to achieve optimal treatment effectiveness with minimized toxic side effects. Some people are overdosed while others are underdosed. For example, in a randomized clinical trial, investigators found 85% of metastatic colorectal cancer patients treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) did not receive the optimal therapeutic dose when dosed by the BSA standard—68% were underdosed and 17% were overdosed.
There has been controversy over the use of BSA to calculate chemotherapy doses for people who are obese. Because of their higher BSA, clinicians often arbitrarily reduce the dose prescribed by the BSA formula for fear of overdosing. In many cases, this can result in sub-optimal treatment.
Several clinical studies have demonstrated that when chemotherapy dosing is individualized to achieve optimal systemic drug exposure, treatment outcomes are improved and toxic side effects are reduced. In the 5-FU clinical study cited above, people whose dose was adjusted to achieve a pre-determined target exposure realized an 84% improvement in treatment response rate and a six-month improvement in overall survival (OS) compared with those dosed by BSA.
In the same study, investigators compared the incidence of common 5-FU-associated grade 3/4 toxicities between the dose-adjusted people and people dosed per BSA. The incidence of debilitating grades of diarrhea was reduced from 18% in the BSA-dosed group to 4% in the dose-adjusted group and serious hematologic side effects were eliminated. Because of the reduced toxicity, dose-adjusted patients were able to be treated for longer periods of time. BSA-dosed people were treated for a total of 680 months while people in the dose-adjusted group were treated for a total of 791 months. Completing the course of treatment is an important factor in achieving better treatment outcomes.
Similar results were found in a study involving people with colorectal cancer who have been treated with the popular FOLFOX regimen. The incidence of serious diarrhea was reduced from 12% in the BSA-dosed group of patients to 1.7% in the dose-adjusted group, and the incidence of severe mucositis was reduced from 15% to 0.8%.
The FOLFOX study also demonstrated an improvement in treatment outcomes. Positive response increased from 46% in the BSA-dosed group to 70% in the dose-adjusted group. Median progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) both improved by six months in the dose adjusted group.
One approach that can help clinicians individualize chemotherapy dosing is to measure the drug levels in blood plasma over time and adjust dose according to a formula or algorithm to achieve optimal exposure. With an established target exposure for optimized treatment effectiveness with minimized toxicities, dosing can be personalized to achieve target exposure and optimal results for each person. Such an algorithm was used in the clinical trials cited above and resulted in significantly improved treatment outcomes.
Oncologists are already individualizing dosing of some cancer drugs based on exposure. Carboplatin and busulfan dosing rely upon results from blood tests to calculate the optimal dose for each person. Simple blood tests are also available for dose optimization of methotrexate, 5-FU, paclitaxel, and docetaxel.
The serum albumin level immediately prior to chemotherapy administration is an independent prognostic predictor of survival in various cancer types.
=== Types ===
==== Alkylating agents ====
Alkylating agents are the oldest group of chemotherapeutics in use today. Originally derived from mustard gas used in World War I, there are now many types of alkylating agents in use. They are so named because of their ability to alkylate many molecules, including proteins, RNA and DNA. This ability to bind covalently to DNA via their alkyl group is the primary cause for their anti-cancer effects. DNA is made of two strands and the molecules may either bind twice to one strand of DNA (intrastrand crosslink) or may bind once to both strands (interstrand crosslink). If the cell tries to replicate crosslinked DNA during cell division, or tries to repair it, the DNA strands can break. This leads to a form of programmed cell death called apoptosis. Alkylating agents will work at any point in the cell cycle and thus are known as cell cycle-independent drugs. For this reason, the effect on the cell is dose dependent; the fraction of cells that die is directly proportional to the dose of drug.
The subtypes of alkylating agents are the nitrogen mustards, nitrosoureas, tetrazines, aziridines, cisplatins and derivatives, and non-classical alkylating agents. Nitrogen mustards include mechlorethamine, cyclophosphamide, melphalan, chlorambucil, ifosfamide and busulfan. Nitrosoureas include N-Nitroso-N-methylurea (MNU), carmustine (BCNU), lomustine (CCNU) and semustine (MeCCNU), fotemustine and streptozotocin. Tetrazines include dacarbazine, mitozolomide and temozolomide. Aziridines include thiotepa, mytomycin and diaziquone (AZQ). Cisplatin and derivatives include cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin. They impair cell function by forming covalent bonds with the amino, carboxyl, sulfhydryl, and phosphate groups in biologically important molecules. Non-classical alkylating agents include procarbazine and hexamethylmelamine.
==== Antimetabolites ====
Anti-metabolites are a group of molecules that impede DNA and RNA synthesis. Many of them have a similar structure to the building blocks of DNA and RNA. The building blocks are nucleotides; a molecule comprising a nucleobase, a sugar and a phosphate group. The nucleobases are divided into purines (guanine and adenine) and pyrimidines (cytosine, thymine and uracil). Anti-metabolites resemble either nucleobases or nucleosides (a nucleotide without the phosphate group), but have altered chemical groups. These drugs exert their effect by either blocking the enzymes required for DNA synthesis or becoming incorporated into DNA or RNA. By inhibiting the enzymes involved in DNA synthesis, they prevent mitosis because the DNA cannot duplicate itself. Also, after misincorporation of the molecules into DNA, DNA damage can occur and programmed cell death (apoptosis) is induced. Unlike alkylating agents, anti-metabolites are cell cycle dependent. This means that they only work during a specific part of the cell cycle, in this case S-phase (the DNA synthesis phase). For this reason, at a certain dose, the effect plateaus and proportionally no more cell death occurs with increased doses. Subtypes of the anti-metabolites are the anti-folates, fluoropyrimidines, deoxynucleoside analogues and thiopurines.
The anti-folates include methotrexate and pemetrexed. Methotrexate inhibits dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), an enzyme that regenerates tetrahydrofolate from dihydrofolate. When the enzyme is inhibited by methotrexate, the cellular levels of folate coenzymes diminish. These are required for thymidylate and purine production, which are both essential for DNA synthesis and cell division. Pemetrexed is another anti-metabolite that affects purine and pyrimidine production, and therefore also inhibits DNA synthesis. It primarily inhibits the enzyme thymidylate synthase, but also has effects on DHFR, aminoimidazole carboxamide ribonucleotide formyltransferase and glycinamide ribonucleotide formyltransferase. The fluoropyrimidines include fluorouracil and capecitabine. Fluorouracil is a nucleobase analogue that is metabolised in cells to form at least two active products; 5-fluourouridine monophosphate (FUMP) and 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine 5'-phosphate (fdUMP). FUMP becomes incorporated into RNA and fdUMP inhibits the enzyme thymidylate synthase; both of which lead to cell death. Capecitabine is a prodrug of 5-fluorouracil that is broken down in cells to produce the active drug. The deoxynucleoside analogues include cytarabine, gemcitabine, decitabine, azacitidine, fludarabine, nelarabine, cladribine, clofarabine, and pentostatin. The thiopurines include thioguanine and mercaptopurine.
==== Anti-microtubule agents ====
Anti-microtubule agents are plant-derived chemicals that block cell division by preventing microtubule function. Microtubules are an important cellular structure composed of two proteins, α-tubulin and β-tubulin. They are hollow, rod-shaped structures that are required for cell division, among other cellular functions. Microtubules are dynamic structures, which means that they are permanently in a state of assembly and disassembly. Vinca alkaloids and taxanes are the two main groups of anti-microtubule agents, and although both of these groups of drugs cause microtubule dysfunction, their mechanisms of action are completely opposite: Vinca alkaloids prevent the assembly of microtubules, whereas taxanes prevent their disassembly. By doing so, they can induce mitotic catastrophe in the cancer cells. Following this, cell cycle arrest occurs, which induces programmed cell death (apoptosis). These drugs can also affect blood vessel growth, an essential process that tumours utilise in order to grow and metastasise.
Vinca alkaloids are derived from the Madagascar periwinkle, Catharanthus roseus, formerly known as Vinca rosea. They bind to specific sites on tubulin, inhibiting the assembly of tubulin into microtubules. The original vinca alkaloids are natural products that include vincristine and vinblastine. Following the success of these drugs, semi-synthetic vinca alkaloids were produced: vinorelbine (used in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer), vindesine, and vinflunine. These drugs are cell cycle-specific. They bind to the tubulin molecules in S-phase and prevent proper microtubule formation required for M-phase.
Taxanes are natural and semi-synthetic drugs. The first drug of their class, paclitaxel, was originally extracted from Taxus brevifolia, the Pacific yew. Now this drug and another in this class, docetaxel, are produced semi-synthetically from a chemical found in the bark of another yew tree, Taxus baccata.
Podophyllotoxin is an antineoplastic lignan obtained primarily from the American mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) and Himalayan mayapple (Sinopodophyllum hexandrum). It has anti-microtubule activity, and its mechanism is similar to that of vinca alkaloids in that they bind to tubulin, inhibiting microtubule formation. Podophyllotoxin is used to produce two other drugs with different mechanisms of action: etoposide and teniposide.
==== Topoisomerase inhibitors ====
Topoisomerase inhibitors are drugs that affect the activity of two enzymes: topoisomerase I and topoisomerase II. When the DNA double-strand helix is unwound, during DNA replication or transcription, for example, the adjacent unopened DNA winds tighter (supercoils), like opening the middle of a twisted rope. The stress caused by this effect is in part aided by the topoisomerase enzymes. They produce single- or double-strand breaks into DNA, reducing the tension in the DNA strand. This allows the normal unwinding of DNA to occur during replication or transcription. Inhibition of topoisomerase I or II interferes with both of these processes.
Two topoisomerase I inhibitors, irinotecan and topotecan, are semi-synthetically derived from camptothecin, which is obtained from the Chinese ornamental tree Camptotheca acuminata. Drugs that target topoisomerase II can be divided into two groups. The topoisomerase II poisons cause increased levels enzymes bound to DNA. This prevents DNA replication and transcription, causes DNA strand breaks, and leads to programmed cell death (apoptosis). These agents include etoposide, doxorubicin, mitoxantrone and teniposide. The second group, catalytic inhibitors, are drugs that block the activity of topoisomerase II, and therefore prevent DNA synthesis and translation because the DNA cannot unwind properly. This group includes novobiocin, merbarone, and aclarubicin, which also have other significant mechanisms of action.
==== Cytotoxic antibiotics ====
The cytotoxic antibiotics are a varied group of drugs that have various mechanisms of action. The common theme that they share in their chemotherapy indication is that they interrupt cell division. The most important subgroup is the anthracyclines and the bleomycins; other prominent examples include mitomycin C and actinomycin.
Among the anthracyclines, doxorubicin and daunorubicin were the first, and were obtained from the bacterium Streptomyces peucetius. Derivatives of these compounds include epirubicin and idarubicin. Other clinically used drugs in the anthracycline group are pirarubicin, aclarubicin, and mitoxantrone. The mechanisms of anthracyclines include DNA intercalation (molecules insert between the two strands of DNA), generation of highly reactive free radicals that damage intercellular molecules and topoisomerase inhibition.
Actinomycin is a complex molecule that intercalates DNA and prevents RNA synthesis.
Bleomycin, a glycopeptide isolated from Streptomyces verticillus, also intercalates DNA, but produces free radicals that damage DNA. This occurs when bleomycin binds to a metal ion, becomes chemically reduced and reacts with oxygen.
Mitomycin is a cytotoxic antibiotic with the ability to alkylate DNA.
=== Delivery ===
Most chemotherapy is delivered intravenously, although a number of agents can be administered orally (e.g., melphalan, busulfan, capecitabine). According to a recent (2016) systematic review, oral therapies present additional challenges for patients and care teams to maintain and support adherence to treatment plans.
There are many intravenous methods of drug delivery, known as vascular access devices. These include the winged infusion device, peripheral venous catheter, midline catheter, peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC), central venous catheter and implantable port. The devices have different applications regarding duration of chemotherapy treatment, method of delivery and types of chemotherapeutic agent.
Depending on the person, the cancer, the stage of cancer, the type of chemotherapy, and the dosage, intravenous chemotherapy may be given on either an inpatient or an outpatient basis. For continuous, frequent or prolonged intravenous chemotherapy administration, various systems may be surgically inserted into the vasculature to maintain access. Commonly used systems are the Hickman line, the Port-a-Cath, and the PICC line. These have a lower infection risk, are much less prone to phlebitis or extravasation, and eliminate the need for repeated insertion of peripheral cannulae.
Isolated limb perfusion (often used in melanoma), or isolated infusion of chemotherapy into the liver or the lung have been used to treat some tumors. The main purpose of these approaches is to deliver a very high dose of chemotherapy to tumor sites without causing overwhelming systemic damage. These approaches can help control solitary or limited metastases, but they are by definition not systemic, and, therefore, do not treat distributed metastases or micrometastases.
Topical chemotherapies, such as 5-fluorouracil, are used to treat some cases of non-melanoma skin cancer.
If the cancer has central nervous system involvement, or with meningeal disease, intrathecal chemotherapy may be administered.
== Adverse effects ==
Chemotherapeutic techniques have a range of side effects that depend on the type of medications used. The most common medications affect mainly the fast-dividing cells of the body, such as blood cells and the cells lining the mouth, stomach, and intestines. Chemotherapy-related iatrogenic toxicities can occur acutely after administration, within hours or days, or chronically, from weeks to years.
=== Immunosuppression and myelosuppression ===
Virtually all chemotherapeutic regimens can cause depression of the immune system, often by paralysing the bone marrow and leading to a decrease of white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.
Anemia and thrombocytopenia may require blood transfusion. Neutropenia (a decrease of the neutrophil granulocyte count below 0.5 billion/litre) can be improved with synthetic G-CSF (granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor, e.g., filgrastim, lenograstim, efbemalenograstim alfa).
In very severe myelosuppression, which occurs in some regimens, almost all the bone marrow stem cells (cells that produce white and red blood cells) are destroyed, meaning allogenic or autologous bone marrow cell transplants are necessary. (In autologous BMTs, cells are removed from the person before the treatment, multiplied and then re-injected afterward; in allogenic BMTs, the source is a donor.) However, some people still develop diseases because of this interference with bone marrow.
Although people receiving chemotherapy are encouraged to wash their hands, avoid sick people, and take other infection-reducing steps, about 85% of infections are due to naturally occurring microorganisms in the person's own gastrointestinal tract (including oral cavity) and skin. Dental evaluation and treatment before cytotoxic chemotherapy is recommended for reducing the risk of oral and systemic infections during the neutropenic phase. This complication may manifest as systemic infections, such as sepsis, or as localized outbreaks, such as Herpes simplex, shingles, or other members of the Herpesviridea. The risk of illness and death can be reduced by taking common antibiotics such as quinolones or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole before any fever or sign of infection appears. Quinolones show effective prophylaxis mainly with hematological cancer. However, in general, for every five people who are immunosuppressed following chemotherapy who take an antibiotic, one fever can be prevented; for every 34 who take an antibiotic, one death can be prevented. Sometimes, chemotherapy treatments are postponed because the immune system is suppressed to a critically low level.
In Japan, the government has approved the use of some medicinal mushrooms like Trametes versicolor, to counteract depression of the immune system in people undergoing chemotherapy.
Trilaciclib is an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 approved for the prevention of myelosuppression caused by chemotherapy. The drug is given before chemotherapy to protect bone marrow function.
=== Neutropenic enterocolitis ===
Due to immune system suppression, neutropenic enterocolitis (typhlitis) is a "life-threatening gastrointestinal complication of chemotherapy." Typhlitis is an intestinal infection which may manifest itself through symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, a distended abdomen, fever, chills, or abdominal pain and tenderness.
Typhlitis is a medical emergency. It has a very poor prognosis and is often fatal unless promptly recognized and aggressively treated. Successful treatment hinges on early diagnosis provided by a high index of suspicion and the use of CT scanning, nonoperative treatment for uncomplicated cases, and sometimes elective right hemicolectomy to prevent recurrence.
=== Gastrointestinal distress ===
Nausea, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and constipation are common side-effects of chemotherapeutic medications that kill fast-dividing cells. Malnutrition and dehydration can result when the recipient does not eat or drink enough, or when the person vomits frequently, because of gastrointestinal damage. This can result in rapid weight loss, or occasionally in weight gain, if the person eats too much in an effort to allay nausea or heartburn. Weight gain can also be caused by some steroid medications. These side-effects can frequently be reduced or eliminated with antiemetic drugs. Low-certainty evidence also suggests that probiotics may have a preventative and treatment effect of diarrhoea related to chemotherapy alone and with radiotherapy. However, a high index of suspicion is appropriate, since diarrhoea and bloating are also symptoms of typhlitis, a very serious and potentially life-threatening medical emergency that requires immediate treatment.
=== Anemia ===
Anemia can be a combined outcome caused by myelosuppressive chemotherapy, and possible cancer-related causes such as bleeding, blood cell destruction (hemolysis), hereditary disease, kidney dysfunction, nutritional deficiencies or anemia of chronic disease. Treatments to mitigate anemia include hormones to boost blood production (erythropoietin), iron supplements, and blood transfusions. Myelosuppressive therapy can cause a tendency to bleed easily, leading to anemia. Medications that kill rapidly dividing cells or blood cells can reduce the number of platelets in the blood, which can result in bruises and bleeding. Extremely low platelet counts may be temporarily boosted through platelet transfusions and new drugs to increase platelet counts during chemotherapy are being developed. Sometimes, chemotherapy treatments are postponed to allow platelet counts to recover.
Fatigue may be a consequence of the cancer or its treatment, and can last for months to years after treatment. One physiological cause of fatigue is anemia, which can be caused by chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, primary and metastatic disease or nutritional depletion. Aerobic exercise has been found to be beneficial in reducing fatigue in people with solid tumours.
=== Nausea and vomiting ===
Nausea and vomiting are two of the most feared cancer treatment-related side-effects for people with cancer and their families. In 1983, Coates et al. found that people receiving chemotherapy ranked nausea and vomiting as the first and second most severe side-effects, respectively. Up to 20% of people receiving highly emetogenic agents in this era postponed, or even refused potentially curative treatments. Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) are common with many treatments and some forms of cancer. Since the 1990s, several novel classes of antiemetics have been developed and commercialized, becoming a nearly universal standard in chemotherapy regimens, and helping to successfully manage these symptoms in many people. Effective mediation of these unpleasant and sometimes debilitating symptoms results in increased quality of life for the recipient and more efficient treatment cycles, as patients are less likely to avoid or refuse treatment.
=== Hair loss ===
Hair loss (alopecia) can be caused by chemotherapy that kills rapidly dividing cells; other medications may cause hair to thin. These are most often temporary effects: hair usually starts to regrow a few weeks after the last treatment, but sometimes with a change in color, texture, thickness or style. Sometimes hair has a tendency to curl after regrowth, resulting in "chemo curls." Severe hair loss occurs most often with drugs such as doxorubicin, daunorubicin, paclitaxel, docetaxel, cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide and etoposide. Permanent thinning or hair loss can result from some standard chemotherapy regimens.
Chemotherapy induced hair loss occurs by a non-androgenic mechanism, and can manifest as alopecia totalis, telogen effluvium, or less often alopecia areata. It is usually associated with systemic treatment due to the high mitotic rate of hair follicles, and more reversible than androgenic hair loss, although permanent cases can occur. Chemotherapy induces hair loss in women more often than men.
Scalp cooling offers a means of preventing both permanent and temporary hair loss; however, concerns about this method have been raised.
=== Secondary neoplasm ===
Development of secondary neoplasia after successful chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment can occur. The most common secondary neoplasm is secondary acute myeloid leukemia, which develops primarily after treatment with alkylating agents or topoisomerase inhibitors. Survivors of childhood cancer are more than 13 times as likely to get a secondary neoplasm during the 30 years after treatment than the general population. Not all of this increase can be attributed to chemotherapy.
=== Infertility ===
Some types of chemotherapy are gonadotoxic and may cause infertility. Chemotherapies with high risk include procarbazine and other alkylating drugs such as cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, busulfan, melphalan, chlorambucil, and chlormethine. Drugs with medium risk include doxorubicin and platinum analogs such as cisplatin and carboplatin. On the other hand, therapies with low risk of gonadotoxicity include plant derivatives such as vincristine and vinblastine, antibiotics such as bleomycin and dactinomycin, and antimetabolites such as methotrexate, mercaptopurine, and 5-fluorouracil.
Female infertility by chemotherapy appears to be secondary to premature ovarian failure by loss of primordial follicles. This loss is not necessarily a direct effect of the chemotherapeutic agents, but could be due to an increased rate of growth initiation to replace damaged developing follicles.
People may choose between several methods of fertility preservation prior to chemotherapy, including cryopreservation of semen, ovarian tissue, oocytes, or embryos. As more than half of cancer patients are elderly, this adverse effect is only relevant for a minority of patients. A study in France between 1999 and 2011 came to the result that embryo freezing before administration of gonadotoxic agents to females caused a delay of treatment in 34% of cases, and a live birth in 27% of surviving cases who wanted to become pregnant, with the follow-up time varying between 1 and 13 years.
Potential protective or attenuating agents include GnRH analogs, where several studies have shown a protective effect in vivo in humans, but some studies show no such effect. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) has shown similar effect, but its mechanism of inhibiting the sphingomyelin apoptotic pathway may also interfere with the apoptosis action of chemotherapy drugs.
In chemotherapy as a conditioning regimen in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, a study of people conditioned with cyclophosphamide alone for severe aplastic anemia came to the result that ovarian recovery occurred in all women younger than 26 years at time of transplantation, but only in five of 16 women older than 26 years.
=== Teratogenicity ===
Chemotherapy is teratogenic during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester, to the extent that abortion usually is recommended if pregnancy in this period is found during chemotherapy. Second- and third-trimester exposure does not usually increase the teratogenic risk and adverse effects on cognitive development, but it may increase the risk of various complications of pregnancy and fetal myelosuppression.
Female patients of reproductive potential should use effective contraception during chemotherapy and for a few months after the last dose (e.g. 6 month for doxorubicin).
In males previously having undergone chemotherapy or radiotherapy, there appears to be no increase in genetic defects or congenital malformations in their children conceived after therapy. The use of assisted reproductive technologies and micromanipulation techniques might increase this risk. In females previously having undergone chemotherapy, miscarriage and congenital malformations are not increased in subsequent conceptions. However, when in vitro fertilization and embryo cryopreservation is practised between or shortly after treatment, possible genetic risks to the growing oocytes exist, and hence it has been recommended that the babies be screened.
=== Peripheral neuropathy ===
Between 30 and 40 percent of people undergoing chemotherapy experience chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), a progressive, enduring, and often irreversible condition, causing pain, tingling, numbness and sensitivity to cold, beginning in the hands and feet and sometimes progressing to the arms and legs. Chemotherapy drugs associated with CIPN include thalidomide, epothilones, vinca alkaloids, taxanes, proteasome inhibitors, and the platinum-based drugs. Whether CIPN arises, and to what degree, is determined by the choice of drug, duration of use, the total amount consumed and whether the person already has peripheral neuropathy. Though the symptoms are mainly sensory, in some cases motor nerves and the autonomic nervous system are affected. CIPN often follows the first chemotherapy dose and increases in severity as treatment continues, but this progression usually levels off at completion of treatment. The platinum-based drugs are the exception; with these drugs, sensation may continue to deteriorate for several months after the end of treatment. Some CIPN appears to be irreversible. Pain can often be managed with drug or other treatment but the numbness is usually resistant to treatment.
=== Cognitive impairment ===
Some people receiving chemotherapy report fatigue or non-specific neurocognitive problems, such as an inability to concentrate; this is sometimes called post-chemotherapy cognitive impairment, referred to as "chemo brain" in popular and social media.
=== Tumor lysis syndrome ===
In particularly large tumors and cancers with high white cell counts, such as lymphomas, teratomas, and some leukemias, some people develop tumor lysis syndrome. The rapid breakdown of cancer cells causes the release of chemicals from the inside of the cells. Following this, high levels of uric acid, potassium and phosphate are found in the blood. High levels of phosphate induce secondary hypoparathyroidism, resulting in low levels of calcium in the blood. This causes kidney damage and the high levels of potassium can cause cardiac arrhythmia. Although prophylaxis is available and is often initiated in people with large tumors, this is a dangerous side-effect that can lead to death if left untreated.
=== Organ damage ===
Cardiotoxicity (heart damage) is especially prominent with the use of anthracycline drugs (doxorubicin, epirubicin, idarubicin, and liposomal doxorubicin). The cause of this is most likely due to the production of free radicals in the cell and subsequent DNA damage. Other chemotherapeutic agents that cause cardiotoxicity, but at a lower incidence, are cyclophosphamide, docetaxel and clofarabine.
Hepatotoxicity (liver damage) can be caused by many cytotoxic drugs. The susceptibility of an individual to liver damage can be altered by other factors such as the cancer itself, viral hepatitis, immunosuppression and nutritional deficiency. The liver damage can consist of damage to liver cells, hepatic sinusoidal syndrome (obstruction of the veins in the liver), cholestasis (where bile does not flow from the liver to the intestine) and liver fibrosis.
Nephrotoxicity (kidney damage) can be caused by tumor lysis syndrome and also due direct effects of drug clearance by the kidneys. Different drugs will affect different parts of the kidney and the toxicity may be asymptomatic (only seen on blood or urine tests) or may cause acute kidney injury.
Ototoxicity (damage to the inner ear) is a common side effect of platinum based drugs that can produce symptoms such as dizziness and vertigo. Children treated with platinum analogues have been found to be at risk for developing hearing loss.
=== Other side-effects ===
Less common side-effects include red skin (erythema), dry skin, damaged fingernails, a dry mouth (xerostomia), water retention, and sexual impotence. Some medications can trigger allergic or pseudoallergic reactions.
Specific chemotherapeutic agents are associated with organ-specific toxicities, including cardiovascular disease (e.g., doxorubicin), interstitial lung disease (e.g., bleomycin) and occasionally secondary neoplasm (e.g., MOPP therapy for Hodgkin's disease).
Hand-foot syndrome is another side effect to cytotoxic chemotherapy.
Nutritional problems are also frequently seen in cancer patients at diagnosis and through chemotherapy treatment. Research suggests that in children and young people undergoing cancer treatment, parenteral nutrition may help with this leading to weight gain and increased calorie and protein intake, when compared to enteral nutrition.
== Limitations ==
Chemotherapy does not always work, and even when it is useful, it may not completely destroy the cancer. People frequently fail to understand its limitations. In one study of people who had been newly diagnosed with incurable, stage 4 cancer, more than two-thirds of people with lung cancer and more than four-fifths of people with colorectal cancer still believed that chemotherapy was likely to cure their cancer.
The blood–brain barrier poses an obstacle to delivery of chemotherapy to the brain. This is because the brain has an extensive system in place to protect it from harmful chemicals. Drug transporters can pump out drugs from the brain and brain's blood vessel cells into the cerebrospinal fluid and blood circulation. These transporters pump out most chemotherapy drugs, which reduces their efficacy for treatment of brain tumors. Only small lipophilic alkylating agents such as lomustine or temozolomide are able to cross this blood–brain barrier.
Blood vessels in tumors are very different from those seen in normal tissues. As a tumor grows, tumor cells furthest away from the blood vessels become low in oxygen (hypoxic). To counteract this they then signal for new blood vessels to grow. The newly formed tumor vasculature is poorly formed and does not deliver an adequate blood supply to all areas of the tumor. This leads to issues with drug delivery because many drugs will be delivered to the tumor by the circulatory system.
== Resistance ==
Resistance is a major cause of treatment failure in chemotherapeutic drugs and results in cancer cell survival despite exposure to such toxins. Broadly, resistance types can be classified based on the points at which cancer cells are no longer susceptible to the effects of chemotherapeutic drugs. One form of resistance is known as primary, or natural resistance, where cancer cells possess innate mechanisms that allow them to be unresponsive to chemotherapeutic drug exposure from the very beginning of its administration. Contrarily, acquired resistance is characterized by an initial, brief period of cancer cell susceptibility to the applied chemotherapeutic agent, followed by later stages of poor drug response. Despite these differences between the points at which resistance emerges, either form can result in what is known as multi-drug resistance, essentially allowing cancer cells to evade the effects of both similarly and differently functioning chemotherapeutic drugs regardless of their previous exposure to them.
There are various contributors to emerging resistance in cancer, one of which is the presence of small pumps on the surface of cancer cells that actively transport concentrations of chemotherapy drugs from inside the cell to the outside, otherwise known as efflux pumps. However, these pumps are not unique characteristics of cancer cells whereas in normal functioning cells, efflux pumps are actually engaged in life-sustaining processes that help avoid the accumulation of waste and toxin absorption in the body. It is the over-expression of efflux pump proteins observed in resistant cancer cells that allows them to produce these pumps in high quantities and/or increase their overall activity compared to normal, sensitive cells. A specific protein and member of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter family known as p-glycoprotein (P-gp), has been suggested to play a major role in the development of resistance in cancer cells by promoting drug efflux. Research on P-gp and other related efflux pumps is currently ongoing, but studies have suggested that they have the capacity to transport various types of chemotherapeutic agents out of cancer cells resulting in a significantly reduced bioavailability of such drugs, and ultimately failed chemotherapy treatments. The inhibition of efflux pumps has been suggested as a promising therapeutic target to overcome this mechanism of resistance in cancer cells, aiming to both restore chemotherapeutic drug bioavailability within the cells, yet avoid deregulating normal functioning pumps and reduce undesired adverse effects. Conversely, toxic drug interactions have posed a major obstacle to successfully developing efflux pump inhibitors and highlights the difficulty of targeted chemotherapeutic drug formulation.
Many proteins involved in intracellular transport processes have been identified as fundamental contributors of resistance by impairing chemotherapeutic drug-target interactions. For example, lung resistance-related proteins, otherwise referred to as major vault proteins, are located on the nuclear membrane of cells and typically mediate nucleocytoplasmic transport. Here, the regulation of compounds between the nucleus and cytoplasm is a process that can be overexpressed by cancer cells to transport DNA-targeted chemotherapeutic drugs away from the nucleus, and essentially restrict these drugs from successfully interacting with their targets. Without reducing the total intracellular chemotherapeutic drug concentration, cancer cells have developed mechanisms to successfully dismantle drug-target interactions and confer resistance to multiple chemotherapeutic drugs. An additional mechanism of resistance interfering with drug-target interaction can be demonstrated by mutations in genes that encode for drug target proteins, such as tubulin. Broadly, tubulin proteins make up intracellular structures known as microtubules that play a fundamental role in cellular shape, division, signaling, and movement, thus making them a particular promising site of target for chemotherapeutic drugs. By altering or inhibiting microtubule dynamics in cancer cells, drugs can prohibit successfully cell division and induce the direct activation of adoptotic pathways. However, mutations that produce physical alterations in tubulin protein structure, can interfere with the several tubulin binding sites and inhibit the effective interaction and activity of these chemotherapeutic drugs.
Another major biological process and target of many chemotherapeutic drugs is the disruption of structures and genes involved in DNA replication, which would aim to reduce cancer cell proliferation and survival. However, through gene amplification, a resistance-inducing mechanism in which multiple copies of a gene are produced by cancer cells, the enhanced quantity of gene copy number limit the efficiency of such drugs, therefore allowing cancer cells to restore their proliferative ability and promote uncontrolled cell growth. A target enzyme known as topoisomerase II (Topo II) recognized for its fundamental role in detangling and repairing DNA, has also been proposed as a potentially promising site of action for drugs designed to induce DNA breakage. Here, it was suggested that the inhibition of Topo II would result in enzyme-mediated DNA breakage which without the proper functioning of repairment, would ultimately induce cell stress and apoptosis, or programmed cell death. As resistance to these Topo II poisons emerged, it was determined that cancer cells had developed mechanisms to reduce the expression of the Topo II enzyme, ultimately depriving these drugs from their targets and rendering them ineffective. Cancer cells have developed other resistance mechanisms to mediate the effects of chemotherapy-induced DNA breakage such as the activation of DNA damage repair (DDR) pathways which may recruit and upregulate various genes involved in DNA repair processes, thus countering the effects of many chemotherapeutic drugs.
An additional major contributor to chemotherapy resistance is inter and intra patient response variability. Inter, referring to differences between patients, and intra referring to differences within an individual patient. The oncology community recognizes inter-patient response variability as a wide-scale phenomenon of pressing concern as variability is even observed in tumors before exposure to targeted treatment. Inter and intra patient response variability further exacerbates the difficulties in ensuring long-term effectiveness of treatment where tumor growth does not progress and shrinkage is permanent. There are many factors at the cellular and genomic level that contribute to variability between patients and within the individual. In a more narrow scope of events, tumor heterogeneity and cellular heterogeneity are the two overarching contributors to this issue.
Tumor heterogeneity refers to the diversity of cells within the same tumor microenvironment. Regional and environmental differences within a tumor actively shape its heterogeneity and promote the growth and survival of tumor cells. Variation in oxygen availability, acidity, and growth factors in different regions of the tumor place different selective pressures in each region of the environment, leading to tumor cells with varying sensitivity within the same microenvironment. Additionally, distance from vascular beds in the tumor microenvironment creates an uneven distribution of the targeted drug to all cells in the tumor, failing to effectively kill all of the tumor cells. This phenomenon further promotes heterogeneity and produces a gradient in the microenvironment that fosters the positive selection of a drug-resistant cell population, where cells sensitive to treatment decrease in population size . Plasticity in tumor cells has, additionally, been recognized as a byproduct of tumor heterogeneity and a major contributor to resistance. Tumor cells have the ability to gain stem-like traits in response to changes in their microenvironment, allowing for the survival of cell populations, which ultimately promotes resistance through selection. Tumor cell plasticity is a notable mechanism of acquired resistance. In order to assess the potential reversibility of plasticity in tumor cells, mathematical models informed by tumor heterogeneity and inter-cellular differences have been created.
Cellular heterogeneity describes the recently studied phenomenon of genetically identical cells varying in phenotype, cellular response, and drug sensitivity. Cell-to-cell response variability has been attributed to random, stochastic biochemical processes that facilitate protein expression. These intracellular biochemical fluctuations create variation in genetically identical cells by producing unique proteomes and subsequently differing phenotypic responses to drugs even within the same environment. Fractional killing, (the incomplete growth inhibition of tumor cells) as mentioned as a result of tumor heterogeneity, is likely exacerbated by the fluctuations in the proteome and wide distribution of varying responsiveness in each cell, further combating the efforts of chemotherapy drugs.
== Cytotoxics and targeted therapies ==
Targeted therapies are a relatively new class of cancer drugs that can work to overcome many of the adverse effects seen with the use of cytotoxics. They are divided into two groups: small molecule and antibodies. The typical widespread toxicity observed with the use of cytotoxics is due to the lack of cell specificity of the drugs allowing them to kill any rapidly dividing cell, both cancerous and normal. Targeted therapies however, are designed to affect cellular proteins or processes that are utilized by the cancer cells. This allows a high dose administration to cancer tissues with a relatively low dose to other tissues. Although the side effects are often less severe than that seen of cytotoxic chemotherapeutics, life-threatening effects can occur. Initially, the targeted therapeutics were supposed to be solely selective for one protein. Now it is clear that there is often a range of protein targets that the drug can bind. An example target for targeted therapy is the BCR-ABL1 protein produced from the Philadelphia chromosome, a genetic lesion found commonly in chronic myelogenous leukemia and in some patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This fusion protein has enzyme activity that can be inhibited by imatinib, a small molecule drug.
Another example of target therapy is fludarabine cyclophosphamide (FC) lymphodepletion therapy used in patients with B cell lymphoma. This anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy is commonly known to decrease CAR-T cells which bind to the glycoprotein CD19. By decreasing the number of CAR-T cells, it decreases the activation of infected B cells. Subsequently, it increases the availability of cytokines, which promotes the survival of transferred T cells. However, there is one case where the target therapy revitalized the CAR-T cells and contributed to the treatment of relapsed B cell lymphoma.
== Mechanism of action ==
Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells coupled with malignant behaviour: invasion and metastasis (among other features). It is caused by the interaction between genetic susceptibility and environmental factors. These factors lead to accumulations of genetic mutations in oncogenes (genes that control the growth rate of cells) and tumor suppressor genes (genes that help to prevent cancer), which gives cancer cells their malignant characteristics, such as uncontrolled growth.
In the broad sense, most chemotherapeutic drugs work by impairing mitosis (cell division), effectively targeting fast-dividing cells. As these drugs cause damage to cells, they are termed cytotoxic. They prevent mitosis by various mechanisms including damaging DNA and inhibition of the cellular machinery involved in cell division. One theory as to why these drugs kill cancer cells is that they induce a programmed form of cell death known as apoptosis.
As chemotherapy affects cell division, tumors with high growth rates (such as acute myelogenous leukemia and the aggressive lymphomas, including Hodgkin's disease) are more sensitive to chemotherapy, as a larger proportion of the targeted cells are undergoing cell division at any time. Malignancies with slower growth rates, such as indolent lymphomas, tend to respond to chemotherapy much more modestly. Heterogeneic tumours may also display varying sensitivities to chemotherapy agents, depending on the subclonal populations within the tumor.
Cells from the immune system also make crucial contributions to the antitumor effects of chemotherapy. For example, the chemotherapeutic drugs oxaliplatin and cyclophosphamide can cause tumor cells to die in a way that is detectable by the immune system (called immunogenic cell death), which mobilizes immune cells with antitumor functions. Chemotherapeutic drugs that cause cancer immunogenic tumor cell death can make unresponsive tumors sensitive to immune checkpoint therapy.
== Other uses ==
Some chemotherapy drugs are used in diseases other than cancer, such as in autoimmune disorders, and noncancerous plasma cell dyscrasia. In some cases they are often used at lower doses, which means that the side effects are minimized, while in other cases doses similar to ones used to treat cancer are used. Methotrexate is used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriasis, ankylosing spondylitis and multiple sclerosis. The anti-inflammatory response seen in RA is thought to be due to increases in adenosine, which causes immunosuppression; effects on immuno-regulatory cyclooxygenase-2 enzyme pathways; reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines; and anti-proliferative properties. Although methotrexate is used to treat both multiple sclerosis and ankylosing spondylitis, its efficacy in these diseases is still uncertain. Cyclophosphamide is sometimes used to treat lupus nephritis, a common symptom of systemic lupus erythematosus. Dexamethasone along with either bortezomib or melphalan is commonly used as a treatment for AL amyloidosis. Recently, bortezomid in combination with cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone has also shown promise as a treatment for AL amyloidosis. Other drugs used to treat myeloma such as lenalidomide have shown promise in treating AL amyloidosis.
Chemotherapy drugs are also used in conditioning regimens prior to bone marrow transplant (hematopoietic stem cell transplant). Conditioning regimens are used to suppress the recipient's immune system in order to allow a transplant to engraft. Cyclophosphamide is a common cytotoxic drug used in this manner and is often used in conjunction with total body irradiation. Chemotherapeutic drugs may be used at high doses to permanently remove the recipient's bone marrow cells (myeloablative conditioning) or at lower doses that will prevent permanent bone marrow loss (non-myeloablative and reduced intensity conditioning). When used in non-cancer setting, the treatment is still called "chemotherapy", and is often done in the same treatment centers used for people with cancer.
== Occupational exposure and safe handling ==
In the 1970s, antineoplastic (chemotherapy) drugs were identified as hazardous, and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) has since then introduced the concept of hazardous drugs after publishing a recommendation in 1983 regarding handling hazardous drugs. The adaptation of federal regulations came when the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) first released its guidelines in 1986 and then updated them in 1996, 1999, and, most recently, 2006.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has been conducting an assessment in the workplace since then regarding these drugs. Occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs has been linked to multiple health effects, including infertility and possible carcinogenic effects. A few cases have been reported by the NIOSH alert report, such as one in which a female pharmacist was diagnosed with papillary transitional cell carcinoma. Twelve years before the pharmacist was diagnosed with the condition, she had worked for 20 months in a hospital where she was responsible for preparing multiple antineoplastic drugs. The pharmacist did not have any other risk factor for cancer, and therefore, her cancer was attributed to the exposure to the antineoplastic drugs, although a cause-and-effect relationship has not been established in the literature. Another case happened when a malfunction in biosafety cabinetry is believed to have exposed nursing personnel to antineoplastic drugs. Investigations revealed evidence of genotoxic biomarkers two and nine months after that exposure.
=== Routes of exposure ===
Antineoplastic drugs are usually given through intravenous, intramuscular, intrathecal, or subcutaneous administration. In most cases, before the medication is administered to the patient, it needs to be prepared and handled by several workers. Any worker who is involved in handling, preparing, or administering the drugs, or with cleaning objects that have come into contact with antineoplastic drugs, is potentially exposed to hazardous drugs. Health care workers are exposed to drugs in different circumstances, such as when pharmacists and pharmacy technicians prepare and handle antineoplastic drugs and when nurses and physicians administer the drugs to patients. Additionally, those who are responsible for disposing antineoplastic drugs in health care facilities are also at risk of exposure.
Dermal exposure is thought to be the main route of exposure due to the fact that significant amounts of the antineoplastic agents have been found in the gloves worn by healthcare workers who prepare, handle, and administer the agents. Another noteworthy route of exposure is inhalation of the drugs' vapors. Multiple studies have investigated inhalation as a route of exposure, and although air sampling has not shown any dangerous levels, it is still a potential route of exposure. Ingestion by hand to mouth is a route of exposure that is less likely compared to others because of the enforced hygienic standard in the health institutions. However, it is still a potential route, especially in the workplace, outside of a health institute. One can also be exposed to these hazardous drugs through injection by needle sticks. Research conducted in this area has established that occupational exposure occurs by examining evidence in multiple urine samples from health care workers.
=== Hazards ===
Hazardous drugs expose health care workers to serious health risks. Many studies show that antineoplastic drugs could have many side effects on the reproductive system, such as fetal loss, congenital malformation, and infertility. Health care workers who are exposed to antineoplastic drugs on many occasions have adverse reproductive outcomes such as spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, and congenital malformations. Moreover, studies have shown that exposure to these drugs leads to menstrual cycle irregularities. Antineoplastic drugs may also increase the risk of learning disabilities among children of health care workers who are exposed to these hazardous substances.
Moreover, these drugs have carcinogenic effects. In the past five decades, multiple studies have shown the carcinogenic effects of exposure to antineoplastic drugs. Similarly, there have been research studies that linked alkylating agents with humans developing leukemias. Studies have reported elevated risk of breast cancer, nonmelanoma skin cancer, and cancer of the rectum among nurses who are exposed to these drugs. Other investigations revealed that there is a potential genotoxic effect from anti-neoplastic drugs to workers in health care settings.
=== Safe handling in health care settings ===
As of 2018, there were no occupational exposure limits set for antineoplastic drugs, i.e., OSHA or the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) have not set workplace safety guidelines.
==== Preparation ====
NIOSH recommends using a ventilated cabinet that is designed to decrease worker exposure. Additionally, it recommends training of all staff, the use of cabinets, implementing an initial evaluation of the technique of the safety program, and wearing protective gloves and gowns when opening drug packaging, handling vials, or labeling. When wearing personal protective equipment, one should inspect gloves for physical defects before use and always wear double gloves and protective gowns. Health care workers are also required to wash their hands with water and soap before and after working with antineoplastic drugs, change gloves every 30 minutes or whenever punctured, and discard them immediately in a chemotherapy waste container.
The gowns used should be disposable gowns made of polyethylene-coated polypropylene. When wearing gowns, individuals should make sure that the gowns are closed and have long sleeves. When preparation is done, the final product should be completely sealed in a plastic bag.
The health care worker should also wipe all waste containers inside the ventilated cabinet before removing them from the cabinet. Finally, workers should remove all protective wear and put them in a bag for their disposal inside the ventilated cabinet.
==== Administration ====
Drugs should only be administered using protective medical devices such as needle lists and closed systems and techniques such as priming of IV tubing by pharmacy personnel inside a ventilated cabinet. Workers should always wear personal protective equipment such as double gloves, goggles, and protective gowns when opening the outer bag and assembling the delivery system to deliver the drug to the patient, and when disposing of all material used in the administration of the drugs.
Hospital workers should never remove tubing from an IV bag that contains an antineoplastic drug, and when disconnecting the tubing in the system, they should make sure the tubing has been thoroughly flushed. After removing the IV bag, the workers should place it together with other disposable items directly in the yellow chemotherapy waste container with the lid closed. Protective equipment should be removed and put into a disposable chemotherapy waste container. After this has been done, one should double bag the chemotherapy waste before or after removing one's inner gloves. Moreover, one must always wash one's hands with soap and water before leaving the drug administration site.
==== Employee training ====
All employees whose jobs in health care facilities expose them to hazardous drugs must receive training. Training should include shipping and receiving personnel, housekeepers, pharmacists, assistants, and all individuals involved in the transportation and storage of antineoplastic drugs. These individuals should receive information and training to inform them of the hazards of the drugs present in their areas of work. They should be informed and trained on operations and procedures in their work areas where they can encounter hazards, different methods used to detect the presence of hazardous drugs and how the hazards are released, and the physical and health hazards of the drugs, including their reproductive and carcinogenic hazard potential. Additionally, they should be informed and trained on the measures they should take to avoid and protect themselves from these hazards. This information ought to be provided when health care workers come into contact with the drugs, that is, perform the initial assignment in a work area with hazardous drugs. Moreover, training should also be provided when new hazards emerge as well as when new drugs, procedures, or equipment are introduced.
==== Housekeeping and waste disposal ====
When performing cleaning and decontaminating the work area where antineoplastic drugs are used, one should make sure that there is sufficient ventilation to prevent the buildup of airborne drug concentrations. When cleaning the work surface, hospital workers should use deactivation and cleaning agents before and after each activity as well as at the end of their shifts. Cleaning should always be done using double protective gloves and disposable gowns. After employees finish up cleaning, they should dispose of the items used in the activity in a yellow chemotherapy waste container while still wearing protective gloves. After removing the gloves, they should thoroughly wash their hands with soap and water. Anything that comes into contact or has a trace of the antineoplastic drugs, such as needles, empty vials, syringes, gowns, and gloves, should be put in the chemotherapy waste container.
==== Spill control ====
A written policy needs to be in place in case of a spill of antineoplastic products. The policy should address the possibility of various sizes of spills as well as the procedure and personal protective equipment required for each size. A trained worker should handle a large spill and always dispose of all cleanup materials in the chemical waste container according to EPA regulations, not in a yellow chemotherapy waste container.
=== Occupational monitoring ===
A medical surveillance program must be established. In case of exposure, occupational health professionals need to ask for a detailed history and do a thorough physical exam. They should test the urine of the potentially exposed worker by doing a urine dipstick or microscopic examination, mainly looking for blood, as several antineoplastic drugs are known to cause bladder damage.
Urinary mutagenicity is a marker of exposure to antineoplastic drugs that was first used by Falck and colleagues in 1979 and uses bacterial mutagenicity assays. Apart from being nonspecific, the test can be influenced by extraneous factors such as dietary intake and smoking and is, therefore, used sparingly. However, the test played a significant role in changing the use of horizontal flow cabinets to vertical flow biological safety cabinets during the preparation of antineoplastic drugs because the former exposed health care workers to high levels of drugs. This changed the handling of drugs and effectively reduced workers' exposure to antineoplastic drugs.
Biomarkers of exposure to antineoplastic drugs commonly include urinary platinum, methotrexate, urinary cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide, and urinary metabolite of 5-fluorouracil. In addition to this, there are other drugs used to measure the drugs directly in the urine, although they are rarely used. A measurement of these drugs directly in one's urine is a sign of high exposure levels and that an uptake of the drugs is happening either through inhalation or dermally.
== Available agents ==
There is an extensive list of antineoplastic agents. Several classification schemes have been used to subdivide the medicines used for cancer into several different types.
== History ==
The first use of small-molecule drugs to treat cancer was in the early 20th century, although the specific chemicals first used were not originally intended for that purpose. Mustard gas was used as a chemical warfare agent during World War I and was discovered to be a potent suppressor of hematopoiesis (blood production). A similar family of compounds known as nitrogen mustards were studied further during World War II at the Yale School of Medicine. It was reasoned that an agent that damaged the rapidly growing white blood cells might have a similar effect on cancer. Therefore, in December 1942, several people with advanced lymphomas (cancers of the lymphatic system and lymph nodes) were given the drug by vein, rather than by breathing the irritating gas. Their improvement, although temporary, was remarkable. Concurrently, during a military operation in World War II, following a German air raid on the Italian harbour of Bari, several hundred people were accidentally exposed to mustard gas, which had been transported there by the Allied forces to prepare for possible retaliation in the event of German use of chemical warfare. The survivors were later found to have very low white blood cell counts. After WWII was over and the reports declassified, the experiences converged and led researchers to look for other substances that might have similar effects against cancer. The first chemotherapy drug to be developed from this line of research was mustine. Since then, many other drugs have been developed to treat cancer, and drug development has exploded into a multibillion-dollar industry, although the principles and limitations of chemotherapy discovered by the early researchers still apply.
=== The term chemotherapy ===
The word chemotherapy without a modifier usually refers to cancer treatment, but its historical meaning was broader. The term was coined in the early 1900s by Paul Ehrlich as meaning any use of chemicals to treat any disease (chemo- + -therapy), such as the use of antibiotics (antibacterial chemotherapy). Ehrlich was not optimistic that effective chemotherapy drugs would be found for the treatment of cancer. The first modern chemotherapeutic agent was arsphenamine, an arsenic compound discovered in 1907 and used to treat syphilis. This was later followed by sulfonamides (sulfa drugs) and penicillin. In today's usage, the sense "any treatment of disease with drugs" is often expressed with the word pharmacotherapy.
== Research ==
=== Targeted delivery vehicles ===
Specially targeted delivery vehicles aim to increase effective levels of chemotherapy for tumor cells while reducing effective levels for other cells. This should result in an increased tumor kill or reduced toxicity or both.
==== Antibody-drug conjugates ====
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) comprise an antibody, drug and a linker between them. The antibody will be targeted at a preferentially expressed protein in the tumour cells (known as a tumor antigen) or on cells that the tumor can utilise, such as blood vessel endothelial cells. They bind to the tumor antigen and are internalised, where the linker releases the drug into the cell. These specially targeted delivery vehicles vary in their stability, selectivity, and choice of target, but, in essence, they all aim to increase the maximum effective dose that can be delivered to the tumor cells. Reduced systemic toxicity means that they can also be used in people who are sicker and that they can carry new chemotherapeutic agents that would have been far too toxic to deliver via traditional systemic approaches.
The first approved drug of this type was gemtuzumab ozogamicin (Mylotarg), released by Wyeth (now Pfizer). The drug was approved to treat acute myeloid leukemia. Two other drugs, trastuzumab emtansine and brentuximab vedotin, are both in late clinical trials, and the latter has been granted accelerated approval for the treatment of refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma and systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma.
==== Nanoparticles ====
Nanoparticles are 1–1000 nanometer (nm) sized particles that can promote tumor selectivity and aid in delivering low-solubility drugs. Nanoparticles can be targeted passively or actively. Passive targeting exploits the difference between tumor blood vessels and normal blood vessels. Blood vessels in tumors are "leaky" because they have gaps from 200 to 2000 nm, which allow nanoparticles to escape into the tumor. Active targeting uses biological molecules (antibodies, proteins, DNA and receptor ligands) to preferentially target the nanoparticles to the tumor cells. There are many types of nanoparticle delivery systems, such as silica, polymers, liposomes and magnetic particles. Nanoparticles made of magnetic material can also be used to concentrate agents at tumor sites using an externally applied magnetic field. They have emerged as a useful vehicle in magnetic drug delivery for poorly soluble agents such as paclitaxel.
=== Electrochemotherapy ===
Electrochemotherapy is the combined treatment in which injection of a chemotherapeutic drug is followed by application of high-voltage electric pulses locally to the tumor. The treatment enables the chemotherapeutic drugs, which otherwise cannot or hardly go through the membrane of cells (such as bleomycin and cisplatin), to enter the cancer cells. Hence, greater effectiveness of antitumor treatment is achieved.
Clinical electrochemotherapy has been successfully used for treatment of cutaneous and subcutaneous tumors irrespective of their histological origin. The method has been reported as safe, simple and highly effective in all reports on clinical use of electrochemotherapy. According to the ESOPE project (European Standard Operating Procedures of Electrochemotherapy), the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for electrochemotherapy were prepared, based on the experience of the leading European cancer centres on electrochemotherapy. Recently, new electrochemotherapy modalities have been developed for treatment of internal tumors using surgical procedures, endoscopic routes or percutaneous approaches to gain access to the treatment area.
=== Hyperthermia therapy ===
Hyperthermia therapy is heat treatment for cancer that can be a powerful tool when used in combination with chemotherapy (thermochemotherapy) or radiation for the control of a variety of cancers. The heat can be applied locally to the tumor site, which will dilate blood vessels to the tumor, allowing more chemotherapeutic medication to enter the tumor. Additionally, the tumor cell membrane will become more porous, further allowing more of the chemotherapeutic medicine to enter the tumor cell.
Hyperthermia has also been shown to help prevent or reverse "chemo-resistance." Chemotherapy resistance sometimes develops over time as the tumors adapt and can overcome the toxicity of the chemo medication. "Overcoming chemoresistance has been extensively studied within the past, especially using CDDP-resistant cells. In regard to the potential benefit that drug-resistant cells can be recruited for effective therapy by combining chemotherapy with hyperthermia, it was important to show that chemoresistance against several anticancer drugs (e.g. mitomycin C, anthracyclines, BCNU, melphalan) including CDDP could be reversed at least partially by the addition of heat.
== Other animals ==
Chemotherapy is used in veterinary medicine similar to how it is used in human medicine. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newcastle_United_F.C. | Newcastle United F.C. | Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1881 as Stanley F.C., the club took on its present guise in 1892 after absorbing the assets of defunct local rivals Newcastle West End, including their home stadium St James' Park, where United have played ever since. Located in the centre of Newcastle, St James' Park currently has a capacity of 52,305.
Newcastle have been a member of the Premier League for all but three years of the competition's history, spending 93 seasons in the top flight as of May 2025, and have never dropped below English football's second tier since joining the Football League in 1893. Newcastle have won four League titles, six FA Cups, one League Cup and an FA Charity Shield, as well as the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the ninth-highest total of trophies won by an English club. The club's most successful period was between 1904 and 1910, when they won an FA Cup and three of their four League titles. More recently, the club were League or FA Cup runners-up on four occasions in the 1990s. Newcastle were relegated in 2009, and again in 2016. The club won promotion at the first time of asking each time, returning to the Premier League, as Championship winners, in 2010 and 2017. In October 2021, a consortium led by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, became majority owners of Newcastle United. In 2025, the club won the 2024–25 EFL Cup, the club's first trophy in nearly 56 years, and their first domestic trophy since 1955.
Newcastle's traditional kit colours are black-and-white striped shirts, black shorts and black or white socks. Their crest has elements of the city coat of arms, which features two grey hippocamps. Before each home game, the team enters the pitch to "Going Home". Newcastle share a long-standing rivalry with nearby Sunderland, with whom the Tyne–Wear derby has been contested since 1898.
== History ==
=== 1881–1903: Formation and early history ===
The first record of football being played on Tyneside dates from 3 March 1877 at Elswick Rugby Club. Later that year, Newcastle's first football club, Tyne Association, was formed. The origins of Newcastle United Football Club itself can be traced back to the formation of a football club by the Stanley Cricket Club of Byker in November 1881. This team was renamed Newcastle East End F.C. in October 1882, to avoid confusion with the cricket club in Stanley, County Durham. Rosewood F.C. of Byker merged with Newcastle East End a short time later. In 1886, Newcastle East End moved from Byker to Heaton. In August 1882, Newcastle West End F.C. formed from West End Cricket Club, and in May 1886 moved into St James' Park. The two clubs became rivals in the Northern League. In 1889, Newcastle East End became a professional team, before becoming a limited company the following March. Newcastle West End, on the other hand, was in serious financial trouble and approached East End with a view to a takeover. Newcastle West End was eventually dissolved, and a number of its players and backroom staff joined Newcastle East End, with Newcastle East End taking over the lease on St James' Park in May 1892.
With only one senior club in the city for fans to support, development of the club was much more rapid. Despite being refused entry to the Football League's First Division at the start of the 1892–93 season, they were invited to play in their new Second Division. However, with no big names playing in the Second Division, they turned down the offer and remained in the Northern League, stating "gates would not meet the heavy expenses incurred for travelling". In a bid to start drawing larger crowds, Newcastle East End decided to adopt a new name in recognition of the merger. Suggested names included 1892 Newcastle, Newcastle Rangers, Newcastle City and City of Newcastle, but Newcastle United was decided upon on 9 December 1892, to signify the unification of the two teams. The name change was accepted by the Football Association on 22 December, but the club was not legally constituted as Newcastle United Football Club Co. Ltd. until 6 September 1895. At the start of the 1893–94 season, Newcastle United were once again refused entry to the First Division and so joined the Second Division, along with Liverpool and Woolwich Arsenal. They played their first competitive match in the division that September against Woolwich Arsenal, with a score of 2–2.
Turnstile numbers were still low, and the club published a statement stating, "The Newcastle public do not deserve to be catered for as far as professional football is concerned". However, eventually figures picked up by 1895–96, when 14,000 fans watched the team play Bury. That season Frank Watt became secretary of the club, and he was instrumental in promotion to the First Division for the 1898–99 season. However, they lost their first game 4–2 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers and finished their first season in 13th place.
=== 1903–1937: First glory years and war years ===
In 1903–04, the club built up a promising squad of players, and went on to dominate English football for almost a decade, the team known for their "artistic play, combining team-work and quick, short passing". Long after his retirement, Peter McWilliam, the team's defender at the time, said, "The Newcastle team of the 1900s would give any modern side a two goal start and beat them, and furthermore, beat them at a trot". Newcastle United went on to win the League on three occasions during the 1900s; 1904–05, 1906–07 and 1908–09. In 1904–05, they nearly did the double, losing to Aston Villa in the 1905 FA Cup Final. They were beaten again the following year by Everton in the 1906 FA Cup Final. They reached the final again in 1908 where they lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers. They finally won the FA Cup in 1910 when they beat Barnsley in the final. They lost again the following year in the final against Bradford City.
The team returned to the FA Cup final in 1924, in the second final held at the then new Wembley Stadium. They beat Aston Villa, winning the club's second FA Cup. Three years later, they won the First Division championship a fourth time in 1926–27, with Hughie Gallacher, one of the most prolific goal scorers in the club's history, captaining the team. Other key players in this period were Neil Harris, Stan Seymour and Frank Hudspeth. In 1930, Newcastle United came close to relegation, and at the end of the season Gallacher left the club for Chelsea, and at the same time Andy Cunningham became the club's first team manager. In 1931–32, the club won the FA Cup a third time. However, a couple of years later, at the end of the 1933–34 season, the team were relegated to the Second Division after 35 seasons in the top. Cunningham left as manager and Tom Mather took over.
=== 1937–1969: Post-war success ===
The club found it difficult to adjust to the Second Division and were nearly further relegated in the 1937–38 season, when they were spared on goal average. However, when World War II broke out in 1939, Newcastle had a chance to regroup, and in the War period, they brought in Jackie Milburn, Tommy Walker and Bobby Cowell. They were finally promoted back to the First Division at the end of the 1947–48 season. During the 1950s, Newcastle won the FA Cup three times in five years, beating Blackpool in 1951, Arsenal in 1952 and Manchester City in 1955. However, after this last FA Cup victory the club fell back into decline and were relegated to the Second Division once again at the end of the 1960–61 season under the management of Charlie Mitten. Mitten left after one season in the Second Division and was replaced by former player Joe Harvey. Newcastle returned to the First Division at the end of the 1964–65 season after winning the Second Division title. Under Harvey, the club qualified for European competition for the first time after a good run in the 1967–68 season and the following year won the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final, triumphing 6–2 over two legs against Hungary's Újpest in the final.
=== 1969–1992: Bouncing between divisions ===
Harvey bought striker Malcolm Macdonald in the summer of 1971, for a club record transfer fee of £180,000 (equivalent to £2,265,000 in 2021). He was an impressive goal scorer, who led United's attack to Wembley in their 1974 FA Cup Final defeat at the hands of Liverpool. The club also had back to back triumphs in the Texaco Cup in 1974 and 1975. Harvey left the club in 1975, with Gordon Lee brought in to replace him. Lee took the team to the 1976 Football League Cup Final against Manchester City, but failed to bring the trophy back to Tyneside. However, he sold Macdonald to Arsenal at the end of the season, a decision of which Macdonald later said "I loved Newcastle, until Gordon Lee took over". Lee left for Everton in 1977, and was replaced by Richard Dinnis.
United dropped once again to the Second Division at the end of the 1977–78 season. Dinnis was replaced by Bill McGarry, and then he was replaced by Arthur Cox. Cox steered Newcastle back to the First Division at the end of the 1983–84 season, with players such as Peter Beardsley, Chris Waddle and ex-England captain Kevin Keegan the fulcrum of the team. However, with a lack of funds, Cox left for Derby County and Keegan retired. With managers such as Jack Charlton and then Willie McFaul, Newcastle remained in the top-flight, until key players such as Waddle, Beardsley and Paul Gascoigne were sold, and the team was relegated once more in the 1988–89 season. McFaul left the managerial post, and was replaced by Jim Smith. Smith left at the start of the 1991–92 season and the board appointed Osvaldo Ardiles his replacement.
John Hall became the club's chairman in 1992, and replaced Ardiles with Keegan, who managed to save the team from relegation to the Third Division. Keegan was given more money for players, buying Rob Lee, Paul Bracewell and Barry Venison. The club won the First Division championship at the end of the 1992–93 season, earning promotion to the Premier League.
=== 1993–2007: Into the Premier League ===
At the end of their first year, 1993–94 season, back in the top flight they finished in third, their highest league finish since 1927. The attacking philosophy of Keegan led to the team being labelled "The Entertainers" by Sky Sports.
Keegan took Newcastle to two consecutive runners-up finishes in the league in 1995–96 and 1996–97, coming very close to winning the title in the former season which included a 4–3 game against Liverpool at Anfield – often considered the greatest game in Premier League history – which ended with a defining image of the Premier League with Keegan slumped over the advertising hoarding. The success of the team was in part due to the attacking talent of players like David Ginola, Les Ferdinand and Alan Shearer, who was signed on 30 July 1996 for a then world record fee of £15 million.
Keegan left Newcastle in January 1997 and was replaced by Kenny Dalglish, however the club endured a largely unsuccessful season with a 13th-place finish in the 1997–98 FA Premier League, failure to progress beyond the group stages of the 1997–98 UEFA Champions League despite beating Barcelona and group winners Dynamo Kyiv at home as well as coming from 2–0 down to draw 2–2 with Valeriy Lobanovskyi's team in Ukraine and defeat in the 1998 FA Cup Final. Dalglish was replaced as manager early in the following season by Ruud Gullit. The club once again finished 13th in the league and lost the 1999 FA Cup Final. Gullit fell into disagreements with the squad and chairman Freddy Shepherd, and quit the club five games into the 1999–2000 season with the team bottom of the table to be replaced by Bobby Robson. In 1999 Newcastle was 5th-highest revenue producing club in the world; second in England behind Manchester United.
A title challenge emerged during the 2001–02 season, and Newcastle's fourth-place finish saw them qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The following season, Robson guided the team to another title challenge and finished third in the League, and the second group stage of the Champions League, after being the first team to have progressed past the first group stage after losing their first three games. Newcastle finished fifth in the league at the end of the 2003–04 season, and exited the Champions League in the qualifying rounds, but despite this Robson was sacked in August 2004 following a series of disagreements with the club.
Graeme Souness was brought in as manager early in the 2004–05 season. In his time at the helm, he broke the club's transfer record by signing Michael Owen for £16.8 million. Souness also took Newcastle to the quarter-finals of the 2004–05 UEFA Cup with Alan Shearer winning the tournament's golden boot as well. However, he was sacked in February 2006 after a bad start to the club's 2005–06 season. Glenn Roeder took over, initially on a temporary basis, before being appointed full-time manager at the end of the season. Shearer retired at the end of the 2005–06 season as the club's all-time record goal scorer, with 206 goals.
In 2006, Newcastle won the Intertoto Cup for the first time in their history, and their first European trophy since 1973.
Despite finishing the 2005–06 season in seventh, Roeder's fortunes changed in the 2006–07 season, with a terrible injury run to the senior squad, and he left the club by mutual consent on 6 May 2007. After the 2006–07 season, and inside the Premier League era, Newcastle United were now the fifth most successful Premiership club in terms of points gained.
Sam Allardyce was appointed Roeder's replacement as manager on 15 May 2007.
=== 2007–2021: Mike Ashley era ===
On 7 June, Freddy Shepherd's final shares in the club were sold to Mike Ashley and Shepherd was replaced as chairman by Chris Mort on 25 July. Ashley then announced he would be delisting the club from the London Stock Exchange upon completion of the takeover. The club officially ceased trading on the Stock Exchange as of 8 am on 18 July 2007 at 5p a share.
Allardyce departed the club on in January 2008 by mutual consent after a bad start to the 2007–08 season, and Kevin Keegan was reappointed as Newcastle manager. Mort stepped down as chairman in June and was replaced by Derek Llambias, a long-term associate of Ashley. Newcastle finished the 2007–08 season in 12th place, but as the season drew to a close, Keegan publicly criticised the board, stating they were not providing the team enough financial support.
In September 2008, Keegan resigned as manager, stating: "It's my opinion that a manager must have the right to manage and that clubs should not impose upon any manager any player that he does not want". Former Wimbledon manager Joe Kinnear was appointed as his replacement, but in February 2009, due to his heart surgery, Alan Shearer was appointed interim manager in his absence. Under Shearer, the club were relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2008–09 season, the first time the club had left the Premier League since joining it in 1993.
Following their relegation, the club was put up for sale in June 2009, with an asking price of £100 million. Chris Hughton was given the manager job on a caretaker basis before taking over full-time on 27 October 2009. On the same day, Ashley announced that the club was no longer for sale.
Hughton led Newcastle to win the 2009–10 Championship, securing automatic promotion on 5 April 2010 with five games remaining, and securing the title on 19 April; Newcastle were promoted back to the Premier League after just one season away.
Under Hughton, Newcastle enjoyed a strong start to the 2010–11 season, but he was sacked on 6 December 2010. The club's board stated that they felt "an individual with more managerial experience [was] needed to take the club forward." Three days later, Alan Pardew was appointed as manager with a five-and-a-half-year contract. Despite some turbulence, Newcastle were able to finish 12th at the end of the season, with one particular highlight being a 4–4 home draw against Arsenal that saw Newcastle come back from four goals down to claim a point.
The start of the 2011–12 season was very successful as they went on to enjoy one of their strongest openings to a season, playing 11 consecutive games unbeaten. Newcastle eventually secured a place in the 2012–13 Europa League with a fifth-place finish, their highest league position since the Bobby Robson days. Further honours were to come as Pardew won both the Premier League Manager of the Season and the LMA Manager of the Year awards.
In the following season Newcastle made few acquisitions in the summer and suffered injuries over the season. As a result, the first half of the season was marred by a run of 10 losses in 13 games, which saw the club sink near the relegation zone. The Europa League campaign was largely successful with the team making the quarter-finals before bowing out to eventual finalists Benfica. Domestically, Newcastle struggled, and stayed up after a 2–1 victory over already-relegated Queens Park Rangers on the penultimate game of the season.
The 2014–15 season saw Newcastle fail to win any of their first seven games, prompting fans to start a campaign to get Pardew sacked as manager before an upturn in form saw them climb to fifth in the table. Pardew left for Crystal Palace in December. On 26 January 2015, his assistant John Carver was put in charge for the remainder of the season but came close to relegation, staying up on the final day with a 2–0 home win against West Ham, with Jonás Gutiérrez, who beat testicular cancer earlier in the season, scoring the team's second goal.
On 9 June 2015, Carver was sacked and replaced by Steve McClaren the following day. On 11 March 2016, McClaren was sacked after nine months as manager, with Newcastle in 19th place in the Premier League and the club having won just six of 28 Premier League games during his time at the club. He was replaced by Spaniard Rafael Benítez on the same day, who signed a three-year deal, but was not able to prevent the club from being relegated for the second time under Ashley's ownership.
Newcastle returned to the Premier League at the first attempt, winning the Championship title in May 2017. In October, Mike Ashley put Newcastle United up for sale for the second time. The team finished the season with a 3–0 win over the previous year's champions Chelsea, finishing tenth in the league, their highest finish in four years. The following season saw a 13th-place finish, despite being in the relegation zone in January. Ashley came under increased scrutiny for his lack of investment in the squad and apparent focus on other business ventures. Benitez left his position on 30 June 2019 after rejecting a new contract.
On 17 July 2019, former Sunderland manager Steve Bruce was appointed as manager on a three-year contract. Bruce oversaw 13th and 12th-placed finishes during his two full seasons in charge.
=== 2021–present: PIF era ===
On 7 October 2021, after 14 years as owner, Ashley sold the club to a new consortium for a reported £305 million. The consortium was made up of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, RB Sports & Media and PCP Capital Partners. On 20 October, Bruce left his position by mutual consent, after receiving a reported £8 million payout. Eddie Howe was appointed as Bruce's replacement on 8 November 2021. Howe guided the club to an 11th-place finish after a run of 12 wins in their final 18 games, and Newcastle became the first team in Premier League history to avoid relegation after failing to win any of their first 14 games.
On 21 August 2022, Newcastle United Women moved into the club's ownership for the first time, after a formal restructuring. At the end of the 2022–23 season, the club sealed qualification for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years. The season was the subject of the Amazon Prime Video documentary We Are Newcastle United. In the 2023–24 season, Newcastle were eliminated in the group stages of the Champions League.
On 16 March 2025, Newcastle United won their first major domestic trophy since 1955 after beating Liverpool 2–1 in the 2025 EFL Cup final through goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak.
On 5 September 2025, Newcastle United announced the appointment of David Hopkinson as Chief Executive Officer. Hopkinson, who previously held senior roles at Real Madrid, Madison Square Garden Sports, and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, succeeded Darren Eales. His mandate includes strengthening the club’s commercial strategy, expanding its global profile, and overseeing long-term infrastructure projects.
== Club identity ==
The club's home colours are a black and white striped shirt. Shorts and socks are usually black with white trim, though white socks are sometimes worn. Newcastle's colours at the outset were generally the home kit of Newcastle East End, comprising plain red shirts with white shorts and red socks. In 1894, the club adopted the black and white striped shirts, which had been used as the reserve team's colours. These colours were chosen for the senior team because they were not associated with either of the two teams United were merged from. They played in grey shorts until 1897, and between 1897 and 1921, they played in blue shorts before adopting the black shorts they play in now.
United's away colours have changed a number of times over the years. They played in white shirts and black shorts from 1914 until 1961, and then white shorts until 1966. They then played in yellow shirts and blue shorts for the 1967–68 season, but from 1969 to 1974 played in all red with an all blue third kit. In 1974, they returned to a yellow shirt, which they played with various coloured shorts until 1983. They played in all grey from 1983 to 1988, before once again returning to the yellow kit until 1993. Since 1995, the away kit has changed frequently and has not been the same for more than a single season.
The current club crest was first used in the 1988–89 season. The crest includes elements from the coat of arms of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne – the two sea horses representing Tyneside's strong connections with the sea, the castle representing the city's keep. The city's coat of arms were first embroidered on the team's shirts in 1969 and worn as standard until 1976. A scroll at the bottom featured the city's motto in Latin; fortiter defendit triumphans which translates into English as "triumphing by brave defence". From 1976 until 1983, the club wore a specific badge which was developed to wear in place of the city's coat of arms. The design was of a circular shape, which featured the club's name in full, it contained a magpie standing in front of the River Tyne with the historic keep of Newcastle in the background. A more simplistic design followed in 1983, featuring the initials of the club's name, NUFC with the small magpie used in the previous crest within the horizontally laid "C"; this logo was relatively short lived and was discontinued after 1988.
=== Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors ===
In May 2013, Newcastle announced a sponsorship which featured the Wonga.com logo on kits. This attracted criticism from many Newcastle supporters. In July 2013, it was reported that Newcastle striker and practising Muslim Papiss Cissé refused to wear any official kit or training wear with reference to Wonga.com as it did not align with his religious beliefs. The matter was later resolved.
On 15 May 2017, the home shirt for the 2017–18 season was revealed, featuring the logo of new sponsors Fun88. The shirt was shown to include a gold and silver commemorative crest to mark the club's 125th football season, based on the city's coat of arms. It was also announced that the kit would feature red numbers for the first time since the 1992–93 season.
Newcastle United's current kit sponsor is Sela, a deal that started in 2023. Previous kit sponsors include Newcastle Breweries (1980–1986), Greenall's Beers (1986–1990), McEwan's Lager and Newcastle Brown Ale (1990–2000), NTL (2000–2003), Northern Rock (2003–2012), Virgin Money (2012–2013), Wonga.com (2013–2017), and Fun88 (2017–2023).
Newcastle United's current kit manufacturer is Adidas, in a deal that started in 2024. Previous kit manufacturers include Bukta (1974–1975, 1976–1980), Umbro (1975–1976, 1980–1993), Asics (1993–1995), Adidas (1995–2010, 2024–present), Puma (2010–2021), and Castore (2021–2024).
Newcastle United's current sleeve sponsor is Noon, in a deal that started in 2022. Previous sleeve sponsors include MRF Tyres (2017–2018), StormGain (2019–2020), ICM.com (2020–2021), and Kayak (2021–2022).
Other current team sponsors include Fun88, BetMGM, Carling, Monster Energy, Sportsbet.io, InPost, Fenwick and Saudia.
== Stadium ==
Throughout Newcastle United's history, their home venue has been St James' Park, the oldest and largest football stadium in North East England, as well as the seventh-largest football stadium in the Premier League. It has hosted 11 international football matches at senior level, the first in 1901 and the most recent in 2024. It was used as a venue for both the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2015 Rugby World Cup and has been a regular venue for Rugby League's Magic Weekend, attracting record crowds.
Football had been played at St James' Park as early as 1880, the ground being occupied by Newcastle Rangers, before becoming the home of Newcastle West End in 1886. Its lease was then bought by Newcastle East End in 1892, before they changed their name to Newcastle United. At the turn of the 20th century, the ground's capacity was given as 30,000 before being redeveloped between 1900 and 1905, increasing the capacity to 60,000 and making it the biggest stadium in England for a time. For most of the 20th century, the stadium changed very little, despite various plans for development of the ground. The old West Stand was replaced with the Milburn Stand in 1987, the Sir John Hall Stand replacing the Leazes End in 1993, and the rest of the ground renovated making the ground a 37,000 capacity all-seater stadium. Between 1998 and 2000, double tiers were added to the Milburn and Sir John Hall stands to bring the venue up to its current capacity of 52,305.
In October 2009, Ashley announced that he planned to lease the name of the ground in a bid to increase revenue, and in November the stadium was temporarily renamed sportsdirect.com @ St James' Park Stadium. This name was only supposed to be used until the end of the 2009–10 season, but lasted until November 2011. On 10 November 2011, the club officially changed the name of the stadium to the Sports Direct Arena, although this was an interim name to showcase the sponsorship capabilities of the stadium. The company, owned by Ashley, was not paying anything for the deal. In October 2012, payday loan company Wonga.com became Newcastle United's main commercial sponsor and purchased the stadium naming rights but restored the St James' Park name.
Following the conclusion of the 22/23 season, a small allocation of seating in between the East stand and Gallowgate end were converted into Safe standing zones meaning that for the first time since 1993 St James' Park is no longer an all-seater stadium much like many other Premier League grounds.
In July 2023 it was confirmed that following the re-purchase of Strawberry Place, plans for a new fan zone outside the Gallowgate End had been submitted. It will be built in partnership with Stack and Sela (The clubs front of shirt sponsor).
Since 1982, the stadium has been served by St James Metro station on the Tyne and Wear Metro. The station is decorated in a black and white colour scheme, with archive photographs of the club's players.
The club's current training ground is the Newcastle United Training Centre, located at Darsley Park, which is north of the city at Benton. The facility was opened in July 2003.
Following the club's ownership takeover in 2021, the Training Centre was renovated extensively, with a new reception area, restaurant, players' lounge, presentation suite, offices, medical facility, dressing room and hydrotherapy unit all constructed.
== Ownership ==
Newcastle United was set up as a private company limited by shares on 6 September 1895. The club traded in this way for much of the 20th century, dominated by McKeag, Westwood and Seymour family ownership.
John Hall, who bought 79.2% of the club for £3 million in 1991, floated the club on the stock exchange as a public limited company in April 1997. After the float 57% of the shares were held by John Hall and his family, and a minority were held by his business partner Freddy Shepherd.
In December 1998, after buying a 6.3% stake in the club for £10 million, the media group NTL had considered a full takeover of the club. This was later dropped after the Competition Commission, established in April 1999, expressed concerns about football clubs being owned by media companies.
In 2007, businessman Mike Ashley purchased the combined stakes of both Douglas and John Hall, 41% share in the club, through a holding company St James Holdings, with a view to buy the rest. Upon purchasing this share, he appointed Chris Mort as chairman, while gaining more shares, owning 93.19% of the club by 29 June 2007. This figure reached 95% on 11 July 2007, forcing the remaining shareholders to sell their shares.
After completing the purchase of the club, Ashley had announced that he planned to sell the club on three occasions. The first occurred after fan protests over the resignation of Kevin Keegan in September 2008, when Ashley stated, "I have listened to you. You want me out. That is what I am now trying to do." However, he took it off the market on 28 December 2008 after being unable to find a buyer. On 31 May 2009, it was reported that Ashley was attempting to sell the club again. On 8 June 2009, Ashley confirmed that the club was up for sale at an asking price of £100 million. By the end of August 2009, the club was back off the market. On 16 October 2017, Newcastle United announced that Ashley had once again put the club up for sale, reporting that he hoped that a deal could be concluded by Christmas 2017.
=== Saudi-led takeover ===
In April 2020, it was widely reported that a consortium consisting of Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media, was finalising an offer to acquire Newcastle United. The proposed sale prompted concerns and criticism, such as arguments considering it sportwashing of Saudi Arabia's human rights record, as well as ongoing piracy of sports broadcasts in the region.
In May 2020, two Conservative MPs called upon the government to scrutinise aspects of the deal, with Karl McCartney calling for the sale to be blocked, and Giles Watling calling upon the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to hold an oral evidence session regarding sports piracy in Saudi Arabia. In May 2020, The Guardian reported that the Premier League had obtained a report from the World Trade Organization (published publicly the following month), which contained evidence that Saudi nationals had backed beoutQ – a pirate broadcaster carrying the beIN Sports networks in the region since the Qatar diplomatic crisis. In June 2020, The Guardian reported that Richard Masters, who appeared in front of the DCMS, had hinted the possible takeover of Newcastle United was close to completion. The MPs warned it would be humiliating to allow a Saudi Arabian consortium to take charge given the country's record on piracy and human rights.
In July 2020, The Guardian reported that Saudi Arabia's decision to ban beIN Sports broadcast from operating in the nation had further complicated the takeover of Newcastle United. On 30 July 2020, Saudi Arabia announced its withdrawal from the Newcastle deal, stating "with a deep appreciation for the Newcastle community and the significance of its football club, we have come to the decision to withdraw our interest in acquiring Newcastle United Football Club". The group also stated that the "prolonged process" was a major factor in them pulling out. The collapse of the takeover was met with widespread criticism from Newcastle fans, with Newcastle MP Chi Onwurah accusing the Premier League of treating fans of the club with "contempt" and subsequently wrote to Masters for an explanation.
Despite the consortium's withdrawal, disputes over the takeover continued. On 9 September 2020, Newcastle United released a statement claiming that the Premier League had officially rejected the takeover by the consortium and accused Masters and the Premier League board of "[not] acting appropriately in relation to [the takeover]", while stating that the club would be considering any relevant legal action. The Premier League strongly denied this in a statement released the next day, expressing "surprise" and "disappointment" at Newcastle's statement.
On 7 October 2021, the Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media confirmed that they had officially completed the acquisition of Newcastle United. An investigation in May 2022 by The Guardian claimed that the British government of Boris Johnson was involved in Saudi Arabia's takeover of Newcastle United. In April 2021, it was revealed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had warned Johnson in a text message, stating that the Premier League's decision would impact on UK-Saudi diplomatic relations. Following the warning, Johnson had appointed his special envoy for the Gulf, Edward Lister, to take up the case. It was later reported that Johnson's extensive efforts also involved the Minister of Investment Gerry Grimstone, who held discussions with the Premier League chairman Gary Hoffman and Saudi representatives well-connected with MBS' office. The UK Government and Johnson said they were not involved in the Saudi takeover. After Premier League's approval, Hoffman informed the 20 English Football clubs that there was extensive pressure from the government; he said the decision was not influenced by it. A separate report revealed that despite the US' conclusion that Jamal Khashoggi's assassination was ordered by Saudi's Prince Mohammed, he was able to avert the owners' and directors' test of the Premier League. Human Rights Watch (HRW), a campaign group, has accused the Saudi government of using football, motor racing, and golf for sportswashing. As reported by Josh Noble, a sports editor for the Financial Times, HRW defines sportswashing as "an effort to distract from its serious human rights abuses by taking over events that celebrate human achievement".
The Premier League had agreed to the Saudi PIF takeover of Newcastle, following "legally-binding assurances" that the Saudi state will have no control over the club. However, in February 2023, court documents published in the US claimed that the PIF is "a sovereign instrumentality of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia", and that the PIF governor and Newcastle's chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan is "a sitting minister of the Saudi government". Following that, Amnesty international, which already criticised Saudi of sportswashing, pushed Premier League to re-examine the Saudi PIF takeover of the club. In March 2023, Richard Masters expressed his doubts to a committee of lawmakers, stating that he was unsure if Premier League had launched the investigation. In October 2024, the Premier League said it will not review the Saudi deal.
== Social responsibility ==
Newcastle United Foundation is an independent charity established by the club in summer 2008. It seeks to encourage learning and promote healthy living amongst disadvantaged children, young people and families in the North East region, as well as promoting equality and diversity.
In December 2012, the club announced that it had become the world's first carbon positive football club.
== Supporters and rivalries ==
Newcastle United's supporters are known for being some of the most passionate football fans in the world. In 2016, supporters founded the Wor Flags group, which continues to produce large and unique flag, banner and tifo displays at St James' Park. The group is entirely fan-funded.
The club's strongest supporter base is in the North East, but supporters' clubs can be found in many countries across the world. The club's nickname is The Magpies, while the club's supporters are also known as the Geordies or the Toon Army. The name Toon originates from the Geordie pronunciation of town. In a 2004 survey by Co-operative Financial Services, it was found that Newcastle United topped the league table for the cost incurred and distance travelled by Newcastle-based fans wishing to travel to every Premier League away game. The total distance travelled for a fan to attend every away game from Newcastle was found to be equivalent to a round-the-world trip. In the 2016–17 season, while in the second tier, Newcastle recorded an average attendance of 51,106.
The club's supporters publish a number of fanzines including True Faith and The Mag, along with NUFC.com, which was established in 1996. They set up Newcastle United Supporters Trust in September 2008, aiming to "represent the broad church of Newcastle United's support". In addition to the usual English football chants, Newcastle's supporters sing the traditional Tyneside song "Blaydon Races". Prior to each home game the team enters the field to "Going Home", the closing song of the 1983 film Local Hero, written by Newcastle supporter and Dire Straits founder Mark Knopfler.
In 1998, The Police founder and Newcastle fan Sting wrote a song in support of Newcastle, called "Black and White Army (Bringing The Pride Back Home)" (sung by Ryan Molloy). In 2015, some Newcastle fans boycotted games in protest of club management by Mike Ashley, and they were supported by famous club fans like Sting and Jimmy Nail.
Traditionally, Newcastle's main rivals are Sunderland, against whom the Tyne–Wear derby is competed, along with Middlesbrough, with whom they compete in the Tyne-Tees derby.
== Records ==
Newcastle United have spent ninety-four seasons in the top-flight, they are eighth in the all-time Premier League table and have the ninth-highest total of major honours won by an English club with eleven wins. Jimmy Lawrence holds the record for the most appearances for the club, having made 496 first team appearances between 1904 and 1921. Alan Shearer is the club’s record goal scorer, scoring 206 goals in all competitions between 1996 and 2006. Andy Cole holds the record for the most goals scored in a season: 41 in the 1993–94 season in the Premier League. Shay Given is the most capped international for the club, with 134 appearances for the Republic of Ireland.
Newcastle United's widest victory margin in the league was a 13–0 win against Newport County in the Second Division in 1946. Their heaviest defeat in the league was 9–0 against Burton Wanderers in the Second Division in 1895.
Newcastle's record home attendance is 68,386 for a First Division match against Chelsea on 3 September 1930. The club's highest attendance in the Premier League is 52,389, in a match against Manchester City on 6 May 2012. The highest transfer fee received for a Newcastle player is £125 million, from Liverpool for Alexander Isak in September 2025, while the most spent by the club on a player is £69 million for forward Nick Woltemade from Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart in August 2025.
== Players ==
=== First-team squad ===
As of 26 February 2026
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
=== Out on loan ===
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
=== Under-21s and Academy ===
The following Under-21 players have previously been named in a Newcastle United squad for a competitive match:
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
=== Notable players ===
=== Player of the Year ===
Source: Newcastle United F.C.
== Management ==
=== Backroom staff ===
=== Board of directors ===
== Honours ==
Source:
League
First Division / Premier League (level 1)
Champions: 1904–05, 1906–07, 1908–09, 1926–27
Runners-up: 1995–96, 1996–97
Second Division / First Division / Championship (level 2)
Champions: 1964–65, 1992–93, 2009–10, 2016–17
Runners-up: 1897–98, 1947–48
Cup
FA Cup
Winners: 1909–10, 1923–24, 1931–32, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1954–55
Runners-up: 1904–05, 1905–06, 1907–08, 1910–11, 1973–74, 1997–98, 1998–99
Football League Cup / EFL Cup
Winners: 2024–25
Runners-up: 1975–76, 2022–23
FA Charity Shield
Winners: 1909
Runners-up: 1932, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1996
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
Winners: 1968–69
Minor titles
Sheriff of London Charity Shield
Winners: 1907
Texaco Cup
Winners: 1973–74, 1974–75
UEFA Intertoto Cup
Winners: 2006
Anglo-Italian Cup
Winners: 1973 |
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodansha | Kodansha | Kodansha Ltd. (Japanese: 株式会社講談社, Hepburn: Kabushiki-gaisha Kōdansha) is a Japanese privately held publishing and music company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include Nakayoshi, Morning, Afternoon, Evening, Weekly Young Magazine, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, and Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine, as well as the more literary magazines Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary, Nihongo Daijiten. Kodansha was founded by Seiji Noma in 1909, and members of his family continue as its owners either directly or through the Noma Cultural Foundation.
== History ==
Seiji Noma founded Kodansha in 1909 as a spin-off of the Dai-Nippon Yūbenkai (大日本雄辯會, "Greater Japan Oratorical Society") and produced the literary magazine, Yūben, (雄辯) as its first publication. The name Kodansha (taken from Kōdan Club (講談倶楽部), a now-defunct magazine published by the company) originated in 1911 when the publisher formally merged with the Dai-Nippon Yūbenkai. The company has used its current legal name since 1958. It uses the motto "omoshirokute, tame ni naru" (面白くて、ためになる; "To be interesting and beneficial").
Kodansha Limited owns the Otowa Group, which manages subsidiary companies such as King Records (official name: King Record Co., Ltd.) and Kobunsha, and publishes Nikkan Gendai, a daily tabloid. It also has close ties with Disney and officially sponsors Tokyo Disneyland.
Kodansha is the largest publisher in Japan. Revenues dropped due to the 2002 recession in Japan and an accompanying downturn in the publishing industry: the company posted a loss in the 2002 financial year for the first time since the end of World War II. (The second-largest publisher, Shogakukan, has done relatively better. In the 2003 financial year, Kodansha had revenues of ¥167 billion compared to ¥150 billion for Shogakukan. Kodansha, at its peak, led Shogakukan by over ¥50 billion in revenue.)
Kodansha sponsors the Kodansha Manga Award which has run since 1977 (and since 1960 under other names).
Kodansha's headquarters in Tokyo once housed Noma Dōjō, a kendo practice-hall established by Seiji Noma in 1925. However, the hall was demolished in November 2007 and replaced with a dōjō in a new building nearby.
The company announced that it was closing its English-language publishing house, Kodansha International, at the end of April 2011. Their American publishing house, Kodansha USA, will remain in operation.
Kodansha USA began issuing new publications under the head administrator of the international branch, Kentaro Tsugumi, starting in September 2012 with a hardcover release of The Spirit of Aikido. Many of Kodansha USA's older titles have been reprinted. According to Daniel Mani of Kodansha USA, Inc., "Though we did stopped [sic] publishing new books for about a year starting from late 2011, we did continue to sell most of our older title throughout that period (so Kodansha USA never actually closed)."
In October 2016, Kodansha acquired publisher Ichijinsha and turned the company into its wholly owned subsidiary.
On November 30, 2022, Kodansha announced an extended partnership with Disney to release anime originals based on its manga exclusively on video streaming service Disney+ starting with the second season of Tokyo Revengers.
On May 24, 2024, Kodansha announced that they acquired publisher Wani Books and turned it into a wholly owned subsidiary.
== K Manga ==
On March 21, 2023, Kodansha announced a manga distribution service called K Manga which was initially launched exclusively in the United States on May 10, 2023. It started approximately with 400 titles, of which 70 were simultaneous publications of ongoing series. On October 21, 2024, it was announced that the service became available in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore; on February 4, 2025, it was announced that the service had expanded to the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Mexico, and Brazil. On June 24, 2025, it was announced that the service had expanded to over 30 countries.
== Relationships with other organizations ==
The Kodansha company holds ownership in various broadcasting companies in Japan. It also owns shares in Nippon Cultural Broadcasting and Kobunsha. In the 2005 takeover-war for Nippon Broadcasting System between Livedoor and Fuji TV, Kodansha supported Fuji TV by selling its stock to Fuji TV.
=== NHK ===
Kodansha has a somewhat complicated relationship with NHK (Nippon Housou Kyoukai), Japan's public broadcaster. Many of the manga and novels published by Kodansha have spawned anime adaptations. Animation such as Cardcaptor Sakura, aired in NHK's Eisei Anime Gekijō time-slot, and Kodansha published a companion magazine to the NHK children's show Okāsan to Issho. The two companies often clash editorially, however. The October 2000 issue of Gendai accused NHK of staging footage used in a news report in 1997 on dynamite fishing in Indonesia. NHK sued Kodansha in the Tokyo District Court, which ordered Kodansha to publish a retraction and pay ¥4 million in damages. Kodansha appealed the decision and reached a settlement whereby it had to issue only a partial retraction and to pay no damages. Gendai's sister magazine Shūkan Gendai nonetheless published an article probing further into the staged-footage controversy that has dogged NHK.
== Honors ==
Japan Foundation: Japan Foundation Special Prize, 1994.
== List of magazines ==
=== Manga magazines ===
This is a list of manga magazines published by Kodansha.
==== Male-oriented manga magazines ====
Kodomo (children's) manga magazines
Comic BomBom (1981–2007)
Shōnen manga magazines
Weekly Shōnen Magazine (since 1959)
Monthly Shōnen Magazine (since 1975)
Shōnen Sirius (monthly since 2005)
Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine (monthly since 2009)
Suiyōbi no Sirius (website, since 2013)
Magazine Pocket (app/website, since 2015)
Monthly Maga Kichi (website since 2023)
Discontinued
Shōnen Club (1914–1962)
Monthly Manga Shōnen (1947–1955)
Bokura (1954-1969)
Magazine Special (1983–2017)
Monthly Shōnen Magazine GREAT (1993–2009)
Monthly Shōnen Rival (2008–2014)
Magazine E-no (2009–2011)
Monthly Shonen Magazine+ (2011–2014)
Shōnen Magazine R (2015–2023)
Shōnen Magazine Edge (2015–2023)
Seinen manga magazines
Weekly Young Magazine (since 1980)
Monthly Young Magazine (since 2009)
Morning (weekly since 1982; originally called Comic Morning)
Afternoon (monthly, since 1986)
Good! Afternoon (monthly since 2012; bi-monthly from 2008 to 2012)
Comic Days (app/website, since 2018)
Yanmaga Web (website, since 2020)
Morning Two Web (website, since 2022)
Discontinued
Young Magazine Zōkan Kaizokuban (ヤングマガジン増刊海賊版) (1986–1995)
Mr. Magazine (1991–2000)
Monthly Magazine Z (1999–2009)
Young Magazine Uppers (1998–2004)
Morning Two (2006–2022)
Nemesis (2010–2018)
Young Magazine the 3rd (2014–2021)
Evening (2001-2023)
==== Female-oriented manga magazines ====
Shōjo manga magazines
Nakayoshi (monthly since 1954)
Bessatsu Friend (monthly since 1965)
Dessert (monthly since 1996)
Nakayoshi Lovely (5 issues per year, since ????)
The Dessert (monthly, since ????)
Discontinued
Shōjo Club (monthly, 1923–1962)
Shōjo Friend (1962–1996)
Monthly Carol (1983-1984)
Mimi (1975–1996)
Suspense & Horror (1988-1998)
Aria (monthly, 2010–2018)
Josei manga magazines
Be Love (monthly 1980–1982, 2018–present, bimonthly 1982–2018; originally called Be in Love)
Kiss (monthly since 1992)
Kiss Plus (bi-monthly, ????-2014; succeeded by Hatsu Kiss)
ITAN (quarterly since 2010)
Hatsu Kiss (bi-monthly 2014–2018, monthly 2018–2021)
Web magazines
Ane Friend
comic tint
Honey Milk
Magazine Pocket
ARTEMIS by Sirius
=== Literary magazines ===
Gunzo, monthly literary magazine
Mephisto, tri-annual literary magazine focusing on mystery and detective stories
Faust
=== Lifestyle and fashion magazines ===
Discontinued
Hot-Dog Press (1979–2004)
== Book series ==
=== Published by Kodansha Ltd. ===
Kodansha Gakujutsu Bunko (講談社学術文庫) (English, "Kodansha Academic Paperback Library") (1970)
=== Published by Kodansha International/USA Ltd. ===
Japanese for Busy People Series
Japanese for Young People Series
Kodansha Bilingual Books
Kodansha Globe
This Beautiful World
== Miss iD ==
Kodansha organizes the Miss iD pageant, which started in 2012. iD stands for "identity", "idol", "I", and "diversity", and it is described as a pageant to discover diverse role models for the "new era" without being bound to conventional beauty and lifestyle standards. Married and transgender women are allowed to participate. The Miss ID title is awarded to more than one person each year, and holders of the title include actress Tina Tamashiro, singer Rie Kaneko, and musician Ena Fujita. Computer-generated character Saya and AI character Rinna were semifinalists in the 2018 pageant.
== Awards given ==
Kodansha presents the following awards:
The Noma Prize for Literature
The Noma Literary Prize for New Writers
The Noma Literary Prize for Children’s Literature
The Noma Publishing Cultural Prize
The Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for Literature
The Yoshikawa Eiji Bunko Prize
The Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers
The Yoshikawa Eiji Cultural Prize
The Kodansha Manga Awards
The Kodansha Honda Yasuharu Non-Fiction Award
The Kodansha Science Publication Award
The Kodansha Picture Book Award
The Noma Award for the Translation of Japanese Literature
The Edogawa Rampo Award
The Kodansha Media Award |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paul_II | Pope Paul II | Pope Paul II (Latin: Paulus II; Italian: Paolo II; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in 1471. When his maternal uncle became Pope Eugene IV, Barbo switched from training to be a merchant to religious studies. His rise in the Church was relatively rapid. Elected pope in 1464, Paul amassed a great collection of art and antiquities.
== Early life ==
Pietro Barbo was born in Venice, the son of Niccolò Barbo and wife Polissena Condulmer. His mother was the sister of Pope Eugene IV (1431–1447). Through his father he was a member of the noble Barbo family. His adoption of the spiritual career, after having been trained as a merchant, was prompted by his uncle's election as pope. His consequent promotion was rapid. He became Archdeacon of Bologna, and Bishop of Cervia and of Vicenza, and in 1440 became a cardinal-deacon. While he was in Rome, Vicenza was administered by his brother, Paolo Barbo. Barbo gained popularity through his generosity. He might have boasted that if elected pope he would buy each cardinal a villa to escape the summer heat.
After having been lay abbot of Santa Maria in Sylvis since 1441, in 1445 he succeeded Giuliano Cesarini as archpriest of the Vatican Basilica. Barbo was very influential under Eugene IV, Nicholas V, and Calixtus III, but less so under Pius II. Barbo had a marked propensity to enjoy dressing up in sumptuous ecclesiastical finery.
== Election ==
Barbo was elected to succeed Pope Pius II by the accessus in the first ballot of the papal conclave of 30 August 1464 with a majority of fourteen of the nineteen cardinals present. He owed his election in part to the dissatisfaction of some of the cardinals with the policy of his predecessor.
Upon taking office, Paul II was to convene an ecumenical council within three years. But these terms of subscription were modified by Paul II at his own discretion, and this action lost him the confidence of the College of Cardinals. The justification for setting aside the capitulations, seen to be under way by the Duke of Milan's ambassador as early as 21 September, lay in connecting any abridgement of the Pope's absolute monarchy in the Papal States with a consequent abridgement of his sole authority in spiritual matters. Almost from his coronation, Paul withdrew and became inaccessible: audiences were only granted at night and even good friends waited a fortnight to see him. His suspiciousness was widely attested.
Paul wore rouge in public. The story of Cardinal Ammanati that he meant to take the name Formosus II (meaning "handsome"), after Pope Formosus, but was persuaded not to, is more often repeated than the story that he was dissuaded from Marcus, being Venetian and the Cardinal of San Marco, because it was also the war-cry of Venice. He had a papal tiara made for his own use studded with "diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, topaz, large pearls, and every kind of precious gem". He built the Palazzo San Marco (now the Palazzo Venezia) and lived there even as pope, amassing a great collection of art and antiquities.
== Conflict ==
A sore point was his abuse of the practice of creating cardinals in pectore, without publishing their names. Eager to raise new cardinals to increase the number who were devoted to his interests, but restricted by the terms of the capitulation, which gave the college a voice in the creation of new members, in the winter of 1464–65 Paul created two secret cardinals both of whom died before their names could be published. In his fourth year as Pope, he created eight new cardinals on 18 September 1467. Five were candidates pressed by kings, placating respectively James II of Cyprus, Edward IV of England, Louis XI of France, Matthias Corvinus of Hungary and Ferdinand I of Naples; one was the able administrator of the Franciscans; and the last two elevated his old tutor and a first cardinal-nephew. Two further cardinal-nephews were added on 21 November 1468. In a sign of his increasing secretiveness and paranoia, he added two more cardinals secretly at the same consistory, and four more at the beginning of 1471, expecting to reveal them only in his testament.
Tensions came to the fore when in attempting to eliminate redundant offices, Paul II proceeded to annul the college of Abbreviators, whose function it was to formulate papal documents; a storm of indignation arose, inasmuch as rhetoricians and poets with humanist training, had long been accustomed to benefiting from employment in such positions. Paul proceeded as well against the Roman Academy. Bartolomeo Platina was a member of both and found his papal employment abruptly curtailed. He wrote a pamphlet insolently demanding the pope recall his restrictions, and was imprisoned in the winter of 1464, but released four months later.
In February 1468, when Rome was rife with political intrigue fomented by the Roman barons and the neighboring princes, Paul II arrested Platina and other members of the academy on charges of irreligion, immorality, and an alleged conspiracy to assassinate the Pope. The prisoners were interrogated under torture and eventually released.
After his release on 7 July 1469, Platina expected to be again in the employ of Paul II, who, however, declined his services. Platina threatened vengeance and executed his threat, when at the suggestion of Pope Sixtus IV he later wrote his Vitæ Pontificum Platinæ historici liber de vita Christi ac omnium pontificum qui hactenus ducenti fuere et XX (1479). Not unaccountably, Platina set forth an unfavorable delineation of the character of Paul II.
Among other things, Platina reported that Pius II suggested Barbo should have been called Maria Pietissima, as "when he could not obtain what he aimed at by praying, entreating, and requesting, he would join tears to his petitions to make them the sooner believed." Some historians have suggested the nickname may also have been a possible allusion to a perceived lack of masculinity, reflecting possible homosexuality. Platina also paints his enemy as cruel, and an archenemy of science. For centuries it influenced historical opinions until critical research proved otherwise.
Though Platina's writing after the conflict would tarnish the legacy of Paul II, the conflict would prove to have a greater effect on the intellectual environment of Rome. Peter Partner explains, "Probably its most important result was to convince men of letters that cultural conformity would be enforced in Rome." More tangibly, after the crackdown of Paul II, the Roman Academy took on a more religious flavour, turning in part to theology as a means of legitimizing its pursuits.
== Final years ==
Pope Paul rejected George of Poděbrady (King George of Bohemia) because he upheld the conventions of the Council of Basel in favour of the Utraquists. In August 1465, Paul II summoned George before the Roman tribunal. When the King failed to come, Paul allied himself with the insurgents in Bohemia and released the King's subjects from their oath of allegiance. In December 1466, he pronounced the ban of excommunication and sentence of deposition against George. George's apologist, Gregory of Heimberg, subsequently accused Paul of immorality, a move that resulted in Gregory's own excommunication.
Just when the King's goodwill disposed the Pope in favor of reconciliation, Paul died suddenly of a heart attack on 26 July 1471. Reports of the death varied. Some claimed he had collapsed from severe indigestion after eating melon in excess. Some (mainly the pontiff's critics) said that he had died whilst being sodomized by a page boy. Nevertheless, his death resulted in the creation of a power vacuum in Central Europe – especially after Poděbrady himself died in March of that same year.
== Legacy ==
Although Paul II was a committed opponent of humanist learning, he oversaw and approved the introduction of printing into the Papal States, first at Subiaco in 1464 by Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweynheim, and at Rome itself in 1467. The result was that books and other documents became far more numerous and less expensive to procure than the previous handwritten manuscripts. Printing put the materials needed for an advanced education into the hands of more people than ever before, including an increasing number of laypeople. The output of printing presses at this period was, as a matter of course, subject to governmental scrutiny; during Paul II's reign, books produced in the Papal States were largely limited to Latin classical literature and ecclesiastical texts.
The chronicler Stefano Infessura's republican and anti-papal temper makes his diary a far from neutral though well-informed witness. But it is certain that although Paul II opposed the humanists, he yet provided for popular amusements: in 1466 he permitted the horse-race that was a feature of Carnival to be run along the main street, the Via Lata, which became known from this annual event as the Via del Corso. So that nobody felt left out of the event, the Pope instituted races for boys, adult men, old people and Jews, with appropriate prizes for each group. He tried to reduce or stop blood feuds and vendettas in Italy, and to make sure that Jews were treated fairly. Paul II displayed an extravagant love of personal splendor that gratified his sense of self-importance. After his death Sixtus IV and a selected group of cardinals inspected the treasure laid up against expenditures against the Turks: they found 54 silver shells filled with pearls, to a value of 300,000 ducats, jewels and gold intended for refashioning, worth another 300,000 ducats, and a magnificent diamond worth 7,000 ducats, which was sent to Cardinal d'Estouteville to cover monies he had advanced to the pontiff. The coin was not immediately found. He had also amassed a collection of 800 gemstones.
William Francis Barry considers that his character was "misunderstood by the Italian courts which never dreamt that a Pope could be an honourable man".
In statecraft, Paul II lacked eminence and achieved nothing of consequence for Italy. In his own domain, however, he terminated the regime of the counts of Anguillara in 1465. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nim_Chimpsky#Quotations | Nim Chimpsky#Quotations | Nim Chimpsky (November 19, 1973 – March 10, 2000) was a chimpanzee used in a study to determine whether chimps could learn a human language, American Sign Language (ASL). The project was led by Herbert S. Terrace of Columbia University with linguistic analysis by psycholinguist Thomas Bever. Chimpsky was named as a pun on linguist Noam Chomsky, who posited that humans are "wired" to develop language.
Over the course of Project Nim, the infant chimp was shuttled between locations and a revolving group of roughly 60 caregivers, including teenagers and grad students, few of whom were proficient in sign language. Four years into the project, Nim became too difficult to manage and was returned to the Institute for Primate Studies in Oklahoma.
After reviewing the results, Terrace concluded that Nim mimicked signs from his teachers in order to get a reward. Nim learned a variety of signs through a process of reinforcement, but these signs were not a result of creative or spontaneous language use. Terrace argued that Nim did not initiate conversation or create sentences. Nim primarily learned this in order to get what he desired, such as food each time he correctly produced a sign. Terrace said that he had not noticed this throughout the duration of the study but only upon reviewing video tape. Terrace ultimately became a popularly cited critic of ape language studies. This pattern of learning, where signs were used mainly as tools to obtain rewards, suggests that Nim did not acquire the complexities of grammar or syntax, which are central elements of human language. This finding strongly supports Noam Chomsky’s theory that humans are biologically predisposed to learn language in a way that is fundamentally different from animals, who lack this innate linguistic ability.
== Project Nim ==
Herbert Terrace, a professor of Psychology at Columbia University, launched Project Nim in 1973, six years after R. Allen and Beatrix Gardner began testing a chimpanzee's ability to acquire American Sign Language with Project Washoe. Terrace named the infant chimpanzee as a pun on Noam Chomsky. With this project, Terrace intended to challenge Chomsky's assertion that only humans can use language. (Terrace's mentor, B.F. Skinner, a key figure in behaviorism, was known as an academic target and rival of Chomsky.)
=== Nim's early years ===
Nim's life history is detailed in Elizabeth Hess's seminal biography, Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human (2008), which became the basis for a 2011 documentary film directed by James Marsh, Project Nim (see below).
Nim was born at the Institute for Primate Studies in Norman, Oklahoma. A few days after his birth, he was taken from his sedated mother and placed in the New York City home of Stephanie LaFarge. LaFarge was a former grad student of Terrace's with three children and four stepchildren. LaFarge "knew nothing" about chimps and instantly recognized that the arrangement would be a problem. The LaFarge household was unconventional: she breastfed the chimp (though she had no milk) and smoked pot with him. Stephanie LaFarge and her daughter Jennie Lee used signs sporadically, focusing instead on play and establishing trust, which they saw as a developmental need. They did not maintain records of Nim's development and did not support the harsh discipline practices that Terrace and his lead trainer at the time demanded. (This included the use of cattle prods and forcing Nim into a small, dark box when he misbehaved.). By mutual agreement two years later, Nim was moved out of the LaFarge brownstone and into a large house in Riverdale, where a grad student, Laura-Ann Petitto, took over as primary caregiver.
After the move to Riverdale, Nim exhibited symptoms of intense anxiety. For the first few weeks, he refused to be alone for even a minute. When left with a new person, he would rip off his clothes and urinate and defecate all over the room. His habit of "sinking his teeth into human flesh"—which started before he was a year old—became both more frequent and more damaging.
Adding further complication, Terrace became romantically involved with Petitto. (He had also been sexually involved with LaFarge but the relationship ended years before Project Nim.) After he "abruptly" ended the relationship, Petitto quit, cutting off Nim (again) from his closet companion and maternal figure. Terrace's two other full-timers quit around the same time. In the wake of these turnovers, Nim's behavior deteriorated further; he became more aggressive and less compliant with sign-language sessions.
=== Problems with the study ===
A number of factors were problematic in the study of Nim’s and other chimpanzees' signing abilities, including the definition of language; the turnover of research and care staff; varying teaching methods; and the traumatic experiences inflicted upon the chimpanzees. While the research experiments were considered studies of language, they were in effect, studies of trauma. It had been assumed that the chimpanzees had no language of their own prior to being taught American Sign Language, and the quality of their attachments to human carers and other chimpanzees had not been considered.
Another problem with the study was the quality (and number) of people working with Nim. There were about 60 total, mostly volunteers, and few were proficient in sign language. Mary Wambaugh, a deaf woman fluent in ASL, joined the team three years into the study and raised concerns that the others were improperly signing. She told Terrace that Nim was being taught a pidgin version of the language, not proper ASL, which has a structure and set of rules. As Hess observed, this made sense given the study's heavy reliance on students and untrained volunteers. The caregivers signed word-by-word, the same way Nim did.
Another significant problem involved Nim's classroom. Nim performed his signs most fluidly and creatively when playing with his (human) friends at "home" — "home" being initially the LaFarge brownstone and, later, the Riverdale mansion. Yet Terrace needed Nim to work primarily in a space at Columbia, a windowless, noisy, 15' square "dungeon." Terrace described the challenges with the space in Nim:In the classroom, the slightest noise would make Nim jump into the arms of a teacher. At times, he was so scared he tried to hide under his teacher's skirt. The squeals of rats [in a nearby room] caused him to panic. And he would rock back-and-forth on the floor.Joyce Butler, who took over as primary caregiver after Petitto quit, said that Nim was nearly impossible to wrangle in the classroom and would repeatedly ask to leave by signing "dirty" to go to the bathroom. Butler and her fellow caregivers fought Terrace over his requirement that Nim attend the classroom daily. Eventually, they refused to take him there.
As difficulties with staff, funding concerns, and Nim's behavior came to a head, Terrace called an end to the study. Over intense resistance from staff, he sent Nim back to the Institute for Primate Studies in 1977 and then set about analyzing his data.
=== Terrace's conclusions ===
While Nim was in New York, Terrace believed he was learning sign language. But in reviewing the data, Terrace came to a conclusion that surprised almost everyone involved: Nim, he said, was not using language at all. Terrace said that he changed his mind when watching videotapes of Nim (in his classroom). Language requires the use of sentences, and Nim didn't use sentences. Though Nim recognized and used signs, Terrace said he did not initiate conversation. When Nim combined signs, they tended to be highly repetitive and filled with "wild cards"—words like ME, HUG, NIM, and MORE. For example, Nim's longest utterance, 16 signs, was: "Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you." The videotapes, Terrace argued, proved that Nim mimicked his teachers and used signs strictly to get a reward, not unlike a dog or horse.
Terrace's results shocked some of Nim's trainers and contradicted his earlier observations, including those in his book Nim (1979). That said, his findings regarding the Nim data were generally accepted as accurate. Among the many problems with Terrace's project (see above), he did not build in blind controls, making Project Nim vulnerable to the Clever Hans effect.
Controversy erupted over the fact that Terrace did not restrict his analysis to Nim. He claimed that other apes in other sign language research projects—most notably, Washoe and gorilla Koko—were mere mimics as well. He made these claims after examining brief video clips of the apes taken from a NOVA documentary and a film by Allen and Beatrix Gardner. Terrace's criticisms of other ape research led to heated debates, with many scholars contesting Terrace's claims. The arguments back-and-forth were summarized at that time by Jean Marx in Science (1980) and Dava Sobel (1979) and Eugene Linden in the New York Times.
Terrace ultimately became a popularly cited critic of ape language studies.
== Life after Project Nim ==
Nim's return to the Institute of Primate Studies (IPS) in Oklahoma was by all accounts traumatic. By contemporary standards, IPS was a dreary facility. The apes spent most of their time in relatively small cages with concrete floors. But IPS founder William Lemmon recognized the critical importance of apes' social interactions and connected the cages so that chimps had access to each other. He also provided a better, healthier diet than the standard monkey chow. Compared to many zoos and other research facilities at the time, the IPS chimps fared relatively well.
Nim's celebrity was unique, but many of the IPS chimps had similarly been raised by humans. Like Nim, they were returned to IPS when they started growing up and exhibiting wild behaviors. Also like Nim, they had never met members of their own species before. The switch from a human environment to concrete cages with alien beasts caused intense stress and, in some cases, self-mutilation.
But Nim's depression turned out to be relatively short-lived compared to other new arrivals at IPS. Though terrified of the other chimps at first, Nim made new friends. Also, several students in Roger Fouts' sign language program enjoyed working with Nim and took him out for walks on the grounds. Nim continued to use signs, including STONE SMOKE TIME NOW to request marijuana. One IPS student, Bob Ingersoll, took a particular interest in Nim and advocated for him in the turmoil that was to follow.
In the early 1980s, University of Oklahoma withdrew its support of the IPS. Faced with the loss of funding, William Lemmon arranged to gradually sell off chimps to a New York University (NYU) biomedical lab, LEMSIP. (Roger Fouts, who had been working with several IPS chimps, had suddenly left for a new position in Washington, taking Washoe and Loulis with him.) Beginning in December 1981, IPS started sending chimps to LEMSIP, including many, like Nim, who had been used in sign language research. Staff at LEMSIP began noticing the chimps using ASL to communicate with them, so vet James Mahoney posted signs around the facility to help the staff understand the chimps' gestures.
When Bob Ingersoll found out about the LEMSIP plan, he called his Nim contacts to launch a protest and press campaign. He also contacted Jane Goodall, who wrote a letter to the University of Oklahoma on the chimps' behalf. Henry Herrman, a lawyer who had caught wind of the story in the Boston Globe reached out to Terrace, who had been quoted, to offer his services. His call to Terrace proved to be fortuitous. Other IPS personnel made a few calls that ultimately led to a CBS news story. When CBS News interviewed Terrace, Terrace said he was shocked to hear about the move and, referring to his contact with Herrman, announced that he would be filing a lawsuit to stop it. (According to James Mahoney of LEMSIP, Terrace had known about the move for several months and only acted outraged when the press attention hit.)
Though NYU initially ignored the press, the mounting legal threats and negative attention made holding on to the celebrity chimp — Nim — no longer worth it for the university. NYU arranged to send Nim and fellow chimp Ally back to IPS. Nim had been at LEMSIP for less than a month. The other sign language-trained chimps remained at LEMSIP. The press by then had moved on.
In 1983, philanthropist Cleveland Amory stepped in to buy Nim, by now a celebrity, and brought him to his equine sanctuary, Black Beauty Ranch, in Texas. As the only chimpanzee at the Ranch, Nim sank into a deep depression. Nim would gesture to staff but they did not sign back. When Ingersoll came to visit, Nim signed BOB, OUT, KEY. Ingersoll urged Amory to get a companion for Nim but was ignored. Meanwhile, Nim studied the locks on his cage and would periodically escape and run into the manager's house, raid the refrigerator, and sometimes turn on the TV. Once, in the process, he threw the ranch's pet poodle against a wall, killing it.
A year after Nim's arrival, Amory arranged to adopt another chimp, Sally. In her biography of Nim, Hess writes that the chimps became inseparable. Nim taught Sally how to sign DRINK, BANANA and GUM, three of the words he used most frequently at the ranch. He was frequently seen signing SORRY to Sally after they had a squabble. Nim still escaped, but a new manager handled those escapes differently. When Nim and Sally showed up at his house, he would act happy to see them and let them stay until they got bored. By keeping tensions low, he found, the chimps did not need to be darted.
After almost ten years with Nim, Sally died, sending Nim once again into severe distress. After hearing about Sally's death, Ingersoll arranged to help get three new chimp companions for Nim: Kitty, Midge, and Lulu. The chimps thrived as a small group until March 10, 2000, when Nim died suddenly of a heart attack. He was 26 years old, about half his average life expectancy.
== In media ==
Project Nim, a documentary film by James Marsh about the Nim study, explores the story (and the wealth of archival footage) to consider ethical issues, the emotional experiences of the participants, and the deeper issues the experiment raised. The film is based on Nim Chimpsky, the biography by Elizabeth Hess, and Hess is credited as the writer. This documentary (produced by BBC Films, Red Box Films, and Passion Films) opened the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The film was released in theaters on July 8, 2011 by Roadside Attractions and on DVD on February 7, 2012.
Terrace wrote an op-ed in response to what he considered a negative portrayal of his Nim project, stating that the filmmakers inaccurately equated his study's negative results with "failure." |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Logan_(statesman) | James Logan (statesman) | James Logan (20 October 1674 – 31 October 1751) was a Scots-Irish colonial American statesman, administrator, and scholar who served as the fourteenth mayor of Philadelphia and held a number of other public offices.
Logan was born in the town of Lurgan in County Armagh, Ireland to Ulster Scots Quakers. He served as colonial secretary to William Penn. He was a founding trustee of the College of Philadelphia, the predecessor of the University of Pennsylvania.
== Early life ==
Logan was born in Lurgan, County Armagh in present-day Northern Ireland, on 20 October 1674, to parents Patrick Logan (1640–1700) and Isabella, Lady Hume (1647–1722), who married in early 1671, in Midlothian, Scotland. His father had a Master of Arts degree from the University of Edinburgh, and originally was an Anglican clergyman before converting to Quakerism.
James Logan apprenticed with a Dublin-based linen draper, received a good classical and mathematical education, and acquired a knowledge of modern languages not common at the period. The War of 1689–91 obliged him to follow his parents, first to Edinburgh, and then to London and Bristol, England where, in 1693, James replaced his father as schoolmaster. In 1699, he came to the colony of Pennsylvania aboard the Canterbury as William Penn's secretary. Logan is described as "tall and well-proportioned, with a graceful yet grave demeanor. He had a good complexion, and was quite florid, even in old age; nor did his hair, which was brown, turn grey in the decline of life, nor his eyes require spectacles."
== Career ==
Logan supported proprietary rights in the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania and became a major landowner in the growing colony; he was also a slave-owner. Logan advanced through several political offices, including clerk (1701), commissioner of property (1701), receiver general (1703), and member of the provincial council (1703).
In 1717, Logan's mother came to live with him in Philadelphia; she died on 17 January 1722, at his family home at Stenton in present-day neighbourhood of Logan, named in Logan's honour, in Philadelphia.
=== Philadelphia and Pennsylvania government ===
In 1722, Logan was elected mayor of Philadelphia. During his tenure as mayor, Logan allowed Irish Catholic immigrants to participate in the city's first public Mass. He later served as the colony's chief justice from 1731 to 1739, and in the absence of a governor of Pennsylvania, became acting governor from 1736 to 1738.
On October 9, 1736, Logan responded to requests from Native American leaders to control the sale of alcohol, which was creating serious social problems, by prohibiting the sale of rum in indigenous communities, but since the penalty was merely a fine of ten pounds and the law was poorly enforced, it did not have a significant effect.
During his tenure as acting governor, Logan played an active role in the territorial expansion of the colony. While William Penn and his immediate successors pursued a policy of friendly relations with the Lenape Indian tribe, Logan and other colony proprietors, including William Penn's indebted sons, John, Richard and Thomas Penn, pursued a policy of land acquisition. Such efforts to expand were spurred by increased immigration to the colony and fears that the New York Colony was infringing on Pennsylvania's northern borders in the Upper Delaware river valley. In addition, many proprietors (including Logan and the Penn brothers) had engaged in extensive land speculation, selling off lands occupied by the Lenape to new colonists before concluding an official treaty with the tribe.
==== Walking Purchase ====
As part of his efforts to expand Pennsylvania, Logan signed the Walking Purchase with the Lenape, forcing the tribe to vacate lands in the present-day Lehigh Valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania in Pennsylvania and parts of present-day western New Jersey under the auspices of the tribe having committed to sell the lands to William Penn in 1686, a treaty whose ratifying document is considered by some sources to have been a fabrication, but which was upheld in several federal lawsuits in the early 21st century.
Under the terms of the treaty, the Lenape agreed to cede as much territory as a man could walk in one and one-half days to the Pennsylvania colony; however, Logan used the treaty's vague wording, the Lenape's unclear diplomatic status, and a heavily influenced (scouts were sent ahead to clear the path of the runners selected to represent the colony) "walk" to claim a much larger territory than was originally expected by the Lenape. Meanwhile, Logan preemptively negotiated with the powerful Iroquois Confederacy to allow for the treaty to take place. As a result, the Iroquois (nominally the diplomatic overlords and protectors of the Lenape people) rebuffed Lenape attempts to have the Iroquois intervene on their behalf. The net result of the Walking Treaty was an increase in the colony's size of over 1,200,000 acres, the scattering of the Lenape in a regional diaspora, and the breakdown of diplomatic relations between Pennsylvania and the tribe.
=== Wealth and writings ===
Throughout his life in the Province of Pennsylvania, Logan engaged in various mercantile pursuits, especially fur trading, with such success that he became one of the wealthiest men in the Thirteen Colonies. Logan authored several scholarly papers published by the American Philosophical Society and European journals. Logan was also a natural scientist whose primary contribution to the emerging field of botany was a treatise that described experiments on the impregnation of plant seeds, especially corn. He tutored John Bartram, the American botanist, in Latin and introduced him to Linnaeus.
Logan's daughter, Sarah, married Isaac Norris, a Philadelphia businessman and statesman.
== Death ==
Logan died in 1751 in Stenton in the present-day Logan neighbourhood, named in Logan's honour, in Philadelphia at the age of 77. He was interred in the graveyard of Arch Street Friends Meeting House, built in 1804, in Philadelphia.
== Colonial bibliophile ==
While Logan would eventually become mayor of Philadelphia, chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, lieutenant governor, and acting governor he is perhaps best known for being a bibliophile, confessing once that "Books are my disease". He collected a personal library of over 3,000 volumes. Some commentators consider Logan's library to have been the largest and best collection of classical writings in America at that time.
Logan would in time become known to Benjamin Franklin and his "Junto"; an influential group of friends that would meet weekly and discuss scholarly and political issues. He became a mentor to Franklin, who published Logan's translation of Cicero's essay "Cato Maior de Senectute". Eventually, the Junto decided to establish a subscription library, a cooperative endeavour where members would pay a fee for use of the library. Franklin and the other members of the Junto considered Logan the "best Judge of Books in these parts" and chose him to select the first 43 titles for the Library Company of Philadelphia.
At the same time Logan was helping to build the collection for the Library Company of Philadelphia, he was adding to his own personal library which was considered substantial in number and breadth. He planned on donating his library for public use after his death and to this end he had a building constructed on Sixth Street in Philadelphia. Upon Logan's death, and after a lengthy delay due to some confusion in his will, through an act of the Pennsylvania Assembly and the governor on March 31, 1792, the 3,953 volumes and other property of the Loganian Library were "vested in the Library Company of Philadelphia, their successors and assigns, for ever, in trust for the support and increase of the said Loganian Library."
=== The Loganian Library ===
The Loganian Library, as he wished it to be called, was diverse. The catalogue of its final holdings is now lost but a partial inventory done in 1760 reveals a wide selection of books. The book distribution by date reveals nothing out of the ordinary. Most were from the seventeenth century with 57 percent. Next came those from the eighteenth century at 27 percent. Finally, there was a good number from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries at 16 percent. The collection was mostly British and northern European with 33 percent from Britain; the Netherlands, 24 percent; Germany, 17 percent; France, 13 percent; Switzerland, 9 percent; Italy, 2 percent; and others (Scandinavia, Spain, Poland, Russia, America) at 2 percent
The distribution of the books by subject in the 1760 catalogue is equally diverse with history, antiquities, geography, chronology, etc. at 22 percent. Religious subjects of divinity and ecclesiastical history constituted 15 percent. Scientific subjects such as "physick," "mathematicks", and natural history was at 16 percent. Literary subjects such as orators, poets, fables, romances, etc. at 14 percent with philology at 13 percent. Philosophy, surprisingly, was only 6 percent while arts, liberal and mechanical, "magick," etc. was 3 percent. The remaining subjects were as follows: medicine, surgery, and "chymistry," 2 percent; law, 2 percent; voyages and travels, 1 percent; philosophical history, 1 percent, and miscellaneous, 5 percent.
Logan's library contained many 17th and 16th century classical works such as a 1615 edition of Archimedes' works, the mathematical treatise of Pappus of Alexandria printed in 1660, an Aratus of Soles from 1672, Elzevir's architecture publication of 1649 from Amsterdam, Johann Vossius' De Quatuar Artibus Popularibus published in 1650, and a 1599 edition of astronomy edited by Barthelemy Pitiscus. In one famous episode, Logan was reading a treatise on early astronomy by Johann Fabricius and read that the first printed edition of Greek astronomer Ptolemy's Almagest was printed in Greek in 1538. Logan was certain that it was released in an earlier Latin version, having sold it and his other books in Dublin before he left in 1699. Logan wrote Fabricius and politely explained his conviction. In reply, Fabricius reaffirmed his contention and sent his own 1538 copy as proof. Unconvinced, Logan wrote his agent in London, explaining that he had sold his library to a bookseller who lived on Castle Street and to see if he knew of the book's location. His agent was successful in finding the book and sent to Logan where it was confirmed that it was a Latin edition of the Almagest published in 1515. Such was the strength of Logan's bibliographic mind as professed by Benjamin Franklin.
== Legacy ==
In Philadelphia, the Logan neighbourhood and the landmark Logan Circle are both named in honour of Logan. His 1730 estate Stenton in the Logan neighbourhood has been named a National Historic Landmark and operates as a public museum. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_MacFarlane | Seth MacFarlane | Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, comedian, and singer. He is the creator and star of the television series Family Guy and The Orville, and co-creator of the television series American Dad! and The Cleveland Show. He also co-wrote, co-produced, directed, and starred in the films Ted, its sequel Ted 2, and A Million Ways to Die in the West.
MacFarlane is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he studied animation. He was recruited to Hollywood as an animator and writer for Hanna-Barbera's television series Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken and Dexter's Laboratory, During this time, he created the animated short Larry & Steve—a loose precursor of Family Guy—for Fred Seibert's What a Cartoon!. In 2008, he created the online series Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. MacFarlane has also made guest appearances as an actor on live action shows including Gilmore Girls, Star Trek: Enterprise, The War at Home, and FlashForward. MacFarlane has won several awards for his work on Family Guy, including five Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2009, he won the Webby Award for Film & Video Person of the Year.
MacFarlane has performed as a vocalist at the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, and the Royal Albert Hall. He has released nine studio albums, in the vein of Frank Sinatra, with influences from jazz orchestrations, and Hollywood musicals beginning with Music Is Better Than Words (2011). MacFarlane has received five Grammy Award nominations. He has frequently collaborated with artists such as Sara Bareilles, Norah Jones, and Elizabeth Gillies on his albums. He hosted the 85th Academy Awards in 2013 and was nominated for Best Original Song for "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from Ted.
MacFarlane was executive producer of the Neil deGrasse Tyson-hosted Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, an update of the 1980s Cosmos series hosted by Carl Sagan. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2019 and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2020.
== Early life and education ==
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane was born on October 26, 1973, in Kent, Connecticut. His parents, Ronald Milton MacFarlane (born 1946) and Ann Perry (née Sager; 1947–2010), were born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. His younger sister Rachael is also a voice actress. His maternal grandfather, Arthur Sager, competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics in track and field. MacFarlane's parents met in 1970 when they lived and worked in Boston, and married later that year. They moved to Kent in 1972, where Ann began working in the admissions office at South Kent School. She later worked in the college guidance and admissions offices at the Kent School, a selective college preparatory school, where Ronald was a teacher.
As a child, MacFarlane developed an interest in illustration, and at the age of two he began drawing cartoon characters such as Fred Flintstone and Woody Woodpecker. By age five, he knew he wanted to pursue a career in animation, and began by creating flip books after his parents found a book on the subject for him. Four years later, at nine, he began publishing a weekly comic strip, Walter Crouton, for The Kent Good Times Dispatch, the local newspaper; it paid him five dollars per week. MacFarlane said in an October 2011 interview that as a child he was always "weirdly fascinated by the Communion ceremony". He created a strip with a character kneeling at the altar taking Communion and asking "Can I have fries with that?" The paper printed it and he got an "angry letter" from the local priest; it led to "sort of a little mini-controversy" in the town. MacFarlane received his high school diploma in 1991 from the Kent School. While there, he continued experimenting with animation, and his parents gave him an 8 mm camera.
After graduating from high school, MacFarlane attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he majored in animation. As a student, he intended to work for Disney, but changed his mind after seeing The Simpsons. During his time at RISD, he performed stand-up comedy. He also starred in many student films, meeting future Family Guy cast member Mike Henry, whose brother Patrick was MacFarlane's classmate. In his senior year, he made his thesis film, The Life of Larry, which became the inspiration for Family Guy. A professor submitted his film to the animation studio Hanna-Barbera, where he was later hired. He graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
== Career ==
=== Television career ===
==== Hanna-Barbera years ====
MacFarlane was recruited during the senior film festival by development executive Ellen Cockrill and President Fred Seibert. He went to work at Hanna-Barbera (then Hanna-Barbera Cartoons) based on the writing content of The Life of Larry, rather than on his drawing abilities. He was one of only a few people hired by the company solely based on writing talent. He worked as an animator and writer for Cartoon Network's Cartoon Cartoons series. He created Larry & Steve, a sequel to The Life of Larry featuring middle-aged Larry and his intellectual dog, Steve. The short was broadcast as one of Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons. He described the atmosphere at Hanna-Barbera as resembling an "old-fashioned Hollywood structure, where you move from one show to another or you jump from a writing job on one show to a storyboard job on another". MacFarlane worked on three television series during his tenure at the studio: Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, and Johnny Bravo. Working as both a writer and storyboard artist, MacFarlane spent the most time on Johnny Bravo. He found it easier to develop his own style at Johnny Bravo through the show's process of scriptwriting, which Dexter's Laboratory and Cow and Chicken did not use. As a part of the Johnny Bravo crew, he met actors and voiceover artists such as Adam West and Jack Sheldon of Schoolhouse Rock! fame. These meetings later became significant to the production and success of his Family Guy series.
He also did freelance work for Walt Disney Television Animation, writing for Jungle Cubs, and for Nelvana, where he wrote for Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Through strict observation of writing elements such as story progression, character stakes and plot points, MacFarlane found the work for Disney was, from a writing standpoint, very valuable in preparation for his career (particularly on Ace Ventura). He also created and wrote a short titled Zoomates for Frederator Studios' Oh Yeah! Cartoons on Nickelodeon. Executives at the Fox Broadcasting Company saw both Larry shorts and negotiations soon began for a prime-time animated series.
==== Family Guy ====
Although MacFarlane enjoyed working at Hanna-Barbera, he felt his real calling was for prime-time animation, which would allow a much edgier style of humor. He first pitched Family Guy to Fox during his tenure at Hanna-Barbera. A development executive there, who was trying to get back into prime-time business, introduced MacFarlane to Leslie Kolins and Mike Darnell, heads of the alternative comedy department at Fox. After the success of King of the Hill in 1997, MacFarlane called Kolins once more to ask about a possible second pitch for the series. Fox offered the young writer a strange deal: They gave him a budget of $50,000 (equivalent to $100,000 in 2025) to produce a pilot that could lead to a series (most episodes of animated prime-time productions cost at least $1 million). Recalling the experience in an interview with The New York Times, MacFarlane said: "I spent about six months with no sleep and no life, just drawing like crazy in my kitchen and doing this pilot."
After six months, MacFarlane returned to Fox with a "very, very simply, crudely animated film—with just enough to get the tone of the show across" to present to the executives, who loved the pilot and immediately ordered the series. In July 1998, they announced the purchase of Family Guy for a January 1999 debut. Family Guy was originally intended to be a series of shorts on MADtv, much in the same way The Simpsons had begun on The Tracey Ullman Show a decade earlier. Negotiations for the show's MADtv connection fell through early on as a result of budgetary concerns. At age 24, MacFarlane was television's youngest executive producer.
Family Guy first aired January 31, 1999. MacFarlane's work in animating Family Guy was influenced by Jackie Gleason and Hanna-Barbera along with examples from The Simpsons and All in the Family. In addition to writing three episodes, "Death Has a Shadow", "Family Guy Viewer Mail 1", and "North by North Quahog", MacFarlane voices Family Guy's main male characters of Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin, and Glenn Quagmire, as well as Tom Tucker, his son Jake Tucker, and other characters. Bolstered by high DVD sales and fan loyalty, Family Guy developed into a $1-billion franchise. On May 4, 2008, after approximately 2+1⁄2 years of negotiations, MacFarlane reached a $100-million agreement with Fox to keep Family Guy and American Dad! until 2012. It made him the world's highest paid television writer.
MacFarlane's success with Family Guy opened doors to other ventures relating to the show. On April 26, 2005, he and composer Walter Murphy created Family Guy: Live in Vegas. The soundtrack features a Broadway show tune theme, and MacFarlane voiced Stewie in the track "Stewie's Sexy Party". A fan of Broadway musicals, MacFarlane comments on using musicals as a component of Family Guy:
I love the lush orchestration and old-fashioned melody writing ... it just gets you excited, that kind of music", he said. "It's very optimistic. And it's fun. The one thing that's missing for me from popular music today is fun. Guys like [Bing] Crosby, or [Frank] Sinatra, or Dean Martin, or Mel Tormé [...] these are guys who sounded like they were having a great time.
A Family Guy video game was released in 2006. Two years later, in August 2007, MacFarlane closed a digital content production deal with AdSense. He takes cast members on the road to voice characters in front of live audiences. Family Guy Live provides fans with the opportunity to hear future scripts. In mid-2007, Chicago fans had the opportunity to hear the then upcoming sixth-season premiere "Blue Harvest". Shows have played in Montreal, New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
On July 22, 2007, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, MacFarlane announced that he might start work on a feature film, although "nothing's official". In September 2007, Ricky Blitt gave TV.com an interview confirming that he had already started working on the script. Then in TV Week on July 18, 2008, MacFarlane confirmed plans to produce a theatrically released Family Guy feature film sometime "within the next year". He came up with an idea for the story, "something that you could not do on the show, which [to him] is the only reason to do a movie". He later went on to say he imagines the film to be "an old-style musical with dialogue" similar to The Sound of Music, saying that he would "really be trying to capture, musically, that feel". On October 13, 2011, MacFarlane confirmed that a deal for a Family Guy film had been made, and that he would write it with series co-producer Ricky Blitt. On November 30, 2012, he confirmed plans for the project. The project was put on hold while MacFarlane worked on Ted 2. In 2018, Fox announced that a live-action/animated film based on the series is in development. MacFarlane stepped away from the series in 2011 to work on Ted and other projects, and has only been associated with the show as a voice actor since then.
Despite its popularity, Family Guy has often been criticized. The Parents Television Council has been a frequent critic. It organized a letter-writing campaign to remove it from Fox's lineup, and filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission alleging that some of its episodes contained indecent content. MacFarlane has responded to the PTC's criticism by saying, among other things: "That's like getting hate mail from Hitler. They're literally terrible human beings."
Family Guy has been canceled twice, although strong fan support and DVD sales have caused Fox to reconsider. MacFarlane mentioned how these cancellations affected the lineup of writers: "One of the positive aspects of Family Guy constantly being pulled off [the air] is that we were always having to restaff writers."
During its sixth season, episodes of Family Guy and American Dad! were delayed from regular broadcast due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. MacFarlane participated in the strike to support the writers, and Fox aired three Family Guy episodes without his permission. The strike ended on February 12, 2008, and the series resumed airing regularly, beginning with "Back to the Woods".
==== American Dad! ====
MacFarlane has a second long-running, successful adult animated series in American Dad!, which has been in production since early 2005. To date, it is his only animated series that has never been canceled, though it has undergone two network relocations: from Fox to TBS following its 11th season, and from TBS back to Fox following its 21st. MacFarlane provides the voices of protagonist Stan Smith and prominent secondary character Roger. His sister Rachael provides the voice of Hayley, Stan's daughter. Additionally, he co-wrote the show's first episode. Aside from his voice acting work, MacFarlane has left much of American Dad!'s creative direction to the show's other co-creators, Matt Weitzman and Mike Barker (though the latter departed after ten seasons), feeling it helps give the series its own voice and identity.
MacFarlane has stated that his inspiration to create American Dad! derived from his and Weitzman's exasperation with the George W. Bush administration. MacFarlane has described the initial seasons of American Dad! as being similar to All in the Family, likening Stan's originally bigoted persona to Archie Bunker. After the early couple of seasons however, the series discontinued using these elements of political satire and began to serve up its own brand of entertainment and humor. MacFarlane was described as having difficulty understanding the series in its early going; however, he warmed up to the series after its early seasons once he felt the show truly came into its own. His fellow co-creators have sensed this through MacFarlane's greatly increased attention to the series after its early seasons. MacFarlane has also revealed he is an American Dad! fan himself. He has taken note of the positive reaction to the Roger character by fans via his Twitter.
==== The Cleveland Show ====
MacFarlane developed a Family Guy spin-off called The Cleveland Show, which focuses on the character of Cleveland Brown and his family. The idea for the show originated from a suggestion by Family Guy writer and voice of Cleveland, Mike Henry. Fox ordered 22 episodes and the series first aired on September 27, 2009. The show, which was picked up to air a first season consisting of 22 episodes, was picked up by Fox for a second season, consisting of 13 episodes, bringing the total number to 35 episodes. The announcement was made on May 3, 2009, before the first season even premiered. Due to strong ratings, Fox picked up the back nine episodes of season 2, making a 22-episode season and bringing the total episode count of the show to 44. The series ended on May 19, 2013, with a total of 4 seasons and 88 episodes. The character of Cleveland and his family returned to Family Guy in the episode "He's Bla-ack!".
This is the only animated series created by MacFarlane that does not have him voicing the main character. MacFarlane did, however, play the character Tim the Bear until season 3 episode 10. Jess Harnell voiced Tim from season 3 episode 11 onwards.
==== Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy ====
In 2008, MacFarlane released a series of webisodes known as Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy with its animated shorts sponsored by Burger King and released weekly.
==== The Orville ====
In 2016, MacFarlane began producing the sci-fi comedy-drama series The Orville, in which he also stars as Captain Edward "Ed" Mercer. MacFarlane originally wrote The Orville as a spec script, which was given a 13-episode order by Fox in May 2016, making it the first live-action television series created by MacFarlane. The series premiered on September 10, 2017. Despite the first season receiving negative reviews, it was renewed for a second season. The second season premiered on December 30, 2018, and received better reviews.
The series was renewed for a third season by Fox, however the series would move over to Hulu. This season is the show's first on Hulu, after airing its previous two seasons on Fox, as well as the first to premiere since The Walt Disney Company's March 2019 acquisition of 20th Century Fox. The season was originally scheduled to premiere in 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The third season titled as The Orville: New Horizons premiered on June 2, 2022. Due to the pandemic, an episode of third season was scrapped, which MacFarlane subsequently turned into a novel, titled The Orville: Sympathy for the Devil.
==== Television producing ====
MacFarlane was the executive producer of a live-action sitcom starring Rob Corddry called The Winner. The plot has a man named Glen discussing the time he matured at 32 and has him pursuing his only love after she moves in next door. Glen meets her son and both become good friends. The show ran on Fox for six episodes in Spring 2007.
In August 2011, Fox ordered a 13-part updated series of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. MacFarlane co-produced the series with Ann Druyan and Steven Soter. The new series is hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson and began airing on the channel in March 2014, with repeats airing on the National Geographic Channel on the next night. In addition to serving as one of the executive producers, MacFarlane provided voices for characters during the animated portions of the series. MacFarlane returned to executive produce and provide voices to its sequel series, Cosmos: Possible Worlds, which aired in 2020.
In 2013 and 2014, MacFarlane produced one season of a live-action sitcom called Dads. The series, revolves around Eli, played by Seth Green, and Warner, played by Giovanni Ribisi, two successful guys in their 30s whose world is turned upside down when their dads move in with them. MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild executive-produced the series, with Sulkin and Wild writing.
In 2014, MacFarlane executive produced a two-season, 20-episode series called Blunt Talk for Starz. The series followed an English newscaster who moves to Los Angeles with his alcoholic manservant and the baggage of several failed marriages to host a sanctimonious talk show.
In 2009, MacFarlane began work on the animated series Bordertown. The series is set in Texas and follows a border patrol agent and a Mexican immigrant, satirizing America's changing cultural landscape. It ran for 13 episodes in the first half of 2016, on Fox.
==== Television hosting ====
MacFarlane has participated in the Comedy Central Roasts. MacFarlane is the only person to serve as roastmaster for more than one roast. In 2010, he filled this role for the roast of David Hasselhoff. The following year he was roastmaster at the roasts of Donald Trump and Charlie Sheen.
On October 1, 2012, it was announced that MacFarlane would host the 85th Academy Awards on February 24, 2013. He also presented the nominees with actress Emma Stone, on January 10, 2013. In addition to hosting, MacFarlane was also nominated in the Academy Award for Best Original Song category for co-writing the theme song "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" for his film Ted with Walter Murphy. Critical response to MacFarlane's performance was mixed. Columnist Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly commented "By calling constant attention to the naughty factor," MacFarlane created "an echo chamber of outrage, working a little too hard to top himself with faux-scandalous gags about race, Jews in Hollywood, and the killing of Abraham Lincoln." Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter praised MacFarlane's performance saying that he did "impressively better than one would have wagered". He also noted that he added "plenty of niceties with a little bit of the Ricky Gervais bite-the-hand-that-feeds-you thing and worked the juxtaposition rather nicely". He stirred up controversy in the form of a musical number titled "We Saw Your Boobs".
On October 29, 2014, it was announced that MacFarlane would host the Breakthrough Prize ceremony. The event was held in Silicon Valley and televised on November 15, 2014, on Discovery Channel and Science, and globally on November 22, 2014, on BBC World News. He returned to host the following year.
=== Film career ===
==== Ted ====
MacFarlane made his directorial live-action film debut with the release of Ted in 2012. He announced that he was directing it on an episode of Conan that aired on February 10, 2011. Along with directing the film, he also wrote the screenplay, served as producer, and starred as the title character.
Ted tells the story of John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) and his talking teddy bear (MacFarlane) who keeps John and his girlfriend Lori Collins (Mila Kunis) from moving on with their lives. The film received generally favorable reviews from both critics and audiences, and was a box office success, opening with the highest weekend gross of all time for an original R-rated comedy. Internationally, the movie is currently the highest-grossing original R-rated comedy of all time, beating The Hangover. A sequel, Ted 2, was released on June 26, 2015.
It was announced in June 2021 that Peacock had given a straight to series order for a prequel series. In addition to serving as executive producer for the series, MacFarlane reprises his role as Ted. Due to its prequel nature, Wahlberg and Kunis do not reprise their roles. In August 2024, it was announced that an animated series based on the franchise was in development.
==== A Million Ways to Die in the West ====
MacFarlane co-wrote and starred in his second film, A Million Ways to Die in the West. Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild were also co-writers for the film. The film follows a cowardly sheep farmer (MacFarlane) who loses a gunfight and sees his girlfriend leave him for another man. When a mysterious woman rides into town, she helps him find his courage. But when her outlaw husband arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his newfound courage to the test. The film was met with mixed to negative reviews from critics.
On January 27, 2014, MacFarlane announced that he wrote a companion novel based on the film's script, which was released on March 4, 2014. An audio-book version was also made available, narrated by Jonathan Frakes. MacFarlane wrote the book on weekends during shooting for the film, partially due to boredom.
=== Music career ===
==== Record deal and albums ====
In 2010, MacFarlane signed a record deal with Universal Republic Records. He released his debut album, Music Is Better Than Words, in 2011. The album is a big band/standards album drawing on his training in and attraction to "the Great American Songbook and particularly the early- to late-'50s era of orchestration". The album featured duets with Norah Jones and Sara Bareilles. It was nominated in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical categories at the 54th Grammy Awards. It received a score of 52 out of 100 on Metacritic's compilation of music critic reviews. In 2014, he released his second studio album and first Christmas album Holiday for Swing. It received mostly positive reviews. In 2015, his third studio album No One Ever Tells You was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In 2016, he was honored by Barbara Sinatra at the 28th annual Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational.
He released his fourth studio album, In Full Swing, in 2017, again featuring songs composed by Joel McNeely. Three singles were released from it: "That Face", "Almost Like Being in Love", and "Have You Met Miss Jones?" The album was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals. In 2019, for his fifth studio album Once in a While, MacFarlane worked with composer Andrew Cottee.
In 2020, MacFarlane released his sixth studio album, Great Songs from Stage & Screen, with composer Bruce Broughton, who he works with on The Orville, to compose the album. Like his previous four albums, he recorded a majority of the songs at Abbey Road Studios. However, much of the album's post-production work was done at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, he released his seventh studio album, Blue Skies. In November 2023, MacFarlane released a collaborative Christmas album with Gillies titled We Wish You the Merriest. The lead single of the same name was dropped on the day of the announcement.
In June 2025, MacFarlane released his ninth album, Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements. The album, conducted by John Wilson, features music originally arranged by Nelson Riddle, Billy May, and Don Costa for Frank Sinatra, but were never produced, and were discovered by MacFarlane in Sinatra's library of music material.
==== Collaborations ====
He was featured on Calabria Foti's 2013 single "Let's Fall in Love". In 2016, he recorded the song "Pure Imagination" as a duet with Barbra Streisand for her album Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway. MacFarlane sang numerous show tunes with Ariana Grande on an episode of Carpool Karaoke: The Series in 2017.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, MacFarlane and Elizabeth Gillies collaborated on a series of songs, eight in total, on a playlist entitled Songs from Home on Spotify. MacFarlane was featured in Meghan Trainor's Christmas album, A Very Trainor Christmas, and did a cover of "White Christmas". The single debuted at number 24 on the Adult Contemporary chart issued dated November 14, 2020, the third holiday entry for both, and it later peaked at number 1 on the chart. In 2023, MacFarlane was co-featured alongside Redman and Statik Selektah on the album track "Self Medication", from Logic's eighth studio album College Park.
=== Other projects ===
MacFarlane was executive producer of a 2020 feature film adapting Clive Barker's novel Books of Blood for Hulu, directed by Brannon Braga.
In 2020, he signed a $200 million deal with NBCUniversal to develop television projects for both internal and external networks, including the company's then-developing streaming service Peacock. Among these projects is The End is Nye, hosted by Bill Nye, a six-episode series exploring and explaining six apocalyptic scenarios. MacFarlane is executive producer and will make small appearances in each episode. It premiered on the service on August 25, 2022.
In January 2021, it was announced that MacFarlane had been hired to develop a reboot of The Naked Gun. After MacFarlane had previously expressed interest in casting Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr. in 2015, the filmmaker was hired by the studio. Neeson revealed that the filmmaker alongside Paramount Pictures had approached him with a pitch to star in the movie. In June of the same year, Neeson stated that MacFarlane was working on a new draft of the script, with the studio additionally negotiating the filmmaker's potential role as director. He expressed excitement for the project and the opportunity to explore a more comedic role, should he decide to star in the movie; while stating that development on the project is ongoing. In October 2022, the film was officially greenlit with Neeson in the lead role. The film was directed by Akiva Schaffer, Dan Gregor and Doug Mand were hired to write a new draft of the script, from a previous draft with contributions from Mark Hentemann, Alec Sulkin and MacFarlane himself. MacFarlane and Erica Huggins served as producers.
=== Guest appearances ===
MacFarlane has appeared in sitcoms, comedy and news programs, independent films, and other animated shows. In 2002, MacFarlane appeared in the Gilmore Girls episode "Lorelai's Graduation Day". On November 5, 2006, MacFarlane guest starred on Fox's The War at Home as "Hillary's Date", an unnamed 33-year-old man who secretly dates teenaged Hillary in the episode "I Wash My Hands of You". MacFarlane also appeared as the engineer Ensign Rivers on Star Trek: Enterprise in the third-season episode "The Forgotten" and the fourth-season episode "Affliction". During 2006, MacFarlane had a role in the independent film Life is Short. He has been a frequent guest on the radio talkshow Loveline, hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky.
MacFarlane appeared on the November 11, 2006, episode of Fox's comedy show MADtv. MacFarlane has also appeared on news shows and late night television shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Late Show with David Letterman. Three months later on March 24, 2007, MacFarlane was interviewed on Fox's Talkshow with Spike Feresten, and closed the show by singing the Frank Sinatra song "You Make Me Feel So Young". He also provided Stewie's voice when he appeared as a brain tumor-induced hallucination to Seeley Booth in an episode of Bones, writing his own dialogue for the episode. On May 8, 2009, MacFarlane was a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher.
Other than Family Guy and American Dad!, MacFarlane voices characters in other cartoon shows and films. He voiced Wayne "The Brain" McClain in an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. He has also voiced various characters on Adult Swim's Robot Chicken, including a parody of Lion-O and Emperor Palpatine as well as Peter Griffin in the Season 2 premiere – he even parodied himself in the Season 4 premiere, in which he renewed the show simply by mentioning it in a Family Guy-like cutaway after its fictitious cancellation at the end of Season 3. He also played the villain "The Manotaur" in Bob Boyle's animated kids series Yin Yang Yo!. In addition, MacFarlane voiced Johann Kraus in the 2008 film Hellboy II: The Golden Army. He also had a guest appearance in the animated film Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder where he sings "That Was Then (And This is Too)", the opening theme. He had also starred in a commercial for Hulu in which he plays an alien presenting Hulu as an "evil plot to destroy the world", progressively as his famous Family Guy and American Dad! characters. He also lent his voice to the series finale movie of the Comedy Central series, Drawn Together.
MacFarlane played Ziggy in the 2010 film Tooth Fairy. In August 2010, he appeared as a guest voice-over in a sci-fi themed episode of Disney's Phineas and Ferb entitled "Nerds of a Feather". On September 15, 2012, MacFarlane hosted the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, with musical guest Frank Ocean. The episode was MacFarlane's first appearance on the show. MacFarlane had a cameo in the 2013 film Movie 43. MacFarlane collaborated with Matt Groening on an episode of The Simpsons and Futurama. In 2016, he had a voice role in the animated film Sing, as well as serving as a major performer on the film's soundtrack. In 2017, he appeared in Steven Soderbergh's heist comedy Logan Lucky, alongside Channing Tatum and Adam Driver. In 2019, MacFarlane appeared in the Showtime limited series The Loudest Voice.
== Artistry ==
=== Musical style ===
MacFarlane has a baritone voice. He is a pianist and singer who, in his early years, trained with Lee and Sally Sweetland, the vocal coaches of Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra. In an interview with NPR, he commented on their training style: "They really drill you. They teach you the old-style way of singing, back when you had no electronic help ... [They teach you to] show your teeth. If you look at old photos of Sinatra while he's singing, there's a lot of very exposed teeth. That was something Lee Sweetland hit on day in and day out, and correctly so, because it just brightens the whole performance."
In 2009, MacFarlane appeared as a vocalist at the BBC Proms with the John Wilson Orchestra in Prom 22, A Celebration of Classic MGM Film Musicals. In 2010, he reappeared at the Proms with the John Wilson Orchestra in a Christmas concert special. In 2012, it was announced he would again appear at the Proms with the John Wilson Orchestra in a concert celebrating Broadway musicals. In 2015, MacFarlane again appeared at The Proms as a vocalist with the John Wilson Orchestra, this time in a Sinatra program. Regarding his musical passion, MacFarlane has said, "I love and am fascinated by exciting orchestration—what you can do with a band that size—and I think in many ways it's a lost art." His music is predominantly vocal jazz, show tunes and swing. He also uses musical comedy in his shows and movies.
=== Influences ===
MacFarlane has said that his comedy influences include Woody Allen, Jackie Gleason, Mel Brooks, Monty Python, Matt Groening, and Norman Lear; while his musical influences include Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Vic Damone, Johnny Mercer, Bing Crosby, Bobby Darin, Gordon MacRae and the Rat Pack.
== Activism ==
=== Political views ===
MacFarlane is a supporter of the Democratic Party. He has donated over $200,000 to various Democratic congressional committees and to the 2008 presidential campaign of then-US Senator Barack Obama. He has stated that he supports the legalization of cannabis.
In 2015, MacFarlane endorsed Bernie Sanders for the 2016 US presidential election, and he introduced Sanders onstage at a Los Angeles rally. After the primaries, he supported Hillary Clinton for president during the general election. In 2019, he supported Pete Buttigieg in the 2020 US presidential election. After the primaries, he endorsed Joe Biden for president during the general election. He endorsed Biden again for the 2024 US presidential election. After Biden withdrew his candidacy, MacFarlane endorsed Kamala Harris.
=== Gay rights advocacy ===
MacFarlane is a supporter of gay rights. In 2008, prior to the holding of the Obergefell v. Hodges case by the United States Supreme Court, MacFarlane called it "infuriating and idiotic" that two gay partners "have to go through this fucking dog and pony act when they stop at a hotel and the guy behind the counter says, 'You want one room or two?'" He went on to say: "I'm incredibly passionate about my support for the gay community and what they're dealing with at this current point in time."
In recognition of "his active, passionate commitment to humanist values, and his fearless support of equal marriage rights and other social justice issues", MacFarlane was named the Harvard Humanist of the Year in 2011.
=== Speaking engagements ===
MacFarlane is a frequent speaking guest on college campuses. On April 16, 2006, he was invited by Stanford University's ASSU Speakers' Bureau to address an audience of over 1,000 at Memorial Auditorium. He was invited by Harvard University's class of 2006 to deliver the "class day" address on June 7, 2006. He spoke as himself, and also as Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin and Glenn Quagmire. He has also spoken at George Washington University, Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Missouri, Bowling Green State University, Loyola Marymount University, and University of California, Los Angeles.
=== 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike ===
During the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, MacFarlane publicly sided with the Writers Guild, and fully participated in the strike. Official production of Family Guy was halted for most of December 2007 and various periods afterwards. Fox continued producing episodes without MacFarlane's final approval, and although he refused to work on the show during the strike, his contract with Fox required him to contribute to any episodes it subsequently produced. Rumors of continued production on Family Guy prompted the statement from MacFarlane that ".....it would just be a colossal dick move if they did that". During the strike, MacFarlane wrote an inside joke into an episode of Family Guy about Jon Stewart's choice to return to the air and undermine the writers of The Daily Show, causing Stewart to respond with an angry phone-call, harassing MacFarlane and arguing his point. The strike ended on February 12, 2008.
=== 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike ===
During the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike and the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, MacFarlane donated $1 million to The Entertainment Community Fund to Support Film and Television Workers During Strikes. The Entertainment Community, formerly The Actors Fund, is there to help provide financial assistance for industry workers during the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.
=== The Seth MacFarlane Collection of the Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan Archive ===
In 2012, MacFarlane donated money to create The Seth MacFarlane Collection of the Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan Archive at the Library of Congress. MacFarlane said, "The work of Carl Sagan has been a profound influence in my life, and the life of every individual who recognizes the importance of humanity's ongoing commitment to the exploration of our universe [...] The continuance of our journey outward into space should always occupy some part of our collective attention, regardless of whatever Snooki did last week." The collection opened on November 12, 2013.
=== Film preservation ===
On April 20, 2024, MacFarlane partnered with Martin Scorsese to showcase Back from the Ink: Restored Animated Shorts at the 2024 TCM Classic Film Festival. MacFarlane and Scorsese funded the restoration and worked with the UCLA Film and Television Archive and The Film Foundation with Paramount Pictures Archives.
== Personal life ==
MacFarlane lives in Beverly Hills, California. He is not married and has no children. From 2012 to 2013, he was in a relationship with British actress Emilia Clarke.
MacFarlane gave a speech at his alma mater, the Rhode Island School of Design, on September 10, 2001; the next morning he was scheduled to return to Los Angeles on American Airlines Flight 11, one of the planes hijacked in the September 11 attacks. Due to a hangover after the previous night's celebrations and an incorrect departure time (8:15 a.m. instead of 7:45 a.m.) from his travel agent, he arrived at Logan International Airport about ten minutes too late to board the flight, as the gates had been closed. Speaking of his experience of missing the fatal trip, MacFarlane said:The only reason it hasn't really affected me as it maybe could have is I didn't really know that I was in any danger until after it was over, so I never had that panic moment. After the fact, it was sobering, but people have a lot of close calls; you're crossing the street and you almost get hit by a car... This one just happened to be related to something massive. I really can't let it affect me because I'm a comedy writer. I have to put that in the back of my head.
On July 16, 2010, MacFarlane's mother, Ann Perry Sager, died from cancer. Her death was reported by Larry King on his show Larry King Live, who acknowledged a conversation he had with her during an interview with MacFarlane in May 2010.
MacFarlane is an atheist, explaining his beliefs, "I do not believe in God. I'm an atheist. I consider myself a critical thinker, and it fascinates me that in the 21st century most people still believe in, as George Carlin puts it, 'the invisible man living in the sky'."
== Lawsuits ==
On October 3, 2007, Bourne Co. Music Publishers filed a lawsuit accusing Family Guy of infringing its copyright on the song "When You Wish Upon a Star", through a parody song titled "I Need a Jew" appearing in the episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein". Bourne Co., which holds the copyright, alleged the parody pairs a "thinly veiled" copy of their music with antisemitic lyrics. Named in the suit were MacFarlane, 20th Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Co., Cartoon Network and Walter Murphy; the suit sought to stop the program's distribution and asked for unspecified damages. Bourne argued that "I Need a Jew" uses the copyrighted melody of "When You Wish Upon a Star" without commenting on that song, and that it was therefore not a First Amendment-protected parody per the ruling in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. On March 16, 2009, United States District Judge Deborah Batts held that Family Guy did not infringe on Bourne's copyright when it transformed the song for comical use in an episode.
In December 2007, Family Guy was again accused of copyright infringement when actor Art Metrano filed a lawsuit regarding a scene in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, in which Jesus performs Metrano's signature magic parody act, involving absurd faux magical hand gestures while humming the distinctive tune "Fine and Dandy". MacFarlane, 20th Century Fox, Steve Callaghan, and Alex Borstein were all named in the suit. In July 2009, a federal district court judge rejected Fox's motion to dismiss, saying that the first three fair use factors involved—"purpose and character of the use", "nature of the infringed work", and "amount and substantiality of the taking"—counted in Metrano's favor, while the fourth—"economic impact"—had to await more fact-finding. In denying the dismissal, the court held that the reference in the scene made light of Jesus and his followers—not Metrano or his act. The case was settled out of court in 2010 with undisclosed terms.
On July 16, 2014, MacFarlane was served with a lawsuit from the production company of a series of Internet videos called Charlie the Abusive Teddy Bear claiming that Ted infringes on the copyright of its videos due to the Ted bear largely matching the background story, persona, voice tone, attitude, and dialogue of the Charlie bear. The suit was dismissed with prejudice on March 23, 2015, after the plaintiffs conceded Ted was independently created and withdrew the suit.
== Awards and nominations ==
MacFarlane has been nominated for twenty-four Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on Family Guy and has won five times, in 2000, 2002, 2016, 2017 and 2019. He has been nominated for five Grammy Awards for his work in Family Guy: Live in Vegas, Music Is Better Than Words, Family Guy, No One Ever Tells You and In Full Swing. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for co-writing the opening song, "Everybody Needs a Best Friend", from his film Ted with the film's composer Walter Murphy.
He has received numerous awards from other organizations, including the Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production and the Saturn Award for Best Television Presentation for the Family Guy episode titled "Blue Harvest", the MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo and the Empire Award for Best Comedy for Ted. In 2019, MacFarlane received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6259 Hollywood Blvd. In 2020, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.
In 2022, a new species of Hyloscirtus frog (Hyloscirtus sethmacfarlanei) was described from Ecuador and named after him.
== Filmography ==
Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (2009)
The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie! (2010)
Tooth Fairy (2010)
Ted (2012)
Movie 43 (2013)
A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)
Ted 2 (2015)
Sing (2016)
Logan Lucky (2017)
== Discography ==
Music Is Better Than Words (2011)
Holiday for Swing (2014)
No One Ever Tells You (2015)
In Full Swing (2017)
Once in a While (2019)
Great Songs from Stage & Screen (2020)
Blue Skies (2022)
We Wish You the Merriest (with Elizabeth Gillies) (2023)
Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements (2025)
== Written works ==
MacFarlane, Seth (2014). A Million Ways to Die in the West. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-553-39167-1.
MacFarlane, Seth (2022). The Orville: Sympathy for the Devil. Hyperion Avenue. ISBN 978-1-368-09263-0. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_West_(Dead_Rising) | Frank West (Dead Rising) | Francis "Frank" Algernon West (Japanese: フランシス・「フランク」・アルジャーノン・ウェスト, Hepburn: Furanshisu `Furanku' Arujānon U~esuto) is a character in Dead Rising, an action-adventure video game series created by the Japanese company Capcom. Frank was first introduced as the player character in Dead Rising (2006). The character was initially conceived as being obese and ugly during the development of the game before its producer Keji Inafune decided that they should be an average looking everyman. During the events of Dead Rising, Frank is a freelance photojournalist who stumbles upon a zombie outbreak and violent psychopaths within a shopping mall in the town of Willamette, Colorado.
Frank is the protagonist of several Dead Rising games and he appears in various Capcom crossover games such as Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars and Puzzle Fighter. Several actors have portrayed the character in games including Terrence J. Rotolo, Ty Olsson, Jas Patrick, and Rikiya Koyama. He is also portrayed by Rob Riggle in the film Dead Rising: Watchtower.
The character has been well received by video game publications, primarily in the West.
== Concept and design ==
Keiji Inafune, producer of Dead Rising, wanted the main character Frank West to be different from the usual Japanese main character, a young and beautiful protagonist. In the beginning, the staff considered making the character ugly and fat. However, the American branch of Capcom said he was too ugly; Inafune then wanted to create an everyman that looked average rather than beautiful or ugly. His conception as "rough, tough, gritty character" was aimed primarily to attract the Western audience.
== Appearances ==
=== In Dead Rising series ===
Introduced in the first Dead Rising game, Frank West is the player character, a famed freelancer photographer and photojournalist who has covered many world events, wars, and other big stories. Lately, however, his career has begun to fizzle out. Looking for the next big scoop, he stumbles on to some strange events happening in the small town of Willamette, Colorado. There, he winds up in a barricaded shopping mall and attempts to rescue a host of human survivors from the zombie hordes and violent psychopaths laying siege to the mall, while also covering the story.
Frank makes a return as the secondary protagonist of Dead Rising 2: Case West and fights alongside Chuck Greene after rescuing him from Fortune City as they tackle Phenotrans at one of their facilities. In the end, Frank escapes the facility with Chuck, though Isabela Keyes was kidnapped by Dr. Mallon, he has successfully retrieved evidence to help clear Chuck's name in the Fortune City disaster.
Frank reappears in Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, which is an alternate version of the Dead Rising 2 storyline in which Frank is the protagonist. In this version of the story, Frank became an overnight celebrity for his actions in exposing the Willamette incident. Cashing in on his success, Frank released a memoir, hosted a talk-show, and used his fame and money to treat his zombie wounds from Willamette with Zombrex (among other perks). Unfortunately, between his squandered money and a series of scathing scandals, Frank's show was cancelled and his stardom quickly plummeted. In desperation, Frank goes to Fortune City to appear on "Terror is Reality" as a competitor and make some quick money, but is trapped in the city when the zombie outbreak begins. Though at first Frank sees the outbreak as his big comeback, he gradually learns of the terrifying conspiracy behind it and becomes more determined to uncover the truth.
In Dead Rising 3, Frank does not appear in the main story, but is playable in the Dead Rising 3 DLC and can also be found as a statue players can find spread across Los Perdidos.
Frank returns as the protagonist of Dead Rising 4, in which he now works as a college photography teacher and returns to Willamette 16 years after the events of the first game, only to be caught in the middle of another zombie outbreak.
=== Other appearances ===
West is a playable character in the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars fighting game, with his special moves revolving around the use of zombies, a helmet based on the Servbot character from Mega Man Legends, and a variety of makeshift weapons from Dead Rising. He is one of six Capcom characters added to the fighting game Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, a standalone updated version of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. His fighting style makes use of the Dead Rising "Level Up" mechanic that gives him access to more moves, stronger attacks, and increased damage resistance the more exp he gains from taking pictures. He is also playable in the game's sequel, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. He also appears as one of the characters at player's disposal in the tactical role-playing game Project X Zone, where he is paired with Hsien-Ko from the Darkstalkers series.
West also appears as a multiplayer character in Capcom's Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, and in the sequel, Lost Planet 2. In Valve's add-on content "The Passing" for Left 4 Dead 2, a message from Frank directed to Otis appears among other pop culture messages graffitied on the wall of a bar.
=== Film ===
West appeared in the live-action film Dead Rising: Watchtower, portrayed by Rob Riggle. Frank can also be seen as several statues hidden in frame.
== Reception ==
In 2008, The Age ranked West as the 22nd greatest Xbox character of all time, while GameDaily ranked him as the 17th best Capcom character of all time in 2008. In 2012, GamesRadar ranked him as the 76th "most memorable, influential, and badass" protagonist in games. UGO Networks included West among the "Top Heroes in Entertainment", placing him as 68th. In 2013, GamesRadar staff included him among the 30 best characters in the three decades of Capcom's history, noting that "Frank has been a fast-rising star within Capcom, appearing in multiple fighting games and cameo roles in the handful of years since his debut." GamesRadar's staff also placed him at number 48 in a list of the 50 best game characters of the generation.
He was listed on Game Informer's "Ten Faces We Won't Soon Forget", with Meagan Marie emphasizing the fact that he is an everyman, saying "Frank West represents that little part in all of us that hopes to survive a zombie apocalypse some day." In 2009, IGN's Jesse Schedeen included Frank West in an "Ultimate Zombie Strike Team". IGN also listed Frank as one of characters they wished to see appear in a future Marvel vs. Capcom title, adding that he "should definitely come equipped with some of the more eclectic toys he picked up in the mall, including his Mega Man gear and lightsaber." He was also featured in a 2010s "Gaming's Most Inappropriate Outfits Ever" by NowGamer. UGO Networks ranked him as fifth "awesomest hidden character" for his appearance in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, noting the difficulty to unlock the character while West's guest appearance in Left 4 Dead 2 was ranked as first in GamesRadar's 2010 list of best character cameos. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_leaders_of_the_Soviet_Union | List of leaders of the Soviet Union | During its 69-year history, the Soviet Union usually had a de facto leader who would not always necessarily be head of state or even head of government but almost always held office as Communist Party General Secretary. The office of the chairman of the Council of Ministers was comparable to a prime minister in the First World whereas the office of the chairman of the Presidium was comparable to a president. According to Marxist-Leninist ideology, the head of the Soviet state was a collegiate body of the vanguard party (as described in Lenin's What Is to Be Done?).
Following Joseph Stalin's consolidation of power in the late 1920s, the post of the general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party became synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union, because the post controlled both the Communist Party and (via party membership) the Soviet government. Often the general secretary also held high positions in the government. Since the post of general secretary lacked clear guidelines of succession, the office's successor needed the support of the Political Bureau (Politburo), the Central Committee, or another government or party apparatus to consolidate power. The President of the Soviet Union, an office created in March 1990, replaced the general secretary as the highest Soviet political office.
Contemporaneously to the establishment of the office of the president, representatives of the Congress of People's Deputies voted to remove Article 6 from the Soviet constitution which stated that the Soviet Union was a one-party state controlled by the Communist Party which in turn played the leading role in society. This vote weakened the party and its hegemony over the Soviet Union and its people. Upon the departure of an incumbent president from office, the Vice President of the Soviet Union would assume the office, though the Soviet Union dissolved before this was actually tested. After the failed coup in August 1991, the vice president was replaced by an elected member of the State Council of the Soviet Union.
== Summary ==
Lenin was elected chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union (Sovnarkom) on 30 December 1922 by the Congress of Soviets. At the age of 53, his health declined from the effects of two bullet wounds, later aggravated by three strokes which culminated with his death in 1924. Irrespective of his health status in his final days, Lenin was already losing much of his power to Joseph Stalin. Alexei Rykov succeeded Lenin as chairman of the Sovnarkom, and although he was de jure the most powerful person in the country, in fact, all power was concentrated in the hands of the "troika" – the union of three influential party figures: Grigory Zinoviev, Joseph Stalin, and Lev Kamenev. Stalin continued to increase his influence in the party, and by the end of the 1920s, he became the sole dictator of the USSR, defeating all his political opponents. The post of general secretary of the party, which was held by Stalin, became the most important post in the Soviet hierarchy.
Stalin's early policies pushed for rapid industrialisation, nationalisation of private industry and the collectivisation of private plots created under Lenin's New Economic Policy. As leader of the Politburo, Stalin consolidated near-absolute power by 1938 after the Great Purge, a series of campaigns of political murder, repression and persecution. On 22 June 1941 Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, but by December the Soviet Army managed to stop the attack just shy of Moscow. On Stalin's orders, the Soviet Union launched a counter-attack on Nazi Germany, which finally succeeded in 1945. Stalin died in March 1953 and his death triggered a power struggle in which Nikita Khrushchev ultimately emerged victorious over Georgy Malenkov.
Khrushchev denounced Stalin on two occasions, first in 1956 and then in 1962. His policy of de-Stalinisation earned him many enemies within the party, especially from old Stalinist appointees. Many saw this approach as destructive and destabilizing. A group known as Anti-Party Group tried to oust Khrushchev from office in 1957, but it failed. As Khrushchev grew older, his erratic behaviour became worse, usually making decisions without discussing or confirming them with the Politburo. Leonid Brezhnev, a close companion of Khrushchev, was elected the first secretary the same day of Khrushchev's removal from power. Alexei Kosygin became the new premier, and Anastas Mikoyan kept his office as chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. On the orders of the Politburo, Mikoyan was forced to retire in 1965, and Nikolai Podgorny took over the office of chairman of the Presidium. The Soviet Union in the post-Khrushchev 1960s was governed by a collective leadership. Henry Kissinger, the American National Security Advisor, mistakenly believed that Kosygin was the leader of the Soviet Union and that he was at the helm of Soviet foreign policy because he represented the Soviet Union at the 1967 Glassboro Summit Conference. The "Era of Stagnation", a derogatory term coined by Mikhail Gorbachev, was a period marked by low socio-economic efficiency in the country and a gerontocracy ruling the country. Yuri Andropov (aged 68 at the time) succeeded Brezhnev in his post as general secretary in 1982. In 1983, Andropov was hospitalized and rarely met up at work to chair the politburo meetings due to his declining health. Nikolai Tikhonov usually chaired the meetings in his place. Following Andropov's death fifteen months after his appointment, an even older leader, 72-year-old Konstantin Chernenko, was elected to the general secretariat. His rule lasted for little more than a year until his death thirteen months later on 10 March 1985.
At the age of 54, Mikhail Gorbachev was elected to the general secretariat by Politburo on 11 March 1985. In May 1985, Gorbachev publicly admitted the slowing down of the economic development and inadequate living standards, being the first Soviet leader to do so while also beginning a series of fundamental reforms. From 1986 to around 1988, he dismantled central planning, allowed state enterprises to set their own outputs, enabled private investment in businesses not previously permitted to be privately owned, and allowed foreign investment, among other measures. He also opened up the management of and decision-making within the Soviet Union and allowed greater public discussion and criticism, along with the warming of relationships with the West. These twin policies were known as perestroika (literally meaning "reconstruction", though it varies) and glasnost ("openness" and "transparency"), respectively. The dismantling of the principal defining features of Soviet communism in 1988 and 1989 in the Soviet Union led to the unintended consequence of the Soviet Union breaking up after the failed August 1991 coup led by Gennady Yanayev.
== List of leaders ==
The following list includes those who held the top leadership position of the Soviet Union from its founding in 1922 until its 1991 dissolution. † denotes leaders who died in office.
== Timeline ==
== List of troikas ==
Over the course of the Soviet Union's existence, there were four intervals where the country was ruled not by one figure but a troika (i.e."triumvirate") comprising three leading figures within the Politburo. Such instances included: (1) the 2- to 3-year period between Lenin's incapacitation and the rise of Joseph Stalin; (2) the 3 months immediately following Stalin's death; (3) the years between Nikita Khrushchev's fall and Leonid Brezhnev's consolidation of power; and (4) the ailing Konstantin Chernenko's tenure as de jure leader of the Soviet Union. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts | Massachusetts | Massachusetts ( MASS-ə-CHOO-sits, -zits; Massachusett: Muhsachuweesut [məhswatʃəwiːsət]), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode Island to its south, New Hampshire and Vermont to its north, and New York to its west. Massachusetts is the seventh-smallest state by land area. With an estimated population of over 7.1 million, it is the most populous state in New England (with nearly half of all New Englanders residing in Massachusetts), the 16th-most-populous in the United States, and the third-most densely populated U.S. state after New Jersey and Rhode Island.
Massachusetts was a site of early English colonization. The Plymouth Colony was founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims of Mayflower. In 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, taking its name from the Indigenous Massachusett people, also established settlements in Boston and Salem. In 1692, the town of Salem and surrounding areas experienced one of America's most infamous cases of mass hysteria, the Salem witch trials. The American Revolution originated in Massachusetts, with Boston becoming known as the "Cradle of Liberty" for its political agitation. In 1786, Shays' Rebellion, a populist revolt, influenced the United States Constitutional Convention. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing, and trade, Massachusetts transformed into a manufacturing hub during the Industrial Revolution. Before the American Civil War, the state was a center for the abolitionist, temperance, and transcendentalist movements. During the 20th century, the state's economy shifted from manufacturing to services; in the 21st century, Massachusetts has become the global leader in biotechnology, and also excels in artificial intelligence, engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.
Boston is Massachusetts' capital and most populous city, as well as its cultural and financial center; other major cities are Worcester, Springfield, and Cambridge. The state also hosts the urban core of Greater Boston, the largest metropolitan area in New England, with profound influence on U.S. history, academia, and the research economy. Massachusetts has a reputation for social and political progressivism; it is the only U.S. state with a right to shelter law, and was the first U.S. state—and one of the earliest jurisdictions in the world—to legally recognize same-sex marriage. Harvard University in Cambridge is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, with the largest financial endowment of any university in the world. Both Harvard and MIT, also in Cambridge, are perennially ranked as either the most or among the most highly regarded academic institutions in the world.
Massachusetts is the most educated U.S. state, ranking first by the percentage of population 25 and over with either a bachelor's degree or advanced degree. Its public school system ranks first in the country, with public school students placing among the top tier in the world in academic performance. Massachusetts is among the wealthiest and most developed states, with the best performing economy. It ranks first in both the American and United Nations Human Development indexes, first in per capita income, and first in median income, both by household and individually. Consequently, Massachusetts is typically ranked as one of the most expensive U.S. states to live in.
== Etymology ==
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was named after the Indigenous population, the Massachusett or Muhsachuweesut, whose name likely derived from the Wôpanâak word muswachasut, segmented as mus(ây) "big" + wach "mountain" + -s "diminutive" + -ut "locative". This word has been translated as "near the great hill", "by the blue hills", "at the little big hill", or "at the range of hills", in reference to the Blue Hills—namely, the Great Blue Hill, located on the boundary of Milton and Canton. Massachusett has also been represented as Moswetuset. This comes from the name of the Moswetuset Hummock (meaning "hill shaped like an arrowhead") in Quincy, where Plymouth Colony commander Myles Standish (a hired English military officer) and Squanto (a member of the Patuxet band of the Wamponoag people, who have since died off due to contagious diseases brought by colonists) met Chief Chickatawbut in 1621.
Although the designation "Commonwealth" forms part of the state's official name, it has no practical implications in modern times, and Massachusetts has the same position and powers within the United States as other states. John Adams may have chosen the word in 1779 for the second draft of what became the 1780 Massachusetts Constitution; unlike the word "state", the word "commonwealth" had the connotation of a republic at the time. This was in contrast to the monarchy the former colonies were fighting against during the American Revolutionary War. The name "State of Massachusetts Bay" appeared in the first draft, which was ultimately rejected. It was also chosen to include the "Cape Islands" in reference to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket—from 1780 to 1844, they were seen as additional and separate entities confined within the Commonwealth.
== History ==
=== Pre-colonization ===
Massachusetts was originally inhabited by tribes of the Algonquian language family, including the Wampanoag, Narragansett, Nipmuc, Pocomtuc, Mahican, and Massachusett. While cultivation of crops like squash and corn were an important part of their diet, the people of these tribes hunted, fished, and searched the forest for most of their food. Villagers lived in lodges called wigwams as well as longhouses. Tribes were led by male or female elders known as sachems.
=== Colonial period ===
In the early 1600s, European colonists caused virgin soil epidemics such as smallpox, measles, influenza, and perhaps leptospirosis in what is now known as the northeastern region of the United States. Between 1617 and 1619, a disease that was most likely smallpox killed approximately 90% of the Massachusetts Bay Native Americans.
The first English colonists in Massachusetts Bay Colony landed with Richard Vines and spent the winter in Biddeford Pool near Cape Porpoise (after 1820 the State of Maine) in 1616. The Puritans arrived at Plymouth in 1620. This was the second permanent English colony in the part of North America that later became the United States, after the Jamestown Colony. The "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated by the Puritans after their first harvest in the "New World" and lasted for three days. They were soon followed by other Puritans, who colonized the Massachusetts Bay Colony—now known as Boston—in 1630.
The Puritans believed the Church of England needed to be further reformed along Protestant Calvinist lines, and experienced harassment due to the religious policies of King Charles I and high-ranking clergy such as William Laud, who would become Charles's Archbishop of Canterbury, whom they feared were re-introducing "Romish" elements to the national church. They decided to colonize to Massachusetts, intending to establish what they considered an "ideal" religious society. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was colonized under a royal charter, unlike the Plymouth colony, in 1629. Both religious dissent and expansionism resulted in several new colonies being founded, shortly after Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, elsewhere in New England. The Massachusetts Bay banished dissenters such as Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams due to religious and political conflict. In 1636, Williams colonized what is now known as Rhode Island, and Hutchinson joined him there several years later. Religious intolerance continued, and among those who objected to this later that century were the English Quaker preachers Alice and Thomas Curwen, who were publicly flogged and imprisoned in Boston in 1676.
By 1641, Massachusetts had expanded inland significantly. The Commonwealth acquired the Connecticut River Valley settlement of Springfield, which had recently disputed with—and defected from—its original administrators, the Connecticut Colony. This established Massachusetts's southern border in the west. However, this became disputed territory until 1803–04 due to surveying problems, leading to the modern Southwick Jog.
In 1652 the Massachusetts General Court authorized Boston silversmith John Hull to produce local coinage in shilling, sixpence and threepence denominations to address a coin shortage in the colony. Before that point, the colony's economy had been entirely dependent on barter and foreign currency, including English, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese and counterfeit coins. In 1661, shortly after the restoration of the British monarchy, the British government considered the Boston mint to be treasonous. However, the colony ignored the English demands to cease operations until at least 1682, when Hull's contract as mintmaster expired, and the colony did not move to renew his contract or appoint a new mintmaster. The coinage was a contributing factor to the revocation of the Massachusetts Bay Colony charter in 1684.
Tensions with the Native Americans resulted in King Philip's War from 1675-1678. The Native Americans, led by Metacom or King Philip, attacked half the towns in Massachusetts and destroyed many of them. During King William's War and Queen Anne's War, Massachusetts and the other New England colonies engaged in expeditionary campaigns in Quebec and Acadia.
In 1691, the colonies of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth were united (along with present-day Maine, which had previously been divided between Massachusetts and New York) into the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Shortly after, the new province's first governor, William Phips, arrived. The Salem witch trials also took place, where a number of men and women were hanged for alleged witchcraft.
The most destructive earthquake known to date in New England occurred on November 18, 1755, causing considerable damage across Massachusetts.
=== Revolutionary War ===
Massachusetts was a center of the movement for independence from Great Britain. Colonists in Massachusetts had long had uneasy relations with the British monarchy, including open rebellion under the Dominion of New England in the 1680s. Protests against British attempts to tax the colonies after the French and Indian War ended in 1763 led to the Boston Massacre in 1770, and the 1773 Boston Tea Party escalated tensions. In 1774, the Intolerable Acts targeted Massachusetts with punishments for the Boston Tea Party and further decreased local autonomy, increasing local dissent. Anti-Parliamentary activity by men such as Samuel Adams and John Hancock, followed by reprisals by the British government, were a primary reason for the unity of the Thirteen Colonies and the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775.
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were fought in Massachusetts in 1775, and initiated the American Revolutionary War. George Washington, later the first president of the future country, took over what would become the Continental Army after the battle. His first victory was the siege of Boston in the winter of 1775–76, after which the British were forced to evacuate the city. The event is still celebrated in Suffolk County only every March 17 as Evacuation Day.
On the coast, Salem became a center for privateering. Although the documentation is incomplete, about 1,700 letters of marque, issued on a per-voyage basis, were granted during the American Revolution. Nearly 800 vessels were commissioned as privateers, which were credited with capturing or destroying about 600 British ships.
=== Federal period ===
Bostonian John Adams, known as the "Atlas of Independence", was highly involved in both separation from Britain and the Constitution of Massachusetts, which effectively (the Elizabeth Freeman and Quock Walker cases as interpreted by William Cushing) made Massachusetts the first state to abolish slavery. David McCullough points out that an equally important feature was its placing for the first time the courts as a co-equal branch separate from the executive. (The Constitution of Vermont, adopted in 1777, represented the first partial ban on slavery among the states. Vermont became a state in 1791 but did not fully ban slavery until 1858 with the Vermont Personal Liberty Law. The Pennsylvania Gradual Abolition Act of 1780 made Pennsylvania the first state to abolish slavery by statute – the second English colony to do so; the first having been the Colony of Georgia in 1735.) Later, Adams was active in early American foreign affairs and succeeded Washington as the second president of the United States. His son, John Quincy Adams, also from Massachusetts, would go on to become the nation's sixth president.
From 1786 to 1787, an armed uprising led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays, now known as Shays' Rebellion, wrought havoc throughout Massachusetts and ultimately attempted to seize the federal Springfield Armory. The rebellion was one of the major factors in the decision to draft a stronger national constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation. On February 6, 1788, Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
=== 19th century ===
In 1820, Maine separated from Massachusetts and entered the Union as the 23rd state due to the ratification of the Missouri Compromise.
During the 19th century, Massachusetts became a national leader in the American Industrial Revolution, with factories around cities such as Lowell and Boston producing textiles and shoes, and factories around Springfield producing tools, paper, and textiles. The state's economy transformed from one based primarily on agriculture to an industrial one, initially making use of water-power and later the steam engine to power factories. Canals and railroads were being used in the state for transporting raw materials and finished goods. At first, the new industries drew labor from Yankees on nearby subsistence farms, though they later relied upon immigrant labor from Europe and Canada.
Although Massachusetts was the first slave-holding colony with slavery dating back to the early 1600s, the state became a center of progressivist and abolitionist (anti-slavery) activity in the years leading up to the American Civil War. Horace Mann made the state's school system a national model. Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, both philosophers and writers from the state, also made major contributions to American philosophy. Furthermore, members of the transcendentalist movement within the state emphasized the importance of the natural world and emotion to humanity.
Although significant opposition to abolitionism existed early on in Massachusetts, resulting in anti-abolitionist riots between 1835 and 1837, abolitionist views there gradually increased throughout the next few decades. Abolitionists John Brown and Sojourner Truth lived in Springfield and Northampton, respectively, while Frederick Douglass lived in Boston and Susan B. Anthony in Adams. The works of such abolitionists contributed to Massachusetts's actions during the Civil War. Massachusetts was the first state to recruit, train, and arm a Black regiment with White officers, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. In 1852, Massachusetts became the first state to pass compulsory education laws.
=== 20th century ===
Although the U.S. stock market had sustained steep losses the last week in October 1929, Tuesday, October 29 is remembered as the beginning of the Great Depression. The Boston Stock Exchange, drawn into the whirlpool of panic selling that beset the New York Stock Exchange, lost over 25 percent of its value in two days of frenzied trading. The BSE, nearly 100 years old at the time, had helped raise the capital that had funded many of the Commonwealth's factories, railroads, and businesses. " Governor of Massachusetts Frank G. Allen appointed John C. Hull the first Securities Director of Massachusetts. Hull would assume office in January 1930, and his term would end in 1936.
With the departure of several manufacturing companies, the state's industrial economy began to decline during the early 20th century. By the 1920s, competition from the American South and Midwest, followed by the Great Depression, led to the collapse of the three main industries in Massachusetts: textiles, shoemaking, and precision mechanics. This decline would continue into the latter half of the 20th century. Between 1950 and 1979, the number of Massachusetts residents involved in textile manufacturing declined from 264,000 to 63,000. The 1969 closure of the Springfield Armory, in particular, spurred an exodus of high-paying jobs from Western Massachusetts, which suffered greatly as it de-industrialized during the century's last 40 years.
Massachusetts manufactured 3.4 percent of total United States military armaments produced during World War II, ranking tenth among the 48 states. After the world war, the economy of eastern Massachusetts transformed from one based on heavy industry into a service-based economy. Government contracts, private investment, and research facilities led to a new and improved industrial climate, with reduced unemployment and increased per capita income. Suburbanization flourished, and by the 1970s, the Route 128/Interstate 95 corridor was dotted with high-tech companies who recruited graduates of the area's many elite institutions of higher education.
In 1987, the state received federal funding for the Central Artery/Tunnel Project. Commonly known as "the Big Dig", it was, at the time, the biggest federal highway project ever approved. The project included making the Central Artery, part of Interstate 93, into a tunnel under downtown Boston, in addition to the re-routing of several other major highways. The project was often controversial, with numerous claims of graft and mismanagement, and with its initial cost of $2.5 billion finalized at over $15 billion. Nonetheless, the Big Dig changed the face of Downtown Boston and connected areas that were once divided by elevated highway. Much of the raised old Central Artery was replaced with the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. The project also improved traffic conditions along several routes.
==== Politicians ====
The Kennedy family was prominent in 20th-century Massachusetts politics. The children of businessman and ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. included John F. Kennedy, who was a senator and U.S. president before his assassination in 1963; Ted Kennedy, a senator from 1962 until his death in 2009; and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a co-founder of the Special Olympics. In 1966, Massachusetts became the first state to directly elect an African American to the U.S. senate with Edward Brooke. George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States (1989–1993) was born in Milton in 1924.
Other Massachusetts politicians on the national level included Joseph W. Martin Jr., Speaker of the House (from 1947 to 1949 and 1953 to 1955) and leader of House Republicans from 1939 to 1959 (where he was the only Republican to serve as Speaker between 1931 and 1995), John W. McCormack, Speaker of the House in the 1960s, and Tip O'Neill, whose service as Speaker of the House from 1977 to 1987 was the longest continuous tenure in United States history.
=== 21st century ===
On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage. This followed the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health in November 2003, which determined that the exclusion of same-sex couples from the right to a civil marriage was unconstitutional.
In 2004, Massachusetts senator John Kerry, who had won the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, lost to incumbent George W. Bush. Eight years later, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (the Republican nominee) lost to incumbent Barack Obama in 2012. Another eight years later, Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren became a frontrunner in the Democratic primaries for the 2020 presidential election. However, she later suspended her campaign and endorsed presumptive nominee Joe Biden.
Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, at around 2:49 pm local time (EDT). The explosions killed three people and injured an estimated 264 others. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) later identified the suspects as brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The ensuing manhunt ended on April 19 when thousands of law enforcement officers searched a 20-block area of nearby Watertown. Dzhokhar later said he was motivated by extremist Islamic beliefs and learned to build explosive devices from Inspire, the online magazine of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
On November 8, 2016, Massachusetts voted in favor of the Massachusetts Marijuana Legalization Initiative, also known as Question 4.
== Geography ==
Massachusetts is the seventh-smallest state in the United States. It is located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of 10,555 square miles (27,340 km2), 25.7% of which is water. Several large bays distinctly shape its coast, giving it the nickname "the Bay State". Boston is its largest city.
Despite its small size, Massachusetts features numerous topographically distinctive regions. The large coastal plain of the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern section of the state contains Greater Boston, along with most of the state's population, as well as the distinctive Cape Cod peninsula. To the west lies the hilly, rural region of Central Massachusetts, and beyond that, the Connecticut River Valley. Along the western border of Western Massachusetts lies the highest elevated part of the state, the Berkshires, forming a portion of the northern terminus of the Appalachian Mountains.
The U.S. National Park Service administers a number of natural and historical sites in Massachusetts. Along with twelve national historic sites, areas, and corridors, the National Park Service also manages the Cape Cod National Seashore and the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. In addition, the Department of Conservation and Recreation maintains a number of parks, trails, and beaches throughout Massachusetts.
=== Ecology ===
The primary biome of inland Massachusetts is temperate deciduous forest.
Although much of Massachusetts had been cleared for agriculture, leaving only traces of old-growth forest in isolated pockets, secondary growth has regenerated in many rural areas as farms have been abandoned. Forests cover around 62% of Massachusetts. The areas most affected by human development include the Greater Boston area in the east and the Springfield metropolitan area in the west, although the latter includes agricultural areas throughout the Connecticut River Valley. There are 219 endangered species in Massachusetts.
A number of species are doing well in the increasingly urbanized Massachusetts. Peregrine falcons utilize office towers in larger cities as nesting areas, and the population of coyotes, whose diet may include garbage and roadkill, has been increasing in recent decades. White-tailed deer, raccoons, wild turkeys, and eastern gray squirrels are also found throughout Massachusetts. In more rural areas in the western part of Massachusetts, larger mammals such as moose and black bears have returned, largely due to reforestation following the regional decline in agriculture.
Massachusetts is located along the Atlantic Flyway, a major route for migratory waterfowl along the eastern coast. Lakes in central Massachusetts provide habitat for many species of fish and waterfowl, but some species such as the common loon are becoming rare. A significant population of long-tailed ducks winter off Nantucket. Small offshore islands and beaches are home to roseate terns and are important breeding areas for the locally threatened piping plover. Protected areas such as the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge provide critical breeding habitat for shorebirds and a variety of marine wildlife including a large population of grey seals. Since 2009, there has been a significant increase in the number of Great white sharks spotted and tagged in the coastal waters off of Cape Cod.
Freshwater fish species in Massachusetts include bass, carp, catfish, and trout, while saltwater species such as Atlantic cod, haddock, and American lobster populate offshore waters. Other marine species include Harbor seals, the endangered North Atlantic right whales, as well as humpback whales, fin whales, minke whales, and Atlantic white-sided dolphins.
The European corn borer, a significant agricultural pest, was first found in North America near Boston in 1917.
=== Climate ===
Most of Massachusetts has a humid continental climate, with cold winters and warm summers. Far southeast coastal areas are the broad transition zone to Humid Subtropical climates. The warm to hot summers render the oceanic climate rare in this transition, only applying to exposed coastal areas such as on the peninsula of Barnstable County. The climate of Boston is quite representative for the commonwealth, characterized by summer highs of around 81 °F (27 °C) and winter highs of 35 °F (2 °C), and is quite wet. Frosts are frequent all winter, even in coastal areas due to prevailing inland winds. Boston has a relatively sunny climate for a coastal city at its latitude, averaging over 2,600 hours of sunshine a year.
== Environmental issues ==
=== Climate change ===
Climate change in Massachusetts will affect both urban and rural environments, including forestry, fisheries, agriculture, and coastal development. The Northeast is projected to warm faster than global average temperatures; by 2035, according to the U. S. Global Change Research Program, the Northeast is "projected to be more than 3.6°F (2°C) warmer on average than during the preindustrial era". As of August 2016, the EPA reports that Massachusetts has warmed by over two degrees Fahrenheit, or 1.1 degrees Celsius.
Shifting temperatures also result in the shifting of rainfall patterns and the intensification of precipitation events. To that end, average precipitation in the Northeast United States has risen by ten percent from 1895 to 2011, and the number of heavy precipitation events has increased by seventy percent during that time. These increased precipitation patterns are focused in the winter and spring. Increasing temperatures coupled with increasing precipitation will result in earlier snow melts and subsequent drier soil in the summer months.
The shifting climate in Massachusetts will result in a significant change to the state's built environment and ecosystems. In Boston alone, costs of climate change-related storms will result in $5 to $100 billion in damage.
Warmer temperatures will also disrupt bird migration and flora blooming. With these changes, deer populations are expected to increase, resulting in a decrease in underbrush which smaller fauna use as camouflage. Additionally, rising temperatures will increase the number of reported Lyme disease cases in the state. Ticks can transmit the disease once temperatures reach 45 degrees, so shorter winters will increase the window of transmission. These warmer temperatures will also increase the prevalence of Asian tiger mosquitoes, which often carry the West Nile virus.
To fight this change, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has outlined a path to decarbonize the state's economy. On April 22, 2020, Kathleen A. Theoharides, the state's Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, released a Determination of Statewide Emissions limits for 2050. In her letter, Theoharides stresses that as of 2020, the Commonwealth has experienced property damage attributable to climate change of more than $60 billion. To ensure that the Commonwealth experiences warming no more than 1.5 °C of pre-industrialization levels, the state will work towards two goals by 2050: to achieve net-zero emissions, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent overall.
=== Power initiatives ===
The State of Massachusetts has developed a plethora of incentives to encourage the implementation of renewable energy and efficient appliances and home facilities. The Mass Save program, formed in conjunction with the State by several companies that provide power and gas in Massachusetts, provides homeowners and renters with monetary incentives to retrofit their homes with efficient HVAC equipment and other household appliances. Appliances such as water heaters, air conditioners, washers and driers, and heat pumps are eligible for rebates in order to incentivize change.
The concept of MassSave was created in 2008 by the passing of the Green Communities Act of 2008, during Deval Patrick's tenure as governor. The main goal of the Green Communities Act was to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels in the State and to encourage new, more efficient technologies. Among others, one result of this act was a requirement for Program Administrators of utilities to invest in saving energy, as opposed to purchasing and generating additional energy where economically feasible. In Massachusetts, eleven Program Administrators, including Eversource, National Grid, Western Massachusetts Electric, Cape Light Compact, Until, and Berkshire Gas, jointly own the rights to this program, in conjunction with the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council (EEAC).
The State Revenue Service provides incentives for the installation of solar panels. In addition to the Federal Residential Renewable energy credit, Massachusetts residents may be eligible for a tax credit of up to 15 percent of the project. Once installed, arrays are eligible for net metering. Certain municipalities will offer up to $1.20 per watt, up to 50 percent of the system's cost on PV arrays 25 kW or less. The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources also offered low-interest, fixed-rate financing with loan support for low-income residents until December 31, 2020.
As a part of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources' effort to incentivize the usage of renewable energy, the Massachusetts Offers Rebates for Electric Vehicles (MOR-EV) initiative was created. With this incentive, residents may qualify for a state-provided incentive of up to $2,500 for the purchase or lease of an electric vehicle, or $1,500 for the purchase or lease of a plug-in hybrid vehicle. This rebate is available in addition to the tax credits offered by the United States Department of Energy for the purchase of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
For income-eligible residents, Mass Save has partnered with Massachusetts Community Action Program Agencies and Low-Income Energy Affordability Network (LEAN) to offer residents assistance with upgrades to their homes that will result in more efficient energy usage. Residents may qualify for a replacement of their heating system, insulation installation, appliances, and thermostats if they meet the income qualifications provided on Mass Save's website. For residents of 5+ family residential buildings, there are additional income-restricted benefits available through LEAN. If at least 50 percent of the residents of the building qualify as low income, energy efficiency improvements like those available through Mass Save are available. Residential structures operated by non-profit organizations, for profit operations, or housing authorities may take advantage of these programs.
In late 2020, the administration of Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker released a decarbonization roadmap to aim for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The plan calls for major investments in offshore wind and solar energy. It would also require all new cars sold in the state to be zero-emissions (electric or hydrogen powered) by 2035.
== Demographics ==
At the 2020 U.S. census, Massachusetts had a population of over 7 million, a 7.4% increase since the 2010 United States census. As of 2015, Massachusetts was estimated to be the third-most densely populated U.S. state, with 871.0 people per square mile, behind New Jersey and Rhode Island. In 2014, Massachusetts had 1,011,811 foreign-born residents or 15% of the population. As of July 2024, the state's population was estimated to have grown to 7,136,171.
Most Massachusetts residents live within the Boston metropolitan area, also known as Greater Boston, which includes Boston and its proximate surroundings but also extending to Greater Lowell and to Worcester. The Springfield metropolitan area, also known as Greater Springfield, is also a major center of population. Demographically, the center of population of Massachusetts is located in the town of Natick.
Like the rest of the Northeastern United States, the population of Massachusetts has continued to grow in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Massachusetts is the fastest-growing state in New England and the 25th fastest-growing state in the United States. Population growth has been driven primarily by the relatively high quality of life and a large higher education system.
Foreign immigration is also a factor in the state's population growth, causing the state's population to continue to grow as of the 2010 census (particularly in Massachusetts gateway cities where costs of living are lower). Forty percent of foreign immigrants were from Central or South America, according to a 2005 Census Bureau study, with many of the remainder from Asia. Many residents who have settled in Greater Springfield claim Puerto Rican descent. Many areas of Massachusetts showed relatively stable population trends between 2000 and 2010. Exurban Boston and coastal areas grew the most rapidly, while Berkshire County in far Western Massachusetts and Barnstable County on Cape Cod were the only counties to lose population as of the 2010 census. In 2018, The top countries of origin for Massachusetts's immigrants were China, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, India and Haiti.
By sex, 48.4% were male, and 51.6% were female in 2014. In terms of age, 79.2% were over 18 and 14.8% were over 65.
According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 15,507 homeless people in Massachusetts.
=== Race and ancestry ===
The state's most populous ethnic group, non-Hispanic white, has declined from 95.4% in 1970 to 67.6% in 2020.
As of 2011, non-Hispanic whites were involved in 63.6% of all the births, while 36.4% of the population of Massachusetts younger than age 1 was minorities (at least one parent who was not non-Hispanic white). One major reason for this is that non-Hispanic whites in Massachusetts recorded a total fertility rate of 1.36 in 2017, the second-lowest in the country after neighboring Rhode Island.
As late as 1795, the population of Massachusetts was nearly 95% of English ancestry. During the early and mid-19th century, immigrant groups began arriving in Massachusetts in large numbers; first from Ireland in the 1840s; today the Irish and part-Irish are the largest ancestry group in the state at nearly 20% of the total population. Others arrived later from Quebec as well as places in Europe such as Italy, Portugal, and Poland. In the early 20th century, a large percentage of black immigrants were from the Caribbean island of Barbados, and mostly settled in Cambridge and Boston's South End. In the Great Migration of 1910 to 1970, African Americans migrated to Massachusetts, although in somewhat fewer numbers than many other northern states. Later in the 20th century, immigration from Latin America increased considerably. More than 156,000 Chinese Americans made their home in Massachusetts in 2014, and Boston hosts a growing Chinatown accommodating heavily traveled Chinese-owned bus lines to and from Chinatown, Manhattan in New York City. Massachusetts also has large Dominican, Puerto Rican, Haitian, Cape Verdean and Brazilian populations. Boston's South End and Jamaica Plain are both gay villages, as is nearby Provincetown, Massachusetts on Cape Cod.
The largest ancestry group in Massachusetts are the Irish, at 19% of the population, who live in significant numbers throughout the state but form more than 40% of the population along the South Shore in Norfolk and Plymouth counties. In both counties overall, Irish-Americans comprise around 25% of the population.
Italians form the second-largest ethnic group in the state (10.8%), but form a plurality in some suburbs north of Boston and in a few towns in the Berkshires. English Americans, the third-largest (9.2%) group, form a plurality in some western towns. French and French Canadians also form a significant part (7.2%), with sizable populations in Bristol, Hampden, and Worcester Counties, along with Middlesex county especially concentrated in the areas surrounding Lowell and Lawrence. Lowell is home to the second-largest Cambodian community of the nation. Massachusetts is home to a small community of Greek Americans as well, which according to the American Community Survey there are 61,234 of them scattered along the state (0.9% of the total state population). In Watertown, there is a significant minority population of Armenian Americans. There are also several populations of Native Americans in Massachusetts. The Wampanoag tribe maintains reservations at Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard and at Mashpee on Cape Cod—with an ongoing native language revival project underway since 1993, while the Nipmuc maintain two state-recognized reservations in the central part of the state, including one at Grafton.
Massachusetts has avoided many forms of racial strife seen elsewhere in the US, but examples such as the successful electoral showings of the nativist (mainly anti-Catholic) Know Nothings in the 1850s, the controversial Sacco and Vanzetti executions in the 1920s, and Boston's opposition to desegregation busing in the 1970s.
The US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race, and "NH" means "Non-Hispanic".
=== Languages ===
The most common varieties of American English spoken in Massachusetts, other than General American, are the cot-caught distinct, rhotic, western Massachusetts dialect and the cot-caught merged, non-rhotic, eastern Massachusetts dialect which is popularly known as a "Boston accent".
As of 2010, 78.93% (4,823,127) of Massachusetts residents 5 and older spoke English at home as a first language, while 7.50% (458,256) spoke Spanish, 2.97% (181,437) Portuguese, 1.59% (96,690) Chinese (which includes Cantonese and Mandarin), 1.11% (67,788) French, 0.89% (54,456) French Creole, 0.72% (43,798) Italian, 0.62% (37,865) Russian, and Vietnamese was spoken as a primary language by 0.58% (35,283) of the population over 5. In total, 21.07% (1,287,419) of Massachusetts's population 5 and older spoke a first language other than English.
=== Religion ===
Massachusetts was founded and settled by Brownist Puritans in 1620, and soon after by other groups of Separatists/Dissenters, Nonconformists and Independents from 17th century England. A majority of people in Massachusetts today remain Christians. The descendants of the Puritans belong to many different churches; in the direct line of inheritance are the various Congregational churches, the United Church of Christ and congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association. The headquarters of the Unitarian Universalist Association, long located on Beacon Hill, is now located in South Boston. Many Puritan descendants also dispersed to other Protestant denominations. Some disaffiliated along with Roman Catholics and other Christian groups in the wake of modern secularization.
As of the 2014 Pew study, Christians made up 57% of the state's population, with Protestants making up 21% of them. Roman Catholics made up 34% and now predominate because of massive immigration from primarily Catholic countries and regions—chiefly Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Quebec, and Latin America. Both Protestant and Roman Catholic communities have been in decline since the late 20th century, due to the rise of irreligion in New England. It is the most irreligious region of the country, along with the Western United States; for comparison and contrast however, in 2020, the Public Religion Research Institute determined 67% of the population were Christian reflecting a slight increase of religiosity. A significant Jewish population immigrated to the Boston and Springfield areas between 1880 and 1920. Jews make up 3% of the population. Mary Baker Eddy made the Boston Mother Church of Christian Science serve as the world headquarters of this new religious movement. Buddhists, Pagans, Hindus, Seventh-day Adventists, Muslims, and Mormons may also be found. The Satanic Temple has its headquarters in Salem. Kripalu Center in Stockbridge, the Shaolin Meditation Temple in Springfield, and the Insight Meditation Center in Barre are examples of non-Abrahamic religious centers in Massachusetts. According to 2010 data from The Association of Religion Data Archives, (ARDA) the largest single denominations are the Catholic Church with 2,940,199 adherents; the United Church of Christ with 86,639 adherents; and the Episcopal Church with 81,999 adherents.
In 2014, 32% of the population identified as having no religion; in a separate 2020 study, 23% of the population identified as irreligious, and 67% of the population identified as Christians (including 26% as white Protestants and 20% as white Catholics). As of 2022, a plurality of Massachusettsans were irreligious, and the state is considered to be a part of the Unchurched Belt.
=== Native American tribes ===
What became Massachusetts was originally inhabited by the Wampanoag, the Nipmuc, the Massachusett, the Pocumtuc, the Nauset, the Pennacook, and a few other tribes. Some of these tribes are still represented among the population of the state.
The largest Native American tribes in Massachusetts according to the 2010 census are listed in this table.
== Education ==
In 2018, Massachusetts's overall educational system was ranked the top among all fifty U.S. states by U.S. News & World Report. Massachusetts was the first state in North America to require municipalities to appoint a teacher or establish a grammar school with the passage of the Massachusetts Education Law of 1647, and 19th century reforms pushed by Horace Mann laid much of the groundwork for contemporary universal public education which was established in 1852. Massachusetts is home to the oldest school in continuous existence in North America (The Roxbury Latin School, founded in 1645), as well as the country's oldest public elementary school (The Mather School, founded in 1639), its oldest high school (Boston Latin School, founded in 1635), its oldest continuously operating boarding school (The Governor's Academy, founded in 1763), its oldest college (Harvard University, founded in 1636), and its oldest women's college (Mount Holyoke College, founded in 1837). Massachusetts is also home to the highest ranked private high school in the United States, Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, which was founded in 1778.
Massachusetts's per-student public expenditure for elementary and secondary schools was eighth in the nation in 2012, at $14,844. In 2013, Massachusetts scored highest of all the states in math and third-highest in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The state's public school students are in the top tier of global academic performance. In 2022, Massachusetts was first or second in the reading and mathematics average scores and proficiency percentages of the evaluated 4th and 8th graders.
Massachusetts hosts 121 institutions of higher education. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both located in Cambridge, consistently rank among the world's best private universities and universities in general. In addition to Harvard and MIT, several other Massachusetts universities rank in the top 50 at the undergraduate level nationally in the widely cited rankings of U.S. News & World Report: Tufts University (#27), Boston College (#32), Brandeis University (#34), Boston University (#37) and Northeastern University (#40). Massachusetts is also home to three of the top five U.S. News & World Report's best Liberal Arts Colleges: Williams College (#1), Amherst College (#2), and Wellesley College (#4). It is also home to the oldest Catholic liberal arts college, College of the Holy Cross (#33). Boston Architectural College is New England's largest private college of spatial design. The public University of Massachusetts (nicknamed UMass) features five campuses in the state, with its flagship campus in Amherst, which enrolls more than 25,000.
As of 2021, Massachusetts has the highest percentage of adults over the age of 25 with a bachelor's degree (46.62%) and a graduate degree (21.27%) of any state in the country.
== Economy ==
The United States Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that the Massachusetts gross state product in 2020 was $584 billion. The per capita personal income in 2012 was $53,221, making it the third-highest state in the nation. As of January 2023, Massachusetts state general minimum wage is $15.00 per hour while the minimum wage for tipped workers is $6.75 an hour, with a guarantee that employers will pay the difference should a tipped employee's hourly wage not meet or exceed the general minimum wage. These minimum wage levels came about in January 2023, as part of a series of minimum wage amendments passed in 2018 that saw the minimum wage increase slowly every January up to 2023. In 2025, 99.5% of businesses in the state were small businesses and employed 1.5 million people, or 44.7% of the state's work force.
In 2015, twelve Fortune 500 companies were located in Massachusetts: Liberty Mutual, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, TJX Companies, General Electric, Raytheon, American Tower, Global Partners, Thermo Fisher Scientific, State Street Corporation, Biogen, Eversource Energy, and Boston Scientific. CNBC's list of "Top States for Business for 2023" has recognized Massachusetts as the 15th-best state in the nation for business, and for the second year in a row in 2016 the state was ranked by Bloomberg as the most innovative state in America. According to a 2013 study by Phoenix Marketing International, Massachusetts had the sixth-largest number of millionaires per capita in the United States, with a ratio of 6.73 percent. Billionaires living in the state include past and present leaders (and related family) of local companies such as Fidelity Investments, New Balance, Kraft Group, Boston Scientific, and the former Continental Cablevision.
Massachusetts has three foreign-trade zones, the Massachusetts Port Authority of Boston, the Port of New Bedford, and the City of Holyoke. Boston-Logan International Airport is the busiest airport in New England, serving 33.4 million total passengers in 2015, and witnessing rapid growth in international air traffic since 2010.
Sectors vital to the Massachusetts economy include higher education, biotechnology, information technology, finance, health care, tourism, manufacturing, and defense. The Route 128 corridor and Greater Boston continue to be a major center for venture capital investment, and high technology remains an important sector. In recent years tourism has played an ever-important role in the state's economy, with Boston and Cape Cod being the leading destinations. Other popular tourist destinations include Salem, Plymouth, and the Berkshires. Massachusetts is the sixth-most popular tourist destination for foreign travelers. In 2010, the Great Places in Massachusetts Commission published '1,000 Great Places in Massachusetts' that identified 1,000 sites across the commonwealth to highlight the diverse historic, cultural, and natural attractions.
While manufacturing comprised less than 10% of Massachusetts's gross state product in 2016, the Commonwealth ranked 16th in the nation in total manufacturing output in the United States. This includes a diverse array of manufactured goods such as medical devices, paper goods, specialty chemicals and plastics, telecommunications and electronics equipment, and machined components.
The more than 33,000 nonprofits in Massachusetts employ one-sixth of the state's workforce. In 2007, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a state holiday, Nonprofit Awareness Day.
In February 2017, U.S. News & World Report ranked Massachusetts the best state in the United States based upon 60 metrics including healthcare, education, crime, infrastructure, opportunity, economy, and government. Massachusetts ranked number one in education, number two in healthcare, and number five in the handling of the economy.
As of May 2025, the unemployment rate in the state was 4.8%
=== Taxation ===
Depending on how it is calculated, state and local tax burden in Massachusetts has been estimated among U.S. states and Washington D.C. as 21st-highest (11.44% or $6,163 per year for a household with nationwide median income) or 25th-highest overall with below-average corporate taxes (39th-highest), above-average personal income taxes, (13th-highest), above-average sales tax (18th-highest), and below-average property taxes (46th-highest). In the 1970s, the Commonwealth ranked as a relatively high-tax state, gaining the pejorative nickname "Taxachusetts". This was followed by a round of tax limitations during the 1980s—a conservative period in American politics—including Proposition 2½.
As of January 1, 2020, Massachusetts has a flat-rate personal income tax of 5.00%, after a 2002 voter referendum to eventually lower the rate to 5.0% as amended by the legislature. There is a tax exemption for income below a threshold that varies from year to year. The corporate income tax rate is 8.8%, and the short-term capital gains tax rate is 12%. An unusual provision allows filers to voluntarily pay at the pre-referendum 5.85% income tax rate, which is done by between one and two thousand taxpayers per year.
The state imposes a 6.25% sales tax on retail sales of tangible personal property—except for groceries, clothing (up to $175.00), and periodicals. The sales tax is charged on clothing that costs more than $175.00, for the amount exceeding $175.00. Massachusetts also charges a use tax when goods are bought from other states and the vendor does not remit Massachusetts sales tax; taxpayers report and pay this on their income tax forms or dedicated forms, though there are "safe harbor" amounts that can be paid without tallying up actual purchases (except for purchases over $1,000). There is no inheritance tax and limited Massachusetts estate tax related to federal estate tax collection.
=== Energy ===
Massachusetts's electricity generation market was made competitive in 1998, enabling retail customers to change suppliers without changing utility companies. In 2018, Massachusetts consumed 1,459 trillion BTU, making it the seventh-lowest state in terms of consumption of energy per capita, and 31 percent of that energy came from natural gas. In 2014 and 2015, Massachusetts was ranked as the most energy efficient state the United States while Boston is the most efficient city, but it had the fourth-highest average residential retail electricity prices of any state. In 2018, renewable energy was about 7.2 percent of total energy consumed in the state, ranking 34th.
=== Agriculture ===
As of 2022, there were 7,083 farms in Massachusetts whose products sold had a market value of around $607 million. The farms encompassed a total of 464,451 acres (1,880 km2), averaging 66 acres (27 hectares) apiece. Greenhouse, floriculture, and sod products—including the ornamental market—make up more than one third of the state's agricultural output. Massachusetts is also the second highest domestic producer of cranberries. Sweet corn and apples are also produced in large quantities. Fruit cultivation is an important part of the state's agricultural revenues, and Massachusetts is the second-largest cranberry-producing state after Wisconsin.
== Transportation ==
For federal funding purposes, Massachusetts has 10 regional metropolitan planning organizations and three non-metropolitan planning organizations covering the remainder of the state; statewide planning is handled by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Transportation is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions by economic sector in Massachusetts.
=== Regional public transportation ===
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), also known as "The T", operates public transportation in the form of subway, bus, and ferry systems in the Metro Boston area.
Fifteen other regional transit authorities provide public transportation in the form of bus services in the rest of the state. Four heritage railways are also in operation:
The Cape Cod Central Railroad, operating from Hyannis to Buzzards Bay
The Berkshire Scenic Railway, operating from Lee to Great Barrington
Edaville Railroad in Carver
The Lowell National Historical Park Trolley Line in Lowell
=== Long-distance rail and bus ===
Amtrak operates several inter-city rail lines in Massachusetts. Boston's South Station serves as the terminus for three lines, namely the high-speed Acela Express, which links to cities such as Providence, New Haven, New York City, and eventually Washington DC; the Northeast Regional, which follows the same route but includes many more stops, and also continues further south to Newport News in Virginia; and the Lake Shore Limited, which runs westward to Worcester, Springfield, and eventually Chicago. Boston's other major station, North Station, serves as the southern terminus for Amtrak's Downeaster, which connects to Portland and Brunswick in Maine.
Outside of Boston, Amtrak connects several cities across Massachusetts, along the aforementioned Acela, Northeast Regional, Lake Shore Limited, and Downeaster lines, as well as other routes in central and western Massachusetts. The Amtrak Hartford Line connects Springfield to New Haven, operated in conjunction with the Connecticut Department of Transportation, and the Valley Flyer runs a similar route but continues further north to Greenfield. Several stations in western Massachusetts are also served by the Vermonter, which connects St. Albans, Vermont to Washington DC.
Amtrak carries more passengers between Boston and New York than all airlines combined (about 54% of market share in 2012), but service between other cities is less frequent. There, more frequent intercity service is provided by private bus carriers, with the largest being Peter Pan Bus Lines, Greyhound Lines, and FlixBus. Various Chinatown bus lines depart for New York from South Station in Boston.
MBTA Commuter Rail services run throughout the larger Greater Boston area, including service to Worcester, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Newburyport, Lowell, and Kingston. This overlaps with the service areas of neighboring regional transportation authorities. As of the summer of 2013 the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority in collaboration with the MBTA and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is operating the CapeFLYER providing passenger rail service between Boston and Cape Cod.
=== Ferry ===
Most ports north of Cape Cod are served by Boston Harbor Cruises, which operates ferry services in and around Greater Boston under contract with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Several routes connect the downtown area with Hingham, Hull, Winthrop, Salem, Logan Airport, Charlestown, and some of the islands located within the harbor. The same company also operates seasonal service between Boston and Provincetown.
On the southern shore of the state, several different passenger ferry lines connect Martha's Vineyard to ports along the mainland, including Woods Hole, Hyannis, New Bedford, and Falmouth, all in Massachusetts, as well as North Kingstown in Rhode Island, Highlands in New Jersey, and New York City in New York. Similarly, several different lines connect Nantucket to ports including Hyannis, New Bedford, Harwich, and New York City. Service between the two islands is also offered. The dominant companies serving these routes include The Steamship Authority, Hy-Line Cruises, and Seastreak, the former of which regulates all passenger services in the region and is also the only company permitted to offer freight ferry services to the islands.
Other ferry connections in the state include a water taxi connecting various points in Fall River, seasonal ferry service connecting Plymouth to Provincetown, and a service between New Bedford and Cuttyhunk.
=== Rail freight ===
As of 2018, a number of freight railroads were operating in Massachusetts, with Class I railroad CSX being the largest carrier, and another Class 1, Norfolk Southern serving the state via its Pan Am Southern joint partnership. Several regional and short line railroads also provide service and connect with other railroads. Massachusetts has a total of 1,110 miles (1,790 km) of freight trackage in operation.
=== Air service ===
Boston Logan International Airport served 33.5 million passengers in 2015 (up from 31.6 million in 2014) through 103 gates. Logan, Hanscom Field in Bedford, and Worcester Regional Airport are operated by Massport, an independent state transportation agency. Massachusetts has 39 public-use airfields and more than 200 private landing spots. Some airports receive funding from the Aeronautics Division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration; the FAA is also the primary regulator of Massachusetts air travel.
=== Roads ===
There are a total of 36,800 miles (59,200 km) of interstates and other highways in Massachusetts. Interstate 90 (I-90, also known as the Massachusetts Turnpike), is the longest interstate in Massachusetts. The route travels 136 mi (219 km) generally west to east, entering Massachusetts at the New York state line in the town of West Stockbridge, and passes just north of Springfield, just south of Worcester and through Framingham before terminating near Logan International Airport in Boston. Other major interstates include I-91, which travels generally north and south along the Connecticut River; I-93, which travels north and south through central Boston, then passes through Methuen before entering New Hampshire; and I-95, which connects Providence, Rhode Island with Greater Boston, forming a partial loop concurrent with Route 128 around the more urbanized areas before continuing north along the coast into New Hampshire.
I-495 forms a wide loop around the outer edge of Greater Boston. Other major interstates in Massachusetts include I-291, I-391, I-84, I-195, I-395, I-290, and I-190. Major non-interstate highways in Massachusetts include U.S. Routes 1, 3, 6, and 20, and state routes 2, 3, 9, 24, and 128. A great majority of interstates in Massachusetts were constructed during the mid-20th century, and at times were controversial, particularly the intent to route I-95 northeastwards from Providence, Rhode Island, directly through central Boston, first proposed in 1948. Opposition to continued construction grew, and in 1970 Governor Francis W. Sargent issued a general prohibition on most further freeway construction within the I-95/Route 128 loop in the Boston area. A massive undertaking to bring I-93 underground in downtown Boston, called the Big Dig, brought the city's highway system under public scrutiny for its high cost and construction quality.
== Government and politics ==
Massachusetts has a long political history; earlier political structures included the Mayflower Compact of 1620, the separate Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies, and the combined colonial Province of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Constitution was ratified in 1780 while the Revolutionary War was in progress, four years after the Articles of Confederation was drafted, and eight years before the present United States Constitution was ratified on June 21, 1788. Drafted by John Adams, the Massachusetts Constitution is the oldest functioning written constitution in continuous effect in the world. It has been amended 121 times, most recently in 2022.
Massachusetts politics since the second half of the 20th century have generally been dominated by the Democratic Party, and the state has a reputation for being the most liberal state in the country. In 1974, Elaine Noble became the first openly lesbian or gay candidate elected to a state legislature in US history. The state's 12th congressional district elected the first openly gay member of the United States House of Representatives, Gerry Studds, in 1972 and in 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex marriage. In 2006, Massachusetts became the first state to approve a law that provided for nearly universal healthcare. Massachusetts has a pro-sanctuary city law. As of 2024, Massachusetts has a Democratic Governor, two Democratic Senators, and all nine Congressional Representatives are Democrats. Massachusetts is a blue state; Ronald Reagan was the last Republican to win the state in 1984.
In a 2020 study, Massachusetts was ranked as the 11th easiest state for citizens to vote in.
=== Government ===
The Government of Massachusetts is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The governor of Massachusetts heads the executive branch, while legislative authority vests in a separate but coequal legislature. Meanwhile, judicial power is constitutionally guaranteed to the independent judicial branch.
==== Executive branch ====
As chief executive, the governor is responsible for signing or vetoing legislation, filling judicial and agency appointments, granting pardons, preparing an annual budget, and commanding the Massachusetts National Guard. Massachusetts governors, unlike those of most other states, are addressed as His/Her Excellency. The governor is Maura Healey and the incumbent lieutenant governor is Kim Driscoll. The governor conducts the affairs of state alongside a separate Governor's Council made up of the lieutenant governor and eight separately elected councilors. The council is charged by the state constitution with reviewing and confirming gubernatorial appointments and pardons, approving disbursements out of the state treasury, and certifying elections, among other duties.
Aside from the governor and Governor's Council, the executive branch also includes four independently elected constitutional officers: a secretary of the commonwealth, an attorney general, a state treasurer, and a state auditor. The commonwealth's incumbent constitutional officers are respectively William F. Galvin, Andrea Campbell, Deb Goldberg and Diana DiZoglio, all Democrats. In accordance with state statute, the secretary of the commonwealth administers elections, regulates lobbyists and the securities industry, registers corporations, serves as register of deeds for the entire state, and preserves public records as keeper of the state seal. Meanwhile, the attorney general provides legal services to state agencies, combats fraud and corruption, investigates and prosecutes crimes, and enforces consumer protection, environment, labor, and civil rights laws as Massachusetts chief lawyer and law enforcement officer. At the same time, the state treasurer manages the state's cash flow, debt, and investments as chief financial officer, whereas the state auditor conducts audits, investigations, and studies as chief audit executive in order to promote government accountability and transparency and improve state agency financial management, legal compliance, and performance.
==== Legislative branch ====
The Massachusetts House of Representatives and Massachusetts Senate comprise the legislature of Massachusetts, known as the Massachusetts General Court. The House consists of 160 members while the Senate has 40 members. Leaders of the House and Senate are chosen by the members of those bodies; the leader of the House is known as the Speaker while the leader of the Senate is known as the President. Each branch consists of several committees. Members of both bodies are elected to two-year terms.
==== Judicial branch ====
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (a chief justice and six associates) are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Governor's Council, as are all other judges in the state.
Federal court cases are heard in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and appeals are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
==== Federal representation ====
The congressional delegation from Massachusetts is entirely Democratic. The senators are Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey while the representatives are Richard Neal (1st), Jim McGovern (2nd), Lori Trahan (3rd), Jake Auchincloss (4th), Katherine Clark (5th), Seth Moulton (6th), Ayanna Pressley (7th), Stephen Lynch (8th), and Bill Keating (9th).
In U.S. presidential elections since 2012, Massachusetts has been allotted 11 votes in the electoral college, out of a total of 538. Like most states, Massachusetts's electoral votes are granted in a winner-take-all system.
=== Politics ===
Once a Republican-leaning state, for more than 70 years Massachusetts has been largely dominated by Democrats; the 1952 victory of John F. Kennedy over incumbent Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. is seen as a watershed moment in this transformation. His younger brother Edward M. Kennedy held that seat until his death from a brain tumor in 2009. Since the 1950s, Massachusetts has gained a reputation as being a politically liberal state and is often used as an archetype of modern liberalism, hence the phrase "Massachusetts liberal".
Massachusetts is one of the most Democratic states in the country. The Democratic Party predominates throughout, except for a handful of Republican-leaning towns in the central and southern parts of the state. Republicans once dominated in the northern and western suburbs of Boston; however, both areas heavily swung Democratic in the era of Donald Trump. The state as a whole has not given its Electoral College votes to a Republican in a presidential election since Ronald Reagan carried it in 1984, and not a single county has voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988. While supporting Reagan twice, Massachusetts provided his smallest margins of victory in both the 1980 and 1984 elections. Massachusetts had been the only state to vote for Democrat George McGovern in the 1972 presidential election. In 2020, Biden received 65.6% of the vote, the best performance in over 50 years for a Democrat.
Democrats have an absolute grip on the Massachusetts congressional delegation; there are no Republicans elected to serve at the federal level. Both Senators and all nine Representatives are Democrats; only one Republican (former Senator Scott Brown) has been elected to either house of Congress from Massachusetts since 1994. Massachusetts is the most populous state to be represented in the United States Congress entirely by a single party.
After the 2018 elections, the Democratic Party held a super-majority over the Republican Party in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court (state legislature). Out of the state house's 160 seats, Democrats hold 127 seats (79%) compared to the Republican Party's 32 seats (20%), an independent sits in the remaining one, and 37 out of the 40 seats in the state senate (92.5%) belong to the Democratic Party compared to the Republican Party's three seats (7.5%). Both houses of the legislature have had Democratic majorities since the 1950s.
Despite the state's general Democratic lean, Massachusetts has frequently elected Republicans as Governor: only two Democrats (Deval Patrick and Maura Healey) have won the governorship since 1991, and among gubernatorial election results from 2002 to 2022, Republican nominees garnered 48.4% of the vote compared to 45.7% for Democratic nominees. These have been considered to be among the most moderate Republican leaders in the nation; they have received higher net favorability ratings from the state's Democrats than Republicans.
A number of contemporary national political issues have been influenced by events in Massachusetts, such as the decision in 2003 by the state Supreme Judicial Court allowing same-sex marriage and a 2006 bill which mandated health insurance for all Massachusetts residents. In 2008, Massachusetts voters passed an initiative decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana. Voters in Massachusetts also approved a ballot measure in 2012 that legalized the medical use of marijuana. Following the approval of a ballot question endorsing legalization in 2016, Massachusetts began issuing licenses for the regulated sale of recreational marijuana in June 2018. The licensed sale of recreational marijuana became legal on July 1, 2018; however, the lack of state-approved testing facilities prevented the sale of any product for several weeks. However, in 2020, a ballot initiative to implement Ranked-Choice Voting failed, despite being championed by many progressives.
Massachusetts is one of the most pro-choice states in the Union. A 2014 Pew Research Center poll found that 74% of Massachusetts residents supported the right to an abortion in all/most cases, making Massachusetts the most pro-choice state in the United States.
In 2020, the state legislature overrode Governor Charlie Baker's veto of the ROE Act, a controversial law that codified existing abortion laws in case the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, dropped the age of parental consent for those seeking an abortion from 18 to 16, and legalized abortion after 24 weeks, if a fetus had fatal anomalies, or "to preserve the patient's physical or mental health."
The 2023 American Values Atlas by Public Religion Research Institute found that same-sex marriage is supported near-universally by Massachusettsans.
== Cities, towns, and counties ==
As of 2023, there are 292 towns and 59 cities in Massachusetts. Over time, many towns have voted to become cities; 14 municipalities still refer to themselves as "towns" even though they have a city form of government. (See Administrative divisions of Massachusetts § Form of government: city vs. town.) Massachusetts, along with the five other New England states, features the local governmental structure known as the New England town. In this structure, incorporated towns—as opposed to townships or counties—hold many of the responsibilities and powers of local government.
The fourteen counties of Massachusetts, moving roughly from west to east, are Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, Worcester, Middlesex, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket. Most of the county governments were abolished by the state of Massachusetts beginning in 1997 including Middlesex County, the largest county in the state by population. The voters of these now-defunct counties elect only Sheriffs and Registers of Deeds, who are part of the state government. Other counties have been reorganized, and a few still retain county councils.
Boston is the state capital in Massachusetts. The population of the city proper is 692,600, and Greater Boston, with a population of 4,873,019, is the 11th largest metropolitan area in the nation. Other cities with a population over 100,000 include Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, Cambridge, Brockton, Quincy, New Bedford, and Lynn. Plymouth is the largest municipality in the state by land area, followed by Middleborough.
== Culture ==
Massachusetts has contributed to American arts and culture. Drawing from its Native American and Yankee roots, along with later immigrant groups, Massachusetts has had several writers, artists, and musicians. It has major museums and important historical sites, and the state's history and heritage are celebrated by events and festivals.
Massachusetts became an early center of the Transcendentalist movement, which emphasized intuition, emotion, human individuality and a deeper connection with nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was born in Boston but spent much of his later life in Concord, largely created the philosophy with his 1836 work Nature, and continued to be a key figure in the movement for the remainder of his life. Emerson's friend, Henry David Thoreau, who was also involved in Transcendentalism, recorded his year spent alone in a small cabin at nearby Walden Pond in the 1854 work Walden; or, Life in the Woods.
Other famous authors and poets born or strongly associated with Massachusetts include Anne Bradstreet, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Edith Wharton, E.E. Cummings, Herman Melville, W.E.B. Du Bois, Sylvia Plath, Elizabeth Bishop, John Updike, Anne Sexton, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Helen Hunt Jackson, Khalil Gibran, Mary Higgins Clark, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, Jack Kerouac and Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as "Dr. Seuss". Famous painters from Massachusetts include Winslow Homer and Norman Rockwell; many of the latter's works are on display at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge.
Massachusetts is an important center for the performing arts. It has the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra in Barnstable, the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Tanglewood in western Massachusetts is a music venue that hosts the Tanglewood Music Festival and Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and is the annual host for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Other performing arts and theater organizations include the Boston Ballet, the Boston Lyric Opera, and the Lenox-based Shakespeare & Company. Massachusetts has produced musicians of many contemporary genres, such as the classic rock bands Aerosmith and Boston, the proto-punk band the Modern Lovers, the new wave band the Cars, and the alternative rock band Pixies. The state has also been the birthplace of the rock bands Staind, Godsmack, and Highly Suspect, since these bands all were formed in Massachusetts cities such Springfield, Lawrence, and Cape Cod respectively. Film events in the state include the Boston Film Festival, the Boston International Film Festival, and a number of smaller film festivals in various cities throughout Massachusetts.
Massachusetts has many museums and historical sites, including the Clark Art Institute, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, and the DeCordova contemporary art and sculpture museum in Lincoln, and the Maria Mitchell Association in Nantucket includes several observatories, museums, and an aquarium. Historically themed museums and sites such as the Springfield Armory National Historic Site in Springfield, Boston's Freedom Trail, and nearby Minute Man National Historical Park, both of which preserve many sites important during the American Revolution, the Lowell National Historical Park, which focuses on some of the earliest mills and canals of the Industrial Revolution in the US, the Black Heritage Trail in Boston, which includes important African-American and abolitionist sites in Boston, and the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park all showcase various periods of Massachusetts's history. Plymouth Rock, marks the disembarkation site of the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in December 1620.
Plimoth Patuxet Museums and Old Sturbridge Village are two open-air or "living" museums in Massachusetts, recreating life as it was in the 17th and early 19th centuries, respectively.
Boston's annual St. Patrick's Day parade and "Harborfest", a week-long Fourth of July celebration featuring a fireworks display and concert by the Boston Pops as well as a turnaround cruise in Boston Harbor by the USS Constitution, are popular events. The New England Summer Nationals, an auto show in Worcester, draws tens of thousands of attendees every year. The Boston Marathon is also a popular event in the state drawing more than 30,000 runners and tens of thousands of spectators annually.
Long-distance hiking trails in Massachusetts include the Appalachian Trail, the New England National Scenic Trail, the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail, the Midstate Trail, and the Bay Circuit Trail. Other outdoor recreational activities in Massachusetts include sailing and yachting, freshwater and deep-sea fishing, whale watching, downhill and cross-country skiing, and hunting.
Massachusetts is one of the states with the largest percentage of Catholics. It has many sanctuaries such as the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy (Stockbridge, Massachusetts).
== Media ==
There are two major television media markets located in Massachusetts. The Boston/Manchester market is the fifth-largest in the United States. The other market surrounds the Springfield area. WGBH-TV in Boston is a major public television station and produces national programs such as Nova, Frontline, and American Experience.
The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Springfield Republican, and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette are Massachusetts's largest daily newspapers. In addition, there are many community dailies and weeklies. The Associated Press maintains a bureau in Boston, and local news wire the State House News Service feeds coverage of state government to other Massachusetts media outlets. There are a number of major AM and FM stations which serve Massachusetts, along with many more regional and community-based stations. Some colleges and universities also operate campus television and radio stations, and print their own newspapers.
== Health ==
Massachusetts generally ranks highly among states in most health and disease prevention categories. In 2015, the United Health Foundation ranked the state as third-healthiest overall. Massachusetts has the most doctors per 100,000 residents (435.38), the second-lowest infant mortality rate (3.8), and the lowest percentage of uninsured residents (children as well as the total population). According to Business Insider, commonwealth residents have an average life expectancy of 80.41 years, the fifth-longest in the country. 36.1% of the population is overweight and 24.4% is obese, and Massachusetts ranks sixth-highest in the percentage of residents who are considered neither obese nor overweight (39.5%). Massachusetts also ranks above average in the prevalence of binge drinking, which is the 20th-highest in the country.
The nation's first Marine Hospital was erected by federal order in Boston in 1799. There are currently a total of 143 hospitals in the state. According to 2015 rankings by U.S. News & World Report, Massachusetts General Hospital is ranked in the top three in two health care specialties. Massachusetts General Hospital was founded in 1811 and serves as the largest teaching hospital for nearby Harvard University.
The state of Massachusetts is a center for medical education and research including Harvard affiliates Brigham and Women's Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Dana–Farber Cancer Institute as well as the New England Baptist Hospital, Tufts Medical Center, and Boston Medical Center which is the primary teaching hospital for Boston University. The University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School is located in Worcester. The Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences has two of its three campuses in Boston and Worcester.
== Sports ==
Massachusetts is home to five major league professional sports teams: eighteen-time NBA Champions Boston Celtics, nine-time World Series winners Boston Red Sox, six-time Stanley Cup winners Boston Bruins, six-time Super Bowl winners New England Patriots, and five-time MLS Cup finalists New England Revolution.
In the late 19th century, the Olympic sports of basketball and volleyball were invented in the Western Massachusetts cities of Springfield and Holyoke, respectively. The Basketball Hall of Fame is a major tourist destination in the City of Springfield and the Volleyball Hall of Fame is located in Holyoke. The American Hockey League (AHL), the NHL's development league, is headquartered in Springfield.
Several universities in Massachusetts are notable for their collegiate athletics. The state is home to two Division I FBS teams, Boston College of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and FBS Independent University of Massachusetts at Amherst. FCS play includes Harvard University, which competes in the famed Ivy League, and College of the Holy Cross of the Patriot League. Boston University, Northeastern University, UMASS Lowell, Stonehill College, and Merrimack College also participate in Division I athletics. Many other Massachusetts colleges compete in lower divisions such as Division III, where MIT, Tufts University, Amherst College, Williams College, and others field competitive teams.
Massachusetts is also the home of rowing events such as the Eastern Sprints on Lake Quinsigamond and the Head of the Charles Regatta. A number of major golf events have taken place in Massachusetts, including nine U.S. Opens and two Ryder Cups.
Massachusetts has produced several successful Olympians including Thomas Burke, James Connolly, and John Thomas (track and field); Butch Johnson (archery); Nancy Kerrigan (figure skating); Todd Richards (snowboarding); Albina Osipowich (swimming); Aly Raisman (gymnastics); Patrick Ewing (basketball); Stephen Nedoroscik (pommel horse); as well as Jim Craig, Mike Eruzione, Bill Cleary, Keith Tkachuk (ice hockey). |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Gallery_of_Canada | National Gallery of Canada | The National Gallery of Canada (French: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up 46,621 square metres (501,820 sq ft), with 12,400 square metres (133,000 sq ft) of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the largest art museums in North America by exhibition space.
The institution was established in 1880 at the Second Supreme Court of Canada building, and moved to the Victoria Memorial Museum building in 1911. In 1913, the Government of Canada passed the National Gallery Act, formally outlining the institution's mandate as a national art museum. The Gallery was moved to the Lorne Building in 1960.
In 1988, the Gallery was relocated to a new complex designed by Canadian-Israeli-American architect Moshe Safdie. The glass and granite building is on Sussex Drive, with a notable view of Canada's Parliament Buildings on Parliament Hill.
The Gallery's permanent collection includes more than 93,000 works by European, American, Asian, Canadian, and Indigenous artists. In addition to exhibiting works from its permanent collection, the Gallery also organizes and hosts a number of travelling exhibitions.
== History ==
The Gallery was first formed in 1880 by Canada's Governor General, John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll in conjunction with the establishment of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. In 1882, moved into its first home on Parliament Hill, housed in the Second Supreme Court of Canada building.
Eric Brown was named the first director in 1910. In 1911, the Gallery moved to the Victoria Memorial Museum building, sharing it with the National Museum of Natural Sciences. In 1913, the first National Gallery Act was passed, outlining the Gallery's mandate and resources. During the 1920s, the building was expanded. The art gallery was given four floors, and a separate entrance was created for the art museum. In addition, a firewall was built between the Natural Sciences Museum and the National Gallery. But, the Gallery was still in temporary space in the Victoria Memorial Museum building. Longterm plans were to move it to a new permanent location, with spaces dedicated to the viewing of art.
By the 1950s, the space in the Victoria Memorial Museum building had grown inadequate for the Gallery's collections. In 1952, the Gallery launched a design contest for architects to design a permanent home for the gallery. But the Gallery failed to garner support from the government of Louis St. Laurent, resulting in the Gallery having to abandon the winning bid.
To provide a workable compromise for the National Gallery, St. Laurent's government offered the National Gallery the eight-storey Lorne Building for its use. The National Gallery moved into the nondescript office building on Elgin Street. The Lorne Building has since been demolished and replaced by a 17-storey office building to house the Federal Finance Department.
In 1962, Charles Comfort, the Gallery's director, was criticized after half of the works on display at an exhibition for Walter Chrysler's European works were exposed as forgeries by American journalists. Comfort had allowed the Gallery to host the exhibition, despite being warned about the works by the director of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
The National Museums of Canada Corporation (NMC) absorbed the National Gallery of Canada in 1968. During the 1970s, the NMC diverted funds from the National Gallery to form regional galleries. The Gallery completed renovations to the Lorne Building in 1976. By 1980, it had become apparent that the National Gallery would need to relocate, given the poor condition of the building, historical use of asbestos there, and inadequate exhibition areas that provided only enough space for two per cent of the collection to be exhibited at any given time.
After the Canada's Constitution was patriated in 1982, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announced a shift in policy focus towards the "creation of a nation," with priority given to the arts in an effort to enrich Canadian identity. In that same year, Minister of Communications Francis Fox declared the government's commitment to erect new permanent buildings for its national museums, including the National Gallery, and the Museum of Man within five years. The director of the National Gallery, Jean Sutherland Boggs, was chosen by Trudeau to oversee construction of the National Gallery and museums. The Gallery began construction for its permanent museum building on Sussex Drive in 1985, and was opened in May 1988.
The diversion of funds by the NMC to help fund regional museums was ended in 1982, and the National Museums of Canada formally dissolved in 1987. As a result of this dissolution, the National Gallery reacquired its institutional independence, along with the mandate and powers outlined in its formative legislative act prior to 1968.
The Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (CMCP), formerly the Stills Photography Division of the National Film Board of Canada, was an affiliated institution of the National Gallery, and was established in 1985. In 1988, the CMCP's administration was amalgamated with that of the National Gallery's. The CMCP later moved to its new location at 1 Rideau Canal, and continued to operate there until its closure in 2006. Its collection was later absorbed into the National Gallery's in 2009.
In December 2000, the National Gallery announced it suspected approximately 100 works from its collection was plunder stolen by the Nazis during the Second World War. The Gallery posted images of works suspected of being stolen art online, permitting its last legal owners to examine and possibly lay claim to the works. In 2006, the Gallery returned a painting by Édouard Vuillard that had been looted by the Nazis from Alfred Lindon in 1942, The Salon of Madame Aron, to Lindon's heirs.
In December 2009, the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Alberta issued a joint press release announcing a three-year partnership, which saw the use of the Art Gallery of Alberta's galleries to exhibit works from the National Gallery's collection. The program was the first "satellite program" between the National Gallery of Canada, and another institution, with similar initiatives launched at other Canadian art galleries in the following years.
Marc Mayer was named the Gallery's director, succeeding Pierre Théberge, on 19 January 2009. On 19 April 2019, he was succeeded by Alexandra Suda, who was appointed the 11th Director and chief executive officer of the National Gallery of Canada. Under Sasha Suda, the Gallery underwent a major re-branding, dubbed Ankosé, to be more inclusive and work towards reconciliation. After only three years, Suda resigned. Angela Cassie was then appointed interim Director and CEO in July 2022. In 2023, Jean-François Bélisle was appointed the 12th director and chief executive officer.
== Building ==
The Gallery's present building was designed by Moshe Safdie & Associates, with construction beginning in 1985, and the building opening in 1988. The building has a total floor area of 46,621 square metres (501,820 sq ft). In 2000, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada chose the National Gallery as one of the top 500 buildings produced in Canada during the last millennium. The National Gallery of Canada is housed in a building on Sussex Drive, adjacent to the ByWard Market district. The building is the fourth edifice to house the art museum.
An independent Crown corporation, the Canadian Museums Construction Corporation was established to build the Gallery, with a budget of C$185 million. Following the 1984 Canadian federal election, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney dissolved the corporation. However, because the groundwork for the building was already completed, Mulroney chose to continue funding construction for the Gallery, albeit at a reduced total budget of C$162 million.
=== Exterior ===
The building's northern, eastern, and western exterior facade is made up of pink-granite walls, or glass-windows. The southern exterior facade features an elongated glass wall, supported by concrete pylons grouped in fours. The profile of the southern facade was designed to mimic a cathedral, with the concrete pylons being used similarly to the flying buttresses found on Gothic cathedrals. The eastern portion of the building's southern facade transitions into a low-levelled crystalline glass cupola, which holds the museum's main entrance; and its western portion, which features a three-tiered glass cupola.
The three-tiered glass cupola is formed out of rectangular glass and narrow steel supports. The second tier of the cupola is formed out of rectangles and equilateral triangles that are further subdivided into eight or twelve smaller equilateral triangles. All these glass pieces are joined by steel struts. The third tier of the cupola is formed with similar designs, although the triangular glass panes are isosceles triangles. The isosceles triangles converge upwards, with its apexes towards the centre. The building's three-tiered cupola is positioned in a manner in which the cupola would be flanked by the Peace Tower and the Library of Parliament to the west when approaching the museum from the east.
=== Interior ===
The interior entrance lobby is floored with pink-granite, and includes a straight four metres (13 ft) wide ramp which slopes upward towards the west. Safdie noted the importance of the ramp in his design, stating that one should "go through some kind of procession to make your way into something as important as the National Gallery," and that it gave the visitor the feeling of making an ascent to a ritual, a ceremony. The walls of the entrance lobby are lined with rectangular cut pink granite, excluding the southern wall, which is part of the glass-walled exterior facade. A glass and steel ceiling reminiscent of Gothic cathedral architecture, extends the entire way of the ramp. However, as opposed to most Gothic cathedrals, the ceiling has several concrete columns spaced out to support the roof. The summit of the ramp leads towards the Great Hall of the building, situated in the three-storey glass cupola.
The interior courtyard of the building includes the Taiga Garden. The garden was designed by Cornelia Oberlander, who modelled the painting Terre Sauvage by A. Y. Jackson; a painting in the National Gallery's permanent collection. The garden attempts to mimic the taiga landscape depicted in the painting, the Canadian Shield; although limestone is substituted in place of the granite typically found at the Canadian Shield.
== Collection ==
As of October 2018, the National Gallery of Canada's permanent collection holds more than 93,625 works, representing several artistic movements and eras in art history. The Gallery has a large and varied collection of paintings, works on paper, sculptures and photographs. The earliest works acquired by the museum were from Canadian artists, with Canadian art remaining the focus of the institution. However, its collection also includes several works from artists around the world. The Gallery's collection has been built up through purchases and donations. The Gallery organizes its own travelling exhibitions to exhibit its collection, travelling across Canada and abroad. The National Gallery is the largest lender of art in Canada, sending out approximately 800 works a year.
The Gallery's prints and drawings collection includes 27,000 works on paper, dating from the 15th century to the present day. The prints and drawing collection includes 10,000 works on paper by Canadian artists; more than 800 of these prints and drawings being crafted by Inuit artists. The prints and drawing collection also includes 2,500 drawings and 10,000 prints by American, Asian, and European artists.
The Gallery also has approximately 400 works from Asian artists, dating from 200 CE to the 19th century. The Gallery's Asian collection began in the early 20th century, with a number of works originating from the collection of Nasli Heeramaneck. The Gallery also has a collection of photographs. A number of the photographs in the collection originated from the defunct Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography.
Until the mid-1980s, the Gallery's mandate did not include collecting art by Indigenous peoples. This has been much critiqued, and led to important changes at the Gallery from the 1980s onwards. Despite a major re-hang in 2003 of the Canadian galleries to include Indigenous art for the first time, the Gallery continues to work towards more equitable representation of Indigenous art, particularly in its historical galleries.
The largest work in the Gallery is the entire interior of the Rideau Street Chapel, which formed part of the Convent of Our Lady Sacred Heart, The interior decorations of the Rideau Street Chapel were designed by Georges Couillon in 1887. The chapel interior was acquired by the Gallery in 1972, when the convent was slated for demolition. The 1,123-piece interior was dismantled, stored and reconstructed within the Gallery as a work of art in 1988.
=== Canadian and Indigenous works ===
The Gallery's Canadian collection includes works dating from the 18th century New France, to the 1990s. The collection includes paintings from pre-Confederation; abstract paintings and other postwar art; and the Henry Birks Collection of Canadian Silver. Early pre-Confederation paintings were among the first items in the Canadian collections, with the National Gallery's earliest works originating from Canadian artists at the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
The Gallery's Canadian collection holds a large number of works by the Group of Seven. The Gallery also holds a large collection of works by Tom Thomson, with The Jack Pine added to its collection in 1918. The Gallery also holds the largest collection of works by Alex Colville. Other artists featured in the collection include William Berczy, Jack Bush, Paul-Émile Borduas, Emily Carr, Robert Field, Vera Frenkel, Theophile Hamel, Joseph Légaré, Cornelius Krieghoff, Fernand Leduc, Alexandra Luke, Ken Lum, James Wilson Morrice, John O'Brien, Antoine Plamondon, William Raphael, Jean-Paul Riopelle, William Ronald, Michael Snow, Lisa Steele, Jeff Wall, Joyce Wieland, Paul Wong, and members of the Regina Five.
In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Canada in 2017, the Gallery undertook a C$7.4 million renovation to open the Canadian and Indigenous Art: From Time Immemorial to 1967 gallery. This gallery displays the progression of Canadian art and history, exhibiting Canadian and Indigenous works side by side. These works are exhibited in a manner which examines the intertwined relations between the two groups of people.
The Indigenous collection includes works by Indigenous artists around the world, although it has an emphasis on works by the Indigenous peoples of Canada. The Gallery collection acquired its first works by First Nations and Metis artists in the early 20th century. However, the makers of these works were often not acknowledged as Indigenous, because the Gallery's mandate did not include the collection of art by Indigenous peoples until the 1980s. The Gallery acquired its first Inuit works in 1956, crafted by artists in Nunavik. The Gallery's acquisition of Inuit works, at a time when it was not actively collecting art by other Indigenous peoples, is related to the Government's promotion of Inuit art to create jobs in the North and to assert Canadian sovereignty there. In 1979, Henry Birks bequeathed a large collection to NGC consisting primarily of Quebecois pre-confederation silver; this bequest of more than 12,000 objects included around 16 works by Indigenous artists. In 1989 and 1992, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development bequeathed 570 works by Inuit artists.
A number of Indigenous artists whose works are featured in the collection include Kenojuak Ashevak, Kiugak Ashoona, Qaqaq Ashoona, Carl Beam, Faye HeavyShield, Osuitok Ipeelee, Rita Letendre, Norval Morrisseau, Shelley Niro, David Ruben Piqtoukun, Abraham Anghik Ruben, Lucy Tasseor Tutsweetok, Jeffrey Thomas, John Tiktak, and Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun.
=== Contemporary ===
The Gallery's contemporary collection includes 1,500 works from artists since the 1990s. The collection features a number of works from Canada and its Indigenous artists. The first Indigenous Canadian contemporary artwork acquired by the National Gallery was purchased in 1987, a piece called The North American Iceberg (1985) by Ojibwe artist Carl Beam. In 2017, Bob Rennie donated a contemporary art collection to the National Gallery in honour of Canada' 150th anniversary. The collection includes 197 paintings, sculptures, and mixed-media pieces with most of it originating from Vancouver-based artists including Geoffrey Farmer, Rodney Graham, Brian Jungen, and Ian Wallace. The Rennie collection also includes some international contemporary works, including from Doris Salcedo.
In 1990 the Gallery bought Barnett Newman's Voice of Fire for $1.8 million, igniting a storm of controversy. However, since that time its value has appreciated to approximately C$40 million as of 2014. In 1999, the Gallery acquired a sculpture of a giant spider, Maman, by Louise Bourgeois for a cost of C$3.2 million. The sculpture was installed on the plaza in front of the Gallery. In 2011 the Gallery installed Canadian sculptor Joe Fafard's Running Horses next to the Sussex Drive entrance, and American artist Roxy Paine's stainless steel sculpture One Hundred Foot Line at Kìwekì Point behind the gallery. Other contemporary artists whose works are featured in the National Gallery's collection include David Altmejd, Lee Bul, Janet Cardiff, Bharti Kher, Christian Marclay, Elizabeth McIntosh, Chris Ofili, Paine, Ugo Rondinone, and Joanne Tod.
=== European, American, and Asian ===
The European, American, and Asian collection area includes most of the Gallery's works by non-Canadian artists. The Gallery acquired its first European work in 1907: the painting Ignatius Sancho by Thomas Gainsborough. Conversely, the Gallery did not begin to develop its collection of American art until the 1970s.
The Gallery's collection includes American and European works dating from the Renaissance through the 20th century. In addition to Western art, the collection also has 400 works from India, Nepal, and Tibet.
The Gallery's European collection has since expanded either through acquisitions or gifts. Such works include La Tour Eiffel by Marc Chagall, acquired by the Gallery in 1956 for $C16,000. In 2018, the Gallery planned to sell the work to fund other acquisitions, but abandoned those plans after the decision was found to be unpopular with the public. In 2005, the Gallery acquired a painting by Italian Renaissance painter Francesco Salviati for $4.5 million. In 2018, the Gallery acquired The Partie Carée by James Tissot from the collection of David R. Graham, putting it on display in December 2018. It is the third work by Tissot to be acquired by the museum since 1921. Other works from the collection include The Death of General Wolfe by Anglo-American artist Benjamin West. Other artists featured in the museum's European collection includes Alejo Fernández, Vilhelm Hammershøi, Gustav Klimt, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Henri Matisse, Charles Meynier, Claude Monet, Rembrandt, and Vincent van Gogh.
== Library and archives ==
The library and archives of the National Gallery of Canada hold an extensive collection of literature on Canadian art. The library and archives was established alongside the Gallery in 1880, and contains documents on western art from the Late Middle Ages to the present day. The collection includes 275,000 books, exhibition catalogues, and periodicals; 76,000 documentation files; and 95,000 microforms. The archives serves as the institutional archive for the Gallery.
The library and archives' special collections includes over 50,000 auction catalogues, in addition to 182,000 slides and 360,000 research photographs. The Library and Archives' Exceptional Materials and Notable Subject Collections contains a number of rare imprints, books, and bookplates on Canadian artists, as well as items relating to historians of Canadian art.
== Management ==
The federal government assumed responsibility for the Gallery in 1913, with the enactment of the National Gallery of Canada Act. The Gallery became a Crown corporation on 1 July 1990 with the proclamation of the Museums Act. The Museums Act serves as the museum's governing legislation. It empowers a board of trustees to serve as the Gallery's governing body, with the board, through the Chair, being accountable to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, who is ultimately responsible for the Museum. The Director and CEO is charged with the day-to-day management of the Gallery.
The Gallery is affiliated with several associations, including the Canadian Museums Association, the Ontario Association of Art Galleries, the Canadian Heritage Information Network, and the Virtual Museum of Canada.
=== Directors ===
The following is a list of directors of the National Gallery of Canada:
== Selected works ==
=== Canadian collection ===
=== European and American collection ===
=== Prints and drawings collection === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BryanStars | BryanStars | Bryan Odell (born May 22, 1990), better known by his online alias BryanStars, is an American former music interviewer, YouTube personality, musician, and artist manager. He is best known for his BryanStars Interviews series, where he interviews with popular artists in the alternative scene, including Black Veil Brides, Asking Alexandria, and Falling in Reverse.
== Early life ==
Odell was born on May 22, 1990, in Japan, where he resided until he was eight years old. His family later relocated to Dallas, Texas, and then again to Nebraska when he was a teenager. He attended Lincoln East High School, where he graduated in 2008. In his senior year, his short film Energy Crisis in America, highlighting rising gas prices, won third place in the high school section of the StudentCam competition, hosted by C-SPAN.
He attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for two years, majoring in Broadcast Journalism. While in university, he did an internship where he would interview professional bands for a local television station.
Odell chose to drop out of university to focus his attention on his YouTube channel "BryanStars" after winning YouTube NextUp in 2011. Through the NextUp contest, YouTube aimed to foster creators on its platform. Odell and 25 other YouTubers received a $35,000 grant for their channel and a multi-day workshop in New York City with professional online bloggers. At the time, he had about 55,000 subscribers.
== YouTube career ==
Odell is best known for his BryanStars Interviews, series on his YouTube channel, BryanStars. He primarily publishes interviews and music videos from bands of the rock and heavy metal scene.
During his career, Odell interviewed artists including Asking Alexandria, Blood On The Dance Floor, Millionaires, Never Shout Never, Motionless In White, Pierce the Veil, Black Veil Brides, All Time Low, Sleeping with Sirens, The Ready Set, One Ok Rock, Panic! at the Disco, Twenty One Pilots, Avenged Sevenfold, Her Bright Skies, Escape the Fate, Suicide Silence, Disturbed, Creed, Hollywood Undead, Korn, Three Days Grace, Bullet For My Valentine, Cannibal Corpse, Chevelle, and Slipknot, as well as artists like Rob Zombie, Papa Roach, Cody Simpson, G-Eazy, Mitchel Musso and winners of American Idol. Odell has also interviewed record producer Matt Good and YouTube stars Shane Dawson, Michael Buckley and Dave Days. He has published more than 1000 band interviews and music videos to his YouTube Channel.
In 2013, BryanStars Interviews was voted by music fans as the "Best Music Blog" in the Alternative Press Reader's Choice Poll 2013. BryanStars Interviews was nominated for a Shorty Award for "Best Web Show" in 2014 along with Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. In 2014, retailer Journeys produced "This Is My Journey" segment about Odell that played in stores nationwide.
=== Never Shout Never incident ===
On June 3, 2012, Never Shout Never was interviewed by Odell in an interview that was being covered by The New York Times. Never Shout Never lead vocalist Christofer Drew Ingle was aware of The New York Times coverage of the interview. About halfway through the interview, Ingle cut Odell off, denouncing his show as "a joke" and his questions as "bullshit" with bassist Taylor MacFee also taking Odell's interview question papers from him, throwing them on the floor, and finding his questions to be annoying and irrelevant. As a result, the band abruptly ended the interview, leaving Odell in tears.
An outpour of support for Odell resulted from the incident. Numerous musicians such as Kellin Quinn of Sleeping with Sirens, Chris Fronzak of Attila, and Andy Biersack of Black Veil Brides came to Odell's defense. In a Stickam broadcast, Ingle expressed remorse for making Odell cry, later admitting that he had taken acid earlier the day of the interview.
In 2024, Sergio Pereira of Grunge included the incident in his list of "Rock Stars Who Ditched Awkward Interviews".
=== Warped YouTube Program ===
In 2014, Odell was picked to be one of the "Warped YouTubers" with Damon Fizzy (also calling himself DeeFizzy), Johnnie Guilbert, CYR and Piddleass. The following year, Kevin Lyman (creator of Warped Tour) made Odell the official host of the tour. Odell worked with Warped Tour through 2015 as their official host on all social media, announcing over 100 bands for the tour.
Odell taught a class on the 2015 Vans Warped Tour called "YouTube 101" where he taught aspiring YouTubers how to pursue a career in social media.
=== My Digital Escape ===
Odell then founded "My Digital Escape," a collaborative project and YouTube channel featuring numerous smaller creators who shared a similar passion for music. While an active creator in My Digital Escape (MDE), Odell served as manager of the project as well. The channel stopped uploading in May 2016. The channel reached 800,000 subscribers and 100 million views. The channel prominently featured Odell, Johnnie Guilbert, Shannon Taylor (HeyThereImShannon), Luke Wale, Kyle David Hall, Alex Dorame, and Jordan Sweeto. In 2016, My Digital Escape went on tour across the United States and visited 21 cities.
== Musical endeavors ==
In 2016, Odell went into the studio with ZK Studios to record his debut EP. On March 21, 2016, BryanStars announced the release of a 5-track EP entitled "Follow Your Dreams". It was released on April 1, 2016, and charted on Billboard at #22 on the Alternative New Artist Album Chart, #59 on the New Artist Album Chart and #128 on the Indie Albums Chart.
BryanStars also collaborated with Social Repose on a cover of Bring Me The Horizon's "Follow You".
In November 2016, Odell announced that he would be releasing a second EP titled the "Picture Perfect EP". It was released on December 4, 2016.
=== BryanStars Tour ===
In 2012, Odell started the "BryanStars Tour", which toured throughout the United States. Odell created three BryanStars Tours from 2012 to 2013.
== Personal life ==
Odell revealed his homosexuality on his YouTube channel in 2017. After considerable controversy later that same year due to being accused of covering up for convicted sex offender Austin Jones, Odell stepped back from his social media ventures, specifically his YouTube channels. He has not been active on any of his YouTube channels or social media since.
== Awards and recognition ==
2011: YouTube NextUp
2013: Alternative Press Magazine — "Best Music Blog"
2014: Shorty Award for "Best Web Show" — Nominated
== Discography ==
=== Extended plays ===
=== Singles === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnum_P.I._(2018_TV_series) | Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series) | Magnum P.I. is an American action television series developed by Peter M. Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim. It stars Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum, the titular private investigator and former Navy SEAL who solves crimes in Hawaii. It is a reboot of the 1980–88 television series of the same name created by Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson. The series co-stars Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, Stephen Hill, Amy Hill, and Tim Kang.
It was ordered to series in May 2018, and premiered on September 24, 2018, on CBS. On October 19, 2018, it was announced that the series had received a full season order from CBS. In April 2021, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on October 1, 2021. Despite being a Top 25 show in viewers, in May 2022, the series was canceled after four seasons, following CBS's failure to reach a new agreement with rights holders CBS Studios and Universal Television. On June 30, 2022, the series was picked up by NBC with a two-season, twenty-episode order, later clarified to be produced and broadcast as a two-part fifth season. The fifth season premiered on February 19, 2023. In June 2023, it was announced that the fifth season would be the final season. The series ended on January 3, 2024.
Magnum P.I. takes place in the same fictional universe as two other series, both also developed by Lenkov and both also reboots of earlier crime shows: Hawaii Five-0 and MacGyver. The three shows have been collectively referred to as the "Lenkov-verse". Initially, the series aired on Monday nights at 9:00 p.m., but aired its latter three CBS seasons on Friday nights in the same timeslot, immediately followed by Blue Bloods starring Tom Selleck, who portrayed the title character from the original series.
== Premise ==
Similar to the original series, Magnum P.I. revolves around the titular ex-United States Navy SEAL, Thomas Magnum, who occupies the guest house on Robin's Nest, the Hawaiian Estate owned by famous author Robin Masters. In exchange for allowing Magnum to live in his guest house, Masters writes a fictional book series about a "white knight" centered around Magnum's time in the military. In addition, Magnum works for Masters as a security consultant; despite this, Masters never appears in the series. Also living on the estate are Juliet Higgins, an ex-MI6 agent who serves as the estate's majordomo, and native Hawaiian Kumu Tuileta, who is the estate's cultural curator. Magnum's living arrangement gives him access to the guest house and Masters' Ferrari 488 Spider but does not come with a salary, so he solves crimes as a private investigator. His investigations often include Higgins, who officially joins him as his partner in the second season. The two are frequently assisted by ex-United States Marines, Orville "Rick" Wright and Theodore "T.C." Calvin. Rick is now a bar owner, while T.C. is a pilot whose main business is running helicopter tours of the islands. Gordon Katsumoto is a detective for the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) who frequently disagrees with Magnum's investigative methods, but nonetheless respects his crime-solving expertise.
Despite both having serious relationships throughout the first four seasons, Magnum and Higgins often share sexual tension with each other, which is finally addressed in the fourth season finale. Rick also finds himself in a serious relationship in the latter half of the series, leading to his girlfriend giving birth to their child. Meanwhile, the divorced Katsumoto often faces trouble with his son, and T.C. becomes a father figure to a homeless teenager in the fourth season.
The show shares a direct fictional universe with Hawaii Five-0. The six main characters of Magnum P.I. share many allies with the Five-0 Task Force, including further law enforcement professionals, confidential informants, and city employees.
== Cast ==
=== Main ===
Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum, an ex-US Navy SEAL who is a security consultant and private investigator
Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins, an ex-MI6 agent who is majordomo of Robin Masters' estate and Magnum's investigative partner
Zachary Knighton as Orville "Rick" Wright, a retired Marine Sergeant who runs his own tiki bar
Stephen Hill as Theodore "T.C." Calvin, a retired Marine Major and pilot who runs helicopter tours of Hawaii
Amy Hill as Teuila "Kumu" Tuileta, the curator for the cultural center on Masters' estate
Tim Kang as Gordon Katsumoto, a Honolulu Police Department detective
=== Recurring ===
James Remar as Captain Buck Greene (seasons 2 and 5; guest season 1)
Domenick Lombardozzi as Sebastian Nuzo (season 1; guest seasons 2 and 4)
Corbin Bernsen as Francis "Icepick" Hofstetler (seasons 1–3)
Christopher Thornton as Kenny "Shammy" Shamberg
Bobby Lee as Jin Jeong (seasons 2–5)
Betsy Phillips as Suzy Madison (season 3; guest seasons 2, 4 and 5)
Jay Ali as Dr. Ethan Shah (season 3; guest season 4)
Lance Lim as Dennis Katsumoto (season 3; guest seasons 4–5)
Chantal Thuy as HPD Detective Lia Kaleo (season 4)
Martin Martinez as Cade Jensen (seasons 4-5)
Michael Delara as Gabriel Santos/M.E. Tech (season 4)
Michael Rady as HPD Detective Chris Childs (season 5)
Emily Alabi as Mahina (seasons 4-5)
Rayan Lawrence as Neil (season 4)
=== Crossover characters from Hawaii Five-0 ===
Kimee Balmilero as medical examiner Noelani Cunha (seasons 1–3)
Taylor Wily as entrepreneur Kamekona Tupuola (seasons 1–2)
Dennis Chun as HPD Sergeant Duke Lukela
Shawn Mokuahi Garnett as Flippa (seasons 2–3)
Kala Alexander as Kawika (season 1)
Larry Manetti as Nicky "The Kid" DeMarco (season 2 and 5)
William Forsythe as Private Investigator Harry Brown (season 2)
Willie Garson as Gerard Hirsch (season 2)
Beulah Koale as Officer Junior Reigns (season 2)
Meaghan Rath as Officer Tani Rey (season 2)
Katrina Law as Sergeant Quinn Liu (season 2)
Ian Anthony Dale as Officer Adam Noshimuri (season 2)
== Episodes ==
== Production ==
=== Development ===
In October 2017, CBS announced development of a reboot of Magnum, P.I. from Peter M. Lenkov, who also developed the 2010 reboot of Hawaii Five-O and the 2016 reboot of MacGyver. The network ordered a pilot production commitment for the series with Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim, a Hawaii Five-0 writer and co-showrunner, as developers. John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment were reported as additional executive producers. CBS Television Studios and Universal Television co-produced the series. Danielle Woodrow was also later announced to be serving as an executive producer. The series was initially picked up by CBS for thirteen episodes, and an additional seven episodes were later ordered. On January 25, 2019, Magnum P.I. was renewed for a second season along with two other CBS freshman series. Lenkov returned for the second season as an executive producer and co-showrunner after signing a three-year deal with CBS Television Studios in 2018. Guggenheim also returned as executive producer and co-showrunner. It was later revealed that the second season would consist of twenty episodes.
On May 6, 2020, CBS renewed the series for a third season, along with eighteen other television shows. In July 2020, it was revealed that Lenkov would not have any involvement in the third season after being fired from CBS over toxic work environment allegations. He was originally expected to continue work on the series throughout the season as part of the previously signed deal. Lucas Till who portrays the title character of Angus MacGyver on MacGyver stated that Lenkov made him suicidal and constantly body shamed him. Lenkov's lawyers initially denied all allegations. Lenkov later responded to the situation by stating "It's difficult to hear that the working environment I ran was not the working environment my colleagues deserved, and for that, I am deeply sorry. I accept responsibility for what I am hearing and am committed to doing the work that is required to do better and be better." Lenkov still received writing credits for various episodes throughout the season written prior to his termination. Gene Hong replaced Lenkov as co-showrunner joining Guggenheim who continued working on the series. In October 2020 it was reported that the third season would have a reduced episode order of sixteen episodes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 15, 2021, CBS renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on October 1, 2021.
=== Casting ===
On February 20, 2018, it was announced that Jay Hernandez had been cast as Thomas Magnum, who was portrayed by Tom Selleck in the original series. Perdita Weeks was cast as Juliet Higgins on March 2, 2018. The character of Higgins was genderswapped, from their 1980 counterpart Jonathan Higgins. Lenkov and Guggenheim stated that while they wanted to honour the original show it was important for the reboot to "stand on its own" and genderswapping allowed for differentiation. Zachary Knighton and Stephen Hill were later cast as Orville "Rick" Wright and Theodore "T.C." Calvin, respectively. Tim Kang and Amy Hill were the last two to be cast in the series, as Detective Gordon Katsumoto and Kumu, respectively.
Kimee Balmilero, Taylor Wily, and Dennis Chun all appeared as their Hawaii Five-0 characters throughout the first season. Chun guest starred on the original Magnum, P.I. as various minor characters throughout its run. Domenick Lombardozzi, Ken Jeong, and Christopher Thornton were cast in recurring roles. Actor and former football player Carl Weathers, MLB baseball player Christian Yelich, and NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney all appeared as guest stars. Betsy Phillips, series star Zachary Knighton's wife, first appeared in the second season's final episode.
Christopher Thornton continued to recur throughout the second, third, and fourth seasons. Bobby Lee was introduced as a new recurring character in the second season and also returned for guest appearances in the third and fourth. Numerous professional athletes appeared in guest roles throughout the second season, including Deontay Wilder, a World Boxing Council heavyweight champion; Aaron Donald and Andre Reed, National Football League players; Hans Hedemann, a competitive surfer; and Cowboy Cerrone, an Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial artist. Patrick Monahan, Skyler Grey, and Jerry Becker, appeared as themselves in season two and performed as their real world band Train.
Balmilero, Wily, and Chun also made appearances throughout the second season as their Hawaii Five-0 characters. Other Hawaii Five-0 actors new to the second season include series regulars Meaghan Rath, Katrina Law, Beulah Koale, and Ian Anthony Dale, all of whom appeared as their Hawaii Five-0 characters.
Larry Manetti and Roger E. Mosley, who co-starred in the original Magnum, P.I., made guest appearances on the reboot. However, Tom Selleck stated in an interview that he would never appear in the series, even though he was asked, so as not to take away from the original Magnum, P.I. and due to conflicting filming of Blue Bloods, which also airs on CBS.
On October 16, 2020, it was announced that Jay Ali had been cast in a recurring role for the third season as Dr. Ethan Shah. It was later revealed that Lance Lim would also recur in the third season. Mosley again returned as a guest star in the third season. Balmilero, Chun, and Garnett from Hawaii Five-0 continued appearances in the third season despite Hawaii Five-0's cancellation.
Chantal Thuy joined the cast in a recurring capacity for the fourth season. Thuy portrayed Lia Kaleo, an HPD detective and partner to Katsumoto, as well as a love interest to Magnum. Martin Martinez also joined the recurring cast for the fourth season portraying Cade Jensen, a trouble teenager searching for a job. Chun appeared once more in the fourth season. Ahead of the fifth season Michael Rady was cast in a recurring role to portray Detective Chris Childs.
=== Filming ===
The pilot episode filmed in March and April 2018 at Hawaii Film Studio. It was directed by Justin Lin, who also directed other CBS pilots. The rest of the first season began filming on July 23, 2018, with a traditional Hawaiian blessing. Filming for the series takes place in the state of Hawaii on the island of O'ahu at Kalaeloa Studio. The fictional Robin's Nest Estate where Magnum and Higgins lives is located at Kualoa Ranch, a location which Jurassic World also used as a filming location. Other filming locations include numerous beaches, such as Maili, Waikiki, and Kapolei. A central theme of the original series was Magnum's constant use of a Ferrari, which has become a cultural icon inextricably linked to the series. Then Magnum almost exclusively favored the Ferrari 308 GTS, such that it was briefly shown in the pilot episode. The production team, however, updated his favored vehicle to a Ferrari 488 Spider. Both cars are a mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-seat, roadster variant of the current V8 Ferrari.
Filming for the second season also began with a traditional Hawaiian blessing on July 8, 2019. A new filming location in the second season is the La Mariana Restaurant, an operating Tiki Bar in Hawaii. Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, filming for the third season began on September 16, 2020. COVID-19 protocols were required on set including masks, social distancing, COVID testing, and reduced cast and crew on set. Fourth season filming commenced on July 20, 2021, with many COVID-19 precautions still in place. The fourth season also introduced new crew members to production after a number of those who worked on previous seasons transferred to work on NCIS: Hawaiʻi.
=== Cancellation and revival ===
On May 12, 2022, CBS canceled the series after four seasons. Cancellation of the series had negative effects on Hawaii's film industry, leaving 350–400 people without employment. However, on May 23, 2022, it was reported by TVLine that Universal Television was trying to shop the series around. Ten days later, Deadline Hollywood reported that talks were underway for Universal to carry the series in-house via NBC and/or USA. Such a move would have required a deal with CBS Studios by June 30, 2022, when the cast members' options on their contracts ended. Although not officially renewed, Production Weekly reported a fifth season to be in "active development", though with no network attached to the listing. On June 30, 2022, NBC officially picked up the series for 20 episodes, initially to be split over two 10-episode seasons, with the option for more episodes. At the time, it was reported that all six cast members were expected to return, along with the executive producers, and CBS Studios and Universal TV would continue to co-produce the series. On July 4, 2022, it was reported by TVLine that production on the fifth season would begin in late 2022, with the season not likely to premiere until January 2023 at the earliest. Filming for the fifth season began on September 19, 2022. The fifth season premiered on February 19, 2023. It was later clarified that the twenty episodes would be split as a two-part fifth season rather than into two separate seasons. On June 23, 2023, it was announced that the fifth season would be the final season. On December 15, 2023, it was revealed that the fifth season would finish with a two-hour series finale on January 3, 2024.
== Streaming ==
Magnum P.I. was added to Amazon Freevee on September 1, 2023.
== Reception ==
=== Critical response ===
Magnum P.I. has been met with mixed reviews. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 57% with an average rating of 6.35/10, based on 21 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "The rebooted Magnum P.I. may not be quite distinctive enough to hold up to comparisons with its source material, but a charismatic star, slickly staged action, and a handful of modern twists hint at greater potential." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the first season a score of 48 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
=== Ratings === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_Peace_Prize_laureates | List of Nobel Peace Prize laureates | The Norwegian Nobel Committee awards the Nobel Peace Prize annually "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." As dictated by Alfred Nobel's will, the award is administered by the Norwegian Nobel Committee and awarded by a committee of five people elected by the Parliament of Norway.
Each recipient receives a medal, a diploma, and a monetary award prize (that has varied throughout the years). It is one of the five prizes established by the 1895 will of Alfred Nobel (who died in 1896), awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature, physiology or medicine.
== Overview ==
The Peace Prize is presented annually in Oslo, in the presence of the King of Norway, on 10 December, the anniversary of Nobel's death, and is the only Nobel Prize not presented in Stockholm. Unlike the other prizes, the Peace Prize is occasionally awarded to an organisation (such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, a three-time recipient) rather than an individual.
The Nobel Peace Prize was first awarded in 1901 to Frédéric Passy and Henry Dunant, who shared a prize of 150,782 Swedish kronor (equal to 7,731,004 kronor in 2008), and most recently in 2025 to María Corina Machado.
Linus Pauling, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1962, is the only person to have been awarded two unshared Nobel Prizes; he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954.
At 17 years of age, Malala Yousafzai, the 2014 recipient, is the youngest to be awarded the Peace Prize.
The first woman to receive a Nobel Peace Prize was Bertha von Suttner in 1905. Of the 113 individual Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, 20 have been women.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has received the most Nobel Peace Prizes, having been awarded the Prize three times for its humanitarian work.
Five Nobel Peace Prize Laureates were under arrest at the time of their awards: Carl von Ossietzky (in 1935), Aung San Suu Kyi (in 1991), Liu Xiaobo (in 2010), Ales Bialiatski (in 2022), and Narges Mohammadi (in 2023).
== Laureates ==
As of 2024, the Peace Prize has been awarded to 113 individuals and 28 organizations. Twenty women have won the Nobel Peace Prize, more than any other Nobel Prize. Only two recipients have won multiple Peace Prizes: the International Committee of the Red Cross has won three times (1917, 1944 and 1963) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has won twice (1954 and 1981). There have been 19 years in which the Peace Prize was not awarded.
== Laureates by category ==
== Laureates per country == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridgeton_railway_station | Bridgeton railway station | Bridgeton railway station serves the Bridgeton district of Glasgow, Scotland and is a station on the Argyle Line, 1+3⁄4 miles (2.8 km) south east of Glasgow Central. The station is operated by ScotRail who also provide all train services.
== History ==
Called Bridgeton Cross Station, it opened on 1 November 1895 when the line between Glasgow Green and Rutherglen was opened by the Glasgow Central Railway. The station became a junction with the opening of the line to Carmyle and Kirkhill on 1 February 1897. Westbound services ran to Stobcross, from where they could proceed to Possil via Maryhill Central, Partickhill and points north via the connection to the Stobcross Railway or on to the Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway to Dumbarton and Balloch Central via Partick Central & Dalmuir Riverside.
In 1956 the line was re-signalled with colour light signals controlled from the re-equipped signal boxes at Bridgeton Cross Junction and Stobcross Junction. However, the station was closed along with both lines on 5 October 1964 as a result of the Beeching Axe. The tracks were subsequently lifted, but the station and tunnels were left intact.
As part of the Argyle Line project, the Rutherglen line platforms reopened as Bridgeton Station on 5 November 1979, as offering regular commuter services into Central Station (low level) and on towards the western suburbs.
In preparation for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the station underwent substantial renovations in 2010.
== Accidents and incidents ==
On 2 February 1929, a passenger train was diverted into the bay platform due to a signalman's error. Several people were injured when the train crashed through the buffers.
== Services ==
=== 1979 ===
When the Argyle Line was opened in 1979, there were six trains an hour to the Hamilton Circle, from Dalmuir, with two services an hour going as far west as Dumbarton Central. The hourly service between Lanark and Milngavie ran non-stop through Bridgeton station.
=== 2008 ===
Four trains per hour daily head westbound towards Glasgow Central and beyond (Milngavie and Dalmuir) and eastbound towards Motherwell (with services onward to Lanark).
=== 2015 ===
The basic four trains per hour frequency remains unchanged, but since the December 2014 timetable recast southbound trains now run to either Motherwell via Hamilton Central or via Whifflet (though alternate services on that route terminate at Whifflet). On Sundays, southbound trains also serve Larkhall every hour and Balloch every 30 minutes.
=== Routes === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Garcia | Jerry Garcia | Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 1960s. Although he disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader of the band. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a member of the Grateful Dead.
As one of its founders, Garcia performed with the Grateful Dead for the band's entire 30-year career (1965–1995). Garcia also founded and participated in a variety of side projects, including the Saunders–Garcia Band (with longtime friend Merl Saunders), the Jerry Garcia Band, Old & In the Way, the Garcia/Grisman and Garcia/Kahn acoustic duos, Legion of Mary, and New Riders of the Purple Sage (which he co-founded with John Dawson and David Nelson). He also released several solo albums, and contributed to a number of albums by other artists over the years as a session musician. He was well known for his distinctive guitar playing, and was ranked 13th in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" cover story in 2003. In the 2015 version of the list he was ranked at #46. In 2023, Garcia was ranked 34th by Rolling Stone.
Garcia was renowned for his musical and technical ability, particularly his ability to play a variety of instruments and sustain long improvisations. Garcia believed that improvisation took stress away from his playing and allowed him to make spur of the moment decisions that he would not have made intentionally. In a 1993 interview with Rolling Stone, Garcia noted that "my own preferences are for improvisation, for making it up as I go along. The idea of picking, of eliminating possibilities by deciding, that's difficult for me". Originating from the days of the "Acid Tests", these improvisations were a form of exploration rather than playing a song already written.
Later in life, Garcia struggled with diabetes. On July 10, 1986, he went into a diabetic coma and nearly died. Although his overall health improved somewhat after the incident, he continued to struggle with obesity, smoking, and long-standing heroin and cocaine addictions. He was staying in a California drug rehabilitation facility when he died of a heart attack in August 1995.
== Early life ==
Garcia's ancestors on his father's side were from Galicia in northwest Spain. His mother's ancestors were Irish and Swedish. He was born in the Excelsior District of San Francisco, California, on August 1, 1942, to Jose Ramon "Joe" Garcia and Ruth Marie "Bobbie" (née Clifford) Garcia, who was herself born in San Francisco. His parents named him after composer Jerome Kern. Jerome John was their second child, preceded by Clifford Ramon "Tiff", who was born in 1937. Shortly before Clifford's birth, their father and a partner leased a building in downtown San Francisco and turned it into a bar, partly in response to Jose being blackballed from a musicians' union for moonlighting.
Garcia was raised as a Catholic. He was influenced by music at an early age, taking piano lessons for much of his childhood. His father was a retired professional musician and his mother enjoyed playing the piano. His father's extended family—which had immigrated from Spain in 1919—would often sing during reunions.
In 1946, when Garcia was four years old, two-thirds of his right middle finger was cut off by his brother in a wood splitting accident while the family vacationed in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Garcia later confessed that he often used the severed finger to his advantage in his youth, showing it off to other children in his neighborhood.
Less than a year after this incident, his father died in a fly fishing accident when the family was vacationing near Arcata in Northern California. He slipped after entering the Trinity River, part of the Six Rivers National Forest, and drowned before other fishermen could reach him. Although Garcia claimed he saw the incident, Dennis McNally, author of the book A Long Strange Trip: The Inside Story of the Grateful Dead, argues that Garcia formed the memory after hearing others repeat the story. Blair Jackson, who wrote Garcia: An American Life, notes that a local newspaper article describing Jose's death did not mention Jerry being present when he died.
=== Excelsior District ===
Following his father's death, Garcia's mother Ruth took over her husband's bar, buying out his partner for full ownership. She began working full-time there, sending Jerry and his brother to live nearby with her parents, Tillie and William Clifford. During the five-year period in which he lived with his grandparents, Garcia enjoyed autonomy and he attended Monroe Elementary School. At the school, Garcia was greatly encouraged in his artistic abilities by his third grade teacher: through her, he discovered that "being a creative person was a viable possibility in life." According to Garcia, it was around this time that he was opened up to country and bluegrass music by his grandmother, whom he recalled enjoyed listening to the Grand Ole Opry. His elder brother, Clifford, however, staunchly believed the contrary, insisting that Garcia was "fantasizing all [that] ... she'd been to Opry, but she didn't listen to it on the radio." It was at this point that Garcia started playing the banjo, his first stringed instrument.
=== Menlo Park ===
In 1953, Garcia's mother married Wally Matusiewicz. Subsequently, Garcia and his brother moved back home with their mother and new stepfather. However, due to the roughneck reputation of their neighborhood at the time, Garcia's mother moved their family to Menlo Park. During their stay in Menlo Park, Garcia became acquainted with racism and antisemitism, things he disliked intensely. The same year, Garcia was also introduced to rock and roll and rhythm and blues by his brother, and enjoyed listening to Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, B. B. King, Hank Ballard, and, later, Chuck Berry. Clifford often memorized the vocals for his favorite songs, and would then make Garcia learn the harmony parts, a move to which Garcia later attributed much of his early ear training.
In mid-1957, Garcia began smoking cigarettes and was introduced to marijuana. Garcia would later reminisce about the first time he smoked marijuana: "Me and a friend of mine went up into the hills with two joints, the San Francisco foothills, and smoked these joints and just got so high and laughed and roared and went skipping down the streets doing funny things and just having a helluva time". During this time, Garcia also studied at what is now the San Francisco Art Institute. There he was taught by Wally Hedrick, an artist who came to prominence during the 1960s. During the classes he often encouraged Garcia to draw and paint, noting that Garcia had skill in both areas. Hedrick also introduced Garcia to the fiction of Jack Kerouac, whom Garcia later cited as a major influence.
=== San Francisco ===
In June, Garcia graduated from the local Menlo Oaks school. He then moved with his family back to San Francisco, where they lived in an apartment above the family bar, a newly built replacement for the original, which had been torn down to make way for a freeway entrance. Two months later, on Garcia's fifteenth birthday, his mother bought an accordion for him, to his great disappointment. Garcia had long been captivated by many rhythm and blues artists, especially Chuck Berry, Elmore James and Bo Diddley, leaving him craving an electric guitar. After some pleading, his mother exchanged the accordion for a Danelectro with a small amplifier at a local pawnshop. Garcia's stepfather, who was somewhat proficient with instruments, helped tune his guitar to an unusual open tuning.
=== Cazadero ===
After a short stint at Denman Junior High School, Garcia attended tenth grade at Balboa High School in 1958, where he often got into trouble for skipping classes and fighting. Consequently, in 1959, Garcia's mother again moved the family to a safer environment, to Cazadero, a small town in Sonoma County, 90 miles (140 km) north of San Francisco. This turn of events did not sit well with Garcia, who had to travel by bus thirty miles (50 km) to Analy High School in Sebastopol, the nearest school. Garcia did, however, join a band at his school known as the Chords. After performing in and winning a contest, the band's reward was recording a song. They chose "Raunchy" by Bill Justis.
== Recording career ==
=== Relocation and band beginnings ===
Garcia stole his mother's car in 1960 and was given the option of joining the U.S. Army in lieu of prison. He received basic training at Fort Ord. After training, he was transferred to Fort Winfield Scott in the Presidio of San Francisco. Garcia spent most of his time in the army at his leisure, missing roll call and accruing many counts of being AWOL. As a result, Garcia was given a general discharge on December 14, 1960.
In January 1961, Garcia drove to East Palo Alto to see Laird Grant, an old friend from middle school. He had purchased a 1950 Cadillac sedan from a cook in the army, which barely made it to Grant's residence before it broke down. Garcia spent the next few weeks sleeping where friends would allow, eventually using his car as a home. Through Grant, Garcia met Dave McQueen in February, who, after hearing Garcia perform some blues music, introduced him to local people and to the Chateau, a rooming house located near Stanford University which was then a popular hangout.
On February 20, 1961, Garcia got into a car with Lee Adams, the house manager of the Chateau and driver; Paul Speegle, a sixteen-year-old artist and acquaintance of Garcia; and Alan Trist, a companion of theirs. After speeding past the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital, the driver encountered a curve and, speeding around 90 miles per hour (140 km/h), crashed into the guard rail, sending the car rolling turbulently. Garcia was hurled through the windshield of the car into a nearby field with such force that he came out of his shoes and had no memory of the ejection. Lee Adams, the driver, and Alan Trist, who was seated in the back, were thrown from the car as well, resulting in abdominal injuries and a spine fracture, respectively. Garcia escaped with a broken collarbone, while Speegle, still in the car, was fatally injured.
Lee's reckless driving and crash served as an awakening for Garcia, who later said, "That's where my life began. Before then I was always living at less than capacity. I was idling. That was the slingshot for the rest of my life. It was like a second chance. Then I got serious." As a result, Garcia began playing the guitar in earnest—a move which meant giving up his love of drawing and painting.
In April 1961, Garcia first met Robert Hunter, who would become a long-time friend of and lyricist for the Grateful Dead, collaborating principally with Garcia. The two involved themselves in the South Bay and San Francisco art and music scenes, sometimes playing at Menlo Park's Kepler's Books. Garcia performed his first concert with Hunter, each earning five dollars. Garcia and Hunter also played in bands (the Wildwood Boys and the Hart Valley Drifters) with David Nelson, who would later play with Garcia in the New Riders of the Purple Sage and contribute to several Grateful Dead album songs.
In 1962, Garcia met Phil Lesh, the eventual bassist of the Grateful Dead, during a party in Menlo Park's bohemian Perry Lane neighborhood (where author Ken Kesey lived). Lesh would later write in his autobiography that Garcia reminded him of pictures he had seen of the composer Claude Debussy, with his "dark, curly hair, goatee, Impressionist eyes". While attending another party in Palo Alto, Lesh approached Garcia to suggest they record Garcia on Lesh's tape recorder and produce a radio show for the progressive, community-supported Berkeley radio station KPFA. Using an old Wollensak tape recorder, they recorded "Matty Groves" and "The Long Black Veil", among several other tunes. The recordings became a central feature of a 90-minute KPFA special broadcast, "The Long Black Veil and Other Ballads: An Evening with Jerry Garcia". The link between KPFA and the Grateful Dead continues to this day, having included many fundraisers, interviews, live concert broadcasts, taped band performances and all-day or all-weekend "Dead-only" marathons.
Garcia soon began playing and teaching acoustic guitar, as well as banjo. One of Garcia's students was Bob Matthews, who later engineered many of the Grateful Dead's albums. Matthews attended Menlo-Atherton High School and was friends with Bob Weir, and on New Year's Eve 1963, he introduced Weir and Garcia.
Between 1962 and 1964, Garcia sang and performed mainly bluegrass, old-time, and folk music. One of the bands Garcia performed with was the Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers, a bluegrass act. The group consisted of Garcia on lead guitar, banjo, vocals, and harmonica, Marshall Leicester on banjo, rhythm guitar, and vocals, and Dick Arnold on fiddle and vocals. Soon after this, Garcia, Weir, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, and several of their friends formed a jug band called Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions. Around this time, the psychedelic drug LSD was gaining popularity. Garcia first began using LSD in 1964; later, when asked how it changed his life, he remarked: "Well, it changed everything [...] the effect was that it freed me because I suddenly realized that my little attempt at having a straight life and doing that was really a fiction and just wasn't going to work out. Luckily I wasn't far enough into it for it to be shattering or anything; it was like a realization that just made me feel immensely relieved."
In 1965, Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions evolved into the Warlocks, with the addition of Dana Morgan, Jr. (soon replaced by Phil Lesh) on bass guitar and Bill Kreutzmann on percussion. However, the band discovered a record by another group (possibly the future Velvet Underground or Z.Z. Top, both of which used the name in their early days) called The Warlocks. In response, Garcia came up with "Grateful Dead" by opening a Funk & Wagnalls dictionary to an entry for "Grateful dead". The definition for "Grateful dead" was "a dead person, or his angel, showing gratitude to someone who, as an act of charity, arranged their burial". The band's first reaction was disapproval. Garcia later explained the group's reaction: "I didn't like it really, I just found it to be really powerful. [Bob] Weir didn't like it, [Bill] Kreutzmann didn't like it and nobody really wanted to hear about it." Despite their dislike of the name, it quickly spread by word of mouth, and soon became their official title.
=== Career with the Grateful Dead ===
Garcia served as lead guitarist and one of the principal vocalists and songwriters of the Grateful Dead for the band's entire career. Garcia composed songs such as "Uncle John's Band", "Dark Star", "Franklin's Tower", and "Scarlet Begonias", among many others. Robert Hunter, an ardent collaborator with the band, wrote the lyrics to all but a few of Garcia's songs.
Garcia was known for his "soulful extended guitar improvisations", which would frequently feature interplay between him and his fellow band members. His fame, as well as the band's, arguably rested on their ability to never play a song the same way twice. Often, Garcia would take cues from rhythm guitarist Bob Weir, remarking that "there are some [...] kinds of ideas that would really throw me if I had to create a harmonic bridge between all the things going on rhythmically with two drums and Phil [Lesh's] innovative bass playing. Weir's ability to solve that sort of problem is extraordinary. [...] Harmonically, I take a lot of my solo cues from Bob."
When asked to describe his approach to soloing, Garcia commented: "It keeps on changing. I still basically revolve around the melody and the way it's broken up into phrases as I perceive them. With most solos, I tend to play something that phrases the way the melody does; my phrases may be more dense or have different value, but they'll occur in the same places in the song. [...]"
Garcia and the band toured almost constantly from their formation in 1965 until Garcia's death in 1995. Periodically, there were breaks due to exhaustion or health problems, often due to Garcia's drug use. During their three-decade span, the Grateful Dead played 2,314 shows.
Garcia's guitar-playing was eclectic. He melded elements from the various kinds of music that influenced him. Echoes of bluegrass playing (such as Arthur Smith and Doc Watson) could be heard. There was also early rock (like Lonnie Mack, James Burton, and Chuck Berry), contemporary blues (Freddie King and Lowell Fulson), country and western (Roy Nichols and Don Rich), and jazz (Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt) to be heard in Garcia's style. Don Rich was the sparkling country guitar player in Buck Owens's "the Buckaroos" band of the 1960s, but besides Rich's style, both Garcia's pedal steel guitar playing (on Grateful Dead records and others) and his standard electric guitar work, were influenced by another of Owens's Buckaroos of that time, pedal steel player Tom Brumley. And as an improvisational soloist, John Coltrane was one of his greatest personal and musical influences.
Garcia later described his playing style as having "descended from barroom rock and roll, country guitar. Just 'cause that's where all my stuff comes from. It's like that blues instrumental stuff that was happening in the late Fifties and early Sixties, like Freddie King." Garcia's style could vary with the song being played and the instrument he was using, but his playing had a number of so-called "signatures". Among these were lead lines based on rhythmic triplets (examples include the songs "Good Morning Little School Girl", "New Speedway Boogie", "Brokedown Palace", "Deal", "Loser", "Truckin'", "That's It for the Other One", "U.S. Blues", "Sugaree", and "Don't Ease Me In").
=== Side projects ===
In addition to the Grateful Dead, Garcia participated in numerous musical side projects, including the Jerry Garcia Band. He was also involved with various acoustic projects such as Old & In the Way and other bluegrass bands, including collaborations with noted bluegrass mandolinist David Grisman. The documentary film Grateful Dawg, co-produced by Gillian Grisman and former NBC producer Pamela Hamilton chronicles the deep, long-term friendship between Garcia and Grisman. When Garcia and Grisman released Not For Kids Only, Hamilton produced their interview and concert for NBC. After several years of producing stories on the Grateful Dead and band members' side projects, Hamilton interviewed Bob Weir for a feature on Garcia's death marking the end of an era.
Other groups in which Garcia participated at one time or another include Jerry & Sara (with his first wife), the Zodiacs (on bass), the Black Mountain Boys, Legion of Mary, Reconstruction, and the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band. Garcia was also a fan of jazz artists and improvisation: he played with jazz keyboardists Merl Saunders and Howard Wales for many years in various groups and jam sessions, and he appeared on saxophonist Ornette Coleman's 1988 album, Virgin Beauty. His collaboration with Merl Saunders and Muruga Booker on the world music album Blues From the Rainforest launched the Rainforest Band.
Garcia spent a lot of time in the recording studio helping out fellow musician friends in session work, often adding guitar, vocals, pedal steel, sometimes banjo and piano and even producing. He played on over 50 studio albums, the styles of which were eclectic and varied, including bluegrass, rock, folk, blues, country, jazz, electronic music, gospel, funk, and reggae. Artists who sought Garcia's contribution included the likes of Jefferson Airplane (most notably Surrealistic Pillow, Garcia being listed as their "spiritual advisor"). Garcia himself recalled in a mid-1967 interview that he'd played the high lead on "Today", played on "Plastic Fantastic Lover" and "Comin' Back to Me" on that album. Others include Tom Fogerty, David Bromberg, Robert Hunter (Liberty, on Relix Records), Paul Pena, Peter Rowan, Warren Zevon, Country Joe McDonald, Pete Sears, Ken Nordine, Ornette Coleman, Bruce Hornsby, Bob Dylan, It's a Beautiful Day, and many more. In 1995 Garcia played on three tracks for the CD Blue Incantation by guitarist Sanjay Mishra, making it his last studio collaboration.
Throughout the early 1970s, Garcia, Lesh, Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, and David Crosby collaborated intermittently with MIT-educated composer and biologist Ned Lagin on several projects in the realm of early ambient music; these include the album Seastones (released by Ned Lagin on the Round Records subsidiary) and L, an unfinished dance work composed by Ned Lagin. In 1970, Garcia participated in the soundtrack for the film Zabriskie Point.
Garcia also played pedal steel guitar for fellow-San Francisco musicians New Riders of the Purple Sage from their initial dates in 1969 to October 1971, when increased commitments with the Dead forced him to opt out of the group. He appears as a band member on their debut album New Riders of the Purple Sage, and produced Home, Home on the Road, a 1974 live album by the band. He also contributed pedal steel guitar to the enduring hit "Teach Your Children" by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, and to the song "Southbound Train" by Crosby & Nash. Garcia also played steel guitar licks on Brewer & Shipley's 1970 album Tarkio. Despite considering himself a novice on the pedal steel, Garcia routinely ranked high in player polls. After a long lapse from playing the pedal steel, he played it once more during several of the Dead's concerts with Bob Dylan in the summer of 1987.
In 1988, Garcia agreed to perform at several major benefits including the "Soviet American Peace Walk" concert at the Band Shell, in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, that drew 25,000 people. He was asked to play by longtime friend and fellow musician, Pete Sears, who played piano with all the bands that day, and also procured all the other musicians. Garcia, Mickey Hart and Steve Parish played the show, then were given a police escort to a Grateful Dead show across the bay later that night. Garcia also played with Nick Gravenites and Pete Sears at a benefit given for Vietnam Veteran and peace activist Brian Willson, who lost both legs below the knee when he attempted to block a train carrying weapons to military dictatorships in El Salvador.
Having previously studied at the San Francisco Art Institute as a teenager, Garcia embarked on a second career in the visual arts in the late 1980s. He created a number of drawings, etchings, and water colors. Garcia's artistic endeavors were represented by the Weir Gallery in Berkeley, California from 1989 to 1996. During this period, Roberta Weir (unrelated to Garcia's bandmate Bob Weir) provided Garcia with new art techniques to use, sponsored his first solo show in 1990, and prepared blank etching plates for him to draw on. These would then be processed and printed by gallery staff and brought back to Garcia for approval and signature, usually with a passing of stacks of paper backstage at a Dead show. His annual shows at the Weir Gallery garnered much attention, leading to further shows in New York and other cities. Garcia was an early adopter of digital art media; his artistic style was as varied as his musical output, and he carried small notebooks for pen and ink sketches wherever he toured. Roberta Weir continues to maintain an archive of the artwork of Jerry Garcia. Perhaps the most widely seen pieces of Jerry Garcia's art are the many editions of men's neckties produced by Stonehenge Ltd. and Mulberry Neckware. Some began as etchings, other designs came from his drawings, paintings, and digital art. Garcia's artwork has since expanded into everything from hotel rooms, wet suits, men's sport shirts, a women's wear line, boxer shorts, hair accessories, cummerbunds, silk scarves and wool rugs.
== Personal life ==
Garcia met his first wife, Sara Ruppenthal, in 1963. She was working at the coffee house in the back of Kepler's Books, where Garcia, Hunter, and Nelson regularly performed. They married on April 23, 1963, and on December 8 of that year, their daughter Heather was born. They divorced in 1967.
Carolyn Adams, a Merry Prankster also known as "Mountain Girl" or "M.G.," had a daughter, Sunshine, with Ken Kesey in 1966. Adams married another Prankster, George Walker, but they soon separated. She and Sunshine then moved into 710 Ashbury with Garcia in late 1966 where they would ultimately live together until 1975. Adams gave birth to Garcia's second and third daughters, Annabelle Walker Garcia (b. February 2, 1970) and Theresa Adams "Trixie" Garcia (b. September 21, 1974).
In August 1970, Garcia's mother Ruth was involved in a car crash near Twin Peaks in San Francisco. Garcia, who was recording the album American Beauty at the time, often left the sessions to visit his mother with his brother Clifford. She died on September 28, 1970.
In the midst of a March 1973 Grateful Dead engagement at Long Island's Nassau Coliseum, Garcia met Deborah Koons, an aspiring filmmaker from a wealthy Cincinnati, Ohio-based family who would much later marry him and become his widow. After a brief correspondence, he began his relationship with her in mid-1974. This gradually strained his relationship with Adams and culminated in Garcia leaving Adams for Koons in late 1975. The end of his relationship with Koons in 1977 precipitated a brief reconciliation with Adams, including the reestablishment of their household. However, she did not agree with the guitarist's persistent use of narcotics and moved with the children to the Eugene, Oregon, area, living near Kesey, in 1978.
Following Adams' departure, Garcia had an affair with Amy Moore. She was a Kentucky-born member of the extended "Grateful Dead family", and the mistress of Texas oil heir Roy Cullen. Their affair lasted circa 1980–1981, and inspired the Garcia-Hunter song "Run for the Roses".
Adams and Garcia were married on December 31, 1981, largely as a result of mutual tax exigencies. Despite the legal codification of their union, she remained in Oregon, while Garcia continued to live near the Grateful Dead's offices in San Rafael, California. Garcia lived with a variety of housemates, including longtime Grateful Dead employee and Jerry Garcia Band manager Rock Scully. Scully, who co-managed the Grateful Dead throughout the mid-to-late 1960s before serving as the band's "advance man" and publicist, was dismissed by the group in 1984 for enabling Garcia's addictions and for allegedly embezzling the Garcia Band's profits. Another housemate was Nora Sage, a Deadhead who became Garcia's housekeeper while studying at the Golden Gate University School of Law. The exact nature of their relationship remains unclear, although it is believed to have been platonic due to Garcia's addictions. She later became his art representative.
While they would briefly reunite following his diabetic coma, Garcia and Adams ultimately divorced in 1994. Phil Lesh has subsequently stated that he rarely saw Adams on any of the band tours. In a 1991 Rolling Stone interview, Garcia stated that "we haven't really lived together since the Seventies".
During the autumn of 1978, Garcia developed a friendship with Shimer College student Manasha Matheson, an artist and music enthusiast. They remained friends over the following nine years before initiating a romantic relationship in Hartford, Connecticut, on the Grateful Dead's spring 1987 tour. Jerry and Manasha became parents with the birth of their daughter, Keelin Noel Garcia, on December 20, 1987. On August 17, 1990, Garcia and Matheson married at their San Anselmo, California, home in a spiritual ceremony free of legal convention. In 1991, Garcia expressed his delight in finding the time to "actually be a father" to Keelin in contrast to his past relationships with his children. A year later, Garcia dedicated his first art book, Paintings, Drawings and Sketches, "For Manasha, with love, Jerry."
In January 1993, Barbara "Brigid" Meier, a former girlfriend from the early 1960s, reentered Garcia's life for a brief period. Meier claimed that Garcia had considered her to be the "love of his life" and proposed to her during a Hawaiian vacation shortly after their relationship recommenced. Garcia's "love of his life" sentiment was not reserved for one lover, as he expressed the same feelings to several other women in his life. At Garcia's 1995 funeral, Koons declared that she was "the love of his life" while paying her final respects, whereupon Meier and Ruppenthal, who were both in attendance, simultaneously exclaimed, "He said that to me!"
The affair with Meier marked the breakup of Garcia's family life with Matheson and Keelin. Garcia ended the affair with Meier forty-five days later while on tour in Chicago with the Grateful Dead after she confronted him about his drug use.
Shortly thereafter, Garcia renewed his acquaintance with Deborah Koons in the spring of 1993. They married on February 14, 1994, in Sausalito, California. Garcia and Koons were married at the time of his death.
=== Lifestyle and health ===
Because of their public profile, Garcia and his collaborators were occasionally singled out in the American government's war on drugs. On October 2, 1967, 710 Ashbury Street in San Francisco (where the Grateful Dead had taken up residence the year before) was raided after a police tip-off. Grateful Dead members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan were apprehended on marijuana charges which were later dropped, although Garcia himself was not arrested. The following year, Garcia's picture was used in a campaign commercial for Richard Nixon.
Most of the band was arrested again in January 1970, after it flew to New Orleans from Hawaii. After returning to their hotel from a performance, the band checked into their rooms, only to be quickly raided by police. Approximately fifteen people were arrested on the spot, including many of the road crew, management, and nearly all of the Grateful Dead except for Garcia, who arrived later, outgoing keyboardist Tom Constanten, who abstained from all drugs as a member of the Church of Scientology, and McKernan, who eschewed illegal drugs in favor of alcohol.
According to Bill Kreutzmann, the band's use of cocaine accelerated throughout the early 1970s. After using heroin in a brothel in 1974 (likely on the band's second European tour), Garcia was introduced to a smokeable form of the drug (initially advertised as refined opium) colloquially known as "Persian" or "Persian Base" during the group's 1975 hiatus. Influenced by the stresses of creating and releasing The Grateful Dead Movie and the acrimonious collapse of the band's independent record labels over the next two years, Garcia became increasingly dependent upon both substances. These factors, combined with the alcohol and drug abuse of several other members of the Grateful Dead, resulted in a turbulent atmosphere. By 1978, the band's chemistry began "cracking and crumbling", resulting in poor group cohesion. As a result, Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux left the band in February 1979.
With the addition of keyboardist/vocalist Brent Mydland that year amid the ongoing coalescence of the Deadhead subculture, the band reached new commercial heights as a touring group on the American arena circuit in the early 1980s, enabling them to forsake studio recording for several years. Nevertheless, this was offset by such factors as the band's atypically large payroll and Garcia's $700-a-day (equivalent to $2,300 in 2025) drug addiction, resulting in the guitarist taking on a frenetic slate of solo touring outside of the Grateful Dead's rigorous schedule, including abbreviated acoustic duo concerts with Jerry Garcia Band bassist John Kahn that were widely rumored to be a funding conduit for their respective addictions.
Though things seemed to be getting better for the band, Garcia's health was declining. By 1983, Garcia's demeanor onstage had appeared to change. Despite still playing the guitar with great passion and intensity, there were times that he would appear disengaged; as such, shows were often inconsistent. Years of heavy tobacco smoking had affected his voice, and he gained considerable weight. By 1984, he would often rest his chin on the microphone during performances. The so-called "endless tour"—the result of years of financial risks, drug use, and poor business decisions—had taken its toll.
Garcia's decade-long heroin addiction culminated in the rest of the band holding an intervention in January 1985. Given the choice between the band or the drugs, Garcia agreed to check into a rehabilitation center in Oakland, California. A few days later, on January 19, before the start of his program in Oakland, Garcia was arrested for drug possession in Golden Gate Park; he subsequently attended a drug diversion program. Throughout 1985, he tapered his drug use on tour and at home with the assistance of Nora Sage; by the spring of 1986, he was completely abstinent.
Precipitated by an unhealthy weight, dehydration, bad eating habits, and a recent relapse on the Grateful Dead's first stadium tour, Garcia collapsed into a diabetic coma on July 10, 1986, waking up five days later. He later spoke about this period of unconsciousness as surreal: "Well, I had some very weird experiences. My main experience was one of furious activity and tremendous struggle in a sort of futuristic, space-ship vehicle with insectoid presences. After I came out of my coma, I had this image of myself as these little hunks of protoplasm that were stuck together kind of like stamps with perforations between them that you could snap off." Garcia's coma had a profound effect on him: it forced him to have to relearn how to play the guitar, as well as other, more basic skills. Within a handful of months, he had recovered, playing with the Jerry Garcia Band and the Grateful Dead again later that year.
After Garcia's recovery, the band released a comeback album In the Dark in 1987, which became their best-selling studio album. Inspired by Garcia's improved health, a successful album and the continuing emergence of Mydland as a third frontman, the band's energy and chemistry reached a new peak in the late 1980s.
Amid a litany of personal problems, Mydland died of a speedball overdose in July 1990. His death greatly affected Garcia, leading him to believe that the band's chemistry would never be the same. Before beginning the fall tour, the band acquired keyboardists Vince Welnick and Bruce Hornsby. As the band continued through 1991, Garcia became concerned with the band's future. He was exhausted from five straight years of touring. He thought a break was necessary, mainly so that the band could come back with fresh material. The idea was put off by the pressures of management, and the touring continued. Garcia began using heroin again after several years of intermittent prescription opiate use. Though his relapse was brief, the band was quick to react. Soon after the last show of the tour in Denver, Garcia was confronted by the band with another intervention. After a disastrous meeting, Garcia invited Phil Lesh over to his home in San Rafael, California, where he explained that after the meeting he would start attending a methadone clinic. Garcia said that he wanted to clean up in his own way and return to making music.
After returning from the band's 1992 summer tour, Garcia became sick, a throwback to his diabetic coma in 1986. Manasha Garcia nursed Garcia back to health and organized a team of health professionals which included acupuncturist Yen Wei Choong and Randy Baker, MD, a holistic family physician to treat him at home. Garcia recovered over the following days, despite the Grateful Dead having to cancel their fall tour to allow him time to recuperate. Garcia reduced his cigarette smoking and began losing weight. He also became a vegetarian.
Despite these improvements, Garcia's physical and mental condition continued to decline throughout 1993 and 1994. He began to use narcotics again to dull the pain. In light of his second drug relapse and current condition, Garcia checked himself into the Betty Ford Center during July 1995. His stay was limited, lasting only two weeks. Motivated by the experience, he then checked into the Serenity Knolls treatment center in Forest Knolls, California, where he died.
== Death ==
Garcia died in his room at the rehabilitation clinic on August 9, 1995. The cause of death was a heart attack, likely due to diabetes and his poor diet. Garcia had long struggled with diabetes, weight problems, sleep apnea, heavy smoking, and drug addiction—all of which contributed to his physical decline. Lesh remarked that, upon hearing of Garcia's death, "I was struck numb. I had lost my oldest surviving friend, my brother." Garcia's funeral was held on August 12, at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Belvedere. It was attended by his family, the remaining Grateful Dead members, and their friends, including Bill Walton and Bob Dylan. Deborah Koons barred two of Garcia's former wives from the ceremony.
On August 13, about 25,000 people attended a municipally sanctioned public memorial at the Polo Fields of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Crowds produced hundreds of flowers, gifts, images, and a bagpipe rendition of "Amazing Grace" in remembrance. In the Haight, a single white rose was reportedly tied to a tree near the Dead's former Haight-Ashbury house, where a group of followers gathered to mourn.
On the morning of April 4, 1996, after a total lunar eclipse earlier that day, Weir and Deborah Koons, accompanied by Sanjay Mishra, spread half of Garcia's ashes into the Ganges at the holy city of Rishikesh, India, a site sacred to Hindus. The remaining ashes were poured into the San Francisco Bay. Koons did not allow former wife Carolyn Garcia to attend the spreading of the ashes.
== Musical equipment ==
Garcia played many guitars during his career, which ranged from student and budget models to custom-made instruments. During his thirty-five-year career as a professional musician, Garcia used about 25 guitars.
In 1965, when Garcia was playing with the Warlocks, he used a Guild Starfire, which he also used on the début album of the Grateful Dead. Beginning in late 1967 and ending in 1968, Garcia played black or gold mid-1950s Gibson Les Paul guitars with P-90 pickups. In 1969, he picked up the Gibson SG and used it for most of that year and 1970, except for a small period in between where he used a sunburst Fender Stratocaster.
During Garcia's "pedal steel flirtation period" (as Bob Weir referred to it in Anthem to Beauty), from approximately 1969 to 1972, he initially played a Fender instrument before upgrading to the ZB Custom D-10, especially in his earlier public performances. Although this was a double neck guitar, Garcia used the "E9 neck and the three pedals to raise the tone and two levers to lower it." He employed an Emmons D-10 at the Grateful Dead's and New Riders of the Purple Sage's final appearances at the Fillmore East in April 1971.
In 1969, Garcia played pedal steel on three notable outside recordings: the track "The Farm" on the Jefferson Airplane album Volunteers, the track "Oh Mommy" by Brewer and Shipley and the hit single "Teach Your Children" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young from their album Déjà Vu, released in 1970. Garcia played on the latter album in exchange for harmony lessons for the Grateful Dead, who were at the time recording Workingman's Dead.
In 1971, Garcia began playing a sunburst Les Paul. In March and April 1971 – the time period during which the Grateful Dead recorded its second live album, Grateful Dead – Garcia played the "Peanut", a guitar he had received from Rick Turner, who had custom built the guitar's body and incorporated the neck, pickups, and hardware from an early '60s Les Paul.
In May, Garcia began using a 1955 natural finish Stratocaster that had been given to him by Graham Nash in 1969. Garcia added an alligator sticker to the pickguard in the fall of 1971, and the thusly-named "Alligator" would remain Garcia's principal electric guitar until August 1973.
In the summer of 1971, Garcia also played a double-cutaway Les Paul TV Junior.
While Alligator was in the shop in the summer of 1972, he briefly reverted to the sunburst Stratocaster; this can be seen in Sunshine Daydream.
In late 1972, Garcia purchased the first guitar ("Eagle") made by Alembic luthier Doug Irwin for $850 (equivalent to $6,500 in 2025). Enamored of Irwin's talents, he immediately commissioned his own custom instrument. This guitar, nicknamed "Wolf" for a sticker Garcia added below the tailpiece, was delivered in May 1973 and replaced Alligator on stage in September. It cost $1,500 (equivalent to $10,900 in 2025), an extremely high price for the era.
Wolf was made with an ebony fingerboard and featured numerous embellishments like alternating grain designs in the headstock, ivory inlays, and fret marker dots made of sterling silver. The body was composed of western maple wood which had a core of purpleheart. Garcia later had Irwin (who ultimately left Alembic to start his own business) replace the electronics inside the guitar, at which point he added his own logo to the headstock alongside the Alembic logo. The system included two interchangeable plates for configuring pickups: one was made for strictly single coils, while the other accommodated humbuckers. Shortly after receiving the modified instrument, Garcia commissioned another custom guitar from Irwin with one caveat: "Don't hold back."
During the Grateful Dead's 1974 European tour, Wolf was dropped on several occasions, one of which caused a minor crack in the headstock. Following filming of The Grateful Dead Movie (in which the guitar is prominently visible) a month later, Garcia returned it to Irwin for repairs. Throughout its absence, Garcia predominantly played several Travis Bean guitars, including the TB1000A (1975) and the TB500 (1976-1977). On September 28, 1977, Irwin delivered the refurbished Wolf back to Garcia. The wolf sticker which gave the guitar its name had now been inlaid into the instrument; it also featured an effects loop between the pick-ups and controls (so inline effects would "see" the same signal at all times) which was bypassable. Irwin also put a new face on the headstock with only his logo (he later claimed to have built the guitar himself, though pictures through time clearly show the progression of logos, from Alembic, to Alembic & Irwin, to only Irwin).
The Grateful Dead began using McIntosh Labs amplifiers in the mid-1960s at the insistence and funding of sound technician and prolific LSD chemist Owsley Stanley. Garcia began using a specific McIntosh MC 2300 in 1973, eventually christened with a Budweiser Budman sticker placed on the front in 1974 and making it a unique way of identifying Garcia's specific MC 2300 out of the many that powered the Wall of Sound. "Budman" was one of the only components from the Wall to continue traveling with Garcia until 1993 when it was replaced with a cab simulation system.
The Budman amp is the longest continuously used piece of gear in Grateful Dead history. On 14 October 2021 during a Sotheby's auction titled "From the Vault: Property from the Grateful Dead and Friends". Garcia's last stage rack containing a MC2300 sold for $226,800 USD. The MC2300 Budman sold for $378,000 USD.
Nearly seven years after he commissioned it, Garcia received his second custom guitar ("Tiger") from Irwin in the summer of 1979.
He first employed the instrument in concert at a Grateful Dead performance at the Oakland Auditorium Arena on August 4, 1979. Its name was derived from the inlay on the preamp cover.
The body of Tiger was of rich quality: the top layer was cocobolo, with the preceding layers being maple stripe, vermilion, and flame maple, in that order. The neck was made of western maple with an ebony fingerboard. The pickups consisted of a single coil DiMarzio SDS-1 and two humbucker DiMarzio Super IIs; these were easily removable, accommodating Garcia's preference for replacing his pickups every year or two. The electronics were composed of an effects bypass loop (which allowed Garcia to control the sound of his effects through the tone and volume controls on the guitar) and a preamplifier/buffer, which rested behind a plate in the back of the guitar. Fully outfitted, Tiger weighed 13+1⁄2 pounds (6.1 kg). This was Garcia's principal guitar for the next eleven years, and his most played. Due to the ongoing repair and retrofitting of other instruments, Garcia played Tiger during the last song ("Box of Rain") of his final performance with the Grateful Dead at Chicago's Soldier Field on July 9, 1995.
In the late 1980s Garcia, Weir and CSN (along with many others) endorsed Alvarez Yairi acoustic guitars. There are many photographs circulating (mostly promotional) of Garcia playing a DY99 Virtuoso Custom with a Modulus graphite neck. He opted to play with the less decorated model but the promotional photo from the Alvarez Yairi catalog has him holding the "tree of life" model. This hand-built guitar was notable for the collaboration between Japanese luthier Kazuo Yairi and Modulus Graphite of San Rafael. Since Garcia's death, the DY99 model has remained highly valued among collectors.
In 1990, Irwin completed "Rosebud", Garcia's fourth custom guitar. While similar to Tiger in many respects, it featured different inlays and electronics in addition to a slightly lighter weight. Rosebud, unlike Tiger, was configured with three humbuckers; the neck and bridge pickups shared a tone control, while the middle had its own. Atop the guitar was a Roland GK-2 pickup which fed the controller set inside the guitar. The GK2 was used in conjunction with the Roland GR-50 rack mount synthesizer. In turn, the GR-50 synthesizer drove a Korg M1R synthesizer that produced MIDI effects during live performances of this period, as heard on the Grateful Dead's Without a Net (1990) and other contemporaneous recordings. Sections of the guitar were hollowed out to bring the weight down to 11+1⁄2 pounds (5.2 kg). The inlay, a dancing skeleton holding a rose, covers a plate just below the bridge. The final cost of the instrument was $11,000 (equivalent to $27,100 in 2025).
In 1993, carpenter and aspiring luthier Stephen Cripe tried his hand at making a speculative instrument for Garcia. After researching Tiger through pictures and films, Cripe set out on what would soon become known as "Lightning Bolt", again named for its inlay. The guitar used Brazilian rosewood for the fingerboard and East Indian rosewood for the body, which, with admitted irony from Cripe, had been taken from a 19th-century bed used by opium smokers. Built purely from guesswork, Lightning Bolt was gifted by Cripe to Garcia, who began using the guitar exclusively. However, as Cripe had little background in electronics, Garcia hired San Francisco-based repairman Gary Brawer to reconfigure the pickups and make the instrument MIDI-compatible. Additionally, Cripe "hadn't known that the oval-shaped body inlays on Tiger and Rosebud concealed their batteries, so Brawer had to remove his inlay and put it on a cover-plate." A new bridge also was installed during the final Grateful Dead tour.
Soon after, Garcia requested that Cripe build a backup of the guitar. Cripe, who had not measured or photographed the original, was told simply to "wing it." Cripe later delivered the backup, which was known by the name "Top Hat", in April 1995. Garcia bought it from him for $6,500, making it the first guitar that Cripe had ever sold. Still infatuated with Lightning Bolt, Garcia rarely used the backup.
After Garcia's death, the ownership of Wolf and Tiger came into question. According to Garcia's will, his guitars were bequeathed to Doug Irwin, who had constructed them. The remaining Grateful Dead members disagreed – they considered his guitars to be property of the band, leading to a lawsuit between the two parties. In 2001, Irwin won the case. However, nearly having been left destitute from a traffic accident in 1998, he decided to place the guitars up for auction in hopes of being able to start another guitar workshop.
On May 8, 2002, Wolf and Tiger, among other memorabilia, were placed for auction at Studio 54 in New York City. Tiger was sold for $957,500, and Wolf for $789,500. Together, the pair sold for $1.74 million, setting a new world record. Wolf went into in the private collection of Daniel Pritzker who kept it in a secure climate controlled room in a private residence at Utica, New York. Tiger went to the private collection of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay. In May 2017, Wolf was again auctioned, but this time for charity. Pritzker decided to sell the guitar and donate all proceeds to the Montgomery, Alabama based Southern Poverty Law Center. Brian Halligan placed the winning bid totaling $1.9 million.
For the majority of 2019 Wolf and Tiger were included in the Play it Loud exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. On June 23, 2019 John Mayer played Wolf with Dead & Company at Citi Field.
In March 2026, Tiger was sold at auction for $9,500,000 ($11,560,000 including auction fees).
== Legacy ==
Garcia was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead in 1994. He declined to attend the ceremony; the band jokingly brought a cardboard cutout of Garcia out on stage in his absence.
In 1987, Vermont ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's introduced their Cherry Garcia flavor dedicated to him. It was the first ice cream flavor dedicated to a musician.
Shortly after Garcia's death, astronomers Simon Radford and Ed Olszewski named an asteroid that orbits between Mars and Jupiter after him in November 1995. Tom Gehrels, who had originally discovered the asteroid in 1985 but never named it, offered it to them for the occasion.
In 1998, a newly discovered species of roach was named Cryptocercus garciai after Garcia.
In 2000, the network NBC broadcast an animated sitcom, God, the Devil and Bob, which featured a "God" character based on Garcia's appearance. Amid backlash from religious groups and low ratings, the series was cancelled after four episodes.
In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Jerry Garcia 13th in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.
According to fellow Bay Area guitar player Henry Kaiser, Garcia is "the most recorded guitarist in history. With more than 2,200 Grateful Dead concerts, and 1,000 Jerry Garcia Band concerts captured on tape – as well as numerous studio sessions – there are about 15,000 hours of his guitar work preserved for the ages."
On July 30, 2004, Melvin Seals was the first Jerry Garcia Band (JGB) member to headline an outdoor music and camping festival called "The Grateful Garcia Gathering". Jerry Garcia Band drummer David Kemper joined Melvin Seals and JGB in 2007. Other musicians and friends of Garcia include Donna Jean Godchaux, Mookie Siegel, Pete Sears, G.E. Smith, Chuck Hammer, Barry Sless, Jackie Greene, Brian Lesh, Sanjay Mishra, and Mark Karan.
On July 21, 2005, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission passed a resolution to name the amphitheater in McLaren Park the "Jerry Garcia Amphitheater". The amphitheater is located in the Excelsior District, where Garcia grew up. The first show to happen at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater was Jerry Day 2005 on August 7, 2005. Jerry's brother, Tiff Garcia, was the first person to welcome everybody to the "Jerry Garcia Amphitheater". Jerry Day is an annual celebration of Garcia in his childhood neighborhood. The dedication ceremony (Jerry Day 2) on October 29, 2005, was officiated by mayor Gavin Newsom.
On September 24, 2005, the Comes a Time: A Celebration of the Music & Spirit of Jerry Garcia tribute concert was held at the Hearst Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California. The concert featured Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Bruce Hornsby, Trey Anastasio, Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, Michael Kang, Jay Lane, Jeff Chimenti, Mark Karan, Robin Sylvester, Kenny Brooks, Melvin Seals, Merl Saunders, Marty Holland, Stu Allen, Gloria Jones, and Jackie LaBranch.
Georgia-based composer Lee Johnson released an orchestral tribute to the music of the Grateful Dead, recorded with the Russian National Orchestra, entitled "Dead Symphony: Lee Johnson Symphony No. 6". Johnson was interviewed on NPR on the July 26, 2008 broadcast of Weekend Edition, and gave much credit to the genius and craft of Garcia's songwriting. A live performance with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Johnson himself, was held Friday, August 1.
In 2010, the Santa Barbara Bowl in California opened Jerry Garcia Glen along the walk up to the venue. There is a statue of Garcia's right hand along the way.
Seattle rock band Soundgarden wrote and recorded the instrumental song "Jerry Garcia's Finger", dedicated to the singer, which was released as a b-side with their single "Pretty Noose".
Numerous music festivals across the United States and Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK hold annual events in memory of Jerry Garcia.
On May 14, 2015, an all-star lineup held a tribute concert for Garcia at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. The event was called "Dear Jerry".
In 2015, Hunter and Garcia were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Hunter accepted the award along with Garcia's daughter, Trixie Garcia, who accepted on behalf of her father.
In 2015, Jerry Garcia's wife, Manasha Garcia and their daughter, Keelin Garcia launched The Jerry Garcia Foundation, a nonprofit charity that supports projects for artistic, environmental, and humanitarian causes. The Foundation's Board members are Bob Weir, Peter Shapiro, Glenn Fischer, Irwin Sternberg, Daniel Shiner, TRI Studios CEO, Christopher McCutcheon and Fender Music Foundation Executive Director,
Lynn Robison. Keelin Garcia said, "It is a tremendous honor to participate in nonprofit work that is in accordance with my father's values."
Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebrations have occurred over several years (2013, 2014, 2016, 2022, and 2025) and in numerous venues. In addition to various symphony orchestras, participating musicians have included Warren Haynes, Jeff Sipe, Lincoln Schleifer, Jasmine Muhammad, Jaclyn LaBranch, Melvin Seals, Duane Trucks, Lady Chi, Dave Schools, Tom Hamilton, Oteil Burbridge, and John Morgan Kimock.
In 2017 Garcia's music was featured in Red Roses, Green Gold, an off-Broadway musical featuring the music of Garcia and Robert Hunter, with additional music by Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Hunter's longtime collaborator Greg Anton. The production was directed and choreographed by Rachel Klein, featured a book by Michael Norman Mann, had Jeff Chimenti serving as music supervisor, and was performed at the Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City.
In 2018, Jerry Garcia family members, Keelin Garcia and Manasha Garcia launched the Jerry Garcia Music Arts independent music label.
On November 18, 2021, it was announced Jonah Hill would portray Garcia in a forthcoming Grateful Dead biopic written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski directed by Martin Scorsese for Apple TV+.
== Discography ==
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead (1967)
Anthem of the Sun (1968)
Aoxomoxoa (1969)
Live/Dead (1969)
Workingman's Dead (1970)
American Beauty (1970)
Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses) (1971)
Europe '72 (1972)
Wake of the Flood (1973)
From the Mars Hotel (1974)
Blues for Allah (1975)
Steal Your Face (1976)
Terrapin Station (1977)
Shakedown Street (1978)
Go to Heaven (1980)
Reckoning (1981)
Dead Set (1981)
In the Dark (1987)
Dylan & the Dead (1989)
Built to Last (1989)
Without a Net (1990)
New Riders of the Purple Sage
New Riders of the Purple Sage (1971)
Vintage NRPS (1986)
Solo
Garcia (1972)
Garcia (1974)
Reflections (1976)
Run for the Roses (1982)
Collaborative
Hooteroll? (With Howard Wales) (1971)
Live at Keystone (With Merl Saunders, John Kahn, & Bill Vitt) (1973)
Keystone Encores – (With Merl Saunders, John Kahn, & Bill Vitt) (1988)
Jerry Garcia / David Grisman – (With David Grisman) (1991)
Not for Kids Only – (with David Grisman) (1993)
Shady Grove – (with David Grisman) (1996)
The Jerry Garcia Band
Cats Under the Stars (1978)
Jerry Garcia Band (1991)
Jerry Garcia’s Acoustic Band
Almost Acoustic (1988)
Old & In The Way
Old & In the Way – (1975) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinz_Lorenz | Heinz Lorenz | Heinz Lorenz (7 August 1913 – 23 November 1985) was German Chancellor Adolf Hitler's Deputy Chief Press Secretary during World War II.
== Biography ==
A native of Schwerin, he studied law and economics at the university. He left school and in 1930 obtained a job as a press photographer for the German Telegraph office. In 1934 became a junior editor with the Deutsches Nachrichtenbüro DNB (German News Service). In 1936, he transferred to the Press Office and worked under Otto Dietrich, Press Chief of the Nazi Party. He became a reserve officer and served as Hauptschriftführer of the DNB from late 1942 onwards.
In 1945, Lorenz became the deputy press attaché in the Führerbunker. Towards the end of the war, after Germany's own communications system was all but lost, Lorenz monitored Reuters on the BBC. Lorenz became part of a group who fabricated news reports by reviewing and re-writing Allied news reports. Lorenz worked for General Hans Krebs, Bernd von Freytag-Loringhoven and Gerhard Boldt.
On 28 April 1945, Lorenz provided Hitler with confirmation that Heinrich Himmler had contacted and attempted peace negotiations with the western Allies through Count Folke Bernadotte.
During the pre-dawn hours of 29 April, Hitler ordered that three copies of his political testament be hand-delivered to Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner in Czechoslovakia, Karl Dönitz in Schleswig-Holstein, and the Brown House, Munich by Hitler's army adjutant, Willy Johannmeyer, Martin Bormann's adjutant SS-Standartenführer Wilhelm Zander, and Lorenz, respectively. The three men said their farewell to Hitler and were handed a white dossier with the testament by Bormann at approximately 4.00 am. Armed with automatic weapons and wearing helmets to break through the Soviet lines, the couriers left the bunker around 8.00 am. The men made it through Potsdam and to the Elbe River.
== Post-war ==
Lorenz made it to the west. He was travelling under a false identity when arrested by the British in June 1945. Lorenz told interrogators who he really was and produced the original of Hitler's will and testament that he had kept hidden in the lining of his jacket. Lorenz was held in prison until mid-1947. Thereafter, Lorenz was private secretary to the Haus Hugo Stinnes from 1947 to 1953. He was parliamentary stenographer for the West German Bundestag from 1953 to 1958 and Leiter of the Stenographic Service of the Bundesrat from 1958 until retirement in 1978. Lorenz died in Düsseldorf on 23 November 1985 aged 72. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_New_Girl_episodes#Season_2_(2012%E2%80%9313) | List of New Girl episodes#Season 2 (2012–13) | New Girl is an American television sitcom that premiered on Fox on September 20, 2011. Developed by Elizabeth Meriwether under the working title Chicks & Dicks, the show stars Zooey Deschanel as Jessica "Jess" Day, a well-liked and bubbly woman who is trying to get over her surprise breakup with her boyfriend. With the help of her best friend Cece (Hannah Simone), she finds a new place to stay when she moves in with three single guys: Nick Miller (Jake Johnson), an underachieving bartender; Schmidt (Max Greenfield), who thinks of himself as a modern-day Casanova; and Coach (Damon Wayans, Jr.), who leaves the series in the next episode and is replaced by Winston Bishop (Lamorne Morris), a former professional athlete who achieved modest success abroad and is adjusting to life back in the United States. Coach reappears in the series during seasons three, four, five, six, and seven.
On May 14, 2017, the series was renewed for a seventh and final season, which featured eight episodes. On January 4, 2018, it was announced that the seventh and final season would premiere on April 10, 2018, and also it would end with a one-hour series finale, which was aired on May 15, 2018.
During the course of the series, 146 episodes of New Girl aired over seven seasons.
== Series overview ==
== Episodes ==
=== Season 1 (2011–12) ===
=== Season 2 (2012–13) ===
=== Season 3 (2013–14) ===
=== Season 4 (2014–15) ===
=== Season 5 (2016) ===
=== Season 6 (2016–17) ===
=== Season 7 (2018) ===
== Ratings == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Carell#2004%E2%80%932013:_The_Office_and_comedic_roles | Steve Carell#2004–2013: The Office and comedic roles | Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He starred as Michael Scott in the NBC sitcom The Office (2005–2011, 2013), and also worked at several points as a producer, executive producer, writer, and director. Carell has received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award for The Office. He was recognized as "America's Funniest Man" by Life.
Carell gained recognition as a cast member on The Dana Carvey Show in 1996 and as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 1999 to 2005. He went on to star in several comedy films, including Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) and its 2013 sequel, as well as The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Evan Almighty (2007), Get Smart (2008), Date Night (2010), Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), and The Way, Way Back (2013). He also voice acted in Over the Hedge (2006), Horton Hears a Who! (2008) and the Despicable Me franchise (2010–present).
Carell transitioned his career to taking more dramatic roles including his portrayal of John du Pont in Foxcatcher (2014), which earned him nominations for the Academy Award, the Golden Globe Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor. He also starred in Little Miss Sunshine (2006), The Big Short (2015), and Battle of the Sexes (2017), the last two earning him his eighth and ninth Golden Globe Award nominations, respectively. Other films include Café Society (2016), Last Flag Flying (2017), Vice (2018), Beautiful Boy (2018), and Asteroid City (2023).
Carell returned to television as the co-creator of the comedy series Angie Tribeca (2016–2018), which he developed with his wife, Nancy Carell. He starred as morning anchor Mitch Kessler in the Apple TV+ drama series The Morning Show (2019–present), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. He also starred in Netflix sitcom Space Force (2020–2022), and the FX on Hulu limited series The Patient (2022). He made his Broadway debut playing the title role in the Lincoln Center Theatre revival of Anton Chekov's Uncle Vanya (2024).
== Early life and education ==
Carell was born on August 16, 1962, in Concord, Massachusetts, and grew up in Acton. Both suburbs of Boston. His father, Edwin A. Carell (1925–2021), was a mechanical engineer, and his mother, Harriet Theresa (née Koch; 1925–2016), was a psychiatric nurse. Carell's maternal uncle, Stanley Koch, worked with scientist Allen B. DuMont to create improved cathode ray tubes. His father was of Italian and German descent and his mother was of Polish ancestry. His father's surname was originally Caroselli but it was changed to Carell in the 1950s.
Carell was raised Catholic and was educated at Nashoba Brooks School, The Fenn School, and Middlesex School. He played ice hockey and lacrosse while in high school. He also played the fife, performing with other members of his family, and later joined a reenacting group portraying the 10th Regiment of Foot. He attributed his interest in history to this, earning a degree in the subject from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, in 1984.
While at Denison, Carell was a member of Burpee's Seedy Theatrical Company, a student-run improvisational comedy troupe, and was a goalie on the school's Big Red hockey team for four years. He also spent time as a disc jockey under the name "Sapphire Steve Carell" at WDUB, the campus radio station.
== Career ==
=== 1989–2005: Early work and late night ===
Carell stated that he worked as a USPS mail carrier in Littleton, Massachusetts. However, Carell quit after seven months because his boss told him he was not very good at the job and needed to be faster. Early in his performing career, Carell acted onstage in a touring children's theater company, later in the comedy musical Knat Scatt Private Eye, and in a television commercial for the restaurant chain Brown's Chicken in 1989.
==== The Dana Carvey Show (1996) ====
In 1991, Carell performed with Chicago troupe The Second City where Stephen Colbert was his understudy for a time. Carell made his film debut in a minor role in Curly Sue. In spring 1996 he was a cast member of The Dana Carvey Show, a short-lived sketch comedy program on ABC. Along with fellow cast member Colbert, Carell provided the voice of Gary, half of The Ambiguously Gay Duo, the Robert Smigel-produced animated short which continued on Saturday Night Live later that year. While the program lasted only seven episodes, The Dana Carvey Show has since been credited with forging Carell's career. He starred in a few short-lived television series, including Come to Papa and Over the Top. He has made numerous guest appearances, including in "Funny Girl," an episode of Just Shoot Me! Additional screen credits include Brad Hall's short-lived situation comedy Watching Ellie (2002–2003) and Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda.
==== The Daily Show (1999–2005) ====
Carell was a correspondent for The Daily Show from 1999 to 2005, with several regular segments including "Even Stevphen" with Stephen Colbert and "Produce Pete."
=== 2004–2013: The Office and comedic roles ===
Carell's first major film role was as weatherman Brick Tamland in the 2004 hit comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Struck by Carell's performance in the film, Anchorman producer Judd Apatow approached Carell about creating a film together, and Carell told him about an idea he had involving a middle-aged man who is still a virgin. The result was the 2005 film The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which Carell and Apatow developed and wrote together, starring Carell as the title character. The film made $109 million in domestic box office sales and established him as a leading man. It also earned Carell an MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance and a WGA Award nomination, along with Apatow, for Best Original Screenplay.
In 2005, Carell signed a deal with NBC to star in The Office, a remake of the British television series of the same name which was created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Developed by Greg Daniels this series, shot mockumentary-style, revolves around life at a mid-sized paper supply company. Carell played the role of Michael Scott, the immature, idiosyncratic regional manager of Dunder Mifflin, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Although the first season of the adaptation suffered mediocre ratings, NBC renewed it for another season due to the anticipated success of Carell's film The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and the series subsequently became a raging success. Carell won a Golden Globe Award and TCA Award in 2006 for his role in The Office. He received six consecutive Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series nominations for his work in the series (2006–2011). Carell earned approximately US$175,000 per episode of the third season of The Office, twice his salary for the previous two seasons. In an Entertainment Weekly interview, he commented on his salary, saying, "You don't want people to think you're a pampered jerk. Salaries can be ridiculous. On the other hand, a lot of people are making a lot of money off of these shows."
Carell played Uncle Arthur, imitating the camp mannerisms of Paul Lynde's original character, in Bewitched, a film adaptation of the television series of the same name co-starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell. He also voiced Hammy the Squirrel in the 2006 animated film, Over the Hedge and Ned McDodd, the mayor of Whoville, in the 2008 animated film Horton Hears a Who! He starred in Little Miss Sunshine during 2006, as Uncle Frank. His work in the films Anchorman, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Bewitched established Carell as a member of Hollywood's so-called "Frat Pack," a group of actors who often appear in films together, that also includes Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Vince Vaughn, Paul Rudd, and Luke Wilson. Carell acted as the title character of Evan Almighty, a sequel to Bruce Almighty, reprising his role as Evan Baxter, now a U.S. Congressman. The film received mostly negative reviews. Carell starred in the 2007 film Dan in Real Life, co-starring Dane Cook and Juliette Binoche. Carell played Maxwell Smart in the 2008 film Get Smart, an adaptation of the television series starring Don Adams. It was successful, grossing over $230 million worldwide. During 2007, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Carell was allowed "flex time" during filming to work on theatrical films. Carell worked on Evan Almighty during a production hiatus during the second season of The Office. Production ended during the middle of the fourth season of The Office because of Carell's and others' refusal to cross the picket line of the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike. Carell, a WGA member, has written two episodes of The Office: "Casino Night" and "Survivor Man." Both episodes were praised, and Carell won a Writers Guild of America Award for "Casino Night." On April 29, 2010, Carell stated he would be leaving the show when his contract expired at the conclusion of the 2010–2011 season because he wanted to focus on his film career. However, according to interviews in The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s, Carell did not actually plan to leave at the time and was only "thinking out loud" during the interview, but after his statement failed to elicit a reaction from NBC, he decided it was best to move on.
In 2010, Carell starred with Tina Fey in Date Night and voiced Gru, the main character in the Universal CGI film Despicable Me along with Miranda Cosgrove, Kristen Wiig, and Julie Andrews. He reprised the role in the 2013 sequel Despicable Me 2, the third Despicable Me 3 in 2017, and fourth Despicable Me 4 in 2024. In 2008, Carousel signed a first look deal with Warner Bros. In 2009, his production company Carousel Productions launched a television arm and signed a deal with Universal Media Studios. He has several other projects in the works, including a remake of the 1967 Peter Sellers film The Bobo. He is doing voice-over work in commercials for Wrigley's Extra gum. Carell has launched a television division of his production company, Carousel Productions, which has contracted a three-year overall deal with Universal Media Studios, the studio behind his NBC comedy series. Thom Hinkle and Campbell Smith of North South Prods., former producers on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, were hired to manage Carousel's TV operations.
His last episode as a main character in The Office, "Goodbye, Michael," aired April 28, 2011, with his final shot showing Michael returning his microphone to the fictional documentary crew, before walking to a Colorado-bound plane to join his fiancée, Holly Flax, in Boulder, Colorado. His final line in this episode, to Pam Beesly, is thus unheard. Although he was invited back for the series finale in 2013, Carell originally declined believing that it would go against his character's arc. Ultimately Carell did reprise the role briefly in the series finale. Also in 2013 Carell acted in the summer coming-of-age comedy The Way, Way Back starring Sam Rockwell, Maya Rudolph, and Allison Janney. Carell was asked about participating in a revival of the series in 2018, during the press day for Welcome to Marwen, Carell told Collider reporter Christina Radish, "I'll tell you, no... The show is way more popular now than when it was on the air. I just can't see it being the same thing, and I think most folks would want it to be the same thing, but it wouldn't be. Ultimately, I think it's maybe best to leave well enough alone and just let it exist as what it was...I just wouldn't want to make the mistake of making a less good version of it. The odds wouldn't be in its favor, in terms of it recapturing exactly what it was, the first time."
=== 2014–2018: Dramatic film roles ===
In 2014, Carell starred in the true crime drama film Foxcatcher alongside Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum in which Carell played the millionaire and convicted murderer John Eleuthère du Pont. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Carell was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor and the Academy Award for Best Actor.
In 2015, Carell reprised his role as Gru for a cameo appearance in the film Minions.
Carell played activist Steven Goldstein in the gay rights drama Freeheld, replacing Zach Galifianakis, who dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. The film co-stars Julianne Moore, Elliot Page, and Michael Shannon, and was released in October 2015.
He followed this with another biographical drama, The Big Short, in which he portrayed banker Steve Eisman, whose name was changed in the film to Mark Baum. Directed by Adam McKay, the film stars Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt, and it was released in December 2015. The film earned Carell a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor. The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. The following year he replaced Bruce Willis in Woody Allen's Café Society (2016), alongside Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg. The film premiered at the 69th Cannes Film Festival opening the festival. The film's consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads, "Café Society's lovely visuals and charming performances round out a lightweight late-period Allen comedy whose genuine pleasures offset its amiable predictability." In 2017, Carell headlined the biographical comedy-drama Battle of the Sexes, portraying tennis star Bobby Riggs, with Emma Stone co-starring as Billie Jean King. The film earned both Carell and Stone Golden Globe nominations. Carell also starred as Larry "Doc" Shepherd in the war comedy-drama film Last Flag Flying directed by Richard Linklater starring Laurence Fishburne and Bryan Cranston.
In 2018, Carell starred in three films. He led the addiction drama Beautiful Boy as real life father David Sheff, whose son Nic (Timothée Chalamet) struggles with drug addiction. He also played Donald Rumsfeld in Adam McKay's political satire, Vice, about the life of former Vice President Dick Cheney (Christian Bale). The film received mixed reviews, and went on to be nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture. His third 2018 role was starring as Mark Hogancamp of Marwencol in Robert Zemeckis' Welcome to Marwen. The film received a 32% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critical consensus reading, "Welcome to Marwen has dazzling effects and a sadly compelling story, but the movie's disjointed feel and clumsy screenplay make this invitation easy to decline." The movie was a box office failure, grossing $12.7 million against a budget of around $49 million.
=== 2019–present: Career expansion ===
In 2019, Carell returned to television to star in the Apple TV+ drama series The Morning Show opposite Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. Carell played Mitch Kessler, a morning news show anchor who is struggling to maintain relevance after being fired due to a sexual misconduct accusation. The Morning Show received a two-season order from Apple. The first season premiered in the fall of 2019 and the second season premiered in 2020. For his performance in the first season, Carell was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, his eleventh Emmy nomination overall. Carell had originally signed a one-year deal with Apple to star in the first season only but he signed on to star in the second season in October 2019.
Since May 2020, Carell also starred in the Netflix workplace comedy series Space Force, based on the proposed space warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces: the United States Space Force. Carell created and produces Space Force with Greg Daniels, who created and produced The Office. Carell also wrote the pilot episode with Daniels. The show was renewed for a second season in November 2020. Carell starred in the political comedy film Irresistible, written and directed by Jon Stewart. The film was initially set for a theatrical release in May 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the film was released on Premium VOD and selected theaters on June 26, 2020. In 2022, Carell reprised his role as Gru in the film Minions: The Rise of Gru. He also starred in (and served as executive producer for) FX on Hulu's ten-episode original series The Patient; in that series, Carell portrays a therapist who is imprisoned by a serial killer who wants to resist the urge to kill. Carell replaced Bill Murray, who contracted COVID-19, in Wes Anderson's Asteroid City (2023).
In 2023, it was announced that Carell would be making his Broadway debut as the title role in the Lincoln Center revival of Anton Chekov's Uncle Vanya at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. The production was directed by Lila Neugebauer and Carell starred alongside Alison Pill, William Jackson Harper, Alfred Molina, Anika Noni Rose and Jayne Houdyshell.
== Personal life ==
On August 5, 1995, Carell married Saturday Night Live cast member Nancy Walls, whom he met when she was a student in an improv class he was teaching at The Second City Training Center. They have a daughter named Elisabeth Anne (born May 2001) and a son named John (born June 2004). His daughter graduated from and his son attends Northwestern University. On June 15, 2025, Carell received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Northwestern.
Carell and his wife have appeared together in the comedy films The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, as well as the comedy series The Daily Show and The Office. They also co-created the comedy series Angie Tribeca.
In February 2009, Carell purchased the Marshfield Hills General Store in Marshfield, Massachusetts.
In an interview with 60 Minutes, Carell cited George Carlin, John Cleese, Bill Cosby, Steve Martin, and Peter Sellers as his inspirations for acting and comedy.
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television ===
=== Theatre ===
=== Video games ===
=== Web series ===
== Awards and nominations ==
For his contributions to the film industry, Carell received the 2,570th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expendables_(2010_film) | The Expendables (2010 film) | The Expendables is a 2010 American action film directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone, who co-wrote the screenplay with David Callaham. The first installment in The Expendables franchise, the film co-stars an ensemble cast of mostly action film actors, including Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and Bruce Willis. The film is about a team of elite mercenaries tasked with a mission to overthrow a Latin American dictator whom they soon discover to be a mere puppet controlled by a corrupt ex-CIA agent. It pays tribute to the blockbuster action films of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The Expendables was released in the United States on August 13, 2010 by Lionsgate. It received mixed reviews from critics, with some praise for the action sequences, and grossed $274 million. It was followed by three sequels: The Expendables 2 (2012), The Expendables 3 (2014), and Expend4bles (2023).
== Plot ==
An elite group of mercenaries named The Expendables, who are based in New Orleans, deploys to the Gulf of Aden to save hostages on a vessel from Somali pirates. The team consists of leader Barney Ross, blade specialist Lee Christmas, martial artist Yin Yang, chemical engineer Gunner Jensen, weapons specialist Hale Caesar, and demolitions expert Toll Road. Gunner instigates a firefight, causing casualties for the pirates. He then tries to hang a pirate, but Yang stops him when Barney and the team discourage the idea. Barney reluctantly discharges him from the team.
Later, Christmas is upset to discover his girlfriend Lacy has left him for another man. Barney and rival Trench Mauser visit "Mr. Church" for a mission. Trench passes the contract to Barney, which is to overthrow dictator General Garza in Vilena, an island in the Gulf of Mexico. Barney and Christmas fly to Vilena for undercover reconnaissance and meet their contact, Sandra, but are discovered. It is revealed that ex-CIA officer James Munroe is keeping Garza in power as a figurehead for his own profiteering operations, while Sandra is revealed to be Garza's daughter. Barney aborts, but Sandra refuses to leave Vilena.
Meanwhile, Gunner approaches Munroe to help and Garza is angered further when Sandra is waterboarded for information by Munroe. Meanwhile, Lacy has been physically abused by her new man, so Christmas beats him and his friends, revealing what he does for a living. Barney and the group discover that Church is a CIA operative and the real target is Munroe, who has gone rogue and joined forces with Garza to keep the drug money that funds the CIA to himself, but the CIA cannot afford a mission to kill one of their own directly because of bad publicity. Barney meets tattoo expert and friend Tool to express his feelings. Tool makes a confession about letting a woman commit suicide instead of saving her.
Barney is then motivated to go back for Sandra alone, but Yang accompanies him. Gunner and hired men pursue them on the road, ending in an abandoned warehouse, where Yang and Gunner fight a second time. Barney shoots Gunner when he attempts to impale Yang on a pipe. Gunner makes amends and gives the layout of Garza's palace. Barney boards the plane with Yang and finds the rest of the team waiting, and they infiltrate Garza's compound. Thinking Munroe hired the team to kill him, Garza has his soldiers' faces painted, preparing them for a fight. The team plants explosives throughout the site but Barney, while saving Sandra, is captured by Munroe's henchmen.
The team saves him and kills the Brit, but is pinned down by Garza's men as Paine wrestles Barney. Caesar fights back and Paine escapes. Garza finally stands up to Munroe, ordering him out and returning his money. Instead, as Garza rallies his men against the Americans, Munroe kills him and escapes with Paine and Sandra. Garza's men open fire against the team, who fight their way through, detonating the explosives and destroying the compound. Toll kills Paine by burning him alive while Barney and Caesar manage to destroy the helicopter before Munroe can escape. Barney and Christmas catch up to Munroe, where they save Sandra and kill Munroe.
Later, Barney donates his mission reward for Sandra to restore Vilena. The team has returned home and are celebrating at Tool's tattoo parlor with the recovering and now redeemed Gunner. Christmas and Tool play a game of knife throwing during which Christmas composes a mocking poem about Tool and throws a bullseye from outside the building.
== Cast ==
Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross
Jason Statham as Lee Christmas
Jet Li as Yin Yang
Dolph Lundgren as Gunner Jensen
Randy Couture as Toll Road
David Zayas as General Garza
Giselle Itié as Sandra
Charisma Carpenter as Lacy
Gary Daniels as The Brit
Terry Crews as Hale Caesar
Mickey Rourke as Tool
Bruce Willis as Mr. Church
Arnold Schwarzenegger as Trench Mauser (uncredited cameo)
Steve Austin as Paine
Eric Roberts as James Munroe
== Production ==
=== Development ===
In mid-2005, writer David Callaham submitted the first draft of a mercenary-inspired action film titled "Barrow" to Warner Bros., as part of his "blind commitment" deal with the studio at the time. Callaham revised the script two more times and submitted his third final revision in early 2006. Having expressed interest in doing an ensemble film, Sylvester Stallone reviewed Callaham's third/final revised draft of Barrow and used it as a "starting point" for The Expendables.
=== Casting ===
Jean-Claude Van Damme was personally offered a role by Stallone, but turned it down because he felt there was no substance or development to the character. Stallone said that Van Damme told him that he should "be trying to save people in South Central." At the premiere of the film, Stallone claimed to have been speaking to Van Damme over the phone and had said, "I told you!", to which Van Damme concurred and expressed his regret over not participating. Van Damme would later appear as the main antagonist, Jean Vilain, in the film's sequel.
The role of Hale Caesar was initially conceived as a role for Stallone's Demolition Man co-star Wesley Snipes. Snipes turned down the role because of his tax issues, and not able to leave the United States without the court's approval. It was later rewritten for Forest Whitaker. Due to a scheduling conflict prior to filming, Whitaker was replaced by 50 Cent before the part of Hale Caesar finally went to former NFL player Terry Crews. Snipes and 50 Cent would star in the third and fourth movies in the series respectively.
Steven Seagal was asked to make a cameo appearance, but turned down the offer due to negative experiences with producer Avi Lerner.
Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Ben Kingsley, and Ray Liotta were all considered for the role of James Munroe before Stallone's The Specialist co-star Eric Roberts was eventually cast in the role.
By May 2009, the script had undergone a number of rewrites. Stallone's Demolition Man co-star Sandra Bullock was rumored to have a role in the film, but revealed that she did not even know about the project. Despite the news, she did express interest in working in another action film and would have liked to appear in the film, depending on the storyline.
The role of the man who hires the Expendables, Mr. Church, was difficult to cast. Schwarzenegger was offered that role, but instead appeared as fellow mercenary leader Trench. The role was then offered to Stallone's Tango & Cash co-star Kurt Russell, whose agent replied that he was not interested in "ensemble acting at the moment". Stallone spent several months after principal photography determined to find a big action name for the part. Rumors suggested that the role had been offered to friend and fellow former Planet Hollywood co-owner Bruce Willis, who was busy filming Cop Out. Willis' casting as Mr. Church was confirmed by August 2009, as was that he would appear in a scene with both Stallone and Schwarzenegger.
To cast the soldiers, Stallone knew his filming location, Brazil, was home to many mixed martial arts fighters. He called Ultimate Fighting Championship champions Anderson Silva and brothers Rogerio and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to make casting calls, and had the three cameo as well.
=== Filming ===
Film production began on March 3, 2009, with a budget of $82 million.
Principal photography commenced 25 days later in Rio de Janeiro and other locations in Brazil, including Mangaratiba, Niterói, Guanabara Bay, Colônia Juliano Moreira and Parque Lage. Filming originally ended on April 25 but was continued on May 11, in Elmwood and New Orleans, Louisiana, including the French Quarter, South Peters Street, Fort Macomb, Claiborne Avenue and the Interstate 10 overpass. Filming officially ended on July 1, but on October 27 there was a pick-up scene at a church in Los Angeles, California featuring Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis (the latter two doing the scene without compensation, according to Stallone in the Blu-ray Disc director commentary). On June 2, West Coast Customs Street Customs built three customized 1955 Ford F100s for Sylvester Stallone for the film. One was built for a crash scene, the second for green screen, and the third for Stallone to keep. "The Expendables has a seventy million dollar budget," Stallone's Rocky IV co-star Dolph Lundgren says: "It's an old-school, kick-ass action movie where people are fighting with knives and shooting at each other." The flying boat used for filming is a Grumman HU-16 Albatross and the ship used as a setting in the opening scene was a Russian SA-15 type Arctic cargo ship Igarka.
In Summer 2010, Brazilian company O2 Filmes released a statement saying it was still owed more than US$2 million for its work on the film.
== Music ==
Composer Brian Tyler announced on his official website that he had been hired to write original music for the film. Tyler previously worked with Stallone on Rambo in 2008.
Godsmack vocalist Sully Erna was approached by Stallone himself to write a song for the film. Erna showed him a potential unfinished piece of "Sinners Prayer"; Stallone liked it and wanted to use it in the film. However, during the film's post-production, the scene that "Sinner's Prayer" was originally meant to be used in was reworked and the song was taken off the film and its soundtrack. The American hard rock band Shinedown contributed a brand new track, "Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)", recorded specifically for the film, but the song does not appear in the film nor its official soundtrack. The song was used in the theatrical trailer and the finished piece was released on June 15, 2010. Both songs were finally used for the Extended Director's Cut. One of the alternate trailers uses the song "Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses. The song "The Boys Are Back in Town" by Thin Lizzy (live version featured on Still Dangerous) played in TV spots and is played over the credits.
The score for the film was released on August 10. The track lists have been revealed.
== Release ==
=== Theatrical ===
The film had an original scheduled release date set at April 23, 2010, but was later pushed back four months until August 13, to extend production time. On March 17, 2010, the official international poster for the film was released. A promo trailer (aimed at industry professionals) was leaked online in August 2009. Sometime in October, nearly two months after the promo trailer was leaked, it was officially released online. The promo trailer was edited by Stallone and it was shown at the Venice Film Festival. On April 1, 2010, the official theatrical trailer for the film was released. The film had its red carpet Hollywood premiere on August 3, 2010. The grand premiere of the film was held at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada on August 10, 2010.
=== Lawsuit ===
In 2011, writer Marcus Webb sued Stallone, Callaham, and the producers of The Expendables for stealing elements from his similarly mercenary themed script The Cordoba Caper. The following year, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed Webb's case on a summary judgement after failing to provide sufficient evidence of "striking similarities." Rakoff noted that Writers Guild of America arbitration proved that The Expendables was loosely based on Callaham's Barrow script, which was written before Webb's script. Rakoff also pointed out that The Expendables is a straight forward action film while The Cordoba Caper is more similar to caper films like The Sting; he also noted that any similarities were due to Scènes à faire as opposed to plagiarism.
=== Home media ===
The theatrical cut of The Expendables was released on DVD/Blu-ray Disc on November 23, 2010. The Blu-ray Disc is a 3-disc combo pack.
An Extended Director's Cut of the film was meant to be out for an early 2011 DVD/Blu-ray Disc release, but was first released on cable television instead. The Extended Director's Cut was released on Blu-ray Disc on December 13, 2011. A 90-minute documentary called Inferno: The Making of The Expendables was released exclusively to the theatrical cut's Blu-ray release.
=== Extended Director's Cut ===
The Extended Director's Cut premiered on Epix on May 30, 2011, for the Memorial Day weekend. The Extended Cut contains roughly 11 minutes of additional footage and reintroduces the Shinedown song "Diamond Eyes" to the soundtrack, both during the climactic shootout and again over the end credits, and the song "Sinners Prayer" by Sully Erna in the new opening credits.
== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
The film made its US debut at 3,270 theaters with approximately 4,300 screens, which earned it the #10 spot on the list of the "Biggest Independent Releases of All Time" at Box Office Mojo and the #16 spot on their list of top opening weekends for August. It earned $34.8 million in its opening weekend and took the #1 position in the U.S. box office. On the day of its release, the film earned $13.3 million in sales, exceeding the $9.7 million sum from the debut of the last previous summer action film The A-Team.
Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo stated that the film "took a commanding lead in its debut", compared to competing films Eat Pray Love and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Ben Fritz of the Los Angeles Times stated that the "over-the-top shoot-'em-up" opened to a "very strong" reception. As well, he described it as "a crowd-pleaser even if critics didn't take to it." Research by Lionsgate found that between 38% and 40% of the film's viewers were female. The results were unexpected, for a film thought to have limited appeal to female filmgoers.
The Expendables remained at the top position in the U.S. box office during its second weekend, earning a weekend total of nearly $17 million.
The film went on to gross $103.1 million in the United States, and $171.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross total of $274.5 million.
=== Critical response ===
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 41% based on 206 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "It makes good on the old-school action it promises, but given all the talent on display, The Expendables should hit harder." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a mean score of 45 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On CinemaScore polls, audiences gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Some reviews praised the film highly. The Hollywood Reporter stated that "the body count is high and the personalities click in this old-school testosterone fest", and Boxoffice Magazine stated that "it's filled with literally explosive excitement" and that "a who's who of classic action stars light up the screen for pure combustible entertainment in Sly Stallone's The Expendables, a sort of Dirty Dozen meets Inglourious Basterds—and then some…" Richard Corliss of Time added that "what you will find is both familiar in its contours and unique in its casting."
Peter Paras of E! Online said that the film is "peppered with funny dialogue, epic brawls and supersize explosions", and that "The Expendables is the adrenaline shot the summer of 2010 needs", and the Boston Globe stated that the film is "a lot of unholy fun". Empire's Genevieve Harrison gave the film a 3/5 stars rating and remarked, "More The Wild Geese than The Wild Bunch, The Expendables is not a wasted opportunity, but more one not fully exploited. For action fans raised on Commando and Cobra, the ensemble cast and '80s-style violence will be pure wish-fulfilment—but even they could have wished for something better."
Some highly negative reviews appeared. In The New Yorker, Anthony Lane called it "breathtakingly sleazy in its lack of imagination".
Peter Travers, writing for Rolling Stone, said, "Stallone forgets to include non-spazzy direction, a coherent plot, dialogue that actors can speak without cringing, stunts that don't fizzle, blood that isn't digital and an animating spirit that might convince us to give a damn." Claudia Puig, writing the review for USA Today, summed the film up as a "sadistic mess of a movie".
Rourke's performance was given special recognition by some critics. In the Chicago Tribune, Michael Phillips said, "Rourke delivers a monologue about his time in Bosnia, and the conviction the actor brings to the occasion throws the movie completely out of whack. What's actual acting doing in a movie like this?" Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle praised Rourke for the same scene, stating, "He's amazing…a great actor."
=== Accolades ===
== Sequels ==
Three sequels titled The Expendables 2, The Expendables 3 and Expend4bles were released in 2012, 2014, and 2023. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallstatt | Hallstatt | Hallstatt (German: [ˈhalʃtat] ) is a small town in the Gmunden District of the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Salzkammergut region, on the national road linking Salzburg and Graz.
Hallstatt is known for its production of salt, dating back to prehistoric times, and gave its name to the Hallstatt culture, the archaeological culture linked to Proto-Celtic and early Celtic people of the Early Iron Age in Europe, c. 800–450 BC.
Hallstatt is at the core of the Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape declared as one of the World Heritage Sites in Austria by UNESCO in 1997. It is an area of overtourism.
== History ==
During the Bronze Age salt production became day-to-day commercial activity in Hallstatt. Salt was produced in large quantities in evidently highly organized arrangements. Specialist workers supported the salt mining operations. The wealth that was generated is on display in the prehistoric cemeteries in Hallstatt.
In 1846 Johann Georg Ramsauer discovered a large prehistoric cemetery at the Salzberg mines near Hallstatt (47.561°N 13.642°E / 47.561; 13.642), which he excavated during the second half of the 19th century. Eventually the excavation would yield 1,045 burials, although no settlement has yet been found. This may be covered by the later village, which has long occupied the entire narrow strip between the steep hillsides and the lake.
Some 1,300 burials have been found, including around 2,000 individuals, with women and children but few infants.
The humans that settled Hallstatt exploited the salt mines in the area from the 8th to 5th centuries BC. The style and decoration of the grave goods found in the cemetery are distinctive. In the mine workings themselves, the salt has preserved many organic materials such as textiles, wood, and leather, and many abandoned artefacts such as shoes, pieces of cloth, and tools and miner's backpacks have survived in good condition.
Hallstatt A–B are part of the Bronze Age Urnfield culture. Phase A saw Villanovan influence. In this period, people were cremated and buried in simple graves. In phase B, tumulus (barrow or kurgan) burial becomes common, and cremation predominates. Little is known about this period in which the typical Celtic elements have not yet distinguished themselves from the earlier Villanova-culture. The "Hallstatt period" proper is restricted to HaC and HaD (8th to 5th centuries BC), corresponding to the early European Iron Age. Hallstatt lies in the area where the western and eastern zones of the Hallstatt culture meet, which is reflected in the finds from there.
Hallstatt C is characterized by the first appearance of iron swords. Hallstatt D displays daggers, almost to the exclusion of swords, in the western zone graves ranging from circa 600 to 500 BC. There are also differences in the pottery and brooches. Halstatt D has been further divided into the sub-phases D1 to D3 relating only to the western zone.
Major activity at the site appears to have finished about 500 BC, for reasons that are unclear. Many Hallstatt graves were robbed, probably at this time. There was widespread disruption throughout the western Hallstatt zone, and the salt workings had by then become very deep.
Much of the material from early excavations was dispersed,
=== Romans onwards ===
Tourists are told that Hallstatt is the site of "the world's oldest pipeline", which was constructed 400 years ago from 13,000 hollowed-out trees. There is so little space for cemeteries that every ten years bones used to be exhumed and removed into an ossuary, to make room for new burials. A collection of elaborately decorated skulls with the deceased's name, profession, and date of death inscribed on them is on display at the local chapel.
=== 19th century ===
Until the late 19th century, it was only possible to reach Hallstatt by boat or via narrow trails. The land between the lake and mountains was sparse, and the town itself exhausted every free patch of it. Access between houses on the river bank was by boat or over the upper path, a small corridor passing through attics. The first road to Hallstatt was only built in 1890, along the west shore, partially by rock blasting. Nevertheless, this secluded and inhospitable landscape counts as one of the first places of human settlement due to the rich sources of natural salt, which have been mined for thousands of years, originally in the shape of hearts owing to the use of antler picks.
=== Archaeology ===
In 2025, archaeologists announced the discovery of a Roman-era cameo depicting Medusa during excavations associated with construction work at a new funicular railway station. The cameo, carved from black-and-white banded agate or onyx and dated to the 2nd century AD, was likely crafted in the Adriatic city of Aquileia and is notable for its workmanship and preservation. It is considered among the few larger Roman cameos on public display in Upper Austria.
== Hallstatt salt mine ==
The Hallstatt salt mine is the world's oldest working salt mine. The mine is located within the Upper Permian to Lower Triassic Haselgebirge Formation of the Northern Limestone Alps. The Hallstatt salt mine comprises 21 levels and several smaller shafts ranging from 514 metres (1,686 ft) above sea level (Erbstollen level) to an elevation of around 1,267 m (4,157 ft) (Erzherzog Matthias Schurf level).
== Tourism ==
Hallstatt's tourism began in the 19th century but greatly increased after it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. It became popular among East Asian tourists in 2006 when it was featured on a South Korean television show.
Social media images of Hallstatt, captioned "the most Instagrammable town in the world", went viral in Eastern and Southeastern Asia. In 2013, it was rumored in China to be the model for the movie Frozen's Arendelle village. Filmmakers have said the village was based on research done in Norway and Canada, not in Austria, but the rumors increased daytourist visits.
=== Notable places ===
Hallstatt has several tourist sites. These include:
Hallstatt Skywalk: Hallstatt Skywalk, also known as the "World Heritage View", offers a panorama of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located 360 meters above Hallstatt, the platform overlooks the village, Lake Hallstatt and the surrounding Dachstein Alps.
Hallstatt Ossuary (Beinhaus): Located in St. Michael's Chapel, the Ossuary is a cultural monument comprising more than 1,200 human skulls, 600 of which are artistically painted with symbols, names and dates. The tradition of painting skulls and preserving bones began due to limited burial space in the village.
Hallstatt Museum and Excavations: The Hallstatt Museum covers the ancient history of the region, especially its role in the salt trade. It features artifacts from the Hallstatt culture, dating back to the Bronze and Iron Ages, including tools, weapons and burial objects. The museum also covers the archaeological excavations in the nearby area that reveal the complex society of the Hallstatt civilization.
=== Overtourism by day visitors ===
The problems and opportunities of greatly-increased tourism in Hallstatt were covered by The Washington Post in August 2019.
By 2017, local churches were employing bouncers to prevent services being disrupted by tourists. In 2020, the town had a population of 780, and estimates of 10,000 to nearly 30,000 tourists per day, primarily via bus tours which bring tourists briefly into the town for photo opportunities, then quickly move on.
Tourism is important to Hallstatt's economy, but according to locals the day-visitors drive away tourists who would stay longer. Hallstatt became the prime example of overtourism in Austria and led to controversies around limiting the number of tourists. The Austrian Public Broadcasting Organization made multiple documentaries about the situation.
In 2020, the town focused on "quality" tourism. Starting in autumn 2020 there were assigned time slots for tour buses to cope with the problem. Arrivals were limited to 54 per day, about half of the previous number allowed. Buses with an overnight booking in the town received preference.
In 2023 locals protested against overtourism. In May, two fences were built to prevent tourists from stopping to take selfies; they were removed after "a backlash" on social media. In August, protesters blocked the entrance to a tunnel through which buses pass to enter the town. The mayor announced plans to reduce the number of buses allowed by another one-third.
== Politics ==
Seats in the municipal assembly (Gemeinderat) as of 2021 local elections:
Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ): 7
BFH (Independent): 4
Austrian People's Party (ÖVP): 2
Alexander Scheutz (SPÖ) has been mayor of Hallstatt since 2009.
== International relations ==
=== Twin town ===
Hallstatt is twinned with:
Huizhou, China
=== Replica ===
On 16 June 2011, plans to build a replica in China were first reported. On 2 June 2012, it was reported that Chinese mining company China Minmetals Corporation built a full-scale replica of the entire town in Huizhou, Guangdong province.
In 2022, the Chinese town of Hallstatt was the final location of the 12th episode of 1st Korean television series Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area. In the episode it was named as Kherson in Ukraine.
== Climate ==
Hallstatt, like much of Austria (see Climate of Austria), has a humid continental climate (Dfb) (Cfb if the −3.0 °C (26.6 °F) isotherm is used) with warm, rainy summers and chilly to cold, snowy winters. Precipitation is plentiful year-round, hence the f in Dfb, but is at its highest during the three months of summer: Jun-Aug.
Spring is a short (March and April) transition season between cold winters and mild summers. By mid-November, fall has turned to winter and the nighttime low temperature is around freezing, giving a growing season of April to early November. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eras_Tour | The Eras Tour | The Eras Tour was the sixth concert tour by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It began in Glendale, Arizona, United States, on March 17, 2023, and concluded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on December 8, 2024. Spanning 149 shows in 51 cities across five continents, the Eras Tour had a large, cultural and socioeconomic impact. It became the highest-grossing tour of all time and the first to earn over $1 billion and $2 billion in revenue.
Announced after the release of her tenth studio album Midnights (2022), Swift designed the tour as a retrospective tribute to all of her studio albums and their corresponding musical "eras". Running over 3.5 hours, the set list consisted of over 40 songs grouped into 10 acts that portrayed each album's mood and aesthetic. The show was revamped in May 2024 to incorporate her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department (2024). Critics praised the Eras Tour for its concept, production, and immersive ambience, as well as Swift's vocals, stage presence, and versatile showmanship.
The tour recorded unprecedented public demand, ticket sales and attendances, bolstering economies, businesses, and tourism worldwide, dominating social media and news cycles, and garnering tributes from governments and organizations. This also gave rise to multifarious issues: ticketing crashes that inspired a string of anti-scalping laws and price regulation policies; scrutiny of Ticketmaster for monopoly by US authorities; diplomatic tensions in Southeast Asia due to Singapore's exclusivity grant; poor venue management in Rio de Janeiro resulting in a death; a failed ISIS plot to attack the tour in Vienna; and a political scandal in the UK.
Swift disclosed and released various works throughout the tour: the re-recorded albums Speak Now (Taylor's Version) and 1989 (Taylor's Version) in 2023; editions of Midnights and The Tortured Poets Department; the music videos of "Karma", "I Can See You", and "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart"; and "Cruel Summer" as a single. An accompanying concert film, documenting the Los Angeles shows, was released to theaters worldwide on October 13, 2023, in an uncommon distribution deal circumventing major film studios. Met with critical acclaim, the film became the highest-grossing concert film in history. A photo book of the tour, The Eras Tour Book, was released on November 29, 2024. A behind-the-scenes series, The End of an Era, and a second concert film based on the Vancouver shows, The Final Show, were released on December 12, 2025, on Disney+. The tour's accolades include an iHeartRadio Music Award for Tour of the Century and six Guinness World Records. It also inspired Swift's twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl (2025).
== Background ==
Taylor Swift's last concert tour, the Reputation Stadium Tour (2018), broke the record for the highest-grossing US tour in history. She cancelled a planned concert tour in support of her seventh studio album Lover (2019), due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and subsequently released three new studio albums: Folklore (2020), Evermore (2020), and Midnights (2022). As part of her re-recording project to claim ownership over the masters of her past albums, she released two re-recorded albums, Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version), in 2021.
During her promotion of Midnights, on November 1, 2022, she announced the Eras Tour, which she described as "a journey through the musical eras of [her] career", on Good Morning America and through her social media accounts. Messina Touring Group, an Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) partner, was the tour's promoter. She first announced 27 US shows from March to August 2023, beginning in Glendale, Arizona, and ending in Inglewood, California. The opening acts were Paramore, Haim, Phoebe Bridgers, Beabadoobee, Girl in Red, Muna, Gayle, Gracie Abrams, and Owenn, each two of whom shared a tour date. Popular demand led Swift to announce eight additional US shows on November 4, and 17 the following week. A second US leg was announced on August 4, 2023, with Abrams as the opener. Billboard thought that the huge demand contributed to "the most chaos-inducing tour announcement of the decade".
On June 2, 2023, Swift announced the Latin American shows of the Eras Tour, with Sabrina Carpenter as the opening act. A third show in Buenos Aires was announced on June 6, hours after the public sale commenced, due to high demand. Louta was announced as an additional opening act. Additional shows in Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo were announced on June 12. Shows in Asia, Australia, and Europe were announced on June 20. From June to November 2023, new shows were added to the tour. In Asia-Pacific, six extra shows were added to Singapore, and two to Australia. In Europe, eight shows were added initially, followed by fourteen more, then two in London; Paramore was announced as the leg's opening act. Nine shows were also announced in Canada (Toronto and Vancouver), with Abrams as the opening act. In February 2024, a second show was added in Madrid after the venue's football club, Real Madrid, asked La Liga to reschedule their match to cover the "extraordinary demand".
Several politicians and government officials demanded the tour be brought to their country or city. Places such as Canada and Chile were expected to be part of the tour but were absent in Swift's announcement on June 20, drawing dismay and demands from fans and officials. Across Southeast Asia, fans decried the lack of shows in countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong and demanded the tour be brought to there. In particular, her return to the Philippines had been highly anticipated. Some journalists and fans opined that unlike venues in Japan and Singapore—the only Asian countries that are a part of the Eras Tour—those in Hong Kong, the Philippines and Thailand might not have the proper infrastructure that is required to host the tour. In addition, Hong Kong and mainland China reopened to foreigners much later than most other places following the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, which may have affected touring plans, as per South China Morning Post. In Malaysia, legal opposition to LGBT rights and the ban on pop concerts during Ramadan were cited as potential reasons.
== Ticket sales ==
Ticket sales for the Eras Tour were handled by various ticketing agencies around the world, such as Ticketmaster, over several dates. Met with unprecedented, record-setting demand, tickets at every venue sold out in hours. Sales faced technical malfunctions in many countries; bulk purchases of tickets by scalpers and bots were reported at numerous venues, resulting in tickets being listed on resale platforms for exorbitant prices. StubHub noted that the Eras Tour ticket sales were "tracking to be the best-selling of any artist [they've] seen". Jay Marciano, CEO of AEG, stated that Swift outright refused to impose dynamic pricing on the tickets in the purview of her fans.
=== US and Canada ===
The first US leg was set to go on sale to the general public on November 18, 2022. Due to Swift's multi-year partnership with Capital One, their cardholders had presale access, which was set to begin on November 15. Fans registered for the Ticketmaster Verified Fan program from November 1 through 9 to receive a presale code that granted exclusive access to the TaylorSwiftTix Presale on November 15; those who purchased merchandise from Swift's website received "boosts", and previous Lover Fest ticket holders also received preferred access to the presale if they registered using the same Ticketmaster account. Swift confirmed ticket prices in advance, abandoning the "platinum ticket" model; they ranged from US$49 to $449, while VIP packages ranged from $199 to $899. According to Ticketmaster, the TaylorSwiftTix Presale provided "the best opportunity to get more tickets into the hands of fans who want to attend the show" by evading bots and scalpers. It also noted that if demand from the program "exceeds supply", it is possible that "verified fans may be selected at random to participate in the presale." It later reported that it received a record 3.5 million verified fan registrations for the Eras Tour. Ahead of the second leg's presale on August 11, Ticketmaster estimated that 14 million users were vying for roughly 625,000 tickets.
Ticketmaster handled the Canadian sales as well, using the Verified Fan program. Members of the Royal Bank of Canada's Avion Rewards program received exclusive access to a separate presale. An estimated 31 million people registered for the Toronto Verified Fan presale, equal to over 77 percent of Canada's population.
=== Latin America ===
Latin American tickets went on sale in early June 2023. Presale access was granted to Banco Patagonia clients in Argentina on June 5; around one million customers were reported to have queued for the 24,000 available presale tickets for the Buenos Aires shows, and over three million during the general sale. DF Entertainment served as Swift's tour promotion partner in Argentina; CEO Diego Finkelstein called the demand "unprecedented", based on which Perfil opined that Swift could fill the stadium 36 times if she wanted to. On the day of the show, more than 1 million users tried to get last-minute seats.
In Mexico, ticket presale was handled by Ticketmaster's Verified Fan program; registrations ran from June 2 through June 7, followed by a general public on-sale. In Brazil, previous Lover Fest ticket holders and C6 Bank Mastercard holders gained access to presales on June 6 and 10, respectively. Instantly after the announcement of the shows on June 2, people camped outside Allianz Parque to purchase physical tickets to the São Paulo shows that would not go on sale to the general public until June 12. The Mastercard presale tickets sold out in 30 minutes, with over one million customers queueing. On June 12, over two million users queued for the general sale online.
=== Asia-Pacific ===
Tickets in Japan were sold by Lawson under their Loppi ticket system. Unlike other countries, all Japanese tickets were only sold as lottery tickets. The pre-sale for American Express card holders began from June 23 to 26, 2023, and pre-sale for Lawson began from June 27 to July 10. Due to the high demand, Lawson announced the second lottery pre-sale, which began from July 28 to August 3. The additional general sale took place on August 22, 2023, and immediately sold out.
In Australia, tickets were only available via Ticketek. Guardian Australia reported that the Australian leg was met with unprecedented demand as well. Within 12 hours, over one million people signed up for presale codes. American Express cardholders purchased VIP packages from June 26 to 28; the website crashed within half an hour, and all packages sold out on June 26. Following the scalping highlighted by Australian consumer organization Choice, the Victoria State Government declared the Eras Tour in Melbourne a "major event", a legal provision penalizing scalping and misleading advertisement in Victoria. Because reselling a ticket for more than 10% above the original price had already been illegal in New South Wales, the government investigated the ticket resale platform Viagogo after the scalping reports. On June 28, those registered with Frontier Touring Company gained access to a presale for which over four million users queued, setting a national record; tickets sold out within three hours. Ticketek stated it neutralized over 500 million bot purchase attempts during the presale. The public on-sale began on June 30, with tickets selling out that day. A second sale on November 10 sold out within two hours for Sydney and under one hour for Melbourne. A third sale for a limited number of tickets, including restricted view seats, occurred on February 13, 2024.
For the Singaporean shows, United Overseas Bank (UOB) cardholders in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam had presale access on July 5, 2023, with over one million users in the virtual queue. The Straits Times reported that Swift's fans in Singapore and other eligible Southeast Asian countries began "scrambling" to sign up for UOB cards. Around 22 million users registered for access to the 330,000 available tickets during the July 7 general sale, which happened both virtually and via Singapore Post offices; tickets sold out immediately despite website crashes. Klook, an official experience partner for the Singapore leg, sold travel packages along with tickets, which were purchased by dozens of Filipino fans and instantly sold out. Marina Bay Sands sold tickets coupled with hotel stays and other experiences.
=== Europe ===
The Lisbon shows went on sale on July 12 and 27, 2023, via See Tickets, with transferrable access codes mailed to registered users, who were limited to four tickets per code. Standard tickets for both shows sold out within 2.5 hours. Following popular demand for an additional show in Madrid, Spain, La Liga approved football club Real Madrid's request to move their match from May 26 to May 25, 2024, to make way for a second Eras Tour show at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on May 29.
Three million people queued for tickets in Germany, and 600,000 registered for the Warsaw shows. All 170,000 tickets for the three Vienna shows sold out within a few hours, marking the largest and fastest ticket sale ever in Austria. All 95,000 Zürich tickets sold out within 30 minutes. In Italy, two million people tried to access tickets for the two shows in Milan, per Italian organizers D'Alessandro & Galli.
In France, TF1 reported the highest demand ever for a presale. Angelo Gopee, head of Live Nation France, stated, "the demand is such that many have found themselves in a virtual queue just to subscribe to the mailing list which, potentially, will open access to the ticket office. From memory, we had never seen that in France". The Paris presale opened on July 11, 2023, to over one million queued users. Ticketmaster suspended both Paris and Lyon presales within an hour after reports of login glitches; they were rescheduled to July 17 to 21. Over 250,000 tickets were sold for the six French dates, with AEG France executive Arnaud Meersseman estimating Swift could have done twelve shows due to the overwhelming demand. According to RMC, the capacity for the four shows at Paris La Défense Arena was also increased from 41,500 to 45,000, meaning Swift will perform for 180,000 attendees in Paris alone.
Ticketmaster and AXS handled the United Kingdom sale. Those who had previously pre-ordered Midnights were able to access presales from July 10 to 12. London's Wembley Stadium officials described the demand for tickets as "unprecedented" and noted that waiting times were "longer than usual". Cardiff's Principality Stadium tickets were pre-sold on July 14. In addition to website malfunctions, Forbes reported widespread scalping of the tour's UK tickets, with immediate re-listing on sites like StubHub and Viagogo for extortionate prices. Viagogo responded that the demand of the tour's European leg is something the company had not seen "since the Beatles". The UK general sale took place from July 17 to 19. In Scotland, the City of Edinburgh Council granted organizers permission to increase Murrayfield Stadium's capacity from 67,130 to 72,990 for Swift's three shows. In Ireland, around 500,000 people registered for the Dublin shows. On account of the website crashes during the UK sale, Ticketmaster announced staggered on-sale times for Dublin on July 20, 2023; tickets sold out in minutes. The Irish Times highlighted that, unlike the UK, "the practice of reselling tickets above face value has been illegal in Ireland since 2021", so no scalping was reported.
== Production ==
The Eras Tour was produced by Swift's in-house tour production company, Taylor Swift Touring. The company hired around 90 trucks to haul staging, costumes and other equipment for the shows. Canadian production designer Ethan Tobman served as the tour's creative director. The Wall Street Journal stated, the tour is one of the most expensive and "technically ambitious" productions of the 21st century. Interior design magazine Architectural Digest named the tour Swift's "most ambitious" set design and praised its worldbuilding.
=== Stage and lighting ===
The Eras Tour staging is expansive, made of digital displays. It consists of three separate stages connected by a broad ramp: a main stage with a giant, curved widescreen; a rhombic middle stage; and a rectangular stage that along with the ramp forms a T-shape at the middle of the floor. The stages feature various visuals and effects throughout the show. The tour's concept centers on worldbuilding, featuring a diverse set of props and performing styles to convey the varying moods and aesthetics of Swift's albums.
The staging is equipped with an in-built "hyperactive" hydraulic platform, with the main and middle stages having mobile blocks that manually rise from the center to form platforms of different shapes, and another car-like platform that is moved on the middle stage, driven by an operator seated within the platform but concealed from the audience. The tour's "massive" production is heavily inspired by Broadway theatre. It was described as a 4D cognitive experience, featuring pyrotechnics, laser lights, smoke machines, fire cannons, indoor fireworks, PixMob LED bracelets, and image projection technology, such as projection mapping.
=== Music and performance ===
Designed as a tribute to Swift's discography across her career since 2006, the Eras Tour covers all of the styles of music that are seen in her 11 studio albums, including The Tortured Poets Department, which was added in the European leg of the tour after the album's release. These range from country and pop to folk and alternative rock genres. Some media outlets dubbed the Eras Tour the "greatest hits" tour of an artist still in her commercial prime. The set list placed a somewhat greater focus on albums Swift had not previously toured, including first-ever live performances of several tracks. According to the music journalist Alexis Petridis, the Eras Tour is a musically eclectic production, consisting of "dubstep-inspired, dark-hued pop; tweedy folk; monster-chorus-sporting anthems and acoustic guitar-driven songs that show her Nashville grounding".
The concert ensemble included 15 backup dancers, choreographed by Mandy Moore, and Swift's live band of six instrumentalists who have been touring with her since 2007 and four female backing vocalists. Moore was recommended by Swift's friend, American actress Emma Stone, who had worked with Moore on the musical film La La Land (2016). To prepare for the tour physically, Swift trained using a custom workout routine designed by personal trainer Kirk Myers; Swift sang the entire set list daily while running on a treadmill, trained in dance for three months leading up to the first show, and forwent the consumption of alcohol.
=== Fashion ===
Swift's wardrobe at the Eras Tour was a subject of widespread media coverage. Her costumes and those of her accompanying dancers, as well as her microphones and guitars, paid homage to her 10 albums. They were inspired by previous performances, music videos, and public appearances, intended to align with the overarching themes and palette of the era Swift referenced in an act, showcasing the various sonic and visual aesthetics she had adopted in her career. However, crystals were a unifying fashion choice; costumes of every act were adorned with them.
Attire and accessories were mostly custom-made by fashion houses Swift had worked with before, such as Atelier Versace, Roberto Cavalli, Etro, Nicole + Felicia Couture, Zuhair Murad, Elie Saab, Ashish, Alberta Ferretti, Jessica Jones, and Oscar de la Renta. Swift wore variations of some costumes at different shows, usually paired with Christian Louboutin shoes. Swift's black fedora from "22" was designed by Gladys Tamez. Fausto Puglisi, a designer for Roberto Cavalli, stated that he took an "artisanal approach to craftsmanship" while customizing the outfits, claiming "everything must be eye-catching" when designing for concerts. He incorporated Swarovski crystals in the costumes Swift wore during the Fearless, 1989, and Reputation acts, which required over 170 hours of meticulous "hand-craftsmanship by skilled artisans" to make. The sequined tulle ball gown that Murad designed for the Speak Now act required "over 350 hours of atelier handwork". Ferretti used chiffon and micro-beading for the Folklore era dresses, while the Midnights Oscar de la Renta fringed bodysuit was hand-adorned with more than 5,300 beads and crystals.
StyleCaster regarded the Eras Tour wardrobe as Swift's best fashion collection for a tour. The New York Times' chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman considered the Eras Tour a fashion show beyond merely live music and praised Swift's "fabulous" but purposeful wardrobe choices for setting the bar high for future concerts by other artists.
== Concert synopsis ==
A typical show of the Eras Tour lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes. It consisted of between 44 and 46 songs, grouped into 10 acts, representing each "musical era" of her discography. Each act was characterized by a specific color scheme, costume, and stage design, and transitions between acts were facilitated by on-screen interlude visuals and marked by costume changes with negligible intermissions.
=== March 2023 to March 2024 ===
The show commenced with the Lover act. A clock on-screen counted down to show time as Dusty Springfield's "You Don't Own Me" (1964) played. Surrounded by dancers in pastel-colored, fan-like tapestry, Swift emerged from the platform at mid-stage in a bodysuit and boots. She opened the show with the chorus of "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince" leading into "Cruel Summer". Accompanied by dancers, Swift performed "The Man" and "You Need to Calm Down" in a sequined blazer, through a set emulating office cubicles. She then delivered the welcome note with the dollhouse from the "Lover" music video on-screen, depicting her various album eras. She played an acoustic version of "Lover" on the guitar with her band, backup singers, and dancers, followed by a stripped-down rendition of "The Archer" alone on the ramp. The second act, Fearless, began with the screen showing gold electric sparks raining down. Swift reappeared in a metallic fringed dress and country boots. She performed "Fearless" on the main stage, "You Belong with Me" at mid-stage, and "Love Story" on the T-stage, all alongside her band while her backup singers wore metallic gold and silver jackets and black jumpsuits.
The third act, Evermore, adopted a forest aesthetic. Swift began singing "'Tis the Damn Season" in a long gown, followed by a dark theme that leads to "Willow" in a "witchy" séance; she wore a cape and performed with dancers holding luminescent orange orbs. She continued with "Marjorie", then "Champagne Problems" on a moss-covered piano beneath an oak tree, concluding the act with Swift introducing her pianist Karina DePiano followed by "Tolerate It" with a male dancer at a dinner table reminiscent of Citizen Kane (1941). Snakes visuals and dimming lights started the Reputation act. Swift reemerged in a black asymmetrical catsuit with snake motifs. She delivered a high-energy performance of "...Ready for It?" with female dancers wearing black-dark red gothic leotards, "Delicate", and "Don't Blame Me" featured light beams and Swift on an elevated platform. She transitioned to "Look What You Made Me Do", which featured on-screen visuals of Swift from all of her eras trapped in glass boxes and dancers dressed in some of Swift's older looks. The act concluded with a snake slithering away on-screen.
The fifth act, Speak Now, began with an abstract mosaic of purple lights on the stage. Swift, in a ball gown, walked in from the screen and performed "Enchanted" with female dancers; since July 7, 2023, she also performed "Long Live" with her band. The color scheme changed to match the next act, Red; a female dancer opened a box that plays snippets of "Red", "Everything Has Changed" or "Holy Ground", and "State of Grace". Red balloons emerged, and Swift performed "22" wearing a version of the white T-shirt and black hat from the song's music video. Near the end of the song, she greeted a fan pre-selected from the audience, giving them the hat. Swift sang "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and "I Knew You Were Trouble" with male dancers next, dressed in a red-black romper. She donned a red-black ombre coat next, and performed "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" on a guitar, backed by the band. The act concluded with artificial snow falling.
Cottagecore dominated the seventh act, Folklore, introduced with a spoken-word interlude of "Seven". Onstage is a bucolic, A-frame cabin setup, similar to the one from Swift's performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards (2021), on an elevated platform with a staircase. Swift performed "Invisible String" or "The 1" on the cabin's roof, "Betty" with her band, and "The Last Great American Dynasty" with dancers dressed in period clothing. She then sang "August", which transitioned to the bridge of a rock-tinged "Illicit Affairs", followed by "My Tears Ricochet" with female dancers wearing sparkly black long sleeved dresses and choreography resembling a funeral procession. Swift returned to the cabin to perform "Cardigan", ending the act with fireflies as the cabin retreated.
1989, the eighth act, commenced with the screen showing a neon-lit city skyline. Swift, wearing a crop top and skirt, sang "Style" with dancers dressed in black-and-white outfits. Moving to mid-stage, female dancers rode neon bicycles for "Blank Space" and used blue golf clubs to smash an animated Shelby Cobra car. She followed with "Shake It Off", performed as a robust dance party; "Wildest Dreams", backed with backup singers and clips of a couple in bed; and "Bad Blood", with female dancers and accentuated by intense pyrotechnics. It was followed by the acoustic set, where Swift performed two surprise songs on guitar and piano. In an optical illusion, a body of water developed around the piano and enveloped the stage; Swift then dove into the stage and appeared to swim underwater, along the ramp and toward the main stage.
The final act, Midnights, began with a wave from the illusion crashing against the screen; Swift woke up from a bed and climbed a ladder into a cloud. The lower screen split, and dancers carried out clouds as Swift reemerged in a purple faux fur coat, a glittery oversized shirt, and dark blue boots to sing "Lavender Haze". She removed the coat and performed "Anti-Hero" alongside a video of herself as a creature terrorizing a city. Dancers performed with umbrellas as Swift sang "Midnight Rain" and changed costumes, reappeared in a rhinestone-adorned midnight blue bodysuit. She then performed a "chair dance" choreographed for "Vigilante Shit", influenced by "sultry" burlesque and the 1975 musical Chicago. Swift followed with "Bejeweled", featuring moves inspired by the song's viral TikTok dance, and "Mastermind" with the entire dance crew wearing black robes. "Karma" was performed last, with Swift, backup singers, and dancers in tinsel-fringed jackets, closing the show with fireworks, colorful visuals, and confetti.
=== May to December 2024 ===
Starting from May 2024, Swift revamped the set list to include a new act with songs from her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, released on April 19, 2024. "The Archer", "Long Live", "The 1", "The Last Great American Dynasty", "'Tis the Damn Season", and "Tolerate It" were removed from their respective acts to accommodate the album. The Speak Now and Red acts were brought forward as the fourth and third acts, while the acts for Folklore and Evermore, which are considered "sister albums", merged into one. The Tortured Poets Department act was placed between the 1989 act and acoustic set.
The Tortured Poets Department act featured predominantly black-and-white graphics, drawing from dark academia. It began with the screen showing pieces of furniture descending from the sky alongside paper pieces, which then transform into a deserted road and the furniture crash down. Swift appeared onstage in a white corset dress with handwritten lyrics and sings "But Daddy I Love Him" and parts of "So High School", alongside dancers dressed in white. She performed "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" on a moving glass-plated block and appeared to levitate in an illusion, which ended with the screen depicting an evil-possessed Swift. A UFO then appeared on screen and attempted to abduct Swift, who started singing "Down Bad" on the moving block that hovered over a digital galaxy. Transitioning to "Fortnight", the stage featured a "TTPD"-emblazoned bed and two female dancers dressed as nurses. Swift sang the song as she sat on a typewriter, across from a male dancer. She proceeded with "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived", for which she put on a white marching band jacket as dancers marched beside her with drums. The act ended with a silent skit with two male dancers accompanied by enthusiastic jazz music, where Swift removed her dress to reveal a two-piece bodysuit, leading up to "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart".
At the end of the last shows of the tour, Swift exited the stage in the direction of a bright orange door on the screen.
== Critical reception ==
It's easy to compare one of Swift's stadium shows to something you'd see on Broadway—never has that been more true than for The Eras Tour. The setlist is cut up into acts, grouped by eras for each of Swift's ten studio albums. For each era/act, Swift went full-send into that album's look, feel, costume, color blocking, and more.
The tour received "overwhelmingly positive" reviews from music and entertainment critics, who praised both the high-end spectacle and "polished artistry" of the tour. Billboard described the Eras Tour as "the must-see blockbuster of the year". Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph, Keiran Southern of The Times, Adrian Horton of The Guardian, Kelsey Barnes of The Independent, Ilana Kaplan of the i, and Erica Campbell of NME gave the Eras Tour total five-star ratings. McCormick called the show "one of the most ambitious, spectacular, and charming stadium pop shows ever seen", lauding Swift's musicianship, vocals, and energy. Southern declared the Eras Tour "a pop genius at the top of her game". Horton praised the "rapturous" music selection, concept, "extravagant" staging, and Swift's stamina and vocals. Barnes noted the tour as "a career-defining spectacle" with acts marking the shifts in Swift's artistry, while Kaplan commended the "unparalleled" showmanship, "spicier" choreography, camp styles, and "seamless" transitions between acts. Campbell praised the storytelling aspect of the show that ties all the 10 acts together, enhanced by staging, cinematic ambience and fashion. Australian Financial Review's James Thomson opined, "Swift works the massive stage like a master, cycling through countless costume changes and several elaborate sets, all while belting out 44 songs over three-and-a-half hours."
The versatility of the show's music, visuals, and performance art was often a point of praise in its reviews. Journalists Rebecca Lewis and Carson Mlnarik of Hello! and MTV, respectively, commended Swift's stage presence and commitment to her artistry; Lewis described Swift's alter egos during the tour as shifting from "country ingénue to pop princess and folklore witch", whereas Mlnarik affirmed that the on-screen visuals stayed true to every album's aesthetic. The Week and Dallas Observer critics agreed, highlighting the "jaw-dropping" visuals and "bedazzled" fashion. Billboard editor Jason Lipshutz underscored Swift's "powerhouse" vocals, engaging artistic personas, and skill set. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times highlighted the tour's scale, ambition, and portrayal of all the musical pivots of Swift's career, whereas The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber complimented the show's art direction, suspense, and the sequencing of the acts. Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times described the show as a "masterclass in pop ambition", showcasing Swift's range. According to The New Yorker senior editor Tyler Foggatt, the Eras Tour is a product of Swift's understanding of herself, building a tour "solely devoted to the idea of a trajectory—that of a career, of a musical identity, of a life—that can be traced cleanly from one era to the next."
Critics also appreciated the tour's production value and artistic direction. Philip Cosores of Uproxx dubbed it the "most impressive stadium show ever conceived". Spin critic Jonathan Cohen admired the rich stage design, usage of "state-of-the-art" technology, and immersive experience into Swift's "increasingly accomplished musical world-building". Variety journalist Chris Willman felt that the "epic" show demonstrated that "the person who has come up with the single greatest body of pop songwriting in the 21st century is also its most popular performer". Pollstar's Christina Fuoco and Andy Gensler praised the production as "stunning and tastefully rendered" and "live music at its highest spectacle". Rolling Stone's Waiss David Aramesh opined that it is "a production spectacle of the highest echelon". Melinda Sheckels of Consequence praised the tour's "nuanced and interpretive" approach in depicting Swift's albums and the "sheer magnitude, artistry, and technical prowess" of the production.
The revamped tour, following the release of The Tortured Poets Department, continued to receive rave reviews. Annabel Nugent of The Independent and Fiona Sheperd of The Scotsman praised the tour's choreography, state-of-the-art production, song selection, and Swift's consistent energy. McCormick declared, "there's no doubt that Taylor Swift is the best in the world right now." Critics Mark Sutherland and Anna Leszkiewicz opined that the tour's scale and performances continued to impress despite crossing 100 shows and being available as a film on streaming; Leszkiewicz, in New Statesman, described Swift as "a talented actress" with a "high camp" stage presence—"whether flashing faux-coy smiles, luxuriating in overdramatic eyerolls, or throwing herself into theatrical Wicked Witch of the West arm movements." Petridis described the tour in The Guardian as "an astonishing, risk-taking, strangely intimate extravaganza", adding it is pointless to review the tour anymore as "every conceivable detail has already been dissected and discussed in depth." Reviews published in the Berliner Zeitung and Süddeutsche Zeitung praised Swift for what they considered as a commanding stage presence and charisma that is rare in her peers.
== Commercial performance ==
=== Box score ===
The Eras Tour has broken a string of ticket sales records worldwide. In the first day of the US presale alone, the tour sold over 2.4 million tickets, the most sold by an artist in a single day, surpassing Robbie Williams, who had sold 1.6 million tickets for his Close Encounters Tour in 2005. Billboard reported on December 15 that the Eras Tour had already grossed an estimated US$554 million, and projected the US leg to finish with $591 million, surpassing the former all-time female record set by Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour ($407 million) in 2008–2009. Following the tour's launch, Swift rose to number one on Pollstar's Artist Power Index chart. MetLife Stadium named her their "No. 1 best-selling artist" of all time after the tour's third East Rutherford show, which was the 100th concert in the stadium's history.
In June 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Eras Tour "on track to become the biggest in concert history, with the potential to gross over $1 billion"; Pollstar estimates projected a $1.4 billion gross. Bloomberg News reported that the average gross per show on the US leg was $13 million. According to Forbes, the Eras Tour has grossed $780 million from 56 shows as of August 2023, making it the highest-grossing tour by a woman in history based on its first North American leg alone, surpassing Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour. In November 2023, Billboard estimated a gross of over $900 million from the tour thus far and that the total could nearly double after the 2024 shows. Swift's team stated they do not intend to announce the box score, but Pollstar reported in December 2023 an estimated gross of $1,039,263,762 from 60 shows that year, making the Eras Tour the highest-grossing concert tour ever and the first to reach the $1 billion mark. In June 2024, the BBC News estimated 11 million tickets sold across the entire tour. In October 2024, Forbes reported that the tour had grossed an additional $1.15 billion from 65 shows in 2024, bringing the tour's estimated gross up to $1.93 billion.
After the tour concluded in December 2024, The New York Times published the first gross reported by Taylor Swift Touring, Swift's production company. The publication revealed that the tour grossed $2.07 billion with an attendance of 10.1 million. Pollstar's final estimate was $2.2 billion from 10.055 million tickets, making Swift the first solo act in history to sell over 10 million tickets on a single tour. With an average of 67,487 tickets, she broke U2 360° Tour's record for highest attendance per show. Inc. opined that Swift could have made an additional $1.5 billion if she had adopted traditional ticketing strategies like other artists.
=== Venue records ===
== Spin-off media ==
Swift unveiled various musical works during the tour. On the day of the opening show, she released four songs to celebrate the tour's launch: the re-recordings of "Eyes Open" and "Safe & Sound", both originally from the 2012 soundtrack The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond; a re-recording of "If This Was a Movie", one of the deluxe tracks from Speak Now (2010); and "All of the Girls You Loved Before", a previously unreleased outtake of Lover.
A special CD edition of Midnights, subtitled The Late Night Edition, was released during the Eras Tour. It was only purchasable in-person at merchandise stands at certain shows, beginning in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on May 26, 2023. It exclusively contained the bonus track "You're Losing Me", which became a "ravenously anticipated" song; Variety reported that "fans were so eager to get their hands" on the CD, causing queues at the stadium the day before the merchandise store opened.
On May 5, 2023, at the first Nashville show of the tour, Swift announced her third re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor's Version), and its release date as July 7. A digital deluxe version of Speak Now (Taylor's Version) contained two live recordings from the tour as bonus tracks. She also premiered two music videos, both of which she wrote and directed, during the tour. She premiered the videos for "Karma" featuring American rapper Ice Spice and "I Can See You" before the acoustic set at the first East Rutherford show and first Kansas City show, respectively. On August 9, at the final Los Angeles show, Swift announced 1989 (Taylor's Version) as her fourth re-recorded album, which was released on October 27, exactly nine years after the release of the original 1989 album. On November 3, Hits reported that a live album of the tour was discussed.
On October 13, 2023, Swift released the self-produced concert film, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, directed by Sam Wrench, to theaters worldwide. It was produced from the footage recorded at the tour's Los Angeles shows. The film, in an unprecedented move, had Swift partnering directly with the theaters to both distribute and exhibit the film instead of a major film studio. It received critical acclaim for capturing the spectacle and energy of the show and became the highest-grossing concert film of all time.
On February 16, 2024, at the first Melbourne show, Swift announced a second variant of The Tortured Poets Department, with a bonus track titled "The Bolter". She announced another variant of the album, with the bonus track "The Albatross" on February 23, at the first Sydney show. The fourth variant of the album, containing the bonus track "The Black Dog", was announced on March 3, at the second Singapore show of the tour. On August 20, Swift premiered the music video for "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart", a song inspired by the tour after leaving the stage at the end of the eighth show in London. The video features footage of tour performances, rehearsals, audiences, and backstage moments. Throughout the tour Swift released limited-time digital deluxe versions of The Tortured Poets Department, each with a different live recording of songs from the album.
On October 15, 2024, Swift announced her first-ever book, The Eras Tour Book. Dubbed "the official retrospective" of the tour, it is a 256-page photo book with over 500 on-stage and behind-the-scenes images, as well as Swift's personal reflections and notes. Concurrently, Swift launched her in-house publishing imprint, Taylor Swift Publications. The book was released exclusively in Target stores on a Black Friday—November 29, 2024. Selling over a million copies in its first week in the US alone, the book became the best-selling book of 2024. On January 16, 2025, Swift released three limited-time digital versions of Lover (Live from Paris), each with a live recording of a song from Lover performed on the tour.
A documentary series, The End of an Era, premiered through Disney+ on December 12, 2025, released over the course of a three-week period, concluding on December 23. Directed by Don Argott and produced by Object & Animal, the six-episode series features an "intimate look" at Swift's life while on tour. Additionally, a second concert film documenting the tour was released on December 12. Directed by Glenn Weiss and filmed at the tour's final show in Vancouver in December 2024, The Eras Tour: The Final Show includes The Tortured Poets Department act, which was absent from the first concert film.
== Accolades ==
== Impact ==
The Eras Tour had an impact on the music industry, entertainment and beyond. It was described as one of the most prominent cultural phenomena of the 21st century, generating a level of attention similar to the 1960s' Beatlemania. The tour elevated the economy of its stops by revitalizing local businesses and tourism, attracted large crowds of spectators outside stadiums, dominated news cycles and social media, inspired tributes from governments and organizations. Critics often described the Eras Tour as a monocultural event demonstrating Swift's impact on popular culture. The tour fueled an increase in public consumption of her discography as well. Swift's net worth, which was $740 million before the tour began, was updated to $1.1 billion after the first 57 shows of the tour; Swift became the first billionaire in history with music as the main source of income. Sportico reported that the NFL stadiums Swift performed at garnered substantial revenue from concessions and merchandise sales, and parking permits.
== Controversies ==
=== US ticket sales crash ===
On November 15, the day of the first US presale, Ticketmaster's website crashed following what Variety called "historically unprecedented demand". Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, said they prepared for 1.5 million verified fans, but 14 million turned up; published a statement saying they had been "unprepared" to accommodate them; and cancelled any further sales, citing inability to meet demand. The fiasco was the subject of public criticism and political scrutiny. Customers and fans criticized Ticketmaster for its allegedly flawed systems and inefficient technical resolutions. US lawmakers, including attorneys general and members of Congress, took notice of the issue, which became the focus of multiple state, federal and congressional inquiries, and an antitrust lawsuit.
=== Venue management in Brazil ===
Unrest was reported on June 11, 2023, outside the Brazilian venues' box offices, as scalpers attempted to cut in line, including some armed scalpers who threatened violence, until the police intervened. The agency responsible for the tour in Brazil, T4F – Time For Fun (T4F), was reported over 100 times to authorities for their inaction. On June 20, federal lawmakers in Brazil filed the "Taylor Swift Law", which would penalize scalpers with up to four years in prison and a fine of up to 100 times the value of the ticket.
On November 17, 2023, before the start of the first Rio de Janeiro show, T4F reportedly prohibited concertgoers from bringing their own water bottles inside the venue. It was one of the hottest days in the city, with a heat index of 59.3 °C (138.74 °F), as part of a heat wave in the country. Videos posted to social media by fans showed thousands of queued concertgoers waiting for hours in the sun before entry into the stadium; Swift and her team arranged and distributed water bottles to the crowd. A concert attendee, Ana Clara Benevides, died while being taken to a hospital after she fainted during the first few minutes of the show. T4F attracted widespread criticism from fans and politicians. Several claimed that stadium organizers "refused" to provide concertgoers water; a criminal investigation was opened. Benevides' cause of death was forensically determined to be cardiac arrest caused by heat exhaustion. Swift grieved Benevides' death on social media. She postponed the show that had been scheduled for November 18 to 20, citing "extreme temperatures".
=== Diplomacy in Asia ===
Srettha Thavisin, then Prime Minister of Thailand, claimed that the government of Singapore offered subsidies of $2 million–$3 million per show of the Eras Tour in exchange for making Singapore the exclusive venue in Southeast Asia. He criticized Singapore for excluding other member countries of the ASEAN from witnessing Swift. The Singapore Tourism Board responded that they did provide a "grant" to bring the Eras Tour to Singapore, and that the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth worked with the tour's promoter, Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), but did not reveal the size of the grant or attached conditions due to "business confidentiality". Minister Edwin Tong commented, the alleged sum of the grant was "nowhere as high as what is being speculated". Joey Salceda, member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, criticized Singapore and demanded that the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs seek an explanation from the Embassy of Singapore, Manila. Sandiaga Uno, Indonesian minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, also expressed his disappointment, stating "Indonesia was eager to replicate the success of Swiftonomics". Subsequently, Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore since 2004, assured that the exclusivity grant did not have an hostile intention.
Swift included neither the People's Republic of China nor the Republic of China (Taiwan) in the Eras Tour. The tour skipping Taiwan was a topic of political debate during the campaigns preceding the 2024 Taiwanese presidential and legislative body elections. Jaw Shaw-kong, vice-presidential candidate of the opposition (Kuomintang party), claimed he invited Swift to perform at the Taipei Dome and that she initially agreed to perform but later declined due to "geopolitical risks" of the sensitive Cross-Strait relations. The Taiwanese Ministry of Culture commented on the issue but neither denied nor confirmed Jaw's claims. Kaohsiung mayor Chen Chi-mai described Jaw's claims about Swift as an attempt at manipulating the voters.
=== Security in Europe ===
On July 18, 2024, a suspected stalker of Swift, who was accused of threatening her and her boyfriend, American football player Travis Kelce, on social media was detained and arrested as he attempted to enter the second of Swift's shows in Gelsenkirchen. The same month, three children were killed at a mass stabbing attack at a Swiftie workshop in Southport, Merseyside, UK. The incident caused public unrest in Southport, and over the next few days, escalated into nationwide protests and riots. A week later, authorities thwarted an Islamic State (ISIS) plot to attack Swift's three shows in Vienna. Police arrested three teenagers who were "radicalized on the Internet" and plotted to kill "tens of thousands" at the concerts. Initially, Austrian public security director Franz Ruf stated that the shows would take place as scheduled, with additional security measures in place. However, event organizer Barracuda Music announced that all three shows would be cancelled with tickets refunded, after confirmation from the Government of Austria of an elaborate terrorist plan. With Swift's permission, the Austrian public broadcaster ORF aired the tour's accompanying concert film on August 10 on ORF 1 television for free. The tour's next stop, London, increased its security for the shows.
In October 2024, controversy ensued in the UK when it was reported that politicians of the ruling Labour Party were gifted with over £20,000 in free tickets to the Eras Tour after Swift's demands for the highest level of security were denied, with the politicians allegedly pressuring the Metropolitan Police to give in to the demands. In advance of the London dates, Swift's team had reportedly demanded additional "VVIP" security from the Metropolitan Police's Special Escort Group and threatened to cancel the London shows if not provided. The police initially turned down the request, claiming their intelligence did not detect any threat to Swift's London shows and hence she did not require the top-level "taxpayer-funded" security reserved for heads of state. However, the police subsequently reversed its decision and provided Swift with the requested protection. Various politicians of the opposition Conservative Party, such as Susan Hall, Robert Jenrick, Gavin Williamson and Andrew Murrison, criticized the Labour government, accusing it of abuse of power. Both the police and the government denied the allegations of bribery; Starmer's spokesperson described it as a conflict of interest.
== Philanthropy ==
Swift donated to food bank units at every stop of the Eras Tour, as reported by the respective organizations, and exclusively employed various local businesses to fulfill her crew's daily requirements. At the conclusion of the first US leg, Swift gave "unprecedented" bonus payments totaling over $55 million to her entire touring crew, including $100,000 to each of the 50 truck drivers involved in transporting the stage setup and production equipment. By the end of the tour, Swift distributed $197 million in bonus payments to her crew. A spokesperson for Swift said she purchased more than double the carbon credits needed to offset emissions generated by her travel throughout the tour. In October 2023, Swift donated Eras Tour tickets to the Rare Impact Fund, a charity and mental health awareness initiative by American singer Selena Gomez's cosmetic company, Rare Beauty. The auctioned tickets sold for $15,000 and were the "biggest ticket item of the event". On April 27, 2024, four Eras Tour tickets raised $80,000 at auction in a gala benefiting the 15 and The Mahomies Foundation, a charity by the American football player Patrick Mahomes.
== Standard set list ==
=== March 2023 to March 2024 ===
This set list was taken from the show in Glendale on March 17, 2023. It does not represent all shows throughout the tour.
==== Alterations ====
"The 1" replaced "Invisible String" starting from the Arlington shows, except at the second Nashville show, where Swift performed "Invisible String" in honor of the bench at Centennial Park dedicated to her.
"Nothing New" was added before "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" at shows opened by Phoebe Bridgers, who performed the song with Swift.
At the three East Rutherford shows, Swift performed the remix of "Karma" with Ice Spice.
"Long Live" was added after "Enchanted" as part of the Speak Now act after the release of Speak Now (Taylor's Version), until May 2024.
"No Body, No Crime" replaced "'Tis the Damn Season" at shows opened by Haim, who performed the song with Swift.
=== May to December 2024 ===
This set list was taken from the show in Nanterre on May 9, 2024. It does not represent all shows throughout the tour.
==== Alterations ====
At the last London show and the three Miami shows, Swift performed "Florida!!!" with Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine before "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?"
== Surprise songs ==
Swift performed two numbers from her discography, as either a standalone song or a mashup, at each show as "surprise songs" in the ninth act—the first on acoustic guitar and the second on piano. Over the course of the tour, Swift played every song in her discography, with the exception of "That's When", "Bye Bye Baby", "Girl at Home", "Ronan", "Forever Winter" and "Soon You'll Get Better".
=== 2023 ===
=== 2024 ===
=== Notes ===
At the third Tampa show and the second Pittsburgh show, Swift reversed the order of the instruments she used to perform the surprise songs, playing the first on piano with Aaron Dessner and the second on acoustic guitar.
At the third Foxborough show, Swift performed both surprise songs on acoustic guitar due to technical difficulties with the piano caused by the previous night's rain.
At the second Cincinnati show, Swift performed "I Miss You, I'm Sorry" on acoustic guitar with Gracie Abrams on piano between the first and second surprise songs.
== Tour dates ==
=== Cancelled shows ===
== Personnel ==
Adapted from the credits of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film.
Taylor Swift – lead vocals, guitar, piano
Band & Vocalists
Dancers |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Kent | Jeff Kent | Jeffrey Franklin Kent (born March 7, 1968) is an American former second baseman who played for 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1992 to 2008. He played for six teams in his career, becoming best known for his six seasons with the San Francisco Giants from 1997 to 2002. A five-time All-Star, he was one of the top power-hitting second basemen in major league history, with twelve seasons of 20 or more home runs and eight seasons with over 100 runs batted in (RBI).
After several seasons of modest success for three teams, often being shifted to third base, Kent enjoyed a surge in productivity at age 29 after being traded to the Giants. He led the team in RBI every year from 1997 to 2000, settling into the cleanup spot in the lineup behind Barry Bonds and helping the team win a division title in 1997 by driving in 121 runs. The following year, he hit 30 home runs for the first time and raised his RBI total to 128, and in 1999, he became the seventh San Francisco player to hit for the cycle. He was named the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player in 2000 after leading the team to the best record in the major leagues, batting .334 with 33 home runs, 125 RBI and a career-high 114 runs scored. In 2001, he set a Giants franchise record by hitting 49 doubles, and in 2002, he batted .313 with a career-high 37 home runs as the team captured its first NL pennant in 13 years. Joining the Houston Astros as a free agent, he helped them reach the 2004 playoffs, leading the club with 107 RBI. He retired after four seasons spent with his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008.
Kent's 351 home runs as a second baseman are a major league record, and his career .500 slugging percentage is the second highest at the position, behind only Rogers Hornsby. His 540 doubles in the NL were tied for tenth in league history when he retired, with his career total of 560 being the fourth-most by a second baseman; he also ranked third among second basemen in RBI (1,518) and extra-base hits (984), and sixth in total bases (4,246). His 2,008 games at second base in the NL were third-most in league history when he retired, and he ranked eighth in league history in putouts (3,981), sixth in assists (5,508), and fourth in double plays (1,258). In 2026, Kent will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He will also have his number 21 retired by the Giants that same year.
== Early life ==
Jeffrey Franklin Kent was born on March 7, 1968, in Bellflower, California. He graduated from Edison High School in Huntington Beach, where he was an All-Orange County selection as a junior shortstop.
He was dismissed from the baseball team after clashing with his coach over leadership, culminating in Kent being told to switch to second base, which he did not like; he was soon told to turn in his uniform, which he did.
Afterwards, he played with American Legion and Connie Mack League baseball and earned a college scholarship.
== College career ==
Kent played college baseball for the Golden Bears at UC Berkeley from 1987 to 1989. In 1988 he played both in the College World Series, where the Golden Bears were the first team eliminated, and in collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. A broken wrist in the midst of his junior season saw him miss the rest of the year and scared off scouts.
== Professional career ==
=== Draft and minor leagues ===
Kent was selected in the 20th round of the 1989 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, and was assigned to the St. Catharines Blue Jays of the New York–Penn League. He moved up to the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Florida State League in 1990, and the Knoxville Blue Jays of the Southern League in 1991.
=== Toronto Blue Jays (1992) ===
Kent was invited to spring training with the Blue Jays in 1992; he was intended to be sent to AAA with the Syracuse Chiefs, but was called up after Derek Bell suffered a broken wrist in the second game of the year. He made his debut on April 12 in a 3-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles, entering in the 5th inning at third base, and recorded his first career hit in his first at bat, a double leading off the 6th inning against José Mesa. He hit his first home run two days later in a 12-6 win over the New York Yankees off pitcher Lee Guetterman. He saw limited at bats early in the season, not getting a hit between April 25 and May 27; however, an injury to starting third baseman Kelly Gruber granted Kent a more regular role in the lineup.
=== New York Mets (1992–1996) ===
Kent was traded to the New York Mets on August 27, 1992, for pitcher David Cone, as Toronto bolstered their pitching rotation for a successful World Series run; he was awarded a World Series ring despite the trade. His time with the Mets was marked with some success and some failure. Although he batted well, particularly for a second baseman, the Mets were among the worst teams in the National League, never posting a winning record in his five seasons, and finishing with the worst record in the major leagues in 1993. He also struggled in the field, leading NL second basemen in errors in 1993 and 1994. Furthermore, he acquired a poor reputation in the clubhouse, where he was known for a quick temper and isolationism. He refused to participate in his hazing ritual with the Mets, feeling he had left his rookie status back in Toronto. On October 4, 1992, the last day of the season, he started the only game of his career at shortstop to allow Willie Randolph, a longtime star for the crosstown Yankees, to play his final career game at second base.
=== Cleveland Indians (1996) ===
In a deal made on July 29 before the 1996 trade deadline, the Mets sent Kent and José Vizcaíno to the Cleveland Indians for Álvaro Espinoza and Carlos Baerga. He hit .265 in 39 games, helping the Indians to the best record in the major leagues, but the team was upset in the American League Division Series by the Orioles, with Kent picking up just one hit in four games.
=== San Francisco Giants (1997–2002) ===
After the 1996 season, Kent was again traded, this time to the San Francisco Giants along with José Vizcaíno and Julián Tavárez. The San Francisco trade was initially very unpopular, because it sent Matt Williams, a longtime Giant and a fan favorite, to the Indians. (Kent eventually finished his major league career with 377 home runs, one behind Williams.) Brian Sabean, in his first year as general manager of the Giants, was so widely criticized for the move that he famously defended himself to the media by saying, "I am not an idiot." Approaching his 29th birthday, Kent had less than 600 hits in the major leagues, with only 78 home runs and 318 RBI.
But Kent's career took off in San Francisco, starting in 1997. Immediately inserted in the line-up behind superstar Barry Bonds, and with the confidence of manager Dusty Baker, Kent finally rose to his full potential, hitting .250 with 29 home runs and 121 RBI. The Giants won their first division title in eight years, but were swept in the Division Series by the Florida Marlins, with a pair of home runs by Kent providing the only Giants runs in a 6-2 loss in the finale. He was consistently among the top RBI hitters in the league over his next five seasons with the Giants, amassing 689 RBI over six years; he also won the 1998 Willie Mac Award for his spirit and leadership. On Opening Day in 1998 he had a career-high five hits in a 9-4, 13-inning road win against the Astros, including a three-run home run and an RBI double in the final frame. On July 24 he drove in a career-high seven runs with two home runs including a grand slam in a 12-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
On May 3, 1999, playing atypically at first base, he again collected five hits, hitting for the cycle in a road game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, though Pittsburgh scored three runs with two out in the ninth inning to win 9-8. On June 12 he had another five hits including a three-run home run in a 15-11 road win over the Seattle Mariners; shortly afterward, he was named to the All-Star team for the first time, and played the All-Star Game's second half, although he grounded into a double play to end the contest. On June 4, 2000 he had a pair of home runs and a pair of doubles for a career-high 12 total bases as the Giants walloped their cross-bay rival Oakland Athletics 18-2 in a road game. Kent's contributions were recognized that year (33 home runs, 125 RBI, .334 batting average, and a .986 fielding percentage) with the National League MVP Award, beating out teammate and perennial MVP candidate Bonds. Despite Bonds overshadowing Kent in almost every offensive category, it was Kent's clutch hitting in RBI spots that won many games for the Giants that year, and ultimately won him the award. The Giants had the major leagues' best record at 97–65, but lost to the Mets in the National League Division Series 3–1, although Kent had hits in all four games.
On May 1, 2001 he again had seven RBI in an 11-6 road win over the Pirates, with a three-run home run and two RBI doubles, one with the bases loaded. On May 13 he hit his 200th home run in a 6-3 win over the Mets. He ended the season with 390 assists at second base, leading the league for the only time in his career, edging the Astros' Craig Biggio by one assist. In 2002, Kent had another stellar year for a second baseman (37 home runs, 108 RBI, .313 batting average), leading the NL with 81 extra-base hits, and also leading the league in double plays for the only time with a career-high 113. On September 9 he reached 1,000 RBI with a sacrifice fly in a 6-5 win over the Dodgers. The combination of Kent and MVP winner Bonds propelled the Giants to a 95–66 record, good enough for the NL Wild Card. The Giants beat the Atlanta Braves in the Division Series 3–2 and the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Championship Series 4–1. With San Francisco in the World Series for the first time since 1989, Kent had a pair of two-run home runs in a 16-4 blowout in Game 5 to take a 3-2 Series lead. The Giants nearly clinched the championship (failing to hold a 5–0, 7th-inning lead) in the sixth game, before falling to the Anaheim Angels in seven games. Despite the team's success that season, Kent's relationship with the Giants had soured. The Giants front office had lost confidence in him after an incident during spring training left him with a broken wrist. Kent had initially claimed that he had broken his wrist after slipping and falling while washing his truck; ensuing media reports indicated that, in reality, he had crashed his motorcycle while performing wheelies and other stunts, in direct violation of his contract.
In addition, the growing tension between Kent and Bonds, which had been developing for years, finally boiled over: a midseason fight in the Giants dugout was widely reported in 2002 and caught on television. The feud between the two was so bad that, at the end of the season, San Francisco Chronicle beat reporter Ray Ratto said of the two, "The one who lives longer will attend the other's funeral, just to make sure he's dead." The departure of manager Dusty Baker also factored into Kent's eventual decision to leave the Giants.
=== Houston Astros (2003–2004) ===
During the 2002 offseason, Kent signed a two-year, $19.9 million deal with the Houston Astros, citing his desire to be closer to his family's Texas ranch. Kent turned one of the outs and collected an assist during a triple play on August 19, 2004, against the Philadelphia Phillies, when Todd Pratt grounded out with the bases loaded in the fifth inning. Kent forced Marlon Byrd out at second base before throwing Pratt out at first base; it was Houston's first triple play in 13 years.
From May 14 to June 11, he collected a hit in 25 straight games, the longest streak in the league that season, and set a new franchise record; Willy Taveras topped his mark in 2006. On September 29, 2004, he hit his 300th home run in a 6-4 win over the Cardinals. Three days later, he hit a pair of home runs in a 9-3 win over the Colorado Rockies to give him 278 as a second baseman, surpassing Ryne Sandberg as the all-time leader at that position. In Game 5 of the NL Championship Series, Kent hit a three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to break a scoreless tie and put Houston ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals three games to two in the series. However, the Cardinals would win Games 6 and 7 in St. Louis to capture the pennant.
=== Los Angeles Dodgers (2005–2008) ===
On December 14, 2004, Kent signed a $21 million contract for three years with his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers. On July 8, 2005 he picked up his 2,000th career hit, an RBI single off Roger Clemens in a 3-2 road loss to the Astros. Four days later, he started at second base for the National League in the All-Star Game at Comerica Park, his fifth career All-Star selection and fourth All-Star start. Kent became the first player in the history of the Dodgers–Giants rivalry to make and start the Midsummer Classic for both clubs. (Joc Pederson has since done the same.) Kent had a good 2005 season, leading the Dodgers in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs, hits, doubles, home runs and RBI (.289, .377, .512, 100, 160, 36, 29, and 105 respectively). After the 2005 season, Kent signed an extension that would take him to the 2008 season.
But he was clearly slowing down; he made two trips to the disabled list in the 2006 season because of a hand sprain and an oblique injury, but came back late in the season and helped the Dodgers reach the postseason. On September 27 he hit his 500th double to drive in the last run in a 6-4 road win over the Rockies. The Dodgers were swept by the Mets in the Division Series, though Kent banged out eight hits in three games, with four including a home run and a double in the final game. He batted .302 in 2007, but also led the league in errors for the fourth time. On July 19, 2008, he picked up his 1,500th RBI with a 9th-inning home run in a 3-2 road loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, joining Nap Lajoie and Rogers Hornsby to become the third second baseman to reach the milestone. Four days later, he became the twelfth player in major league history to play 2,000 games at second base, in a 5-3 road loss to the Rockies. He ended his final season with a road series against the Giants on the last weekend of the campaign, getting his last home run in a 6-5, 10-inning loss, and his last hit in a 2-1 win. He finished his career on October 15 in Game 5 of the 2008 NLCS, when he struck out looking against Cole Hamels to end the 7th inning, going hitless in 9 at bats in the postseason. Kent announced his retirement from baseball on January 22, 2009.
=== Career statistics ===
In 2,298 games over 17 seasons, Kent posted a .290 batting average (2,461-for-8,498) with 1320 runs, 560 doubles, 47 triples, 377 home runs, 1518 RBI, 94 stolen bases, 801 walks, a .356 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .978 fielding percentage. In 49 postseason games, he hit .276 (47-for-170) with 25 runs, 11 doubles, 9 home runs, 23 RBI, and 13 walks. Kent hit 351 home runs as a second baseman, the most in major league history; only Robinson Cano has since hit 300 home runs as a second baseman.
== Post-playing career ==
Kent and his wife Dana reside near Austin, Texas, where they raise their four children, a daughter and three sons. He also owns the 4,000-acre (1,600 ha) "Diamond K" cattle ranch near Tilden, Texas. In 2008, Kent purchased the Lakecliff Country Club in Spicewood, Texas. Kent also owns Kent Powersports, a chain of motorcycle and ATV dealerships.
Kent appeared as a contestant on the summer 2009 television series Superstars, where he was teamed with actress Ali Landry in a series of sports competitions. They finished in fifth place in the competition. In 2012, Kent participated in Survivor: Philippines, the 25th season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. He was the ninth contestant voted off, which placed him tenth and made him the second member of the jury, giving him a right to vote for the eventual winner at the Final Tribal Council. When he was voted off, Kent claimed that the million dollar prize was "six hundred grand by the time Obama takes it".
He has been an advocate for Major League Baseball using blood tests for HGH. Since 2011, Kent has served as a spring training instructor for the San Francisco Giants. He also coaches his sons' Little League teams, and in 2014 he became a volunteer assistant for Southwestern University's baseball team. In 2011, Kent donated $100,000 and raised awareness to help reinstate the Cal baseball program, which was being cut for cost-saving purposes. In 2014, Kent announced the creation of the Jeff Kent Women Driven Scholarship Endowment to provide a full scholarship each year to one female student-athlete at UC Berkeley in perpetuity.
In 2008, Kent donated to the campaign to ban same-sex marriage in California.
=== National Baseball Hall of Fame ===
Eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time in 2014, Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) voters gave Kent just 15.2% of their votes in his first year, well short of the 75% required for induction. Among 17 returnees to the ballot in 2015, Kent was one of only three who saw a decrease in support, dropping to 14.0%. His support increased in subsequent elections, reaching 32.7% in 2022, his ninth appearance on the ballot. In 2023, his tenth and final appearance on the BBWAA ballot, he received 46.5%, falling short of the necessary threshold. Kent's underperformance relative to his offensive prowess has been attributed to unremarkable defense, the tainted era in which he played, and his reputation as a negative presence in the locker room.
Kent was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Baseball Era committee as part of 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting on December 7, 2025.
== Personal life ==
Kent and his wife, Dana, are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His daughter, Lauren, and his eldest son, Hunter, both attended Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. Lauren graduated from BYU in December 2017, and Hunter played on the practice squad for the Cougars, before taking leave to serve a two-year mission in Mexico.
Kent's son, Colton, played his prep baseball at Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas. Colton signed to play college baseball at BYU, but transferred to the College of Southern Idaho (CSI) after a year at BYU.
Kent's other son, Kaeden, played college baseball at Texas A&M University. He was chosen by the New York Yankees in the third round of the 2025 MLB draft and currently plays for the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades.
== Accomplishments ==
Five-time All-Star (1999–2001, 2004–05)
Four-time Silver Slugger (2000–2002, 2005)
National League MVP (2000)
Finished 8th in National League MVP voting (1997)
Finished 9th in National League MVP voting (1998)
Finished 6th in National League MVP voting (2002)
Finished Top-5 in RBIs (1997, 1998, 2000)
All-time leader in home runs among second basemen (377)
Only second baseman to have 100 or more RBIs in six consecutive seasons (1997–2002)
Hit for the cycle (1999) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mette_Solli | Mette Solli | Mette Solli (born 14 September 1974) is a Norwegian kickboxer.
== Biography ==
Solli was born in Molde on 17 September 1974.
Her achievements include gold medal in light-contact at the W.A.K.O. World Championships 2001 (Maribor), a gold medal in full-contact at the W.A.K.O. European Championships 2004 (Budva), and a gold medal in full-contact at the W.A.K.O. World Championships 2007 (Coimbra).
She was awarded the Kongepokal (King's Cup) trophy at the national championships in 2007. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyderabadi_biryani | Hyderabadi biryani | Hyderabadi biryani (also known as Hyderabadi dum biryani) is a style of biryani originating from Hyderabad, India made with basmati rice and meat (mostly goat meat). Originating in the kitchens of the Nizam of Hyderabad, it combines elements of Hyderabadi and Mughlai cuisines. Hyderabad biryani is a key dish in Hyderabadi cuisine and it is so famous that the dish is considered synonymous with the city of Hyderabad.
== History ==
Hyderabad was conquered by the Mughals in the 1630s, and ruled by its Nizams. Mughlai culinary traditions joined with local traditions to create Hyderabadi cuisine. Local folklore attributes the creation of Hyderabadi biryani to the chef of the first Nizam, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I, in the mid-18th century, during a hunting expedition. In 1857, when the Mughal Empire declined in Delhi, Hyderabad emerged as the center of South Asian culture, resulting in a mix of innovations in Hyderabadi biryani.
=== Origin ===
The exact origin of the dish is uncertain. Despite legends attributing it to the Nizam's chef, the biryani is of South Indian origin, derived from pilaf varieties brought to South Asia by Arab traders. Pulao may have been an army dish in medieval India. Armies would prepare a one-pot dish of rice with whichever meat was available. The distinction between "pulao" and "biryani" is arbitrary. Hyderabadi biryani incorporated Deccani or Telangana flavors of, perhaps in the Nizam's kitchen.
== Ingredients ==
Base ingredients are basmati rice, meat (usually goat, but sometimes also chicken or beef), dahi, fried onion and ghee. Spices include cinnamon, cloves, cardamom (elaichi), bay leaves, nutmeg, papaya paste, caraway (shahi jeera), mace flower (javitri), star anise (biryani flower), lemon, and saffron.
Hyderabadi biryani is of two types: the kachchi (raw) biryani, and the pakki (cooked) biryani.
=== Kachche-gosht ki biryani ===
The kachchi biryani is prepared with kachchi gosht (raw meat) marinated with spices overnight and then soaked in curd (dahi) before cooking. The meat is sandwiched between layers of fragrant basmati rice and cooked "in dum" after sealing the handi (vessel) with dough. This is a challenging process as it requires meticulous attention to time and temperature to avoid over- or under-cooking the meat.
=== Vegetable dum biryani ===
The vegetable biryani is prepared with mixed vegetables in a similar manner to dum biryani with meat. It is suitable for vegetarians.
== Accompaniments ==
A biryani is usually served with dahi chutney and mirchi ka salan. Baghaar-e-baingan is a common side dish. The salad includes onion, carrot, cucumber, and lemon wedges. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Perry | Frank Perry | Frank Joseph Perry Jr. (August 21, 1930 – August 29, 1995) was an American stage director and filmmaker. His 1962 independent film David and Lisa earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (written by his then-wife Eleanor Perry). The couple collaborated on five more films, including The Swimmer, Diary of a Mad Housewife, and the Emmy Award–nominated A Christmas Memory, based on a short story by Truman Capote. Perry went on to form Corsair Pictures, privately financed by United Artists Theatres, which produced Miss Firecracker and A Shock to the System, then folded. His later films include Mommie Dearest and the documentary On the Bridge, about his dealing with prostate cancer.
== Early life ==
Frank Joseph Perry Jr. was born in New York City to stockbroker Frank Joseph Perry Sr. (1907–1970) and Pauline E. Schwab (1909–1965), who worked at Alcoholics Anonymous. As a teenager, Frank Jr. began pursuing his interest in the theater with a job as a parking lot attendant for the Westport Country Playhouse in nearby Westport, Connecticut. He attended the University of Miami. Frank also studied under Lee Strasberg in New York. He produced several plays at Westport Country Playhouse and then turned for a time to producing television documentaries.
== Career ==
A veteran of the Korean War, he returned to the entertainment industry after being discharged and made his directorial debut in 1962 with the low-budget drama film David and Lisa. Based on the novel by Theodore Isaac Rubin, the screenplay was written by his wife, Eleanor Rosenfeld, who received a nomination for an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay. A character study of two emotionally disturbed teenagers, the film was successful at the box office and met with much critical acclaim, earning him a nomination for an Academy Award for Directing. Both Perrys would eventually join the select group of non-actors awarded membership in Actors Studio. Perry went on to direct and produce a number of films, many based on literary sources or with strong literary associations, including The Swimmer, (1968) based on a John Cheever story, Last Summer (1969), and Trilogy (1969), written by Truman Capote.
Perry is known for his character studies, such as Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970). That film earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Carrie Snodgress, and Play It as It Lays (1972), starring Tuesday Weld, brought her a Golden Globe Best Actress nomination. Both of these films Perry produced and directed, but he is probably best remembered for directing the biographical drama Mommie Dearest, an adaptation of a biography by actress Joan Crawford's adoptive daughter. The film became a cult classic despite mixed reviews from critics; it also won the Razzie Award for worst picture, and Frank Perry was nominated for worst director, while actress Faye Dunaway received the Razzie for her performance.
Some of Perry's film-related material and personal papers are held at the Wesleyan University Cinema Archives, a collection to which scholars and media experts from around the world today have full access.
== Personal life and death ==
In 1958, Frank married his first wife Eleanor, who was 15 years his senior and had two children, William and Ann, from a previous marriage. Frank and Eleanor collaborated on many screen projects, including screenwriting the Academy Award-nominated 1962 David and Lisa (an adaptation of the novella of the same name) which came about due to Eleanor's daughter Ann bringing the novella to her mother's attention. They divorced in 1971 on grounds of incompatibility. In 1978, Eleanor Perry wrote the novel Blue Pages, based on their relationship. She died of cancer two years later, at age 66.
In 1977, Perry married Barbara Goldsmith, founding editor of New York magazine and book author (Little Gloria...Happy at Last), whom he divorced in 1992. Soon after, he married his Aspen ski instructor, 22-years-younger Virginia Brush Ford, on June 15, 1992.
His half-sister is pastor Mary Christine Hudson (née Perry), the wife of pastor Maurice Keith Hudson and mother of singers Katy Perry and David Hudson.
Perry died of prostate cancer on August 29, 1995, eight days after his 65th birthday, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. His final film, On the Bridge (1992), is an autobiographical documentary about his illness. His ashes were scattered on the mountains of Aspen, Colorado, where he lived the last three years of his life.
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulitzer_Prize_for_Fiction#Repeat_winners | Pulitzer Prize for Fiction#Repeat winners | The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during the preceding calendar year.
As the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel (awarded 1918–1947), it was one of the original Pulitzers; the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were awarded that year (no Novel prize was awarded in 1917, the first one having been granted in 1918).
The name was changed to the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948 and eligibility was expanded to the broader "distinguished fiction published in book form". The Advisory Board wanted to give the award to James A. Michener's Tales of the South Pacific, which required expanding the category criteria and lifting the ban on short stories.
Finalists have been announced since 1980, usually a total of three.
== Definition ==
As defined in the original Plan of Award, the prize was given "Annually, for the American novel published during the year which shall best present the wholesome atmosphere of American life, and the highest standard of American manners and manhood," although there was some struggle over whether the word wholesome should be used instead of whole, the word Pulitzer had written in his will. In 1927, the advisory board quietly instituted Pulitzer's word choice, replacing wholesome with whole.
A new consideration arose when the Pulitzer jury was unanimous in recommending Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey for the 1928 prize, although the book deals with Peruvians in Peru, not with Americans in America. The jury chair, Richard Burton of Columbia University, emphasized the moral value of the book in his report to the advisory board: "This piece of fiction is not only an admirable example of literary skill in the art of fiction, but also possesses a philosophic import and a spiritual elevation which greatly increases its literary value." Robert Morss Lovett disagreed, saying it would be "mere subterfuge to say that it has anything to do with the highest standard of American manners and manhood," but went along with the jury in finding "less literary merit" in the other novels under discussion. (Lovett rejected the runner-up Black April by Julia Peterkin, calling it "a rather unedifying picture of life in a primitive negro community" and "an ironical answer to the terms on which the prize is offered." Peterkin won nevertheless in 1929 for a similar novel, Scarlet Sister Mary.) Having settled on Bridge, the Advisory Board redefined the conditions from "whole atmosphere of American life, and the highest standard of American manners and manhood" to "preferably one which shall best present the whole atmosphere of American life," although this did not address the novel's setting. Further refinement into "the best novel published that year by an American author" removed any impediment to Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth in 1932, also with a foreign setting in its study of Chinese village life in Anhui, East China.
With 1929 came the first of several much more substantive changes. The board changed the wording to "preferably one which shall best present the whole atmosphere of American life" and deleted the insistence that the novel portray "the highest standard of American manners and manhood". In 1936, emphasis was changed again, with the award going to "a distinguished novel published during the year by an American author, preferably dealing with American life". In 1948, the advisory board widened the scope of the award with the wording "For distinguished fiction published in book form during the year by an American author, preferably dealing with American life." This change allowed the prize to go to a collection of short stories for the first time, James Michener's Tales of the South Pacific.
== Winners ==
In 31 years under the "Novel" name, the prize was awarded 27 times; in its first 76 years to 2024 under the "Fiction" name, 70 times. There have been 11 years during which no title received the award. It was shared by two authors for the first time in 2023. Since this category's inception in 1918, 31 women have won the prize. Four authors have won two prizes each in the Fiction category: Booth Tarkington, William Faulkner, John Updike, and Colson Whitehead.
Because the award is for books published in the preceding calendar year, the "Year" column links to the preceding year in literature.
=== 1910s to 1970s ===
=== 1980s to present ===
Winners (listed first) and finalists.
== Repeat winners ==
Four writers to date have won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction multiple times, one nominally in the novel category and two in the general fiction category. Ernest Hemingway was selected by the 1941 and 1953 juries, but the former was overturned with no award given that year.
Booth Tarkington, 1919, 1922
William Faulkner, 1955, 1963 (awarded posthumously)
John Updike, 1982, 1991
Colson Whitehead, 2017, 2020
== Authors with multiple nominations ==
4 nominations
Joyce Carol Oates
Philip Roth
3 nominations
Alice McDermott
Anne Tyler
Colson Whitehead
2 nominations
Russell Banks
Raymond Carver
Don DeLillo
Hernan Diaz
E. L. Doctorow
Louise Erdrich
Percival Everett
Richard Ford
Adam Haslett
Oscar Hijuelos
Ha Jin
Denis Johnson
Gayl Jones
Barbara Kingsolver
Richard Powers
Annie Proulx
Marilynne Robinson
Robert Stone
John Updike |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ji%C5%99%C3%AD_Bro%C5%BEek | Jiří Brožek | Jiří Brožek (born 11 March 1947) is a Czech film editor.
== Biography ==
During 1967‒1973 he attended Editing and Directing at FAMU. Then he started to work in Barrandov Movie Studios, from 1976 Brožek is self-employed. During the career he edited more than 100 feature films, variety of the TV production and many TV series.
He cooperated with Ladislav Smoljak (Ball Lightning, Waiter, Scarper!, Jára Cimrman Lying, Sleeping) Karel Kachyňa (Love Between the Raindrops, Forbidden Dreams), Jiří Menzel (Cutting It Short, The Snowdrop Festival, My Sweet Little Village), Věra Chytilová (Calamity, Wolf's Hole) or Václav Havel (Leaving).
Jiří Brožek was awarded nine Czech Lions for films Krvavý román (1993), Sekal Has to Die (1998), Anděl Exit (2000), Boredom in Brno (2003), The City of the Sun (2005), Pleasant Moments (2006), ...a bude hůř (2007), Leaving (2011) and Filthy (2017), twice he gained Slovak film award Slnko v sieti for The City of the Sun (2006) and Gypsy (2012). He is a member of Czech Film and Television Academy (ČFTA) and honourable member of Slovak Film and Television Academy (SFTA).
He has three children.
== Filmography ==
=== Editor ===
=== Cooperation ===
=== Actor === |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.