url stringlengths 19 730 | title stringlengths 3 700 | text stringlengths 0 130k |
|---|---|---|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_(Van_Halen_album) | 1984 (Van Halen album) | 1984 (stylized in Roman numerals as MCMLXXXIV) is the sixth studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on January 9, 1984, by Warner Bros. Records. It was the last Van Halen album to feature lead singer David Lee Roth, who left the band in 1985 following creative differences, until A Different Kind of Truth (2012). 1984 and Van Halen's self-titled debut album are the band's best-selling albums, each having sold more than 10 million copies in the United States.
1984 was well received by music critics. Rolling Stone ranked the album number 81 on its list of the "100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s". It reached number two on the Billboard 200 and remained there for five weeks, kept off the top spot by Michael Jackson's Thriller, on which guitarist Eddie Van Halen made a guest performance. 1984 produced four singles, including "Jump", Van Halen's only number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100; the top-20 hits "Panama" and "I'll Wait"; and the MTV favorite "Hot for Teacher". The album was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1999 for ten million shipped copies in the U.S.
== Background and recording ==
Following the tour in support of their fourth studio album, Fair Warning, the band initially wanted to slow down and take a break. They released just one single, "(Oh) Pretty Woman"/"Happy Trails", intended to be a stand-alone release. However, the band's label asked for another album due to the A-side's success and the band recorded their fifth studio album, Diver Down, very quickly. Following the recording of the album, guitarist Eddie Van Halen was dissatisfied by the concessions he had made to Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth and Warner Bros. producer Ted Templeman. Both discouraged Eddie from making keyboards a prominent instrument in the band's music.
By 1983, Eddie was in the process of building his own studio, naming it 5150 after the California law code for the temporary, involuntary psychiatric commitment of individuals (who present a danger to themselves or others due to signs of mental illness), with Donn Landee, the band's longtime engineer (and later, producer on the 5150 and OU812 recordings). While boards and tape machines were being installed, Eddie began working on synthesizers to pass the time. "There were no presets," said Templeman. "He would just twist off until it sounded right." There, he composed Van Halen's follow-up to Diver Down without as much perceived "interference" from Roth or Templeman. The result was a compromise between the two creative factions in the band: a mixture of keyboard-heavy songs, and the guitar-driven hard rock for which the band was known. 1984 took about three months to record, compared to most of their previous LPs taking less than two weeks, and their first LP taking only five days, all at Sunset Studios.
Tracks recorded for the album that remain unreleased or were renamed are according to a Warner Bros. memo from August 24, 1983: "Baritone Slide", "Lie to You", "Ripley", "Any Time, Any Place", "Forget It", "5150 Special", and "Anything to Make It Right (synth)". A September 7, 1983 memo adds an eighth title that didn't make the album, "Won't Let Go (needs lyrics)" while dropping "Lie To You" and "5150 Special". "Ripley" is confirmed to have become "Blood and Fire" on the A Different Kind of Truth album, and as "I'll Wait", "Top Jimmy", "Drop Dead Legs" and "Girl Gone Bad" are not mentioned on either memo, the titles may have changed, leaving at least four unreleased tracks from the 1984 sessions. According to similar Warner Bros. notes, a cover version of Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour” was also recorded very early in the sessions for the album.
In Rolling Stone's retrospective review of 1984 in its "100 Best Albums of the Eighties" list, Templeman said, "It's real obvious to me [why 1984 won Van Halen a broader and larger audience]. Eddie Van Halen discovered the synthesizer."
== Artwork ==
The album cover art was directed by Richard Seireeni and Pete Angelus, and the cover art was painted by graphic artist Margo Nahas. Seireeni, then Creative Director at Warner Bros. Records, had collected a number of artist portfolios for the band to review. Among those was the work of Margo Nahas. Nahas had initially been asked to create a cover that featured four chrome women dancing, but declined due to the creative difficulties. The band reviewed her work once again, and from her previously created material they chose the painting of a putto smoking cigarettes that was used. The model was Carter Helm, who was the child of one of Nahas' best friends, whom she photographed holding a candy cigarette. The front cover was censored in the UK at the time of the album's release. It featured a sticker that obscured the cigarette in the putto's hand and the pack of cigarettes. The back cover features all four band members individually with 1984 in a green futuristic typeface.
== Composition ==
Musically, 1984 has been described as glam/pop metal, hard rock, heavy metal, synth rock, and pop rock. Michael Hann of The Quietus comments that the album sees Van Halen become "everything all at once – synthpop, hard rock, thundering metal, art rock", citing "Top Jimmy" as an example of the latter, with its guitar lines being comparable to Talking Heads. The album's first two singles, "Jump" and "I'll Wait", feature prominent synthesizers, as does the album's intro track, "1984", a one-minute instrumental. Eddie Van Halen played an Oberheim OB-Xa synthesizer on the album except for “I’ll Wait” which was recorded with the newer Oberheim OB-8. The reason for this is that Ed's OB-Xa was having an issue staying in tune and while it was being repaired he was sent the newer model OB-8 (which was featured prominently on future Van Halen albums).
Van Halen became stuck while writing the song "I'll Wait", and producer Ted Templeman suggested that Michael McDonald (with whom Templeman had worked extensively during McDonald's career with The Doobie Brothers) could help them. Templeman sent McDonald a copy of Van Halen's instrumental demo of the song, and after getting some ideas, he met with David Lee Roth in Templeman's office, where the two of them worked out the lyrics and melodies.
Eddie Van Halen stated he wrote the arrangement for "Jump" several years before 1984 was recorded. In a 1995 cover story in Rolling Stone, the guitarist said Roth had rejected the synth riff for "Jump" for at least two years before agreeing to write lyrics to it. In his memoir Crazy from the Heat, Roth confirms Eddie's account, admitting a preference for Van Halen's guitar work; however, he says he now enjoys the song. Additionally in his memoir, Roth writes that he wrote the lyrics to "Jump" after watching a man waffle as to whether to commit suicide by jumping off a skyscraper.
The album's third single was "Panama", which features a heavy guitar riff reminiscent of Van Halen's earlier work. The engine noise was from Eddie revving up his Lamborghini, with microphones used near the tailpipes. Later, a video of "Hot for Teacher" was released and played regularly on MTV, giving the band a fourth hit which sustained sales of the album.
Other songs on 1984 included "Girl Gone Bad", parts of which previously had been played during the 1982 tour amidst performances of "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" (including the US Festival show), the hard rock "Drop Dead Legs", and "Top Jimmy", a tribute to James Paul Koncek of the band Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs. The album concludes with "House of Pain", a heavy metal song that dates back to the band's early club days of the mid-1970s.
Eddie Van Halen told an interviewer that "Girl Gone Bad" was written in a hotel room that he and then-wife Valerie Bertinelli had rented. Bertinelli was asleep, and Van Halen woke up during the night with an idea he had to put on tape. Not wanting to wake Bertinelli, Van Halen grabbed a cassette recorder and recorded himself playing guitar in the closet.
== Release ==
1984 peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200 (behind Michael Jackson's Thriller, which featured an Eddie Van Halen guitar solo on "Beat It"), and remained in that spot for 5 consecutive weeks. It contained the anthems "Jump", "Panama", "I'll Wait", and "Hot for Teacher". "Jump" reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 1984 is the second of two Van Halen albums to have achieved RIAA Diamond status, selling over ten million copies in the United States. Their debut Van Halen was the first. "Jump" went on to be certified Gold in April 1984, only months after the album's release.
The album's follow-up singles – the synth-driven "I'll Wait", and "Panama", each peaked at Billboard number 13 on the Pop charts, respectively, in March and June. "Hot for Teacher" was a moderate Billboard Hot 100 success, reaching number 56; the MTV video for "Hot for Teacher" became even more popular. The "Hot for Teacher" video, which was directed by Roth, stars preteen lookalikes of the four Van Halen band members; a stereotypical nerd named "Waldo"; David Lee Roth as Waldo's bus driver; and numerous teachers stripping.
To promote the album, the band ran a contest on MTV. The contest was called, "Lost Weekend" with Van Halen. Fans mailed over 1 million postcards to MTV in hopes of winning the contest. In the promo for MTV, David Lee Roth said, "You won't know where you are, you won't know what's going to happen, and when you come back, you're not gonna have any memory of it." Kurt Jeffries won the contest and was flown to Detroit to join the band. Jeffries was allowed to bring along his best friend. He was given a Lost Weekend T-shirt and a hat. He was also brought on stage and had a large sheet cake smashed in his face which was followed by about a dozen people pouring champagne on him.
== Songwriting credits ==
The UK single release for "I'll Wait" credited Michael McDonald as a co-writer, but he was not credited on the US version. The ASCAP entry for "I'll Wait" lists Michael McDonald as co-writer with Roth and the Van Halen members.
After the release of Best Of – Volume I (1996), Van Halen renegotiated their royalties with their label Warner Bros. In 2004, Roth discovered that the rest of the band had renegotiated a royalty rate five times greater than his for releases made during his time as lead singer.
Songs from 1984 that appear on compilations after the royalty renegotiation and Roth's lawsuit were credited to Edward Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, and David Lee Roth, with Michael Anthony's name removed from the credits, as evident in the end song credits of the 2007 film Superbad.
Michael Anthony's longstanding bass technician Kevin Dugan has noted that the opening title track instrumental from the album originates from a Roland bass synthesizer passage created as an intro for Anthony's in-concert bass solos, and has claimed that he and Anthony wrote and programmed it together.
== Critical reception ==
Reviews for 1984 were generally favorable. Robert Christgau rated the album a B+. He explained that "Side one is pure 'up', and not only that, it sticks to the ears" and that "Van Halen's pop move avoids fluff because they're heavy, and schlock because they're built for speed, finally creating an all-purpose mise-en-scene for Brother Eddie's hair-raising, stomach-churning chops." He also called side two "consolation for their loyal fans—a little sexism, a lot of pyrotechnics, and a standard HM bass attack on something called 'House of Pain'." J.D. Considine, a reviewer for Rolling Stone, rated 1984 four out of five stars. He called it "the album that brings all of Van Halen's talent into focus." He stated that ""Jump" is not exactly the kind of song you'd expect from Van Halen", but that "once Alex Van Halen's drums kick in and singer David Lee Roth starts to unravel a typically convoluted story line, things start sounding a little more familiar". Although he mentioned "Jump" as having "suspended chords and a pedalpoint bass in a manner more suited to Asia", he went on to state that "Eddie Van Halen manages to expand his repertoire of hot licks, growls, screams and seemingly impossible runs to wilder frontiers than you could have imagined." He concluded that "what really makes this record work is the fact that Van Halen uses all this flash as a means to an end—driving the melody home—rather than as an end in itself" and that "despite all the bluster, Van Halen is one of the smartest, toughest bands in rock & roll. Believe me, that's no newspeak."
In a 1984 review, Billboard states the album is "funnier and more versatile than most of their metal brethren", calling the production "typically strong". A retrospective review by AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine was extremely positive. He noted that the album caused "a hoopla that was a bit of a red herring since the band had been layering in synths since their third album, Women and Children First". He further stated that "Jump"'s "synths played a circular riff that wouldn't have sounded as overpowering on guitar", but that "the band didn't dispense with their signature monolithic, pulsating rock." He also stated that "where [previous] albums placed an emphasis on the band's attack, this places an emphasis on the songs." In The Great Rock Discography (2004), Martin C. Strong opines that 1984 "saw Van Halen successfully tackling obligatory 80's experimentation". In his book Copendium (2012), Julian Cope described 1984 as a "curious" record which "expected us to accept the wholesale metaphor change from Guitar Eddie to Synth Eddie and suck on 'Jump''s Genesis-plays-the-Who-by-numbers."
Guitar Player magazine writer Matt Blackett praises the "deeper cuts" of the album, "Drop Dead Legs", "House of Pain", and "Girl Gone Bad", calling the guitar work "fresh and vital", noting Eddie's "dark, complex sense of harmony and melody". Len Comaratta from Consequence of Sound felt Van Halen reached the pinnacle of its commercial and critical success. At the end of the 1980s, Rolling Stone, which had previously been critical of Van Halen, ranked 1984 at number 81 on its list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Guitar World magazine placed the album on their list of "New Sensations: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1984". In 1991, Chuck Eddy ranked the album 12th in his book of the 500 best heavy metal albums. He praised it as "pop cock-rock" that spanned showy crescendos ("Girl Gone Bad"), "space age symphonics" ("1984"), "Baba O'Riley"-style electronics ("Jump"), drum solos comparable to Kenny Aronoff joining Motörhead ("Hot for Teacher"), "Betty Boop with her top down" ("Panama"), and "unrooted tributes to roots bands" ("Top Jimmy"), overall saying: "It was pure avant-garde vaudeville, it was pure Hollywood, it was a chorus line in bed with the chainsaw massacre." In 2024, Loudwire staff elected it as the best hard rock album of 1984.
Following the death of lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen in October 2020, 1984 saw a brief resurgence to the charts.
== Track listing ==
== Personnel ==
=== Van Halen ===
David Lee Roth – vocals
Eddie Van Halen – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
Michael Anthony – bass, synth bass on "I'll Wait", backing vocals
Alex Van Halen – drums, percussion, backing vocals
=== Production ===
Pete Angelus – art direction
Chris Bellman – mastering
Ken Deane – engineering
Gregg Geller – mastering
Donn Landee – engineering
Jo Motta – project coordination
Margo Nahas – cover art
Joan Parker – production coordination
Richard Seireeni – art direction
Ted Templeman – production
== Charts ==
== Certifications == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_Bowl#Players_with_most_invitations | Pro Bowl#Players with most invitations | The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed throughout the years. From 1939 through 1942, the NFL experimented with all-star games putting the league's champion against a team of all-stars. The first official Pro Bowl was played in January 1951, matching the top players in the American/Eastern Conference against those in the National/Western Conference. From the merger with the rival American Football League (AFL) in 1970 up through 2013 and also in 2017, it was officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference (AFC) against those in the National Football Conference (NFC). From 2014 through 2016, the NFL experimented with a non-conferenced format, where the teams were selected by two honorary team captains (who are each in the Hall of Fame), instead of selecting players from each conference. The players were picked in a televised "schoolyard pick" prior to the game.
For years, the game suffered from lack of interest for its perceived low quality, with observers and commentators expressing their disfavor with it. It drew lower television ratings than regular season NFL games, although the game drew similar ratings to the all-star games of the other major North American sports leagues, such as the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. However, the biggest concern was to avoid injuries to the star players. The Associated Press wrote that players in the 2012 game were "hitting each other as though they were having a pillow fight". Despite these criticisms, however, players who were selected to the Pro Bowl were nonetheless honored in a similar standing to their counterparts in the other leagues, and being named to it is considered to be a significant accomplishment for any player. In September 2022, the NFL announced that the Pro Bowl game would switch to a non-contact flag football game in 2023, as well as a partnership with Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions to revamp Pro Bowl week as the "Pro Bowl Games".
Unlike the other major North American sports leagues, which hold their all star weekends roughly midway through their regular seasons, the NFL has held its at or near the end of the season. Before the merger, the game was played annually after the NFL Championship Game. Between 1967 and 2009, the Pro Bowl was usually held the weekend after the Super Bowl. In 2010, it was moved to the Sunday before the Super Bowl; as a result, players from the two teams competing in the Super Bowl no longer participated in the Pro Bowl. When the format was changed in 2023, the skills competitions and the flag football game was held on the first Thursday and first Sunday, respectively, of February during the week before the Super Bowl. In 2026, the Pro Bowl Games will be downsized into a smaller-scale event and integrated into the Super Bowl's festivities.
== History of the Pro Bowl ==
The first "Pro All-Star Game", featuring the all-stars of the 1938 season (as well as three players from the Los Angeles Bulldogs and Hollywood Bears, who were not members of the league), was played on January 15, 1939, at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. The NFL All-Star Game was played again in Los Angeles in 1940 and then in New York and Philadelphia in 1941 and 1942 respectively. Although originally planned as an annual contest, the all-star game was discontinued after 1942 because of travel restrictions put in place during World War II. During the first five all-star games, an all-star team would face that year's league champion. The league champion won the first four games before the all-stars were victorious in the final game of this early series.
The concept of an all-star game was not revived until June 1950, when the newly christened "Pro Bowl" was approved. The game was sponsored by the Los Angeles Publishers Association. It was decided that the game would feature all-star teams from each of the league's two conferences rather than the league champion versus all-star format which had been used previously. This was done to avoid confusion with the Chicago College All-Star Game, an annual game which featured the league champion against a collegiate all-star team. The teams would be led by the coach of each of the conference champions. Immediately prior to the Pro Bowl, following the 1949 season, the All-America Football Conference, which contributed three teams to the NFL in a partial merger in 1950, held its own all-star game, the Shamrock Bowl.
The first 21 games of the series (1951–1972) were played in Los Angeles. The site of the game was changed annually for each of the next seven years before the game was moved to Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii, for 30 straight seasons from 1980 through 2009. The 2010 Pro Bowl was played at Sun Life Stadium, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host site of Super Bowl XLIV, on January 31, the first time ever that the Pro Bowl was held before the championship game (a decision probably due to increasingly low Nielsen ratings from being regarded as an anti-climax to the Super Bowl). With the new rule being that the conference teams do not include players from the teams that will be playing in the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl then returned to Hawaii in 2011 but was again held during the week before the Super Bowl, where it remained for three more years.
The 2012 game was met with criticism from fans and sports writers for the lack of quality play by the players. On October 24, 2012, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had second thoughts about the Pro Bowl, telling a Sirius XM show that if the players did not play more competitively [in the 2013 Pro Bowl], he was "not inclined to play it anymore". During the ensuing off-season, the NFL Players Association lobbied to keep the Pro Bowl, and negotiated several rule changes to be implemented for the 2014 game. Among them, the teams would no longer be AFC vs. NFC, and instead be selected by captains in a fantasy draft. For the 2014 game, Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders were chosen as alumni captains, while their captains were Drew Brees and Robert Quinn (Rice), along with Jamaal Charles and J. J. Watt (Sanders).
On April 9, 2014, the NFL announced that the 2015 Pro Bowl would be played the week before the Super Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on January 25, 2015. The game returned to Hawaii in 2016, and the "unconferenced" format was its last.
For 2017, the league considered hosting the game at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which would have been the first time the game had been hosted outside the United States. The NFL was also considering future Pro Bowls in Mexico and Germany to leverage international markets. A report released May 19, 2016, indicated that the 2017 Pro Bowl would instead be hosted at a newly renovated Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida; Orlando beat out Brazil (which apparently did not make the final round of voting), Honolulu, Super Bowl host site Houston, and a bid from Sydney, Australia, for the hosting rights. On June 1, 2016, the league announced that it was restoring the old conference format.
Since the 2017 Pro Bowl, the NFL has also hosted a series of side events leading up to the game called the Pro Bowl Skills Showdown, which includes competitions like passing contests and dodgeball among the players.
The 2021 Pro Bowl game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and new host Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas was held over to the 2022 Pro Bowl. The roster was still voted on and named, and alternative broadcast and streaming events were held during the week that the game was originally scheduled (including a Madden NFL 21 multiplayer game played using the Pro Bowl rosters, controlled by teams of players and celebrity guests).
In May 2022, Commissioner Roger Goodell questioned the future of the Pro Bowl, arguing that it "doesn't work", and that "another way to celebrate the players" was needed. On September 26, 2022, it was announced that the NFL would revamp the 2023 event as "The Pro Bowl Games" in partnership with Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions; the event was reformatted to consist of the two teams competing to earn points across a series of skills challenges, and a series of flag football games held on the culminating Sunday (with all points scored across the prior events carried into the final flag football game) to determine the winner.
In October 2025, it was announced that the 2026 Pro Bowl Games would be integrated into the Super Bowl's festivities rather than be a standalone event, with the 2026 edition scheduled to be held on the Tuesday prior to Super Bowl LX at Moscone Center (which also hosted the Super Bowl Experience). The change to a smaller-scale event during Super Bowl week was intended to make the Pro Bowl a television-oriented event.
== Player selection ==
Players are voted into the Pro Bowl by the coaches, the players themselves, and the fans. Each group's ballots count for ⅓, or 33.3%, of the votes. Fans vote on their preferred players at NFL.com. Replacements are selected should any selected player be unable to play for injuries, self-withdrawal, or Super Bowl contention. Prior to 1995, only the coaches and the players made Pro Bowl selections.
In order to be considered a Pro Bowler for a given year, a player must either have been one of the initial players selected to the team, or a player who accepts an invitation to the Pro Bowl as an alternate; invited alternates who decline to attend are not considered Pro Bowlers. Since 2010, players of the two teams that advance to the Super Bowl will not play in the Pro Bowl, and they are replaced by alternate players. Players who would have been invited as an alternate but could not play because they were slated to play in that season's Super Bowl are also considered Pro Bowlers (for example, Tom Brady in 2016).
From 2014 to 2016, the Pro Bowl used a fantasy draft format, in which the two teams were drafted by a pair of team captains.
== Coaching staff ==
When the Pro Bowl was held after the Super Bowl, the head coaches were traditionally the head coaches of the teams that lost in the AFC and NFC championship games for the same season of the Pro Bowl in question. From 1978 through 1982, the head coaches of the highest ranked divisional champion that lost in the Divisional Playoff Round were chosen. For the 1983 Pro Bowl, the NFL resumed selecting the losing head coaches in the conference championship games. In the 1999 Pro Bowl, New York Jets head coach Bill Parcells, after his team lost to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game, had to decline for health reasons and Jets assistant head coach Bill Belichick took his place.
When the Pro Bowl was moved to the weekend between the Conference Championship games and the Super Bowl in 2009, the team that lost in the Divisional Playoff Round with the best regular season record would have their coaching staffs lead their respective conference Pro Bowl team returning to the format used from 1978 to 1982. It remained that way through 2013; it resumed in 2017. If the losing teams of each conference had the same regular season record the coaches from the higher-seeded team will get the Pro Bowl honor. From 2014 to 2016, the Pro Bowl coaches came from the two teams with the best records that lost in the Divisional Playoffs. (In the 2015 Pro Bowl, when John Fox left his coaching job with Denver after his playoff loss to Indianapolis that year, John Harbaugh of Baltimore took over. The next year saw Green Bay's assistant coach Winston Moss took over as Mike McCarthy resigned from coaching for illness.)
After changing to the Pro Bowl Games format in 2022, Manningcast hosts Peyton Manning and Eli Manning served as the "honorary" coaches for the AFC and NFC respectively. Peyton spent his entire playing career exclusively in the AFC with the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos, while Eli played his whole career with the New York Giants in the NFC.
== Game honors ==
A Player of the Game was honored 1951–1956. 1957–1971, awards were presented to both an Outstanding Back and an Outstanding Lineman. In 1972 and since 2014, there are awards for both an Outstanding Offensive Player and an Outstanding Defensive Player. 1973–2007, only one Player of the Game award was honored (though thrice this award has been presented to multiple players in a single game). In 2008 the award was changed to Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Players are paid for participating in the game with the winning team receiving a larger payout. The chart below shows how much the players of their respective teams earn:
== Rule differences ==
Although there is no official rule against tackling, the players in the Pro Bowl have come to a gentlemen's agreement to do little if any tackling. On the vast majority of plays, the ball carrier either gives up as soon as a defensive player grabs him, or goes out of bounds to avoid contact. In that sense it is essentially a two-hand touch football game.
In addition to the above, the Pro Bowl does have different rules from regular NFL games to make the game safer with a view towards incorporating some of these rules to future NFL regular season games.
No motion or shifting by the offense
Offense must have a running back and tight end in all formations
Offense may have up to three receivers on the same side
Intentional grounding is legal
No rushing the passer
More than one forward pass thrown on the same play is allowed
Defense must run a 4–3 at all times, though the Cover 2 and press coverage is allowed
No blitz; DEs and tackles can rush on passing plays, provided they are on same side of ball
No blindside or below the waist blocks
No rushing the punter
No rushing the kicker
No rushing the holder
Coin toss determines who receives first; loser receives to start third period. Procedure repeats at the start of first overtime.
Kickoffs are eliminated (including free kicks)
Punt returns are eliminated by the automatic fair catch
Teams will start on their own 25-yard line after any score or at the start of each half/odd overtime
If a team that would otherwise be kicking off wants to attempt to retain possession (situations where an onside kick would be attempted if there were kickoffs), they may run a single scrimmage play from their own 25-yard line; should the ball be advanced 15 yards forward, the team retains possession
Receivers may flinch or raise either foot without incurring penalty
35-second play clock to run plays
Deep middle safety must be aligned within hash marks
Replay reviews are allowed
44-player roster per team
Two-minute warning in effect for all quarters, plus overtime
Game clock runs on incompletions except at two minutes left in half or overtime period
Very limited contact is allowed much like touch football, provided the ball carrier is surrounded by opponents
In case of a tie after regulation, multiple 15-minute OT periods will be played (with each team receiving two time-outs per period), and in the first overtime teams receive one possession to score unless one of them scores a safety on its first possession. True sudden death rules apply thereafter if both teams have had their initial possession and the game remains tied. The Pro Bowl is not allowed to end in a tie, unlike preseason and regular season games. (In general, beyond the first overtime, whoever scores first wins. The first overtime starts as if the game had started over, like the NFL Playoffs.)
In the Pro Bowl Games format, the AFC and NFC teams earn points during skills competitions held over Pro Bowl week. During the Pro Bowl proper in 2023, three flag football games were played; the first two games were worth six points each for the winning team (and being split in the event of a tie). All points earned are carried into the final flag football game; whichever team has the highest point total after the final game was declared the winner of the Pro Bowl Games. In 2024, this was replaced by a single flag football game; similarly to 2023, scores from the first set of skills challenges were carried into the game, while other challenges were interspersed between quarters.
The flag games are played on a 50-yard by 28-yard field (like arena football) with seven players per team on the field. The games consist of two 10-minute halves and a 15-minute halftime. Teams can elect to attempt a 1 point conversion from the 5 yard line or a 2 point conversion from the 10 yard line. In overtime, no matter if a touchdown is scored or not, teams get one possession. If the teams are tied after one possession, true sudden death rules apply. Teams can elect to "punt" on fourth down, which places the ball at the opponent's 5 yard line.
== Pro Bowl uniforms ==
The teams comprise players from different NFL teams, so using their own uniforms would be too confusing. However, the players do wear the helmet of their respective team, but the home jerseys and pants are either a solid blue for the NFC or solid red for the AFC, with white jerseys with blue or red accents, respectively, for the away team.
The early Pro Bowl, contested by the National Football League's Eastern and Western Division stars and played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, featured the same uniforms from the 1950s to mid-1960s; the Eastern team wore scarlet jerseys with white numerals and a white crescent shoulder stripe, white pants with red stripe, red socks, and a plain red helmet. The Western team wore white jerseys with royal-blue numerals and a Northwestern University-style Ukon triple stripe on the sleeves, white pants with blue stripe and socks and a plain blue helmet. Perhaps oddly, the Eastern team wore home dark jerseys, although the host city team, the Los Angeles Rams, were members of the Western Conference. From January 1967 to January 1970 both teams wore gold helmets with the NFL logo on the sides; the Eastern helmets featured a red-white-red tri-stripe and the Western a similar blue-white-blue tri-stripe. In fact, the players brought their own game helmets to Los Angeles, which were then spray-painted and decorated for the contest. For the 1970 game the helmets featured the '50 NFL' logo, commemorating the league's half-century anniversary.
In the earliest years of the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, the players did not wear their unique helmets. The AFC All-Stars wore a solid red helmet with a white A on it, while the NFC players wore a solid white helmet with a blue N on it. The AFC's red helmets were paired with white jerseys and red pants, while the NFC's white helmets were paired with blue jerseys and white pants. Beginning with the 1979 game, players wore the helmets of their respective teams.
Two players with the same number who were selected for the Pro Bowl could wear the same number for that game, which was not always the case in the past.
The 2008 Pro Bowl included a unique example of several players from the same team wearing the same number in a Pro Bowl. For the game, Washington Redskins players T Chris Samuels, TE Chris Cooley, and LS Ethan Albright all wore the number 21 (a number normally inappropriate for their positions) in memory of their teammate Sean Taylor, who had been murdered during the 2007 season.
On October 7, 2013, Nike unveiled the uniforms for the 2014 Pro Bowl, which revealed that the red, white and blue colors that the game uniforms bore throughout its entire history would not be used for the game. As the NFC–AFC format was not used between 2014 through 2016, team 1 sported a white uniform with bright orange and team 2 sported a gray uniform with volt green. The new uniforms received mixed reviews from fans and sports columnists alike, one even mentioning that the game would look like an "Oregon vs. Oklahoma State" game.
Since 2017, when the conference format was restored, the league took an approach similar to the NFL Color Rush initiative, in which jerseys, pants, and socks were all a uniform color (red for the AFC, blue for the NFC).
With the switch to the Pro Bowl Games format in 2023, players are no longer required to wear standard football uniforms, helmets and pads. Instead they wore red (for AFC) or blue (for NFC) shirts and either gray shorts or pants. Some players would also wear caps as headgear and compression tights.
== Game results ==
=== NFL All-Star Games (1938–1942) ===
No Most Valuable Player awards were presented during these games.
=== NFL Pro Bowls (1950–1969) ===
=== AFC–NFC Pro Bowls (1970–2012) ===
=== Unconferenced Pro Bowls (2013–2015) ===
=== AFC–NFC Pro Bowls (2016–2019) ===
=== AFC–NFC eSports Pro Bowl (2020) ===
=== AFC–NFC Pro Bowl (2021) ===
=== Pro Bowl Games (2022–present) ===
== Stadiums that have hosted the Pro Bowl ==
Wrigley Field (1939)
Gilmore Stadium (January and December 1940)
Polo Grounds (January 1942)
Shibe Park (December 1942)
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1951–1972, 1979)
Texas Stadium (1973)
Arrowhead Stadium (1974)
Miami Orange Bowl (1975)
Louisiana Superdome (1976)
Kingdome (1977)
Tampa Stadium (1978)
Aloha Stadium (1980–2009, 2011–2014, 2016)
Sun Life Stadium (2010)
University of Phoenix Stadium (2015)
Camping World Stadium (2017–2020, 2024–2025)
Allegiant Stadium (2022–2023)
Moscone Center (2026)
== Records ==
=== Players with most invitations ===
As of the 2026 Pro Bowl, 30 players have been invited to at least 11 Pro Bowls in their careers. Except for those that are currently active or not yet eligible, each of these players have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame except Jason Witten. With his selection in the 2022 Pro Bowl, quarterback Tom Brady has the all-time invitations record at 15. Of currently active players, offensive lineman Trent Williams has the most Pro Bowl invitations with 12.
== Television ==
The Pro Bowl was originally broadcast on an alternative basis by CBS and NBC from 1971 to 1974, while the other network broadcast the Super Bowl. The game was then broadcast as part of the Monday Night Football package on ABC from 1975 to 1987. Sister network ESPN took it over as part of the ESPN Sunday Night Football package from 1988 to 1994. The game then returned to ABC for the 1995 through 2003 games. In the early 2000s, after suffering through several years of declining ratings ABC considered moving the game to Monday night, but the network instead decided to sell off the rights for the 2004–2006 games to ESPN.
For the 2007 to 2014 Pro Bowls, the network which aired the Super Bowl that season also aired the Pro Bowl. The 2007 game on CBS was held on the Saturday after Super Bowl XLI because of the 49th Grammy Awards. The 2008 game was on Fox, broadcaster of Super Bowl XLII. Likewise, the 2009 game was on NBC, broadcaster of Super Bowl XLIII. CBS sold off their rights to the 2010 game to ESPN, which was played a week before the Super Bowl at the Super Bowl site, Sun Life Stadium. CBS also declined to broadcast the 2013 game, which was instead shown on NBC. The 2014 game, also shown on NBC, was the final Pro Bowl on network television for four years.
ESPN then began holding exclusive rights to the Pro Bowl starting in 2015. In 2018, the Pro Bowl returned to network television for the first time in four years as part of a joint ABC/ESPN simulcast (both sister networks are owned by The Walt Disney Company). Disney XD was added to the simulcast for 2019. When the Pro Bowl's format was changed in 2023, only ESPN aired the Tuesday skills competitions live, then ABC re-aired them later on Saturday; the flag football game remained ESPN/ABC/Disney XD simulcasts. With the game moving to Tuesday night in 2026, it will remain on ESPN/Disney XD but no longer on ABC.
Throughout his broadcasting career, John Madden declined to be part of the announcing crew when his network carried the Pro Bowl for his aviatophobia and claustrophobia (a joke referencing both is made in the Madden NFL '97 video game before the beginning of the Pro Bowl in season mode, where Madden quips that he drove his "Madden Bus" to Hawaii, rather than flying). Until Madden's retirement from broadcasting after the 2009 Pro Bowl, it had only occurred twice: Former San Diego Chargers quarterback and MNF personality Dan Fouts, whom Madden had replaced, took his place on ABC in 2003, and Cris Collinsworth took his place on NBC in 2009 (Collinsworth ended up replacing Madden permanently upon the latter's retirement).
In conjunction with the Professional Bowlers Association, the Pro Bowl also sponsors a charity bowling tournament the occurs during the weekend leading up to the game. The tournament is open to all NFL players regardless of whether they have been selected to play in the Pro Bowl. Winners are announced at halftime, and are presented with a check in their name payable to their favorite charity.
=== Most watched Pro Bowls ===
Since 2000
=== Blackout policy ===
Prior to 2015, the Pro Bowl was still subject to the NFL's blackout policies, requiring the game to be blacked out within 75 miles (121 km) of the stadium site if the game does not sell out all of the stadium's seats. However, with the lifting of the NFL's blackout rules in 2015, the game can be shown within the host stadium regardless of attendance.
== Criticism ==
=== Quality ===
For decades, the Pro Bowl has been criticized as a glamour event more than a football game. This is due to the voluntary nature of the game, the arbitrary voting process, and the fear of player injury.
While players are financially compensated for participating in the Pro Bowl, for a star player, the pay can be less than 1% of their salary. Many star players have excused themselves from participation over the years, meaning that the very best players are not necessarily featured. Not having the best players in the Pro Bowl was exacerbated by the introduction of fan voting (see section below).
Another criticism of the game is that the players—particularly on defense—are not competing at the same level of intensity as they would during the regular season or the playoffs. This is because player injury plays a much greater part in a team's success in the NFL as compared to the other major American sports. For this reason, unlike the NBA, NHL, and MLB (which host their all-star events as a mid-season break), the Pro Bowl was historically held after the completion of the season and playoffs. This means that a player injured in the Pro Bowl would have at least six months to rehab before the next season begins. However, starting in 2010, the Pro Bowl was moved from the week after the Super Bowl to the week before it. Because of the above-noted fear of injury, players from the two teams participating in the Super Bowl were banned from participation, thus increasing the absence of star players.
In the 2012 game, the lack of defensive effort was apparent, not only to anyone watching, but additionally evidenced by the combined score of 100 points. Brett Keisel, an NFL player watching the game said, "They probably should have just put flags on them," indicating that the quality was about on the level of flag football. Commissioner Roger Goodell stated that the game needed to improve, otherwise it would be eliminated. It is worth noting that entire teams have declined to participate after losing the conference championship, like the 2015 New England Patriots, which had seven starters on the Pro Bowl roster. This, among other factors, caused the 2016 Pro Bowl to be more of a game featuring emerging players, with a record of 133 players selected overall (including those who were absent), and ended up including rookie quarterback Jameis Winston instead of recognized veterans Tom Brady and Carson Palmer, who were both in the conversation for the 2015 NFL season MVP before losing in their respective conference finals. In 2022 and 2023, Josh Allen turned down invitations to the Pro Bowl in favor of playing in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament, decisions that he stated were to allow himself to recover from several minor injuries. In 2023, Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs called the event "stupid" and stated that he would prefer to go on vacation rather than play in the game. The event was set to be hosted in Las Vegas that year.
=== Selection process ===
Voting by fans makes up 1/3 of the vote for Pro Bowl players. Some teams earn more selections of their players because fans often vote for their favorite team and not necessarily the best player. In the 2008 Pro Bowl, the Dallas Cowboys had thirteen players on the NFC roster, an NFL record. "If you're in a small market, no one really gets to see you play", said Minnesota Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield, who spent much of his early career with the small-market Buffalo Bills. "If you're a quiet guy, it's hard to get the attention. You just have to work hard and play." Winfield made the Pro Bowl in 2008 after ten seasons of being shut out.
The player voting has also been subject to significant criticism. It is not uncommon for players to pick the same players over and over again; former offensive lineman (and Sports Illustrated analyst) Ross Tucker has cited politics, incumbency, personal vendettas, and compensation for injury in previous years as primary factors in players' choices. Thus, players who have seen their play decline with age can still be perennially elected to the Pro Bowl for their popularity among other players, something particularly common among positions such as the offensive line, where few statistics are available. For example, in 2010, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs admitted voting for Ryan Fitzpatrick (then the backup quarterback of the Buffalo Bills) over eventual league most valuable player Tom Brady not because he thought Fitzpatrick was the better player but as a vote of disrespect toward Brady's team, the New England Patriots.
Some players have had a surprisingly small number of Pro Bowl selections despite distinguished careers. Hall of Fame fullback John Riggins was selected only once in his career from 1971 to 1985. He was not selected in the year after which he set the record for rushing touchdowns in a season and his team made it to the Super Bowl (although he did make the All-Pro team). Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke only made the Pro Bowl once, despite being named All-Pro seven times and being the MVP of the 1962 NFL Championship Game. Defensive back Ken Riley never made the Pro Bowl in his 15 seasons, even though he recorded 65 interceptions, the fourth-highest total in NFL history at the time of his retirement. Former Jacksonville Jaguars halfback Fred Taylor, who is 15th in all-time rushing yards, was elected to his only Pro Bowl in 2007, despite averaging 4.6 yards per carry for his career, better than all but five running backs ranked in the top 30 in all-time rushing. Aaron Smith made it to the Pro Bowl once in 13 years (2004) despite winning two Super Bowl rings with the Pittsburgh Steelers and being named to the Sports Illustrated 2000s All Decade Team and defensive teammates such as Troy Polamalu, Casey Hampton, and James Harrison being named to multiple Pro Bowls during his career; Smith would often be ranked as one of the NFL's most underrated players during his career. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoghi_Effendi | Shoghi Effendi | Shoghí Effendi (; Persian: شوقی افندی; 1896 or 1897 – 4 November 1957) was Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1922 until his death in 1957. As the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, he was charged with guiding the development of the Baháʼí Faith, including the creation of its global administrative structure and the prosecution of Baháʼí teaching plans that oversaw the expansion of the religion to several new countries. As the authorized interpreter of the Baháʼí literature, he translated the primary written works of the Faith's central figures, providing unity of understanding of its essential teachings and safeguarding its followers from division. Upon his death in 1957, leadership passed to the Hands of the Cause, and in 1963 the Baháʼís of the world elected the Universal House of Justice, an institution which had been described and planned by Baháʼu’llah.
Shoghi Effendi, an Afnán, was born Shoghí Rabbání in Acre in the Ottoman Empire, where he spent his early life, but later went on to study in Haifa and Beirut, gaining an arts degree from the Syrian Protestant College in 1918 and then serving as ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's secretary and translator. In 1920, he attended Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied political science and economics. Before completing his studies, news of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's death reached him, requiring him to return to Haifa. Shortly after his return at the end of December 1921, he learned that the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá named him Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith. Two crucial aspects of his leadership focused on building the administration and spreading the faith worldwide.
During his 36 years as Guardian, Shoghi Effendi translated and expounded on many of the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, established plans that enabled the faith to spread globally and sent more than 17,500 letters. He kept in touch with progress in all existing Bahá’i communities as well as monitoring and responding to the situation in the Middle East, where the believers were still suffering persecution. He also began work to establish Haifa, Israel, as the Bahá’i World Center. He created an International Bahá’i Council to aid him in his work, several members of which were newly appointed Hands of the Cause. He also presided over the community's expansion from 1,034 localities in 1935 to 2,700 in 1953, and further to 14,437 in 1963. From the beginning to the end of his leadership, the total population of Baháʼís around the world grew from 100,000 to 400,000.
Shoghi Effendi died during a visit to London in 1957, having contracted Asian flu, and is buried at New Southgate Cemetery in the city of London.
== Background ==
Born in Acre in the Acre Sanjak of the Ottoman Empire in 1896 or 1897, Shoghi Effendi was related to the Báb through his father, Mírzá Hádí Shírází, and to Baháʼu'lláh through his mother, Ḍíyáʼíyyih Khánum, the eldest daughter of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, who provided much of his initial training, greatly influenced Shoghi Effendi from the early years of his life. Shoghi Effendi learned prayers from his grandfather, who encouraged him to chant. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá also insisted that people address the child as "Shoghi Effendi" rather than simply as "Shoghi" as a mark of respect towards him.
As a child, Shoghi Effendi was aware of the difficulties endured by the Baháʼís in Acre, which included attacks by Mírzá Muhammad ʻAlí against ʻAbdu’l-Bahá. Mirza Muhammad-‘Ali, who was ʻAbdu’l-Bahá's younger half-brother and aggrieved by ʻAbdu’l-Bahá's designation as Baháʼu’llah's successor, began plotting to discredit him by falsely claiming that he was the cause of the uprising in Ottoman Syria. The problems which this caused in the Baháʼí community were felt as far away as Iran and beyond. As a young boy, he was aware of the desire of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (reigned 1876–1909) to banish ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to the deserts of North Africa, where he was expected to perish.
=== Tablet from ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ===
Being ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's eldest grandson, the first son of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's eldest daughter Ḍíyáʼíyyih Khánum, Shoghi Effendi had a special relationship with his grandfather. Zia Baghdadi, a contemporary Baháʼí, relates that when Shoghi Effendi was only five years of age, he pestered his grandfather to write a tablet for him, which ʻAbdu'l-Bahá obliged:
He is God! O My Shoghi, I have no time to talk, leave me alone! You said write, I have written. What else should be done? Now is not the time for you to read and write. It is the time for jumping about and chanting O My God! Therefore, memorize the prayers of the Blessed Beauty and chant them that I may hear them. Because there is no time for anything else.
Shoghi Effendi then set out to memorize several prayers and chanted them as loud as he could. This caused family members to ask ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to quiet him, a request he apparently refused.
=== Education ===
Shoghi Effendi's early education took place at home with other children from the household. It was provided by private tutors, who taught him Arabic, Persian, French, English, and literature. From 1907 to 1909, he attended the College des Frères, a Jesuit institution in Haifa, where he studied Arabic, Turkish, French and English. In 1910, when ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was residing in Egypt before his journeys to the West, Shoghi Effendi was briefly enrolled in the College des Frères in Ramleh.
Plans for him to accompany his grandfather on his travels fell through when the port authorities in Naples prevented him from continuing, ostensibly due to health issues. Upon his return to Egypt sometime after March 1912, he was sent to a Jesuit boarding school in Beirut, transferring in October to the preparatory school attached to the Syrian Protestant College in Beirut, graduating in 1913. Later that year, Shoghi Effendi returned to the Syrian Protestant College as an undergraduate and earned a BA in 1917. Despite enrolling there as a graduate student, he returned to Haifa without completing his degree.
During his time at the Syrian Protestant College, he spent his visits home to Haifa assisting ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in translation, becoming his full-time secretary and translator from the end of 1918.
By the spring of 1919, the intensity of Shoghi Effendi's secretarial work had taken its toll on his health, resulting in recurring occurrences of malaria. By the spring of 1920, he was so unwell that ʻAbdu'l-Bahá arranged for him to convalesce at a sanatorium in Paris. Following his recovery, he enrolled in the Non-Collegiate Delegacy at Balliol College, Oxford to improve his English translation skills.
=== Death of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ===
While Shoghi Effendi was studying in England, he learned of the passing of ʻAbdu’l-Bahá in the early hours of 28 November 1921, news that came as a grievous shock, as he had been unaware that his grandfather was ill. Following his return to Haifa on 29 December 1921, the prerequisites of the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá were announced, unequivocally stating that Shoghi Effendi was to be appointed as ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's successor and Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith. The institution of the Guardianship had been conceived by Baháʼu’llah, with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá outlining its specific functions and jurisdiction in the Will and Testament, two particularly important functions being the interpretation of the Baháʼí teachings and guiding the Baháʼí community.
=== Private life and marriage ===
Shoghi Effendi's personal life was subordinate to his work as Guardian , and it was not until 1950 that he secured the secretarial support he required to handle the mounting correspondence. By then, he had established a timetable of continuous hard work while in Haifa, with summer breaks during which he spent time in Europe, initially in the Swiss Alps, and in 1929 and 1940 traversed Africa from south to north.
On March 24, 1937, Shoghi Effendi married Mary Maxwell, entitled Rúhíyyih Khánum, a Canadian. She was the only child of May Maxwell, a disciple of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, and William Sutherland Maxwell, a Canadian architect. Shoghi Effendi had first met Mary as a girl when she came on pilgrimage with her mother in 1923. She made another pilgrimage as a teenager with two of her mother's close friends. With Shoghi Effendi's encouragement, Mary became an active Baháʼí teacher and a letter written to him described her as "a beautiful and most refreshing girl to know".
In 1936, Shoghi Effendi wrote to Mary and her mother, inviting them to visit Haifa. They arrived in January 1937, and a discreet courtship between Shoghi Effendi and Mary ensued. At the time of their marriage, Mary was 26 years old and a tall, athletic woman who had spent 18 months living in Nazi Germany with her cousin before coming to Haifa. The couple exchanged vows in the room of Bahíyyih Khánum in the House of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in Haifa. The ceremony was brief with Rúhíyyih Khánum wearing black. Only a select few were aware of the wedding, including the witnesses and a small group of Haifa residents. Consequently, the news of the marriage came as a surprise to the global Baháʼí community when Shoghi Effendi's mother cabled the Baháʼís.
Announce Assemblies celebration marriage beloved Guardian. Inestimable honour conferred upon handmaid of Baháʼu'lláh Ruhiyyih Khanum Miss Mary Maxwell. Union of East and West proclaimed by Baháʼí Faith cemented. Ziaiyyih mother of Guardian.
While Shoghi Effendi and Rúhíyyih Khánum never had children, Rúhíyyih Khánum became his constant companion and helpmate; in 1941, she became Shoghi Effendi's principal secretary in English. In a rare public statement, revealing his private sentiments, in 1951 he described his wife as "my helpmate, my shield in warding off the darts of Covenant breakers and my tireless collaborator in the arduous tasks I shoulder".
=== Leadership style ===
Shoghi Effendi was 24 when he became Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith, and, following a short break to prepare himself for what this entailed, he began to address the task at hand. With his Western education and Western dress, Shoghi Effendi’s leadership style was noticeably different from that of his grandfather ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. His letters to Baháʼís were signed "your true brother”, and rather than referring to his personal role as Guardian, his focus was instead on the institution of the guardianship. He expended his energy on building the Faith worldwide, laying the foundations for its the Baháʼí World Centre, and relying on extensive correspondence rather than direct travel to communicate advice to a growing global community. He spent time with the many Baháʼís who visited Haifa on pilgrimage, inspiring and teaching them, and often using them as emissaries when they returned to their various home communities.
=== Administration ===
One of Shoghi Effendi’s main objectives on becoming Guardian was to organise the administrative work of the Baháʼí World Centre, with an initial focus on sustaining correspondence with a growing number of Baháʼís throughout the world. This involved the need for secretarial assistance, which in the early years came from his father and two Persian Baháʼís who had served as secretaries to ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. Between late 1924 and 1927, he received assistance initially from John Esslemont, and following his untimely death a year later, from Ethel Rosenberg, both of them Baháʼís from the UK. He was also assisted in this work by several members of his family. In an attempt to reduce his correspondence, Shoghi Effendi encouraged Baháʼí communities to publish and distribute newsletters to other communities, the newsletter generated from Haifa including news from the Baháʼí World Centre and Baháʼí activities around the world, thus alleviating the need for Baháʼís to send him letters asking for information. As an extension of the Baháʼí World Centre, he established a Baháʼí Bureau in Geneva, representing the community at international forums and meetings as well as international organisations which had their headquarters in Geneva.
During the early years of his guardianship, Shoghi Effendi focused on the formation and nurturing of national and local Spiritual Assemblies to encourage the spread of the Faith and as a prerequisite for the election of the Universal House of Justice. National bodies were elected according to ʻAbdu'l-Bahá’s instructions and using procedures set down by Shoghi Effendi, who took on responsibility for defining the requirements for their election, detailing their authority, outlining and evaluating rules for their functioning, and managing the application of these criteria in various situations and social conditions. The first three national spiritual assemblies were established at Shoghi Effendi’s instruction in Great Britain, India and Germany in 1923.
In 1951, Shoghi Effendi began expanding international Baháʼí institutions, appointing twelve Hands of the Cause as ʻAbdu'l-Bahá stipulated in his will. In the same year, he established the International Baháʼí Council, a secretariat and advisory body whose members were initially appointed and subsequently elected, and which increasingly took on responsibility for communicating with the community and interacting with the government of Israel. In 1952, he appointed seven further Hands of the Cause, adding another eight in 1957. In 1954, he asked the Hands of the Cause to appoint 36 people to serve on five continental Auxiliary Boards to assist them in their work. The purpose in forming these international institutions appeared to be the provision of support in carrying out expansion goals for the Ten Year Crusade in conjunction with preparation for the election of the Universal House of Justice.
Shoghi Effendi was instrumental in developing the Baháʼí World Centre, initially buying the mansion at Bahji, near Akko (formerly Acre), in which Baha’u’llah lived until he died in 1892, where the Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh is situated, and around which he purchased extra land and created extensive gardens. He supervised the construction of the golden-domed building over the Shrine of the Báb, developed the surrounding land and erected the International Archives building in the vicinity. He also endorsed plans involving the establishment of a centre which was to evolve into a network of buildings, landscaped gardens and shrines, and which was to be recognised by Baháʼís worldwide as the centre of the Baháʼí Faith.
In 1937, Shoghi Effendi instructed the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States and Canada to complete the exterior of the Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, as one of the goals of their Seven-Year Plan. This was finally completed in 1943, with the temple’s dedication taking place in May 1953. On 23 August 1955, Shoghi Effendi announced that Africa would build its first House of Worship in Kampala, Uganda; the temple was dedicated in January 1961.
=== Growth ===
During the years when Shoghi Effendi was Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith, the number of believers expanded to more than 400,000, and the plans he instituted during this time surpassed their goals. Before the first plan was initiated in 1935, there were 139 spiritual assemblies worldwide, with Baháʼís living in 1,034 locations. These numbers had increased to 670 spiritual assemblies and 2,700 locations by 1953. That year, he launched a 10-year global crusade whose purpose was to establish the faith worldwide, the faith spreading widely in parts of Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific islands. Although Shoghi Effendi died in 1957, by 1963 the geographical presence of the Baháʼí Faith in the world had increased to 14,437 localities, with 56 national assemblies and 3,551 local spiritual assemblies.
=== Other ===
In a more secular cause, before World War II he supported the work of restoration-forester Richard St. Barbe Baker to reforest Palestine, introducing him to religious leaders from the major faiths of the region, from whom backing was secured for reforestation.
== Translations and writings ==
Shoghi Effendi wrote extensively in English and Persian. As Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá had assigned to him the responsibility of interpreting the word of God, with the authority to impart the meaning and implications of the words of both Baháʼu'lláh and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. Since Shoghi Effendi’s interpretations are regarded as being authoritative and irrevocable, his writings are regarded as being a primary element in forming modern Baháʼí belief. He was also instrumental in translating many of Baháʼu'lláh's writings, including the Hidden Words in 1929, the Kitáb-i-Íqán in 1931, Gleanings in 1935 and Epistle to the Son of the Wolf in 1941. He also translated such historical texts as The Dawn-Breakers. His significance is not just that of a translator, but also that of the designated and authoritative interpreter of the Baháʼí writings. His translations, therefore, are a guideline for all future translations of the Baháʼí writings.
The vast majority of his writings were in the style of letters to Baháʼís from all parts of the globe. These letters, of which 17,500 have been collected thus far, are believed to number a total of 34,000 unique works. They ranged from routine correspondence regarding the affairs of Baháʼís around the world to lengthy letters to the Baháʼís of the world addressing specific themes. Some of his longer letters and collections of letters include World Order of Baháʼu'lláh, Advent of Divine Justice, and Promised Day is Come.
Other letters included statements on Baháʼí beliefs, history, morality, principles, administration and law. He also wrote obituaries of some distinguished Baháʼís. Many of his letters to individuals and assemblies have been compiled into several books which stand out as significant sources of literature for Baháʼís around the world. The only book he wrote was God Passes By in 1944, to commemorate the religion's centennial. The book, which is in English, is an interpretive history of the first century of the Bábí and Baháʼí Faiths. A shorter Persian language version was also written.
== Opposition ==
Mírzá Muhammad ʻAlí was ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's half-brother and was mentioned by Baháʼu'lláh as having a station "beneath" that of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. Muhammad ʻAli later challenged ʻAbdu'l-Bahá for leadership and was ultimately excommunicated, along with several others in the Haifa/Acre area who supported him. When Shoghi Effendi was appointed Guardian, Muhammad ʻAli tried to revive his claim to leadership, suggesting that Baháʼu'lláh's mention of him in the Kitáb-i-'Ahd amounted to a succession of leadership. But Muḥammad-‘Alí had forfeited his right to that station by opposing the authority of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and his attempt at leadership was widely ignored.
It was generally anticipated that the Universal House of Justice would be elected soon after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s passing, but Shoghi Effendi determined that the Faith’s global administrative structure must be built up first, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will called for the House of Justice to be elected by the national Spiritual Assemblies, which had not yet come into existence.
Throughout Shoghi Effendi's life, nearly all remaining family members and descendants of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá were declared by him as covenant-breakers when they didn't abide by Shoghi Effendi's request to cut contact with covenant-breakers, as specified by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. Other branches of Baháʼu'lláh's family had already been declared Covenant-breakers in ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament. At the time of his death, there were no living descendants of Baháʼu'lláh that remained loyal to him.
== Unexpected death ==
Shoghi Effendi's death came unexpectedly in London, on 4 November 1957, as he was travelling to Britain and caught the Asian Flu, during the pandemic which killed two million worldwide, and he is buried there in New Southgate Cemetery. His wife sent the following cable:
Shoghi Effendi beloved of all hearts sacred trust given believers by Master passed away sudden heart attack in sleep following Asiatic flu. Urge believers remain steadfast cling institution Hands lovingly reared recently reinforced emphasized by beloved Guardian. Only oneness heart oneness purpose can befittingly testify loyalty all National Assemblies believers departed Guardian who sacrificed self utterly for service Faith.
Future hereditary Guardians were envisioned in Baháʼí scripture as being appointed from one to the next. Each Guardian was to be appointed by the previous from among the male descendants of Baháʼu'lláh, preferably according to primogeniture. The appointment was to be made during the Guardian's lifetime and clearly assented to by a group of Hands of the Cause. At the time of Shoghi Effendi's death, all living male descendants of Baháʼu'lláh had been declared Covenant-breakers by either ʻAbdu'l-Bahá or Shoghi Effendi, leaving no suitable living candidates. This created a severe crisis of leadership. The 27 living Hands gathered in a series of six conclaves (or signed agreements if they were absent) to decide how to navigate the uncharted situation. The Hands of the Cause unanimously voted it was impossible to legitimately recognize and assent to a successor. They announced on 25 November 1957 they would assume control of the Faith, certified that Shoghi Effendi had left no will or appointment of successor, said that no appointment could have been made, and elected nine of their members to stay at the Baháʼí World Centre in Haifa to exercise the executive functions of the Guardian (these were known as the Custodians).
=== Ministry of the Custodians ===
In Shoghi Effendi's final message to the Baha'i World, dated October 1957, he named the Hands of the Cause of God, "the Chief Stewards of Baháʼu'lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth." Following the death of Shoghi Effendi, the Baháʼí Faith was temporarily stewarded by the Hands of the Cause, who elected among themselves nine "Custodians" to serve in Haifa as the head of the Faith. They oversaw the transition of the International Baháʼí Council into the Universal House of Justice. This stewardship oversaw the execution of the final years of Shoghi Effendi's ordinances of the ten-year crusade (which lasted until 1963), culminating and transitioning to the election and establishment of the Universal House of Justice, at the first Baha'i World Congress in 1963.
As early as January 1959, Mason Remey, one of the custodial Hands, declared that he was the second Guardian and successor to Shoghi Effendi, even though he met none of the criteria of Abdu'l-Bahá's will and had signed the Proclamations of the Hands of the Cause affirming that Shoghi Effendi had not, and could not have, appointed a successor. That summer after a conclave of the Hands in Haifa, Remey abandoned his position and moved to Washington D.C., then soon after announced his claim to absolute leadership, and attracted about 100 followers, mainly in the United States. Remey was excommunicated by a unanimous decision of the remaining 26 Hands. Although initially disturbed, the mainstream Baháʼís paid little attention to his movement within a few years.
=== Election of the Universal House of Justice ===
At the end of the Ten Year Crusade in 1963, the Universal House of Justice was first elected. It was authorized to adjudicate on situations not covered in scripture. As its first order of business, the Universal House of Justice evaluated the situation arising from the Guardian's failure to appoint a successor. It determined that under the circumstances, given the criteria for succession described in the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, there was no legitimate way for another Guardian to be appointed. Although the Will and Testament leaves provisions for a succession of Guardians, Shoghi Effendi remains the first and last occupant of this office. Bahá'u'lláh envisioned a scenario in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas in which the line of Guardians would be broken before the establishment of the Universal House of Justice, and in the interim the Hands of the Cause of God would administer the affairs of the Baha'i community.
== Guardianship ==
The institution of the 'Guardian' provided a hereditary line of heads of the religion, in many respects similar to the Shi'i Imamate. Each Guardian was to be appointed by the previous from among the Aghsán (male descendants of Baháʼu'lláh), preferably according to primogeniture. The appointment was to be made during the Guardian's lifetime and clearly assented to by a group of Hands of the Cause. The Guardian would be the head of the Universal House of Justice, and had the authority to expel its members. He would also be responsible for the receipt of Huqúqu'lláh, appoint new Hands of the Cause, provide "authoritative and binding" interpretations of the Baháʼí writings, and excommunicate Covenant-breakers.
The issue of successorship to ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was in the minds of early Baháʼís, and although the Universal House of Justice was an institution mentioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the institution of the Guardianship was not clearly introduced until the Will and Testament was publicly read after his death.
In the will, Shoghi Effendi found that he had been designated as "the Sign of God (Ayatollah), the chosen branch, the Guardian of the Cause of God". He also learned that he had been designated as this when he was still a small child. As Guardian, he was appointed as head of the religion, someone to whom the Baháʼís had to look for guidance.
=== Shoghi Effendi on the Guardianship ===
Building on the foundation that had been established in ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's will, Shoghi Effendi elaborated on the role of the Guardian in several works, including Baháʼí Administration and the World Order of Baháʼu'lláh. In those works, he went to great lengths to emphasize that he himself and any future Guardian should never be viewed as equal to ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, or regarded as a holy person. He asked Baháʼís not to celebrate his birthday or display his picture. In his correspondences, Shoghi Effendi signed his letters to Baháʼís as "brother" and "co-worker," to the extent that even when addressing youth, he referred to himself as "Your True Brother."
Shoghi Effendi wrote that the infallibility of his interpretations extended only to matters relating to the Baháʼí Faith, not to subjects such as economics and science.
Shoghi Effendi explained that the successor appointed in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will was not just the Guardianship; it was the Administrative Order, headed by the Universal House of Justice, which was first elected in 1963. With this understanding, Shoghi Effendi delineated a distinct separation of powers between the "twin pillars" of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice. The roles of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice are complementary, the former providing authoritative interpretation, and the latter providing flexibility and the authority to adjudicate on "questions that are obscure and matters that are not expressly recorded in the Book." Shoghi Effendi went into detail explaining that the institutions are interdependent and had their own specific spheres of jurisdiction. For example, the Guardian could define the sphere of legislative action and request that a particular decision be reconsidered, but could not dictate the constitution, override the decisions, or influence the election of the Universal House of Justice. In explaining the importance of the Guardianship, Shoghi Effendi wrote that without it the World Order of Baháʼu'lláh would be "mutilated." At the same time, Shoghi Effendi indicated that “Severed from the no less essential institution of the Universal House of Justice this same System of the Will of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá would be paralyzed in its action and would be powerless to fill in those gaps which the Author of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas has deliberately left in the body of His legislative and administrative ordinances.” In its legislation the Universal House of Justice turns to the mass of interpretation left by Shoghi Effendi. The existence of the institution of the Guardianship for 36 years under Shoghi Effendi and its ongoing interpretative authority in the decision making of the Universal House of Justice demonstrates how the Administrative Order is neither "mutiliated" nor "paralyzed.". The House of Justice has explained that the Will and Testament had allowed for different possibilities for the Faith’s future leadership after the first Guardian: a House of Justice with and without a Guardian. Thus, in not appointing another Guardian, Shoghi Effendi had been faithful to the inherent logic of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will, and as foreshadowed in verse 42 of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the line of Guardians ended with the Faith under the direction of the Universal House of Justice alone.
== Ancestry == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeeter_Newsome | Skeeter Newsome | Lamar Ashby "Skeeter" Newsome (October 18, 1910 – August 31, 1989) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1935–1939), Boston Red Sox (1941–1945) and Philadelphia Phillies (1946–1947).
Born in Phenix City, Alabama, he finished 27th in voting for the 1943 American League MVP Award after playing in 114 games and having 449 at-bats, 48 runs, 119 hits, 21 doubles, 2 triples, 1 home run, 22 RBI, 5 stolen bases, 21 walks, .265 batting average, .301 on-base percentage, .327 slugging percentage, 147 total bases and 8 sacrifice hits.
He finished 32nd in voting for the 1945 AL MVP for playing in 125 games and having 438 at-bats, 45 runs, 127 hits, 30 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 48 RBI, 6 stolen bases, 20 walks, .290 batting average, .322 on-base percentage, .370 slugging percentage, 162 total bases and 17 sacrifice hits.
In 12 seasons he played in 1,128 games and had 3,716 at-bats, 381 runs, 910 hits, 164 doubles, 15 triples, 9 home runs, 292 RBI, 67 stolen bases, 246 walks, .245 batting average, .293 on-base percentage, .304 slugging percentage, 1,131 total bases and 120 sacrifice hits.
Newsome managed in the minor leagues for the Phillies and Detroit Tigers after his playing career ended until 1960. He then became an account executive for WTVM Channel 9 in Columbus, Ohio. He was married and had four children. Nine months prior to his death, he was suffering from prostate cancer. He died in Columbus, Georgia on August 31, 1989 at the age of 78. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_Love_Affair#Track_listing | Strong Love Affair#Track listing | Strong Love Affair is a studio album by Ray Charles, released in 1996, through Warner Bros. Records.
== Track listing ==
"All She Wants to Do Is Love Me" – 4:15
"Say No More" – 4:19
"No Time to Waste Time" – 3:38
"Angelina" – 4:06
"Tell Me What You Want Me to Do" (Ray Charles) – 5:21
"Strong Love Affair" – 4:08
"Everybody's Handsome Child" – 3:56
"Out of My Life" – 4:25
"The Fever" – 3:46
"Separate Ways" – 4:07
"I Need a Good Woman Bad" – 4:59
"If You Give Me Your Heart" – 4:27 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_McGraw | Tim McGraw | Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 17 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, five for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those albums have reached number one on the Top Country Albums charts, with his 1994 breakthrough album Not a Moment Too Soon being the top country album of 1994. In total, McGraw's albums have produced 65 singles, 25 of which have reached number one on the Hot Country Songs or Country Airplay charts.
Three of these singles – "It's Your Love", "Just to See You Smile", and "Live Like You Were Dying" – were respectively the top country songs of 1997, 1998, and 2004 according to Billboard Year-End. He has also won three Grammy Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music awards, 11 Country Music Association (CMA) awards, 10 American Music Awards, and three People's Choice Awards. His Soul2Soul II Tour, which was done in partnership with his wife, Faith Hill, is one of the highest-grossing tours in country music history, and one of the top five among all genres of music. He has sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
McGraw has ventured into acting, with supporting roles in The Blind Side, Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, Tomorrowland, Four Christmases, flashback scenes in 2 episodes of Yellowstone, and The Shack as well as lead roles in Flicka (2006), Country Strong (2010), and 1883 (2021). He was a minority owner of the Arena Football League's Nashville Kats. McGraw has been married to singer Faith Hill since 1996 and is the eldest son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Tug McGraw.
McGraw was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2026.
== Early life and education ==
Samuel Timothy McGraw was born in Delhi, Louisiana, the only child of Elizabeth "Betty" Ann D'Agostino, a waitress from Jacksonville, Florida, and Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr., a pitcher for the minor league Jacksonville Suns and future star pitcher for the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies. In 1966, D'Agostino was a student at Terry Parker High School. She lived in the same apartment building as Tug McGraw, who was playing baseball for Jacksonville. When she became pregnant with McGraw as a teen, D'Agostino's parents sent her to Louisiana to live with relatives. Through his father, McGraw has two half-brothers, Mark and Matthew, and a half-sister named Cari. He also has two younger half-sisters, Tracey and Sandra, through his mother's marriage to Horace Smith.
McGraw grew up believing Smith was his father, and used this stepfather's surname until meeting Tug. At age 11, McGraw discovered his birth certificate while searching in his mother's closet whilst looking for money to buy sweets. Following the discovery, he learned from her who his biological father was and she took him to meet the elder McGraw for the first time. Tug McGraw denied the parentage for seven years until Tim was 18 years old. After that time, the two formed a relationship and remained close until the former baseball star died in 2004.
As a child, McGraw played competitive sports, including baseball, even before the knowledge of who his father was and his professional baseball career. McGraw was also a member of the FFA in high school. Following high school graduation, he attended Northeast Louisiana University on a baseball scholarship, where he was a pre-law major and pledged as a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. A knee injury sustained while playing baseball for the college prevented him from pursuing a professional career in sports.
While in college, McGraw learned to play guitar and would frequently perform and sing for money. He has claimed his roommates often hid the guitar because he was so bad. McGraw followed his mother when she returned to Jacksonville, Florida, in 1987. After the move, he attended Florida Community College at Jacksonville for one term, and occasionally sat in with local bands. In 1989, on the day his hero Keith Whitley died, McGraw dropped out of college to head to Nashville and pursue a musical career.
== Music career ==
=== 1990s ===
==== Tim McGraw ====
McGraw came to the attention of Curb Records in 1990. After cutting a demo single, McGraw gave a copy to his father. A man who was friends with Curb Records executives heard the demo while driving with Tug one day and recommended that Curb contact the young singer. Several weeks later, he was able to play his tape for Curb executives, after which they signed him to a recording contract. McGraw made his debut with the single "What Room Was the Holiday In", which was released on March 29, 1991, and did not enter the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart upon its release. In a 2001 retrospective on McGraw's career in Billboard, a former program director for Nashville station WSM-FM said that he added the song to the station's playlist because it showed "undeniable promise", while another former program director at WXTU in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, recalled that McGraw's debut single was "terrible" but that he booked the singer to make an appearance at the station due to his father's fame.
Two years later in April 1993, McGraw released his debut album Tim McGraw, which was commercially unsuccessful and did not sell well. This is his only studio album not to achieve a music recording sales certification or to enter the Top Country Albums charts. Three more singles were released from Tim McGraw: "Welcome to the Club", "Memory Lane", and "Two Steppin' Mind". None made country Top 40 and the album itself did not chart. Both "Memory Lane" and "Tears in the Rain", another cut from the album, were co-written by Joe Diffie. "Memory Lane" had originally appeared on Keith Palmer's self-titled 1991 debut album.
==== Not a Moment Too Soon ====
McGraw's second album, entitled Not a Moment Too Soon, was much more successful than his self-titled debut, and it was the best-selling country album of 1994. Its first single, "Indian Outlaw", sparked controversy, as critics argued that it presented Native Americans in a patronizing way. Some radio stations even chose not to play it. However, the controversy helped spur sales, and the song became McGraw's first Top 10 entry on the U.S. country charts after getting as high as number 8. The song also peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The album's second single, "Don't Take the Girl", became McGraw's first number one on the U.S. country charts, in addition to peaking at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also "helped cement his image as a ruggedly good-looking guy with a sensitive side." By year's end, the third single from the album, "Down on the Farm" peaked at number 2; after that, the album's fourth single, also its title track, became the singer's second number one song in early 1995. The fifth and final single "Refried Dreams" reached number 5. The album sold over 6 million copies, topping the Billboard 200 and Top Country Album charts. On the strength of this success, McGraw won Academy of Country Music awards for Album of the Year and Top New Male Vocalist in 1994. Billboard named Not a Moment Too Soon as the top country album of 1994 on Billboard Year-End.
==== All I Want ====
McGraw's third studio album, All I Want, was released in 1995. Just like its predecessor, this album debuted at No. 1 on the country charts. The album even sold over 2 million copies in the United States and reached the Top 5 on the Billboard 200. The album's first single, "I Like It, I Love It", became McGraw's third number one on the American country charts and it also peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song also eventually became the goal song for the Nashville Predators once they began their inaugural season and since then has been left unchanged. The album's next two singles, "Can't Be Really Gone" and "All I Want Is a Life" (its partial title track) both made the top 5 at numbers 2 and 5, respectively. The fourth single, "She Never Lets It Go to Her Heart", gave McGraw his fourth number one on the U.S. country charts in 1996. Finishing off the singles was "Maybe We Should Just Sleep on It", which peaked at number 4.
In 1996, McGraw headlined the most successful country tour of the year, The Spontaneous Combustion Tour, with Faith Hill as his supporting act. Hill broke off her engagement to her former producer Scott Hendricks so that she and McGraw could start dating each other; they then married on October 6, 1996.
==== Everywhere ====
The singer's fourth album, Everywhere was released in 1997. It topped the country charts as well and reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200, selling 4 million copies. The album spawned six singles. Four of those singles - "It's Your Love" (a duet with Faith Hill), the title track, "Where the Green Grass Grows", and "Just to See You Smile" - reached number one on the country charts. The Country Music Association awarded Everywhere its Album of the Year award for 1997. At the 40th Grammy Awards, "It's Your Love" received two Grammy Award nominations for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals and Best Country Song. Both "It's Your Love" and "Just to See You Smile" were the number one country songs of 1997 and 1998 according to Billboard Year-End charts; "Just to See You Smile" also set a record for the longest run on the country charts at the time, at 42 weeks. The album's other two singles, "One of These Days" and "For a Little While" both peaked at number 2.
==== A Place in the Sun ====
McGraw's fifth album, A Place in the Sun, continued his streak in 1999, debuting atop both the US country and pop album charts and selling 3 million copies. Over 251,000 of those copies were sold during its first week, making this the singer's first number 1 opener on the Billboard 200. It produced another four number one hits on the U.S. country charts with "Please Remember Me", "Something Like That", "My Best Friend", and "My Next Thirty Years". "Some Things Never Change" peaked at number 7 on the charts. McGraw also contributed a song for the Grammy-winning tribute album to Bob Wills entitled Ride With Bob. A cover of "Milk Cow Blues", this song was recorded as a duet with Asleep at the Wheel, whom he had met while performing together at the George Strait Country Music Festival.
McGraw recorded two more duets with his wife in the late-1990s, both of which appeared on her albums. "Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me", from her multi-platinum-certified 1998 album Faith, reached the Top 5 of the US country charts. Her follow-up album, 1999's Breathe, featured "Let's Make Love", which won a Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Collaboration in 2000.
=== 2000s ===
==== Greatest Hits ====
In 2000, McGraw released his first Greatest Hits album, which topped the country albums charts for nine weeks and sold nearly 6 million copies, making this one of the biggest-selling albums in the modern country market. In the latter half of the year, he and Hill went out on the Soul2Soul Tour, playing to sellout crowds in 64 venues, including Madison Square Garden. The tour was one of the top tours of any genre in the U.S. It was also the leading country tour of 2000. While in Buffalo, New York, McGraw and Kenny Chesney became involved in a scuffle with police officers after Chesney attempted to ride a police horse. McGraw came to Chesney's aid after police officers nearby believed the horse was being stolen and tried to arrest him. The two were arrested and charged with assault but were later cleared. During a concert with the George Strait Country Music Festival several weeks later, Hill, dressed as a police officer, made an unscheduled appearance at the end of McGraw's set and led him off the stage.
==== Set This Circus Down ====
McGraw's sixth studio album, Set This Circus Down, was released in April 2001. It even spawned four number one hits on the country charts as well, this time with "Grown Men Don't Cry", "Angry All the Time" (with Faith Hill), "The Cowboy in Me", and "Unbroken". The singer provided harmony vocals for Jo Dee Messina's song "Bring On the Rain", which he also produced. That song topped the country charts. Hungry for more of his music, fans downloaded a version of his performance of the song "Things Change" from his appearance at the Country Music Association Awards Show. The song was played extensively on radio, becoming the first country song to appear on the charts from a fully downloaded version.
==== Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors ====
In 2002, McGraw bucked country music traditions by recording his seventh studio album Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors with his tour band The Dancehall Doctors. Unlike rock music—where it is commonplace for touring bands to provide the music on albums recorded by the artist they support, country albums are typically recorded with session musicians. McGraw chose to use his own touring band, in order to recognize their part in
his success, and to capture some of the feel of a real band.
All of the Dancehall Doctors have worked with McGraw since at least 1996. Their lineup includes:
Darran Smith – lead guitar, acoustic guitar
Bob Minner – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin
Denny Hemingson – steel guitar, electric, baritone, and slide guitars, dobro
John Marcus – bass guitar
Dean Brown – fiddle, mandolin
Jeff McMahon – piano, organ, synthesizer, keyboards ... etc.
Billy Mason – drums
David Dunkley – percussion
The album debuted at No. 2 on the country albums charts, Its fourth and fifth singles "Real Good Man" and "Watch the Wind Blow By" both climbed to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. "She's My Kind of Rain" peaked at No. 2 in 2003, and "Red Rag Top" reached number 5. The album also features a cover of Elton John's early-1970s classic "Tiny Dancer," as well as duets with Kim Carnes on "Comfort Me" (a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks) and Don Henley and Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles on "Illegal." "She's My Kind of Rain" also received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Country Vocal Performance-Male at the 46th Grammy Awards.
==== Live Like You Were Dying ====
His eighth album, 2004's Live Like You Were Dying, continued the singer's record of commercial success. The album's first single and its title track was dedicated to his father Tug McGraw, who died of a brain tumor earlier in the year, was an ode to living life fully and in the moment. The second single "Back When" was a paean to an easy nostalgia. In December 2019, McGraw spoke on stage at the annual End Well Symposium about why he wrote "Live Like You Were Dying" and his struggles with caregiving for his dying father. "Live Like You Were Dying" spent seven non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on Billboard and went on to become the top country song of 2004 on the Billboard Year-End charts. It also became one of the most awarded records by winning ACM Single and Song of the Year, CMA Single and Song of the Year, and a Grammy. "Back When" went to number one on the country charts as well. The album produced three more singles with "Drugs or Jesus", "Do You Want Fries with That", and "My Old Friend". "Drugs or Jesus" became McGraw's first single since 1993 to not ever reach within the Top 10 on the U.S. country charts, while "Do You Want Fries with That" and "My Old Friend" peaked at numbers 5 and 6, respectively.
In late 2004, his unlikely duet with hip hop artist Nelly on "Over and Over" became a crossover hit, spending 10 weeks atop the top 40 chart. "Over and Over" brought McGraw a success he had never previously experienced on contemporary hit radio or R&B radio, and brought both artists success neither had previously experienced in the hot adult contemporary market. The song also spent a week at the top of the charts in the United Kingdom, becoming McGraw's first hit single in Britain and Nelly's third number one hit in the country after "Dilemma" and "My Place". "Over and Over" also reached the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, and the Republic of Ireland, and the top 10 in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Romania, and Switzerland.
Throughout the 2005 NFL season, McGraw sang an alternate version of "I Like It, I Love It" every week during the season. The alternate lyrics, which changed each week, would make reference to plays during Sunday's games, and the song would be played alongside video highlights during halftime on Monday Night Football. Later in the year, McGraw became a minority owner of the Arena Football League's Nashville Kats when majority owner Bud Adams (owner of the NFL's Tennessee Titans) was awarded the expansion franchise.
==== Let It Go ====
In April 2006, McGraw and Hill began their 73-concert 55-city Soul2Soul II Tour, again to strong commercial acceptance. The tour grossed roughly $89 million and sold approximately 1.1 million tickets, making it the top-grossing tour in the history of country music. It was also named "Major Tour of the Year" by Pollstar, beating out such heavyweights as Madonna and the Rolling Stones. In a special gesture, the couple donated all of the profits from their performance in New Orleans to Hurricane Katrina relief. McGraw, along with Kenny Chesney, contributed to a version of Tracy Lawrence's song "Find Out Who Your Friends Are", which can be found on Lawrence's album For the Love. Although the official single version features only Lawrence's vocals, many stations have opted to play the version with McGraw and Chesney instead.
McGraw released his eleventh studio album, Let It Go, on March 27, 2007. The album's first single, "Last Dollar (Fly Away)", peaked at number one on the Hot Country Songs chart. This marked McGraw's first No. 1 single since "Back When" in late 2004. The album debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and Top Country Album charts, marking his fourth No. 1 album on the 200 charts and his ninth overall. His daughters can be heard singing the chorus during the last few seconds of the song on the video. During the Academy of Country Music awards show on May 15, 2007, McGraw performed a song titled "If You're Reading This", which he co-wrote with The Warren Brothers. Several radio stations began to play the live recording of the song; as a result, it entered the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart at No. 35. McGraw also produced the debut album of country music duo Halfway to Hazard. The duo's first single, "Daisy", peaked at No. 39 on the country charts in the summer of 2007. In the summer of 2007, McGraw and Hill toured together once again in the Soul2Soul 2007 tour.
In the edition of January 18, 2008 of the USA Today newspaper, McGraw was stated to be featured on the Def Leppard album Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, having also co-written the first single, "Nine Lives", with Def Leppard band members Joe Elliott, Phil Collen, and Rick Savage. The unusual pairing goes back to 2006 when McGraw joined Def Leppard onstage for the song "Pour Some Sugar On Me", and then collaborated on the song "Nine Lives" afterward. The album was released on April 25, 2008. At the 2007 50th Annual Grammy Awards, McGraw received 5 nominations including Best Country Album (for Let It Go), Best Country Song (both for "If You're Reading This" and "I Need You"), Best Country Collaboration with Vocals (with "I Need You"), and Best Male Country Vocal Performance (with "If You're Reading This"). In May 2008, he hit the road with the Live Your Voice tour. The mainly-outdoor arena concert tour was his first solo outing in nearly three years. Also in May 2008, he debuted a new song in his follow-up to Let It Go at the Stagecoach Music Festival in Indio, California. In July 2008, the album's sixth single and its title track, "Let It Go", was released to country radio. Following that, a seventh single, "Nothin' to Die For", entered the Country charts at No. 57 in late December. McGraw released his third greatest-hits package, Greatest Hits 3 on October 7, 2008. The album features 12 tracks. McGraw was set to debut a new song at the 2009 ACM Awards, but then canceled his performance; he was replaced by Blake Shelton, who sang "She Wouldn't Be Gone".
==== Southern Voice ====
McGraw's twelfth studio album, Southern Voice, was released October 20, 2009, and led by the single "It's A Business Doing Pleasure With You", which was shipped to radio outlets in late June 2009.
Southern Voice was argued to be McGraw's last album for Curb Records, following the dispute over releasing his third Greatest Hits collection back in October 2008 without his permission. McGraw did not approve of the release. On November 30, 2010, Curb Records released his fourth greatest hits compilation, Number One Hits.
=== 2010s ===
==== Emotional Traffic and Curb Records lawsuit ====
On January 2, 2011, McGraw announced plans for his Emotional Traffic Tour featuring opening acts Luke Bryan and The Band Perry.
Sirius XM announced on March 30, 2011, that they would be launching Tim McGraw radio, a commercial-free music channel devoted to McGraw's music, and featuring an in-depth interview with McGraw as well. As of fall 2010, McGraw had finished work on the album Emotional Traffic, his last album with Curb Records. On May 13, 2011, Curb Records filed a breach-of-contract suit against McGraw. The label alleged that McGraw recorded tracks for his Emotional Traffic album too early prior to its delivery to the label. Several days later, McGraw filed a counter suit against the label seeking advance payment and recording-fund reimbursement, unspecified damages, and a jury trial. A trial was scheduled to begin in July 2012. In November 2011, a judge granted McGraw permission to record music for another label, ending his relationship with Curb Records that began in 1990. A few hours after the ruling, Curb released "Better Than I Used to Be", the first single from Emotional Traffic. The album was released on January 24, 2012.
==== Two Lanes of Freedom ====
In December 2011, McGraw released his first Christmas single, "Christmas All Over the World", on his own label StyleSonic Records. On May 21, 2012, however, he signed with Big Machine Records.
McGraw's debut album for Big Machine, entitled Two Lanes of Freedom, was released on February 5, 2013. It debuted at number 2 on the charts by selling 108,000 copies. The album includes the singles "Truck Yeah", "One of Those Nights", "Highway Don't Care" (a duet with Taylor Swift which also features Keith Urban on lead guitar), and "Southern Girl". McGraw performed at the C2C: Country to Country festival in London on March 16, 2013.
==== Love Story and Sundown Heaven Town ====
McGraw released a single titled "Lookin' for That Girl" in January 2014 as the lead-off single to his second album for Big Machine. It was followed immediately by the announcement of the Sundown Heaven Town Tour. The album, titled Sundown Heaven Town, was released on September 16, 2014. Four months into its run, "Lookin' for That Girl" was withdrawn as a single and replaced with "Meanwhile, Back at Mama's", which features backing vocals from Hill. "Shotgun Rider" became the album's third single and a number 1 Country Airplay hit by the end of 2014. Following it was "Diamond Rings and Old Barstools", a duet with Catherine Dunn. McGraw's eighth greatest hits album, Love Story, is a compilation of his twelve biggest love songs and two previously unreleased recordings. It was released exclusively through Walmart on February 4, 2014, by Curb Records.
==== Damn Country Music ====
On August 10, 2015, McGraw released a new single to digital retailers, titled "Top of the World", which was later released to radio on August 17, 2015, as the lead single to his third studio album for Big Machine Records. On September 17, McGraw announced that the album was titled Damn Country Music, with a release date scheduled for November 6. The album's second single, "Humble and Kind", released to country radio on February 1, 2016, and went on to reach number 1 on the Billboard Hot Country charts. McGraw was selected as one of 30 artists to perform on "Forever Country", a mash-up track of Take Me Home, Country Roads, On the Road Again and I Will Always Love You which celebrates 50 years of the CMA Awards. The album's third single, "How I'll Always Be" released to country radio on July 11, 2016. It reached number 3 on the Country Airplay in January 2017.
==== The Rest of Our Life ====
On October 4, 2016, during a show at the Ryman Auditorium, McGraw and Hill announced that they would be going back on the road together again on the Soul2Soul World Tour. The tour began on April 7, 2017, in New Orleans and will continue into 2018, incorporating the C2C: Country to Country festival held in the UK and Ireland throughout March 2018.
Before the commencement of the tour, it was reported that McGraw, alongside Hill, had signed a new deal with Sony Music Nashville. The signing also indicated the release of a duet album between the couple, and that multiple solo recordings would be produced. The new record label signing also preceded the release of "Speak to a Girl", the lead single from the duet album, The Rest of Our Life, which was released on November 17, 2017. The release of the album coincided with the opening of an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum titled Mississippi Woman, Louisiana Man, which celebrates the careers of both McGraw and Hill.
McGraw released two major best-selling books in 2019, with the first co-written with "Pulitzer Prize" winner Jon Meacham which reached No. 2 on the New York Times Bestsellers list. Songs of America: Patriotism, Protest, and the Music That Made a Nation. New York: Random House. 2019. ISBN 978-0593132951. His second book, "Grit and Grace", also reached No. 2 on the New York Times Bestsellers list.
=== 2020s ===
==== Here on Earth ====
In February 2020, McGraw rejoined Big Machine Records, which he was previously signed to from 2011 to 2017. He released a new album, Here on Earth, on August 21, 2020. The "Here on Earth Tour" was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2021, McGraw released the single "Undivided" with Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line, which was included on a deluxe edition of Here on Earth released later that year. On October 9, 2021, McGraw confronted a heckler at a performance at the Nugget Events Center in Sparks, Nevada, after he forgot the words to his song "Just to See You Smile." After removing the heckler, he explained that he had been filming a movie and had a lot on his mind, and asked for the audience's help in remembering the words.
==== Standing Room Only and Poet's Resumé ====
On August 25, 2023, McGraw released his sixteenth studio album, Standing Room Only. The title track was released as the album's lead single on March 10, 2023. It reached number 2 on the U.S. Country Airplay chart. Three months after releasing Standing Room Only, McGraw surprise-released a six-track EP, Poet's Resumé on November 21, 2023.
== Production career ==
McGraw has occasionally served as a record producer in collaboration with Byron Gallimore, who has co-produced all of his albums. The two co-produced Jo Dee Messina's self-titled debut, as well as her next two albums, I'm Alright and Burn. McGraw and Gallimore also produced the only album released by The Clark Family Experience in 2000, and Halfway to Hazard's 2007 self-titled debut album.
== Acting career ==
McGraw's first acting appearance came in a 1997 episode of The Jeff Foxworthy Show, where he played Foxworthy's rival. In 2004, McGraw played a sheriff in Rick Schroder's independent release Black Cloud. Later in the same year, McGraw received critical acclaim as the overbearing father of running back "Donald Billingsley" in the major studio Texas high school football drama Friday Night Lights. The Dallas Observer said the role was "played with unexpected ferocity by country singer Tim McGraw". The movie went on to gross over $60 million worldwide at the box office, and sold millions in the DVD market. Most recently, it was named one of the Top 50 High School Movies of All Time (No. 37) by Entertainment Weekly.
McGraw's first lead role was in the 2006 film Flicka, which was released in theaters October 20, 2006. In the remake of the classic book My Friend Flicka, McGraw played the father, Rob, costarring with Alison Lohman and Maria Bello. The family-friendly movie debuted in the top 10 list and has grossed over $25 million at the box office. McGraw again achieved critical acclaim for his acting. Shortly before Flicka opened, McGraw received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star is located at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard near stars honoring Julie Andrews, William Shatner, and the late Greta Garbo. One of his Flicka co-stars, Alison Lohman, attended the ceremony that included comments from Billy Bob Thornton, McGraw's co-star in the film Friday Night Lights. In addition to acting in Flicka, McGraw served as executive producer of the soundtrack album, which was released by his record label, StyleSonic Records, in association with Curb Records and Fox 2000 films. It featured the closing credit song "My Little Girl", one of the first two songs that McGraw recorded that he also co-wrote (the other being "I've Got Friends That Do", both of which were included on Greatest Hits Vol. 2). The song was nominated by the Broadcast Film Critics for "Best Song" in a film, and the movie was nominated in the category "Best Family Film (Live Action)". The movie proved to be another success in the DVD market, and has sold over a million copies, debuting at No. 3 on the DVD sales chart.
McGraw also had a small part in the Michael Mann–produced 2007 film The Kingdom, reuniting him with Friday Night Lights director Peter Berg. McGraw played a bitter, angered widower whose wife was killed in the terrorist attack that is the centerpiece of the movie. On November 22, 2008, McGraw made his first appearance on Saturday Night Live. He also played "Dallas McVie" in Four Christmases. McGraw appeared in the 2009 film The Blind Side as Sean Tuohy, husband of Sandra Bullock's character, Leigh Anne Tuohy. The Blind Side is based on the true story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, taken in and adopted by the Tuohys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. He is among the stars of Dirty Girl, a film that premiered on September 12, 2010, at the Toronto Film Festival, along with Juno Temple, Milla Jovovich, William H. Macy and Dwight Yoakam. Also in 2010, McGraw starred in Country Strong as James Canter, the husband and manager of the fictional country singer Kelly Canter (portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow). In addition to his appearance in the film, McGraw's song "Me and Tennessee", a duet with Paltrow, was played during the closing credits and appears on the film's soundtrack. In 2015, McGraw appeared in Brad Bird's Tomorrowland as Eddie Newton, a NASA engineer, and Casey Newton's (played by Britt Robertson) father.
1883, a spinoff prequel to Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone television series was released in late 2021 and stars McGraw, Faith Hill, and Sam Elliott. The success of the miniseries led to McGraw's involvement in stunt director Mike Watson's Western feature film, "The Unbelievers," as an actor & producer.
McGraw was set to headline & produce a bull riding drama series for Netflix, until he dropped out as the lead due to his surgery.
== Charitable efforts ==
In 1994, when McGraw first reached fame, he established the annual Swampstock event. It began as a charity softball game to raise money for hometown little league programs; the event now includes a celebrity softball game and a multi-artist concert that attracts over 11,000 fans per year. The combined events have funded new Little League parks and equipment, and have established college scholarship funds for students in the northeast Louisiana area.
From 1996 to 1999, McGraw hosted an annual New Year's Eve concert in Nashville with special guests including Jeff Foxworthy, the Dixie Chicks, and Martina McBride. The 1997 show raised over $100,000 for the Country Music Foundation Hall of Fame and Museum. Beginning in 1999, McGraw would pick select cities on each tour, and the night before he was scheduled to perform, would choose a local club and host a quickly-organized show. This tour-within-a-tour became known as "The Bread and Water Tour", and all proceeds from the show would go to a charity from that community.
McGraw designed a charity T-shirt sold through Angelwear to benefit MusiCares. MusiCares supports musicians in times of need. His charity focuses particularly on health issues. The Tim McGraw Foundation raises funds to enhance the quality of life of children and adults with brain tumors. He supports the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, the David Foster Foundation, which helps families of children in need of organ transplants, and Musicians on Call, which brings music to hospital patients' bedsides. He also performs during dinners and auctions to benefit children with disabilities. Hill and McGraw gave the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society $375,000 (the entire gate receipts from one of their concerts) to assist the families of 17 sailors following the terrorist attack on USS Cole, the guided-missile destroyer that suffered significant damage in the Gulf of Aden, Yemen on October 12, 2000.
In the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina, McGraw who was raised in Mississippi, joined groups taking supplies to Gulfport, Mississippi. The two also hosted several charity concerts to benefit those who were displaced by the storm. Later in the year, the couple established the Neighbor's Keeper Foundation, which provides funding for community charities to assist with basic humanitarian services, in the event of a natural disaster, or for desperate personal circumstances.
McGraw is also a member of the American Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet, to which various celebrities donate their time, skills, and fame, to help the Red Cross highlight important initiatives and response efforts.
McGraw has helped out with charity events held by Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. The Brett Favre Fourward Foundation has featured McGraw performing concerts during dinners and auctions that benefit children with disabilities in Wisconsin and Mississippi. One instance is recorded on Favre's official website.
On July 12, 2007, it was made public that McGraw while in Grand Rapids, Michigan for a performance, donated $5,000 to Kailey Kozminski, the 3-year-old daughter of Officer Robert Kozminski, a Grand Rapids police officer who was killed on July 8, 2007, while responding to a domestic disturbance.
In April 2023, McGraw surprised rising country star Brandon Davis, whom he previously brought on tour with him in 2022, with a new guitar after all of his gear was stolen earlier in the month.
== Personal politics ==
In a 2006 interview with Esquire magazine, McGraw stated he would like to run for public office as a Democratic Party candidate, possibly for United States Senate or Governor of Tennessee—his home state. In the same interview, he praised Bill Clinton.
In a 2008 interview with People magazine, McGraw referred to himself as a "Blue Dog Democrat" and stated that he and his family support Barack Obama.
In January 2021, McGraw performed on the Celebrating America inaugural special, a primetime virtual concert celebrating the inauguration of Joe Biden.
== Personal life ==
McGraw married fellow country singer Faith Hill in 1996, and they have three daughters.
In 2000, Kenny Chesney and McGraw became involved in a scuffle with police officers in Buffalo, New York, after Chesney was riding a State Police horse and refused to get off the horse. McGraw came to Chesney's aid after police officers nearby believed the horse was being stolen. The two were arrested and charged, Chesney for disorderly conduct and McGraw for assault, but were acquitted in 2001.
McGraw holds a private pilot license and owns a single-engine Cirrus SR22.
In 2015, Forbes estimated McGraw's annual income at $38 million.
McGraw is the godfather to the son of Garrett Hedlund and Emma Roberts. He and Hedlund became friends after co-starring in Friday Night Lights and Country Strong.
In acknowledgment of his grandfather's Italian heritage, McGraw was honored by the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) in 2004, receiving the NIAF Special Achievement Award in Music during the Foundation's 29th Anniversary Gala.
McGraw's Bracco Italiano named Lepshi won Best of Breed at the 2023 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The McGraw-Hill family also has two other Bracco Italianos, Caesar and Stromboli.
== Discography ==
=== Studio albums ===
Tim McGraw (1993)
Not a Moment Too Soon (1994)
All I Want (1995)
Everywhere (1997)
A Place in the Sun (1999)
Set This Circus Down (2001)
Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors (2002)
Live Like You Were Dying (2004)
Let It Go (2007)
Southern Voice (2009)
Emotional Traffic (2012)
Two Lanes of Freedom (2013)
Sundown Heaven Town (2014)
Damn Country Music (2015)
The Rest of Our Life (with Faith Hill) (2017)
Here on Earth (2020)
Standing Room Only (2023)
== Tours ==
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television ===
== Awards ==
=== Grammy Awards ===
=== Other awards === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Aurilia | Rich Aurilia | Richard Santo Aurilia (; born September 2, 1971) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1995 and 2009 for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, and Cincinnati Reds.
== Amateur career ==
Aurilia was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up a New York Mets fan. Before being drafted by Texas, Aurilia was a standout at St. John's University, where he represented the Red Storm as an All-Big East selection in 1992. In 1991, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Hyannis Mets.
Aurilia is also a graduate of Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, New York. He was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame, and his number 22 was retired by his local baseball league, Our Lady of Grace, where he played as a youngster in Gravesend, Brooklyn, New York.
== Professional career ==
=== Texas Rangers (1992–1994) ===
The 24th round pick of the Texas Rangers in the 1992 Major League Baseball draft, Aurilia played in the Rangers minor league system before being traded along with Desi Wilson to the San Francisco Giants for John Burkett on December 22, 1994. He had worked as a stagehand at the Metropolitan Opera House during the 1993–94 baseball offseason.
=== San Francisco Giants (1995–2003) ===
Aurilia made his Major League debut on September 6, 1995, as a defensive replacement in a game against the Montreal Expos. This would begin his long, solid run as the Giants shortstop. On June 14, 1997, during his first stint with the Giants, Aurilia hit the first-ever grand slam in interleague play at the expense of the Anaheim Angels' Allen Watson, a former teammate. The Giants went on to win the game 10–3. 2001 would prove to be a banner year for Aurilia as he collected a National League best 206 hits, all leading to a .324 batting average with 37 home runs, 97 RBI, an NL All-Star nod, and a Silver Slugger Award. However, his career best 37 home run year in 2001 was overshadowed by teammate Barry Bonds' record breaking 73 home runs in the same season.
From 1999 to 2001, he led NL shortstops in home runs. Production trailed off in 2002, but Aurilia shined once again in San Francisco's failed 2002 run for a World Series Championship. In 14 postseason games that season, he batted .296, with 5 home runs and 14 RBI (an NL record for a shortstop in the postseason). He also was a Roberto Clemente Award nominee.
=== Seattle Mariners (2004) ===
After offensive stagnation in 2003, the Giants severed their nine-year relation with the shortstop, granting him free agency on October 27. Soon after, Aurilia signed on with the Seattle Mariners to patrol the M's infield.
=== San Diego Padres (2004) ===
The lifetime National Leaguer could not get a grip on American League pitching, and was dealt to the San Diego Padres in July 2004. He continued to struggle in spacious Petco Park, and was not tendered a contract for 2005.
=== Cincinnati Reds (2005–2006) ===
Needing a veteran infielder, the Reds signed Aurilia to a minor league contract on January 22, 2005. The versatile infielder played well for the Reds, collecting 14 home runs and 68 RBI while playing games at shortstop, second base, and third base. The Reds then re-signed him on January 8, 2006.
Aurilia served as an everyday player rotating between shortstop, second base, first base and third base for the Reds in 2006. He finished the year with 23 home runs, 70 RBI, and a batting average of exactly .300—his highest in all three categories since 2001.
=== San Francisco Giants (2007–2009) ===
In the 2006 offseason, Aurilia signed a two-year, $8 million contract with his old team, the Giants. During the 2007 season, he appeared in 99 games (mostly at first base), starting in 81 of them. Aurilia was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a neck injury that had been slow to heal, limiting his range of movement and causing headaches. At the time, he was batting only .236 with two home runs. Aurilia returned to the Giants' lineup on July 4, hitting a home run in a 9–5 win over the Cincinnati Reds. He finished the season batting .252 with five home runs, 33 RBI, and a .304 on-base percentage. Aurilia posted better numbers in each of those categories during the 2008 season, where he remained generally healthy throughout the year, one factor that led him to have considerably more playing time (99 games started).
On February 9, 2009, Aurilia re-signed with the San Francisco Giants to a minor league deal. It was announced on April 4 that Aurilia had made the Giants final roster. He went on to appear in 60 games during the 2009 season, starting in 22 of them, playing either first or third base. There was considerable uncertainty whether Aurilia would stay with the team for the entire season, but he was placed on the DL twice in order to free up a roster spot long enough for the September roster expansion. Knowing that the organization would not be bringing him back for the 2010 season, Aurilia played his final game as a Giant on October 1 at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks, receiving standing ovations from the home fans in appreciation for 12 years with the team.
=== Retirement ===
Aurilia announced his retirement on April 11, 2010. He is currently a member of NBC Sports Bay Area.
=== Career statistics ===
In 1652 games over 15 seasons, Aurilia posted a .275 batting average (1576-for-5721) with 745 runs, 301 doubles, 22 triples, 186 home runs, 756 RBI, 450 bases on balls, .328 on-base percentage and .433 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .976 fielding percentage playing at shortstop, first, second and third base. In 25 postseason games, he hit .224 (22-for-98) with 17 runs, 6 doubles, 6 home runs, 18 RBI and 7 walks.
== Personal life ==
He finished second in a pro on pro challenge on Guy's Grocery Games on September 20, 2015. His charity was the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Aurilia married Raquel Garcia on January 18, 1997, with whom he has two sons: Chaz Aiden, (born August 18, 2001) and Gavin Shea, (born October 1, 2003). Both he and his wife appeared as Jurors No. 9 and 10 in episodes of General Hospital which aired on December 11 and 12, 2003. The storyline was the trial of Sonny Corinthos, played by Maurice Benard who made the arrangement possible and is a cousin of Aurilia's Giants teammate Marvin Benard.
He and his family reside in homes in Healdsburg, California and Phoenix, Arizona. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana,_Princess_of_Wales | Diana, Princess of Wales | Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her activism and glamour made her an international icon and earned her enduring popularity.
Diana was born into the British nobility and grew up close to the royal family, living at Park House on their Sandringham estate. In 1981, while working as a nursery teacher's assistant, she became engaged to Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II. Their wedding took place at St Paul's Cathedral in July 1981 and made her Princess of Wales, a role in which she was enthusiastically received by the public. The couple had two sons, William and Harry, who were then respectively second and third in the line of succession to the British throne. Diana's marriage to Charles suffered due to their incompatibility and extramarital affairs. They separated in 1992, soon after the breakdown of their relationship became public knowledge. Their marital difficulties were widely publicised, and the couple divorced in 1996.
As Princess of Wales, Diana undertook royal duties on behalf of the Queen and represented her at functions across the Commonwealth realms. She was celebrated in the media for her beauty, style, charm, and later, her unconventional approach to charity work. Her patronages were initially centred on children and the elderly, but she later became known for her involvement in two particular campaigns: one involved the social attitudes towards and the acceptance of AIDS patients, and the other for the removal of landmines, promoted through the International Red Cross. She also raised awareness and advocated for ways to help people affected by cancer and mental illness. Diana was initially noted for her shyness, but her charisma and friendliness endeared her to the public and helped her reputation survive the public collapse of her marriage. Considered photogenic, she was regarded as a fashion icon.
In August 1997, Diana died after a car crash in Paris; the incident led to extensive public mourning and global media attention. An inquest returned a verdict of unlawful killing due to gross negligence by a driver and the paparazzi pursuing her as found in Operation Paget, an investigation by the Metropolitan Police. Her legacy has had a significant impact on the royal family and British society.
== Early life ==
Diana Frances Spencer was born on 1 July 1961 at Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk, the fourth of five children of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (1924–1992), and Frances Spencer, Viscountess Althorp (née Roche; 1936–2004). The Spencer family had been closely connected with the British royal family for several generations; her grandmothers, Cynthia Spencer, Countess Spencer, and Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy, had served as ladies-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Her parents were hoping for a boy to carry on the family line, and no name was chosen for a week until they settled on Diana Frances after her mother and Lady Diana Spencer, a many-times-great-aunt who was also a prospective Princess of Wales as a potential bride for Frederick, Prince of Wales. Within the family, she was also known informally as "Duch", a reference to her duchess-like attitude in childhood.
Diana was baptised on 30 August at St. Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham. She grew up with three siblings: Sarah, Jane, and Charles. Her infant brother, John, died shortly after his birth one year before Diana was born. The desire for an heir added strain to her parents' marriage, and Lady Althorp was sent to Harley Street clinics in London to determine the cause of the "problem". The experience was described as "humiliating" by Diana's younger brother, Charles: "It was a dreadful time for my parents and probably the root of their divorce because I don't think they ever got over it". Diana grew up at Park House, situated on the Sandringham estate. The family leased the house from its owner, Queen Elizabeth II, whom Diana called "Aunt Lilibet" since childhood. The royal family frequently holidayed at the neighbouring Sandringham House, and Diana played with Princes Andrew and Edward.
Diana was seven years old when her parents divorced. Her mother later began a relationship with Peter Shand Kydd and married him in 1969. Diana lived with her mother in London during her parents' separation in 1967, but during that year's Christmas holidays, Lord Althorp refused to let his daughter return to London with Lady Althorp. Shortly afterwards, he won custody of Diana with support from his former mother-in-law, Lady Fermoy. In 1976, Lord Althorp married Raine, Countess of Dartmouth. Diana's relationship with her stepmother was particularly bad. She resented Raine, whom she called a "bully". On one occasion Diana pushed her down the stairs. She later described her childhood as "very unhappy" and "very unstable, the whole thing". She became known as Lady Diana after her father later inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975, at which point her father moved the entire family from Park House to Althorp, the Spencer seat in Northamptonshire.
== Education and career ==
Diana was initially home-schooled under the supervision of her governess, Gertrude Allen. She began her formal education at Silfield Private School in King's Lynn, Norfolk, and later attended Riddlesworth Hall School, an all-girls boarding school near Thetford, from the age of nine. In 1973, she joined her sisters at West Heath Girls' School in Sevenoaks, Kent. She did not perform well academically, failing her O-levels twice, but her outstanding community spirit was recognised with a school award. She left the school at sixteen. Her brother Charles recalls her as being quite shy up until that time, though she demonstrated musical ability as a skilled pianist, excelled in swimming and diving, and studied ballet and tap dance.
In the mid-1970s, Diana undertook voluntary work at the psychiatric Darenth Park Hospital near Dartford, Kent.
In 1978, she spent three months working as a nanny for Philippa and Jeremy Whitaker in Hampshire. After attending Institut Alpin Videmanette (a finishing school in Rougemont, Switzerland) for one term, and leaving after the Easter term of 1978, Diana returned to London, where she shared her mother's flat with two school friends. In London, she took an advanced cooking course and worked at a series of low-paying jobs; she worked as a dance instructor for youth until a skiing accident caused her to miss three months of work. She then found employment as a playgroup pre-school assistant, did some cleaning work for her sister Sarah and several of her friends, and acted as a hostess at parties. She spent time working as a nanny for the Robertsons, an American family living in London, and worked as a nursery teacher's assistant at the Young England School in Pimlico. In July 1979, her mother bought her a flat at Coleherne Court in Earl's Court as an 18th birthday present. She lived there with three flatmates until 25 February 1981.
== Personal life ==
Diana first met Charles, Prince of Wales, the Queen's eldest son and heir apparent, when she was 16 in November 1977. He was then 29 and dating her older sister, Sarah. Charles and Diana were guests at a country weekend during the summer of 1980 and he took a serious interest in her as a potential bride. The relationship progressed when he invited her aboard the royal yacht Britannia for a sailing weekend to Cowes. This was followed by an invitation to Balmoral Castle (the royal family's Scottish residence) to meet his family. She was well received by the Queen, the Queen Mother and the Duke of Edinburgh. Charles subsequently courted Diana in London. He proposed on 6 February 1981 at Windsor Castle, and she accepted, but their engagement was kept secret for two and a half weeks.
=== Engagement and wedding ===
Their engagement became official on 24 February 1981. Diana selected her own engagement ring. Following the engagement, she left her occupation as a nursery teacher's assistant and temporarily lived at the Queen Mother's residence, Clarence House. She subsequently resided at Buckingham Palace until the wedding, where, according to the biographer Ingrid Seward, her life was "incredibly lonely". Diana was the first Englishwoman to marry the first in line to the throne since Anne Hyde married James, Duke of York and Albany (later James VII and II), over 300 years earlier, and she was also the first royal bride to have a paying job before her engagement. Diana's first public appearance with Charles was at a charity ball held at Goldsmiths' Hall in March 1981, where she was introduced to Princess Grace of Monaco.
Diana became Princess of Wales at age 20 when she married Charles, then 32, on 29 July 1981. The wedding was held at St Paul's Cathedral, which offered more seating than Westminster Abbey, a church that was generally used for royal weddings. The service was widely described as a "fairytale wedding" and was watched by a global television audience of 750 million people while 600,000 spectators lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the couple en route to the ceremony. At the altar, Diana inadvertently reversed the order of his first two names, saying "Philip Charles" Arthur George instead. She additionally did not say she would "obey" him; that traditional vow was left out at the couple's request, which caused some comment at the time. Diana wore a dress valued at £9,000 (equivalent to £33,205 in 2023) with a 25-foot (7.62-metre) train. Within a few years of the wedding, the Queen extended Diana visible tokens of membership in the royal family, lending her the Queen Mary's Lover's Knot Tiara and granting her the badge of the Royal Family Order of Elizabeth II.
=== Children ===
The couple had residences at Kensington Palace and Highgrove House, near Tetbury. On 5 November 1981, Diana's pregnancy was announced. In January 1982—12 weeks into the pregnancy—Diana fell down a staircase at Sandringham, suffering some bruising, and the royal gynaecologist George Pinker was summoned from London; the foetus was uninjured. Diana later confessed that she had intentionally thrown herself down the stairs because she was feeling "so inadequate". On 21 June 1982, she gave birth to the couple's first son, Prince William. She subsequently suffered from postpartum depression after her first pregnancy. Amidst some media criticism, she decided to take William—who was still a baby—on her first major tours of Australia and New Zealand, and the decision was popularly applauded. By her own admission, Diana had not initially intended to take William until Australian prime minister Malcolm Fraser made the suggestion.
A second son, Harry, was born on 15 September 1984. Diana said she and Charles were closest during her pregnancy with Harry. She was aware their second child was a boy, but did not share the knowledge with anyone else, including Charles, who hoped for a girl.
Diana gave her sons wider experiences than was usual for royal children. She rarely deferred to Charles or to the royal family, and was often intransigent when it came to the children. She chose their first given names, dismissed a royal family nanny and engaged one of her own choosing, selected their schools and clothing, planned their outings, and took them to school herself as often as her schedule permitted. She also organised her public duties around their timetables. Diana was reported to have described Harry as "naughty, just like me", and William as "my little wise old man" whom she started to rely on as her confidant by his early teens.
=== Problems and separation ===
Five years into the marriage, the couple's incompatibility and age difference became visible and damaging. In 1986, Diana began a relationship with James Hewitt, the family's former riding instructor and in the same year, Charles resumed his relationship with his former girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles. The media speculated that Hewitt, not Charles, was Harry's father based on the alleged physical similarity between Hewitt and Harry, but Hewitt and others have denied this. Harry was born two years before Diana and Hewitt met and began their affair.
By 1987, cracks in the marriage had become visible and the couple's unhappiness and cold attitude towards one another were being reported by the press, who dubbed them "the Glums" because of their evident discomfort in each other's company. In 1989, Diana was at a birthday party for Parker Bowles's sister, Annabel Elliot, when she confronted Parker Bowles about her and Charles's extramarital affair. These affairs were later exposed in 1992 with the publication of Andrew Morton's book, Diana: Her True Story. The book, which also revealed Diana's allegedly suicidal unhappiness, caused a media storm. In 1991, James Colthurst conducted secret interviews with Diana in which she had talked about her marital issues and difficulties. These recordings were later used as a source for Morton's book. During her lifetime, both Diana and Morton denied her direct involvement in the writing process and maintained that family and friends were the book's main source; however, after her death Morton acknowledged Diana's role in writing the tell-all in the book's updated edition, Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words.
The Queen and Prince Philip hosted a meeting between Charles and Diana and unsuccessfully tried to reconcile the couple. Philip wrote to Diana and expressed his disappointment at the extramarital affairs of both her and Charles; he asked her to examine their behaviour from the other's point of view. Diana reportedly found the letters difficult, but nevertheless appreciated that he was acting with good intent. It was alleged by some people, including Diana's close friend Simone Simmons, that Diana and Philip had a tense relationship; however, other observers said their letters provided no sign of friction between them. Philip later issued a statement, publicly denying allegations of his insulting Diana.
During 1992 and 1993, leaked tapes of telephone conversations reflected negatively on both Charles and Diana. Tape recordings of Diana and James Gilbey were made public in August 1992, and transcripts were published the same month in what became known as Squidgygate. In December 1992, Prime Minister John Major announced to the House of Commons that the couple had decided to "amicably" separate, noting that "there is no reason why the Princess of Wales should not be crowned queen in due course". Early the following year, the leaked Tampongate tapes, which included intimate exchanges between Charles and Parker Bowles, were published in the tabloids.
Between 1992 and 1993, Diana hired a voice coach, Peter Settelen, to help her develop her public speaking voice. In a videotape recorded by Settelen in 1992, Diana said that from 1984 to 1986, she had been "deeply in love with someone who worked in this environment". It is thought she was referring to Barry Mannakee, who was transferred to the Diplomatic Protection Squad in 1986 after his managers had determined that his relationship with Diana had been inappropriate. Diana said in the tape that Mannakee had been "chucked out" from his role as her bodyguard following suspicion that the two were having an affair. Penny Junor suggested in her 1998 book that Diana was in a romantic relationship with Mannakee. Diana's friends dismissed the claim as absurd. In the subsequently released tapes, Diana said she had feelings for that "someone", saying "I was quite happy to give all this up [and] just to go off and live with him". She described him as "the greatest friend [she's] ever had", though she denied any sexual relationship with him. She also spoke bitterly of her husband saying that "[He] made me feel so inadequate in every possible way, that each time I came up for air he pushed me down again."
Although she blamed Parker Bowles for her marital troubles, Diana began to believe her husband had been involved in other affairs. In October 1993 Diana wrote to her butler Paul Burrell, telling him that she believed her husband was now in love with his personal assistant Tiggy Legge-Bourke—who was also his sons' former nanny—and was planning to have her killed "to make the path clear for him to marry Tiggy". Legge-Bourke had been hired by Charles as a young companion for his sons while they were in his care, and Diana was resentful of Legge-Bourke and her relationship with the young princes. Charles sought public understanding via a televised interview with Jonathan Dimbleby on 29 June 1994. In the interview, he said he had rekindled his relationship with Parker Bowles in 1986 only after his marriage to Diana had "irretrievably broken down". In the same year, Diana's affair with Hewitt was exposed in detail in the book Princess in Love by Anna Pasternak, with Hewitt acting as the main source. Diana was evidently disturbed and outraged when the book was released, although Pasternak claimed Hewitt had acted with Diana's support to avoid having the affair covered in Andrew Morton's second book. In the same year, the News of the World claimed that Diana had had an affair with the married art dealer Oliver Hoare. According to Hoare's obituary, there was little doubt she had been in a relationship with him. However, Diana denied any romantic relationship with Hoare, whom she described as a friend. She was also linked by the press to the rugby union player Will Carling and private equity investor Theodore J. Forstmann, yet these claims were neither confirmed nor proven.
During this period Diana frequently dined at the Italian restaurant San Lorenzo in Knightsbridge with her children, close friends, journalists and what her biographer Tina Brown described as a "praetorian guard of distracting flirts". The restaurant became a focus for paparazzi photographers who stalked her.
=== Divorce ===
The journalist Martin Bashir interviewed Diana for the BBC current affairs show Panorama. The interview was broadcast on 20 November 1995. Diana discussed her own and her husband's extramarital affairs. Referring to Charles's relationship with Parker Bowles, she said: "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded." She also expressed doubt about her husband's suitability for kingship. The authors Tina Brown, Sally Bedell Smith, and Sarah Bradford support Diana's admission in the interview that she had suffered from depression, bulimia and had engaged numerous times in the act of self-harm; the show's transcript records Diana confirming many of her mental health problems. The combination of illnesses from which Diana herself said she suffered resulted in some of her biographers opining that she had borderline personality disorder. It was later revealed that Bashir had used forged bank statements to win Diana and her brother's trust to secure the interview, falsely indicating people close to her had been paid for spying. Lord Dyson conducted an independent inquiry into the issue and concluded that Bashir had "little difficulty in playing on [Diana's] fears and paranoia", a sentiment that was shared by Diana's son William.
The interview proved to be the tipping point. On 20 December, Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen had sent letters to Charles and Diana, advising them to divorce. The Queen's move was backed by Prime Minister John Major and by senior privy counsellors, and, according to the BBC, was decided after two weeks of talks. Charles formally agreed to the divorce in a written statement soon after. In February 1996, Diana announced her agreement after negotiations with Charles and representatives of the Queen, irritating Buckingham Palace by issuing her own announcement of the divorce agreement and its terms. In July 1996, the couple agreed on the terms of their divorce. This followed shortly after Diana's accusation that Charles's personal assistant Tiggy Legge-Bourke had aborted his child, after which Legge-Bourke instructed her solicitor Peter Carter-Ruck to demand an apology. Diana's private secretary Patrick Jephson resigned shortly before the story broke, later writing that Diana had "exulted in accusing Legge-Bourke of having had an abortion". The rumours of Legge-Bourke's alleged abortion were apparently spread by Martin Bashir as a means to gain his Panorama interview with Diana.
The decree nisi was granted on 15 July 1996 and the divorce was finalised on 28 August 1996. Diana was represented by Anthony Julius in the case. The couple shared custody of their children. She received a lump sum settlement of £17 million (equivalent to £33 million in 2023) as well as £400,000 per year. The couple signed a confidentiality agreement that prohibited them from discussing the details of the divorce or of their married life. Days before, letters patent were issued with general rules to regulate royal titles after divorce. Diana lost the style "Her Royal Highness" and instead was styled Diana, Princess of Wales. As the mother of the prince expected to one day ascend to the throne, she was still considered to be a member of the royal family and was accorded the same precedence she enjoyed during her marriage. The Queen reportedly wanted to let Diana continue to use the style of Royal Highness after her divorce, but Charles had insisted on removing it. Prince William was reported to have reassured his mother: "Don't worry, Mummy, I will give it back to you one day when I am king". Almost a year before, according to Tina Brown, Philip had warned Diana: "If you don't behave, my girl, we'll take your title away." She is said to have replied: "My title is a lot older than yours, Philip."
=== Post-divorce ===
After her divorce, Diana retained the double apartment on the north side of Kensington Palace that she had shared with Charles since the first year of their marriage; the apartment remained her home until her death the following year. She also moved her offices to Kensington Palace but was permitted "to use the state apartments at St James's Palace". In a book published in 2003, Paul Burrell claimed Diana's private letters had revealed that her brother, Lord Spencer, had refused to allow her to live at Althorp, despite her request. The allegations were proven to be untrue as Spencer received legal apologies from different newspapers, including The Times in 2021, which admitted that "having considered his sister's safety, and in line with police advice, the Earl offered the Princess of Wales a number of properties including Wormleighton Manor, the Spencer family's original ancestral home". However, he could not offer Garden House cottage on the Althorp estate to Diana as the home was intended for a member of staff.
Diana was also given an allowance to run her private office, which was responsible for her charity work and royal duties, but from September 1996 onwards she was required to pay her bills and "any expenditure" incurred by her or on her behalf. Furthermore, she continued to have access to the jewellery that she had received during her marriage, and was allowed to use the air transport of the British royal family and government. Diana was also offered security by Metropolitan Police's Royalty Protection Group, which she benefitted from while travelling with her sons, but had refused it in the final years of her life, in an attempt to distance herself from the royal family. After her death, it was revealed that Diana had been in discussion with Major's successor, Tony Blair, about a special role that would provide a government platform for her campaigns and charities to make her capable of endorsing Britain's interests overseas.
Diana retained close friendships with several celebrities, including Elton John, Liza Minnelli, George Michael, Michael Jackson, and Gianni Versace, whose funeral she attended in 1997. She dated the British-Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, who was called "the love of her life" by many of her closest friends after her death, and she is said to have described him as "Mr. Wonderful". In May 1996, Diana visited Lahore upon invitation of Imran Khan, a relative of Hasnat Khan, and visited the latter's family in secret. Khan was intensely private and the relationship was conducted in secrecy, with Diana lying to members of the press who questioned her about it. Their relationship lasted almost two years with differing accounts of who ended it. She is said to have spoken of her distress when he ended their relationship. However, according to Khan's testimony at the inquest into her death, it was Diana who ended their relationship in the summer of 1997. Burrell also said the relationship was ended by Diana in July 1997. Burrell also claimed that Diana's mother, Frances Shand Kydd, disapproved of her daughter's relationship with a Muslim man. By the time of Diana's death in 1997, she had not spoken to her mother in four months. By contrast, her relationship with her estranged stepmother had reportedly improved.
Within a month, Diana began a relationship with Dodi Fayed, the son of her summer host, Mohamed Al-Fayed. That summer, Diana had considered taking her sons on a holiday to the Hamptons on Long Island, New York, but security officials had prevented it. After deciding against a trip to Thailand, she accepted Fayed's invitation to join his family in the south of France, where his compound and large security detail would not cause concern to the Royal Protection squad. Mohamed Al-Fayed bought the Jonikal, a 60-metre multimillion-pound yacht on which to entertain Diana and her sons. Tina Brown later claimed that Diana's romance with Fayed and her four-month relationship with Gulu Lalvani were a ploy "to inflame the true object of her affections, Hasnat Khan". In the years after her death, Burrell, journalist Richard Kay, and voice coach Stewart Pearce have claimed that Diana was also thinking about buying a property in the United States.
== Princess of Wales ==
Following her engagement to Charles, Diana made her first official public appearance in March 1981 in a charity event at Goldsmiths' Hall. She attended the Trooping the Colour for the first time in June 1981, making her appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace afterwards. In October 1981, Charles and Diana visited Wales. She attended the State Opening of Parliament for the first time on 4 November 1981. Her first solo engagement was a visit to Regent Street on 18 November 1981 to switch on the Christmas lights. Diana made her inaugural overseas tour in September 1982, to attend the funeral of Princess Grace of Monaco. Also in 1982, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands created Diana a Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown. In 1983, Diana accompanied Charles and William on a tour of Australia and New Zealand. The tour was a success and the couple drew immense crowds, though the press focused more on Diana rather than Charles, coining the term 'Dianamania' as a reference to people's obsession with her. While sitting in a car with Charles near the Sydney Opera House, Diana burst into tears for a few minutes, which their office stated was due to jet lag and the heat. In New Zealand, the couple met with representatives of the Māori people. Their visit to Canada in June and July 1983 included a trip to Edmonton to open the 1983 Summer Universiade and a stop in Newfoundland to commemorate the 400th anniversary of that island's acquisition by the Crown. In 1983, she was targeted by the Scottish National Liberation Army who tried to deliver a letter bomb to her.
In February 1984, Diana was the patron of London City Ballet when she travelled to Norway on her own to attend a performance organised by the company. In April 1985, Charles and Diana visited Italy, and were later joined by their sons. They met with President Alessandro Pertini. Their visit to the Holy See included a private audience with Pope John Paul II. In autumn 1985, they returned to Australia, and their tour was well received by the public and the media, who referred to Diana as "Di-amond Princess" and the "Jewel in the Crown". In November 1985, the couple visited the United States, meeting President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan at the White House. Diana had a busy year in 1986 as she and Charles toured Japan, Spain, and Canada. In Canada, they visited Expo 86, where Diana fainted in the California Pavilion. In November 1986, she went on a six-day tour to Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, where she met King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and Sultan Qaboos of Oman.
In 1988, Charles and Diana visited Thailand and toured Australia for the bicentenary celebrations. In February 1989, she spent a few days in New York as a solo visit, mainly to promote the works of the Welsh National Opera, of which she was a patron. During a tour of Harlem Hospital Center, she spontaneously hugged a seven-year-old child with AIDS. In March 1989, she had her second trip to the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, in which she visited Kuwait and the UAE.
In March 1990, Diana and Charles toured Nigeria and Cameroon. Cameroonian president Paul Biya hosted an official dinner to welcome them in Yaoundé. Highlights of the tour included visits by Diana to hospitals and projects focusing on women's development. In May 1990, they visited Hungary for four days. It was the first visit by members of the royal family to "a former Warsaw Pact country". They attended a dinner hosted by President Árpád Göncz and viewed a fashion display at the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest. Pető Institute was among the places visited by Diana, and she presented its director with an honorary OBE. In November 1990, she and Charles went to Japan to attend the enthronement of Emperor Akihito.
In her desire to play an encouraging role during the Gulf War, Diana visited Germany in December 1990 to meet with the families of soldiers. She subsequently travelled to Germany in January 1991 to visit RAF Bruggen, and later wrote an encouraging letter that was published in Soldier, Navy News and RAF News. In 1991, Charles and Diana visited Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, where they presented the university with a replica of their royal charter. In September 1991, Diana visited Pakistan on a solo trip, and went to Brazil with Charles. During the Brazilian tour, Diana paid visits to organisations that battled homelessness among street children. Her final trips with Charles were to India and South Korea in 1992. She visited Mother Teresa's hospice in Kolkata, India. The two women met later in the same month in Rome and developed a personal relationship. It was also during the Indian tour that pictures of Diana alone in front of the Taj Mahal made headlines. In May 1992, she went on a solo tour of Egypt, visiting the Giza pyramid complex and attending a meeting with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. In November 1992, she went on an official solo trip to France and had an audience with President François Mitterrand. In March 1993, she went on her first solo trip after her separation from Charles, visiting a leprosy hospital in Nepal where she met and came into contact with some patients, marking the first time they had ever been touched by a dignitary who had come to visit. In December 1993, she announced that she would withdraw from public life, but in November 1994 she said she wished to "make a partial return". In her capacity as the vice-president of British Red Cross, she was interested in playing an important role for its 125th anniversary celebrations. Later, Queen Elizabeth II formally invited her to attend the anniversary celebrations of D-Day. In February 1995, Diana visited Japan. She paid a formal visit to Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, and visited the National Children's Hospital in Tokyo. In June 1995, Diana went to the Venice Biennale art festival, and also visited Moscow where she received the International Leonardo Prize. In November 1995, Diana undertook a four-day trip to Argentina to attend a charity event. She visited many other countries, including Belgium, Switzerland, and Zimbabwe, alongside numerous others. During her separation from Charles, which lasted for almost four years, Diana participated in major national occasions as a senior member of the royal family, notably including "the commemorations of the 50th anniversaries of Victory in Europe Day and Victory over Japan Day" in 1995.
== Charity work and patronages ==
In 1983 Diana confided to the premier of Newfoundland, Brian Peckford, "I am finding it very difficult to cope with the pressures of being Princess of Wales, but I am learning to cope with it". She was expected to make regular public appearances at hospitals, schools, and other facilities, in the 20th-century model of royal patronage. From the mid-1980s, she became increasingly associated with numerous charities. She carried out 191 official engagements in 1988 and 397 in 1991. Diana developed an intense interest in serious illnesses and health-related matters outside the purview of traditional royal involvement, including AIDS and leprosy. In recognition of her effect as a philanthropist, Stephen Lee, director of the UK Institute of Charity Fundraising Managers, said "Her overall effect on charity is probably more significant than any other person's in the 20th century."
Diana was the patroness of charities and organisations who worked with the homeless, youth, drug addicts, and the elderly. From 1989, she was president of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. She was patron of the Natural History Museum and president of the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. From 1984 to 1996, she was president of Barnardo's, a charity founded by Dr. Thomas John Barnardo in 1866 to care for vulnerable children and young people. In 1988, she became patron of the British Red Cross and supported its organisations in other countries such as Australia and Canada. She made several lengthy visits each week to Royal Brompton Hospital, where she worked to comfort seriously ill or dying patients. From 1991 to 1996, she was a patron of Headway, a brain injury association. In 1992, she became the first patron of Chester Childbirth Appeal, a charity she had supported since 1984. The charity, which is named after one of Diana's royal titles, could raise over £1 million with her help. In 1994, she helped her friend Julia Samuel launch the charity Child Bereavement UK, which supports children "of military families, those of suicide victims, [and] terminally-ill parents", and became its patron. Her son William later became the charity's royal patron.
In 1987 Diana was awarded the Honorary Freedom of the City of London, the highest honour in the power of the City of London to bestow on someone. In June 1995, she travelled to Moscow. She paid a visit to a children's hospital she had previously supported when she provided them with medical equipment. In December 1995, Diana received the United Cerebral Palsy Humanitarian of the Year Award in New York City for her philanthropic efforts. In October 1996, for her works on the elderly, she was awarded a gold medal at a health care conference organised by the Pio Manzù Centre in Rimini, Italy.
The day after her divorce, she announced her resignation from over 100 charities and retained patronages of only six: Centrepoint, English National Ballet, Great Ormond Street Hospital, The Leprosy Mission, National AIDS Trust, and the Royal Marsden Hospital. She continued her work with the British Red Cross Anti-Personnel Land Mines Campaign, but was no longer listed as patron.
In May 1997, Diana opened the Richard Attenborough Centre for Disability and the Arts in Leicester, after being asked by her friend Richard Attenborough. In June 1997 and at the suggestion of her son William, some of her dresses and suits were sold at Christie's auction houses in London and New York, and the proceeds that were earned from these events were donated to charities. Her final official engagement was a visit to Northwick Park Hospital, London, on 21 July 1997. Her 36th and final birthday celebration was held at Tate Gallery, which was also a commemorative event for the gallery's 100th anniversary. She was scheduled to attend a fundraiser at the Osteopathic Centre for Children on 4 September 1997, upon her return from Paris.
=== HIV/AIDS ===
Diana began her work with AIDS patients in the 1980s. Contrary to the prevailing stigmatization of AIDS patients, she was not averse to making physical contact with patients, and was the first British royal to do so. In 1987, she held hands with an AIDS patient in one of her early efforts to destigmatise the condition. Diana noted: "HIV does not make people dangerous to know. You can shake their hands and give them a hug. Heaven knows they need it. What's more, you can share their homes, their workplaces, and their playgrounds and toys". To Diana's disappointment, the Queen did not support this type of charity work, suggesting she get involved in "something more pleasant". In July 1989, she opened Landmark Aids Centre in South London. In October 1990, Diana opened Grandma's House, a home for young AIDS patients in Washington, DC. She was also a patron of the National AIDS Trust and regularly visited London Lighthouse, which provided residential care for HIV patients (it has since merged with the Terrence Higgins Trust). In 1991, she hugged one patient during a visit to the AIDS ward of the Middlesex Hospital, which she had opened in 1987 as the first hospital unit dedicated to this cause in the UK. As the patron of Turning Point, a health and social care organisation, Diana visited its project in London for people with HIV/AIDS in 1992. She later established and led fundraising campaigns for AIDS research.
In March 1997, Diana visited South Africa, where she met with Nelson Mandela. On 2 November 2002, Mandela announced that the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund would be teaming up with the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund to help people with AIDS. They had planned the combination of the two charities a few months before her death. Mandela later praised Diana for her efforts surrounding the issue of HIV/AIDS: "When she stroked the limbs of someone with leprosy or sat on the bed of a man with HIV/AIDS and held his hand, she transformed public attitudes and improved the life chances of such people". Diana had used her celebrity status to "fight stigma attached to people living with HIV/AIDS", Mandela said.
=== Landmines ===
Diana was patron of the HALO Trust, an organisation that removes debris—particularly landmines—left behind by war. In January 1997, pictures of Diana touring an Angolan minefield in a ballistic helmet and flak jacket were seen worldwide. During her campaign, she was accused of meddling in politics and called a "loose cannon" by Lord Howe, an official in the British Ministry of Defence. Despite the criticism, HALO states that Diana's efforts resulted in raising international awareness about landmines and the subsequent sufferings caused by them. In June 1997, she gave a speech at a landmines conference held at the Royal Geographical Society, and went to Washington, DC to support the American Red Cross's anti-landmine initiative. From 7 to 10 August 1997, just days before her death, she visited Bosnia and Herzegovina with Jerry White and Ken Rutherford of the Landmine Survivors Network.
Diana's work on the landmines issue has been described as influential in the signing of the Ottawa Treaty, which created an international ban on the use of anti-personnel landmines. Introducing the Second Reading of the Landmines Bill 1998 to the British House of Commons, the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, paid tribute to Diana's work on landmines:All Honourable Members will be aware from their postbags of the immense contribution made by Diana, Princess of Wales to bringing home to many of our constituents the human costs of landmines. The best way in which to record our appreciation of her work, and the work of NGOs that have campaigned against landmines, is to pass the Bill, and to pave the way towards a global ban on landmines.
A few months after Diana's death in 1997, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines won the Nobel Peace Prize.
=== Cancer ===
For her first solo official trip, Diana visited The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, a cancer treatment hospital in London. She later chose this charity to be among the organisations that benefited from the auction of her clothes in New York. The trust's communications manager said she did "much to remove the stigma and taboo associated with diseases such as cancer, AIDS, HIV and leprosy". Diana became president of the hospital on 27 June 1989. The Wolfson Children's Cancer Unit was opened by Diana on 25 February 1993. In February 1996, Diana, who had been informed about a newly opened cancer hospital built by Imran Khan, travelled to Pakistan to visit its children's cancer wards and attend a fundraising dinner in aid of the charity in Lahore. She later visited the hospital again in May 1997. In June 1996, she travelled to Chicago in her capacity as president of the Royal Marsden Hospital in order to attend a fundraising event at the Field Museum of Natural History and raised more than £1 million for cancer research. She additionally visited patients at the Cook County Hospital and delivered remarks at a conference on breast cancer at the Northwestern University Chicago campus after meeting a group of breast cancer researchers. In September 1996, after being asked by Katharine Graham, Diana went to Washington and appeared at a White House breakfast in respect of the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research. She also attended an annual fund-raiser for breast cancer research organised by The Washington Post at the same centre.
In 1988, Diana opened Children with Leukaemia (later renamed Children with Cancer UK) in memory of two young cancer victims. In November 1987, a few days after the death of Jean O'Gorman from cancer, Diana met her family. The deaths of Jean and her brother affected her and she assisted their family to establish the charity. It was opened by her on 12 January 1988 at Mill Hill Secondary School, and she supported it until her death in 1997.
=== Other areas ===
In November 1989, Diana visited a leprosy hospital in Indonesia. Following her visit, she became patron of the Leprosy Mission, an organisation dedicated to providing medicine, treatment, and other support services to those who are afflicted with the disease. She remained the patron of this charity and visited several of its hospitals around the world, especially in India, Nepal, Zimbabwe and Nigeria until her death in 1997. She touched those affected by the disease when many people believed it could be contracted through casual contact. "It has always been my concern to touch people with leprosy, trying to show in a simple action that they are not reviled, nor are we repulsed", she commented. The Diana Princess of Wales Health Education and Media Centre in Noida, India, was opened in her honour in November 1999, funded by the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund to give social support to the people affected by leprosy and disability.
Diana was a long-standing and active supporter of Centrepoint, a charity that provides accommodation and support to homeless people, and became patron in 1992. She supported organisations that battle poverty and homelessness, including the Passage. Diana was a supporter of young homeless people and spoke out on behalf of them by saying that "they deserve a decent start in life". "We, as a part of society, must ensure that young people—who are our future—are given the chance they deserve", she said. Diana used to take young William and Harry for private visits to Centrepoint services and homeless shelters. "The young people at Centrepoint were always really touched by her visits and by her genuine feelings for them", said one of the charity's staff members. William later became the patron of Centrepoint.
Diana was a staunch and longtime supporter of charities and organisations that focused on social and mental issues, including Relate and Turning Point. Relate was relaunched in 1987 as a renewed version to its predecessor, the National Marriage Guidance Council. Diana became its patron in 1989. Turning Point, a health and social care organisation, was founded in 1964 to help and support those affected by drug and alcohol misuse and mental health problems. She became the charity's patron in 1987 and visited the charity on a regular basis, meeting the sufferers at its centres or institutions including Rampton and Broadmoor. In 1990 during a speech for Turning Point she said, "It takes professionalism to convince a doubting public that it should accept back into its midst many of those diagnosed as psychotics, neurotics and other sufferers who Victorian communities decided should be kept out of sight in the safety of mental institutions". Despite the protocol problems of travelling to a Muslim country, she made a trip to Pakistan in 1991 in order to visit a rehabilitation centre in Lahore as a sign of "her commitment to working against drug abuse".
== Privacy and legal issues ==
In November 1980, the Sunday Mirror ran a story claiming that Charles had used the Royal Train twice for secret love rendezvous with Diana, prompting the palace to issue a statement, calling the story "a total fabrication" and demanding an apology. The newspaper editors, however, insisted that the woman boarding the train was Diana and declined to apologise. In February 1982, pictures of a pregnant Diana in bikini while holidaying were published in the media. The Queen subsequently released a statement and called it "the blackest day in the history of British journalism".
In 1993 Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) published photographs of Diana that were taken by gym owner Bryce Taylor. The photos showed her exercising in the gym LA Fitness wearing "a leotard and cycling shorts". Diana's lawyers immediately filed a criminal complaint that sought "a permanent ban on the sale and publication of the photographs" around the world. However, some newspapers outside the UK published the pictures. The courts granted an injunction against Taylor and MGN that prohibited "further publication of the pictures". MGN later issued an apology after facing much criticism from the public and gave Diana £1 million as a payment for her legal costs, while donating £200,000 to her charities. LA Fitness issued its own apology in June 1994, which was followed by Taylor apologising in February 1995 and giving up the £300,000 he had made from the sale of pictures in an out-of-court settlement about a week before the case was set to start. It was alleged that a member of the royal family had helped him financially to settle out of court.
In 1994 pictures of Diana sunbathing topless at a Costa del Sol hotel were put up for sale by a Spanish photography agency for a price of £1 million. In 1996, a set of pictures of a topless Diana while sunbathing appeared in the Mirror, which resulted in "a furor about invasion of privacy". In the same year, she was the subject of a hoax call by Victor Lewis-Smith, who pretended to be Stephen Hawking, though the full recorded conversation was never released. Also in 1996, Stuart Higgins of The Sun wrote a front-page story about an intimate video purporting to feature Diana with James Hewitt. The video turned out to be a hoax, forcing Higgins to issue an apology.
== Death ==
Diana died on 31 August 1997, aged 36, as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris while her driver was fleeing the paparazzi. She was taken to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital around 2:00 am and was pronounced dead at approximately 4:00 am. The crash also claimed the lives of her companion Dodi Fayed and their driver, Henri Paul, who was also acting security manager of the Hôtel Ritz Paris. Trevor Rees-Jones, a bodyguard employed by Dodi's father, survived with a serious head injury. The televised funeral, on 6 September, was watched by a British audience that peaked at 32.1 million, one of the highest viewing figures ever recorded in the United Kingdom, and by a United States audience that peaked at 50 million. The event was broadcast to more than 200 countries and seen by an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide.
=== Tribute, funeral, and burial ===
The sudden and unexpected death of an extraordinarily popular royal figure brought statements from senior figures worldwide and many tributes by members of the public. People left flowers, candles, cards, and personal messages outside Kensington Palace for many months. Diana's coffin, draped with the royal flag, was brought to London from Paris by Charles and her two sisters on 31 August 1997. The coffin was taken to a private mortuary and then placed in the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace.
On 5 September, Queen Elizabeth II paid tribute to Diana in a live television broadcast. The funeral took place in Westminster Abbey on 6 September. Her sons walked in the funeral procession behind her coffin, along with the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, Diana's brother Lord Spencer, and representatives of some of her charities. Lord Spencer said of his sister, "She proved in the last year that she needed no royal title to continue to generate her particular brand of magic." Re-written in tribute to Diana, "Candle in the Wind 1997" was performed by Elton John at the funeral service (the only occasion the song has been performed live). Released as a single in 1997, the global proceeds from the song have gone to Diana's charities.
The burial took place privately later the same day. Diana's former husband, sons, mother, siblings, a close friend, and a clergyman were present. Diana's body was clothed in a black long-sleeved dress designed by Catherine Walker, which she had chosen some weeks before. A set of rosary beads that she had received from Mother Teresa was placed in her hands. Diana's grave is on an island within the grounds of Althorp Park, the Spencer family home for centuries.
The burial party was provided by the 2nd Battalion the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, who carried Diana's coffin across to the island and laid her to rest. Diana was the Regiment's Colonel-in-Chief from 1992 to 1996. The original plan was for Diana to be buried in the Spencer family vault at the local church in nearby Great Brington, but Lord Spencer said he was concerned about public safety and security and the onslaught of visitors that might overwhelm Great Brington. He decided Diana would be buried where her grave could be easily cared for and visited in privacy by William, Harry, and other relatives.
=== Conspiracy theories, inquest and verdict ===
The initial French judicial investigation concluded that the crash was caused by Paul's intoxication, reckless driving, speeding, and effects of prescription drugs. In February 1998, Mohamed Al-Fayed, father of Dodi Fayed, publicly said the crash, which killed his son, had been planned, and accused MI6 and the Duke of Edinburgh. An inquest, which started in London in 2004 and continued in 2007 and 2008, attributed the crash to grossly negligent driving by Paul and to the pursuing paparazzi, who forced Paul to speed into the tunnel. In 2003 Diana's butler Paul Burrell published a note that he claimed had been written by Diana in 1995, in which there were allegations that Charles was "planning 'an accident' in [Diana's] car, brake failure and serious head injury", so that he could remarry. She had allegedly expressed similar concerns in October 1995 to Lord Mishcon, her solicitor, that "reliable sources" had told her "that she and Camilla would be put aside" for Charles to marry Tiggy Legge-Bourke. When questioned by the Metropolitan Police inquiry team as a part of Operation Paget, Charles told the authorities that he did not know about his former wife's note from 1995 and could not understand why she had those feelings. On 7 April 2008, the jury returned a verdict of "unlawful killing". On the day after the final verdict of the inquest, Al-Fayed announced that he would end his 10-year campaign to establish that the tragedy was murder; he said he did so for the sake of Diana's children.
=== Later events ===
==== Finances ====
Following her death, Diana left a £21 million estate, "netting £17 million after estate taxes", which were left in the hands of trustees, her mother, and her sister Sarah. The will was signed in June 1993, but Diana had it modified in February 1996 to remove the name of her personal secretary from the list of trustees and have Sarah replace him. After applying personal and inheritance taxes, a net estate of £12.9 million was left to be distributed among the beneficiaries. Her two sons subsequently inherited the majority of her estate. Each of them was left with £6.5 million, which was invested and gathered substantial interest, and an estimated £10 million was given to each son upon turning 30 years old in 2012 and 2014 respectively. Many of Diana's possessions were initially left in the care of her brother, who put them on show in Althorp twice a year until they were returned to Diana's sons. They were also put on display in American museums and as of 2011 raised two million dollars for charities. Among the objects were her dresses and suits along with numerous family paintings and jewels. Diana's engagement ring and her yellow gold watch were given to William and Harry, respectively. William later passed the ring to his wife, Catherine Middleton. Her wedding dress was also given to her sons.
In addition to her will, Diana had written a letter of wishes in which she had asked for three-quarters of her personal property to be given to her sons, and dividing the remaining quarter (aside from the jewellery) among her 17 godchildren. Despite Diana's wishes, the executors (her mother and sister) "petitioned the probate court for a 'variance' of the will", and the letter of wishes was ignored "because it did not contain certain language required by British law". Eventually, one item from Diana's estate was given to each of her godchildren, while they would have received £100,000 each if a quarter of her estate had been divided between them. The variance also delayed the distribution of her estate to her sons until they reached age 30. (It had originally been set at age 25.) Diana also left her butler Paul Burrell around £50,000 in cash.
==== Subject of US government surveillance ====
In 1999, after the submission of a Freedom of Information request by the Internet news service apbonline.com, it was revealed that Diana had been placed under surveillance by the National Security Agency until her death, and the organisation kept a top secret file on her containing more than 1,000 pages. The contents of Diana's NSA file cannot be disclosed because of national security concerns. The NSA officials insisted Diana was not a "target of [their] massive, worldwide electronic eavesdropping infrastructure". Despite multiple inquiries for the files to be declassified—with one of the notable ones being filed by Mohamed Al-Fayed—the NSA has refused to release the documents.
In 2008, Ken Wharfe, a former bodyguard of Diana, claimed that her scandalous conversations with James Gilbey (commonly referred to as Squidgygate) were in fact recorded by the GCHQ, which intentionally released them on a "loop". People close to Diana believed the action was intended to defame her. Wharfe said Diana herself believed that members of the royal family were all being monitored, though he also stated that the main reason for it could be the potential threats of the IRA.
==== Anniversaries, commemorations, and auctions ====
On the first anniversary of Diana's death, people left flowers and bouquets outside the gates of Kensington Palace and a memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey. The royal family and Tony Blair and his family went to Crathie Kirk for private prayers, while Diana's family held a private memorial service at Althorp. All flags at Buckingham Palace and other royal residences were flown at half-mast on the Queen's orders. The Union Jack was first lowered to half-mast on the day of Diana's funeral and has set a precedent, as based on the previous protocol no flag could ever fly at half-mast over the palace "even on the death of a monarch". Since 1997, however, the Union Flag (but not the Royal Standard) has flown at half-mast upon the deaths of members of the royal family, and other times of national mourning.
The Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium was held on 1 July 2007. The event, organised by Princes William and Harry, celebrated the 46th anniversary of their mother's birth and occurred a few weeks before the 10th anniversary of her death on 31 August. The proceeds from this event were donated to Diana's charities. On 31 August 2007, a service of thanksgiving for Diana took place in the Guards' Chapel. Among the 500 guests were members of the royal family and their relatives, members of the Spencer family, her godparents and godchildren, members of her wedding party, her close friends and aides, representatives from many of her charities, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and John Major, and friends from the entertainment world such as David Frost, Elton John, and Cliff Richard.
In January 2017, a series of letters that Diana and other members of the royal family had written to a Buckingham Palace steward were sold as a part of a collection. The six letters written by Diana raised £15,100. Another collection of 40 letters written by Diana between 1990 and 1997 were sold for £67,900 at an auction in 2021. In 2023, two of Diana's friends put 32 highly personal letters and cards written by her while she was going through her divorce up for auction, announcing that proceeds of the sale would be donated to charities associated with them or Diana.
"Diana: Her Fashion Story", an exhibition of gowns and suits worn by Diana, was announced to be opened at Kensington Palace in February 2017 as a tribute to mark her 20th death anniversary, with her favourite dresses created by numerous fashion designers being displayed until the next year. Other tributes planned for the anniversary included exhibitions at Althorp hosted by Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, a series of commemorating events organised by the Diana Award, as well as restyling Kensington Gardens and creating a new section called "The White Garden".
== Legacy ==
=== Public image ===
Diana remains one of the most popular members of the royal family throughout history, and she continues to influence the younger generations of royals. She was a major presence on the world stage from her engagement to Charles until her death, and was often described as the "world's most photographed woman". She was noted for her compassion, style, charisma, and high-profile charity work, as well as her ill-fated marriage. Biographer Sarah Bradford commented, "The only cure for her suffering would have been the love of the Prince of Wales ... the way in which he consistently denigrated her reduced her to despair." Despite all the marital issues and scandals, Diana continued to enjoy a high level of popularity in the polls while her husband was suffering from low levels of public approval. Diana's former private secretary Patrick Jephson described her as an organised and hardworking person, and pointed out Charles was not able to "reconcile with his wife's extraordinary popularity", a viewpoint supported by the biographer Tina Brown. He also said she was a tough boss who was "equally quick to appreciate hard work" but could also be defiant "if she felt she had been the victim of injustice". Diana's mother also defined her as a "loving" figure who could occasionally be "tempestuous". She was often described as a devoted mother to her children, who are believed to be influenced by her personality and way of life.
In the early years of her marriage, Diana was often noted for her shy nature. Journalist Michael White perceived her as being "smart", "shrewd and funny". Those who communicated with her closely described her as a person who was led by "her heart". In an article for The Guardian, Monica Ali believed that, despite being inexperienced and uneducated, Diana could handle the expectations of the royal family and overcome the difficulties and sufferings of her marital life. Ali also believed that she "had a lasting influence on the public discourse, particularly in matters of mental health" by discussing her eating disorder publicly. According to Tina Brown, in her early years Diana possessed a "passive power", a quality that in her opinion she shared with the Queen Mother and a trait that would enable her to instinctively use her appeal to achieve her goals.
Diana was known for her encounters with sick and dying patients, and the poor and unwanted whom she used to comfort, an action that earned her more popularity. Known for her easygoing attitude, she reportedly hated formality in her inner circle, asking "people not to jump up every time she enters the room". Diana is often credited with widening the range of charity works carried out by the royal family in a more modern style. Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post wrote in an article that "Diana imbued her role as royal princess with vitality, activism and, above all, glamour." Alicia Carroll of The New York Times described Diana as "a breath of fresh air" who was the main reason the royal family was known in the United States. In Anthony Holden's opinion, Diana was "visibly reborn" after her separation from Charles, a point in her life that was described by Holden as her "moment of triumph", which put her on an independent path to success.
Diana's sudden death brought an unprecedented spasm of grief and mourning, and subsequently a crisis arose in the Royal Household. Andrew Marr said that by her death she "revived the culture of public sentiment". Her son William has stated that the outpouring of public grief after her death "changed the British psyche, for the better", while Alastair Campbell noted that it assisted in diminishing "the stiff upper lip approach". In 1981 and 1997 Diana was one of the runners-up for Time magazine's Person of the Year, and in 2020 the magazine included Diana's name on its list of 100 Women of the Year. She was chosen as the Woman of the Year 1987 for her efforts in destigmatising the conditions surrounding HIV/AIDS patients. In 2002 Diana ranked third on the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, above the Queen and other British monarchs.
Despite being regarded as an iconic figure and a popular member of the royal family, Diana was subject to criticism during her life. She was criticised by philosophy professor Anthony O'Hear who in his notes argued that she was unable to fulfill her duties, her reckless behaviour was damaging the monarchy, and she was "self-indulgent" in her philanthropic efforts. Following his remarks, charity organisations that were supported by Diana defended her, and Peter Luff called O'Hear's comments "distasteful and inappropriate". Further criticism surfaced as she was accused of using her public profile to benefit herself, which in return "demeaned her royal office". Diana's unique type of charity work, which sometimes included physical contact with people affected by serious diseases, occasionally had a negative reaction in the media.
Diana's relationship with the press and the paparazzi has been described as "ambivalent". On different occasions she would complain about the way she was being treated by the media, mentioning that their constant presence in her proximity had made life impossible for her, whereas at other times she would seek their attention and hand information to reporters herself. Writing for The Guardian, Peter Conrad suggested that it was Diana who let the journalists and paparazzi into her life as she knew they were the source of her power. This view was supported by Christopher Hitchens, who believed that "in pursuit of a personal solution to an unhappy private life, she became an assiduous leaker to the press". Tina Brown argued that Diana was in no way "a vulnerable victim of media manipulation", and she found it "offensive to present the canny, resourceful Diana as a woman of no agency". Former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman, who later hacked the phones of Diana's sons on several occasions, stated in a court in 2014 that, in 1992, Diana sent a confidential directory containing numbers of senior members of the royal household to their office to get back at Prince Charles. Nevertheless, Diana also used the media's interest in her to shine light on her charitable efforts and patronages.
Sally Bedell Smith characterised Diana as unpredictable, egocentric, and possessive. Smith also argued that in her desire to do charity works, Diana was "motivated by personal considerations, rather than by an ambitious urge to take on a societal problem". Eugene Robinson, however, said that "[Diana] was serious about the causes she espoused". According to Sarah Bradford, Diana looked down on the House of Windsor, whom she reportedly viewed "as jumped-up foreign princelings" and called them "the Germans". Tony Blair characterised Diana as a manipulative person and "extraordinarily captivating".
In an article written for The Independent in 1998, journalist Yvonne Roberts observed the sudden change in people's opinion of Diana after her death from critical to complimentary, a viewpoint supported by Theodore Dalrymple, who also noticed the "sudden shift". Roberts also added that Diana was neither "a saint" nor "a revolutionary" figure, but "may have encouraged some people" to tackle issues such as landmines, AIDS and leprosy. While analysing the impact of Diana's death and her popularity from a gendered point of view, the British historian Ludmilla Jordanova said "no human being can survive the complex forces that impact upon charismatic women." Jordanova also observed that it is "Better to remember her by trying to decipher how emotions overshadow analysis and why women are the safeguards of humanitarian feelings." The author Anne Applebaum believed that Diana had not had any impact on public opinions posthumously; an idea supported by Jonathan Freedland of The Guardian who believed that Diana's memory and influence started to fade away in the years after her death, while Peter Conrad, another Guardian contributor, argued that even in "a decade after her death, she is still not silent", and Allan Massie of The Telegraph believed that Diana's sentiments "continue to shape our society". Writing for The Guardian, Monica Ali described Diana as "fascinating and flawed. Her legacy might be mixed, but it's not insubstantial. Her life was brief, but she left her mark".
=== Fashion and style ===
Diana was a fashion icon whose style was emulated by women around the world. In 2012, Time included Diana on its All-Time 100 Fashion Icons list. Iain Hollingshead of The Telegraph wrote: "[Diana] had an ability to sell clothes just by looking at them." An early example of the effect occurred during her courtship with Charles in 1980 when sales of Hunter Wellington boots skyrocketed after she was pictured wearing a pair on the Balmoral estate. According to designers and people who worked with Diana, she used fashion and style to endorse her charitable causes, express herself and communicate. Diana remains a prominent figure for her fashion style, impacting recent cultural and style trends.
Diana's fashion combined classically royal expectations with contemporary fashion trends in Britain. While on diplomatic trips, her clothes and attire were chosen to match the destination countries' costumes, and while off-duty she used to wear loose jackets and jumpers. "She was always very thoughtful about how her clothes would be interpreted, it was something that really mattered to her", according to Anna Harvey, a former British Vogue editor and Diana's fashion mentor. Her fashion sense originally incorporated decorous and romantic elements, with pastel shades and lush gowns. Elements of her fashion rapidly became trends. She forwent certain traditions, such as wearing gloves during engagements, and sought to create a wardrobe that helped her to connect with the public. According to Donatella Versace who worked closely with Diana alongside her brother, Diana's interest and sense of curiosity about fashion grew significantly after her marital separation. Her style subsequently grew bolder and more businesslike, featuring structured skirt suits, sculptural gowns, and neutral tones designed to reflect attention toward her charity work.
Catherine Walker was among Diana's favourite designers with whom she worked to create her "royal uniform". David Sassoon designed about 70 outfits for her from 1981 until 1997, many of which were influenced by his Jewish heritage. Among her favoured designers were Versace, Armani, Chanel, Dior, Gucci and Clarks. Her famous outfits include the "Black Sheep Sweater", the "Revenge dress", which she wore after Charles's admission of adultery, and the "Travolta dress". Copies of Diana's British Vogue-featured pink chiffon blouse by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, which appeared in the magazine on her engagement announcement day, sold in the millions. She appeared on three British Vogue covers during her lifetime and was featured on its October 1997 issue posthumously. Diana did her own makeup for events, and was accompanied by a hairstylist for public appearances. In the 1990s, she was frequently photographed clutching distinctive handbags manufactured by Gucci and Dior, which became known as the Gucci Diana and Lady Dior.
Following the opening of an exhibition of Diana's clothes and dresses at Kensington Palace in 2017, Catherine Bennett of The Guardian said such exhibitions are among the suitable ways to commemorate public figures whose fashion styles were noted due to their achievements. The exhibition suggests to detractors who, like many other princesses, "looking lovely in different clothes was pretty much her life's work" which also brings interest in her clothing. Versace also pointed out that "[she doesn't] think that anyone, before or after her, has done for fashion what Diana did". One of Diana's favourite milliners, John Boyd, said "Diana was our best ambassador for hats, and the entire millinery industry owes her a debt." Boyd's pink tricorn hat Diana wore for her honeymoon was later copied by milliners across the world and credited with rebooting an industry in decline for decades.
=== Memorials ===
Permanent memorials to Diana include the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, London; the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens; the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk, a circular path between Kensington Gardens, Green Park, Hyde Park, and St. James's Park; the Diana Memorial Award, established in 1999 and later relaunched in 2007 by Gordon Brown; the Statue of Diana, Princess of Wales, in the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace; and the Princess Diana Memorial in the garden of Schloss Cobenzl in Vienna, making it the first memorial dedicated to Diana in a German-speaking country. The Flame of Liberty was erected in 1989 on the Place de l'Alma in Paris above the entrance to the tunnel in which the fatal crash later occurred. It became an unofficial memorial to Diana. The Place de l'Alma was renamed Place Diana princesse de Galles in 2019. Following her death, several countries issued postage stamps commemorating Diana, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Somalia, and Congo. A bronze plaque was unveiled by Earl Spencer at Northampton Guildhall in 2002 as a memorial to his sister.
There were two memorials inside Harrods department store, commissioned by Dodi Fayed's father, who owned the store from 1985 to 2010. The first memorial was a pyramid-shaped display containing photos of Diana and al-Fayed's son, a wine glass said to be from their last dinner, and a ring purchased by Dodi the day prior to the crash. The second, Innocent Victims, unveiled in 2005, was a bronze statue of Fayed dancing with Diana on a beach beneath the wings of an albatross. In January 2018, it was announced that the statue would be returned to the al-Fayed family. Diana's granddaughters, Charlotte Elizabeth Diana (born 2015) and Lilibet Diana (born 2021), as well as her niece, Charlotte Diana Spencer (born 2012), are named after her.
=== In popular culture and art ===
Before and after her death, Diana has been the subject of films and television series and depicted in contemporary art. The first biopics about Diana and Charles were Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story and The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana that were broadcast on American TV channels on 17 and 20 September 1981, respectively. In December 1992, ABC aired Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After, a TV movie about marital discord between Diana and Charles. Actresses who have portrayed Diana include Serena Scott Thomas (in Diana: Her True Story, 1993), Julie Cox (in Princess in Love, 1996), Amy Seccombe (in Diana: A Tribute to the People's Princess, 1998), Michelle Duncan (in Whatever Love Means, 2005), Genevieve O'Reilly (in Diana: Last Days of a Princess, 2007), Nathalie Brocker (in The Murder of Princess Diana, 2007), Naomi Watts (in Diana, 2013), Jeanna de Waal (in Diana: The Musical, 2019–2021), Emma Corrin (2020) and Elizabeth Debicki (in The Crown, 2022–2023), and Kristen Stewart (in Spencer, 2021).
In 2017, William and Harry commissioned two documentaries to mark the 20th anniversary of her death. The first of the two, Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, was broadcast on ITV and HBO on 24 July 2017. This film focuses on Diana's legacy and humanitarian efforts for causes such as AIDS, landmines, homelessness and cancer. The second documentary, Diana, 7 Days, aired on 27 August on BBC and focused on Diana's death and the subsequent outpouring of grief.
Wax statues of Diana include ones at Madame Tussauds in London and the Musée Grévin in Paris.
== Titles, styles, honours and arms ==
=== Titles and styles ===
Diana was born with the style of "The Honourable Diana Frances Spencer". When her father inherited the Earldom of Spencer in 1975, she became entitled to the style of "Lady Diana Spencer". During her marriage, Diana was styled as "Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales". She additionally bore the titles Duchess of Rothesay, Duchess of Cornwall, Countess of Chester, and Baroness of Renfrew. After her divorce in 1996 and until her death, she was known as "Diana, Princess of Wales", without the style of "Her Royal Highness". Though popularly referred to as "Princess Diana", that style is incorrect and one she never held officially. She is still sometimes referred to in the media as "Lady Diana Spencer" or colloquially as "Lady Di". In a speech after her death, Tony Blair referred to Diana as "the people's princess". Discussions were also held with the Spencer family and the British royal family as to whether Diana's HRH style needed to be restored posthumously, but Diana's family decided that it would be against her wishes and, thus, no formal offer was made.
=== Honours ===
Orders
1981: Royal Family Order of Elizabeth II
Foreign honours
1982: Supreme Class of the Order of the Virtues (or Order of al-Kamal) (Egypt)
18 November 1982: Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown, bestowed by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
Appointments
1988: Royal Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple
Fellowships
1988: The Royal College of Surgeons of England, Honorary Fellow in Dental Surgery
Freedom of the City
29 October 1981: Cardiff
29 January 1986: Carlisle
1987: London
8 June 1989: Northampton Borough
16 October 1992: Portsmouth
==== Honorary military appointments ====
As Princess of Wales, Diana held the following military appointments:
Australia
Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Australian Survey Corps
Canada
Colonel-in-Chief of the Princess of Wales' Own Regiment (17 August 1985 to 16 July 1996)
Colonel-in-Chief of the West Nova Scotia Regiment
United Kingdom
Colonel-in-Chief of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment
Colonel-in-Chief of the Light Dragoons
Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Hampshire Regiment
Colonel-in-Chief of the 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own)
Honorary Air Commodore, RAF Wittering
Lady Sponsor of HMS Cornwall (F99)
Lady Sponsor of HMS Vanguard (S28)
She relinquished these appointments following her divorce.
==== Other appointments ====
15 November 1984: Lady Sponsor of Royal Princess
=== Arms ===
== Ancestry ==
Diana was born into the British Spencer family, different branches of which hold the titles of Duke of Marlborough, Earl Spencer, Earl of Sunderland, and Baron Churchill. The Spencers claimed descent from a cadet branch of the powerful medieval Despenser family, but its validity is questioned. Her great-grandmother was Margaret Baring, a member of the German-British Baring family of bankers and the daughter of Edward Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke. Diana's distant noble ancestors included the first Duke and Duchess of Marlborough. Diana and Charles were distantly related, as they were both descended from the House of Tudor through Henry VII of England. She was also descended from the House of Stuart through Charles II of England by Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, and Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, and his brother James II of England by Henrietta FitzJames. Other noble ancestors include Margaret Kerdeston, granddaughter of Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk; Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I of England; and Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, a descendant of Edward III of England through his son Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence. Diana's Scottish roots came from her maternal grandmother, Lady Fermoy. Her Scottish ancestors included Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, and his wife Jane, and Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll.
Diana's American lineage came from her great-grandmother Frances Ellen Work, daughter of wealthy American stockbroker Franklin H. Work from Ohio, who was married to her great-grandfather James Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy, an Irish peer. Diana's fourth great-grandmother in her direct maternal line, Eliza Kewark, was matrilineally of Indian descent. She is variously described in contemporary documents as "a dark-skinned native woman" and "an Armenian woman from Bombay".
== Notes, references and sources ==
=== Notes ===
=== References ===
=== Sources === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell | Alexander Graham Bell | Alexander Graham Bell ( ; born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born Canadian-American inventor, scientist, and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) in 1885.
Bell's father, grandfather, and brother had all been associated with work on elocution and speech, and both his mother and wife were deaf, profoundly influencing Bell's life's work. His research on hearing and speech further led him to experiment with hearing devices, which eventually culminated in his being awarded the first U.S. patent for the telephone, on March 7, 1876. Bell considered his invention an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study.
Many other inventions marked Bell's later life, including ground-breaking work in optical telecommunications, hydrofoils, and aeronautics. Bell also had a strong influence on the National Geographic Society and its magazine while serving as its second president from 1898 to 1903.
Beyond his work in engineering, Bell had a deep interest in the emerging science of heredity. His work in this area has been called "the soundest, and most useful study of human heredity proposed in nineteenth-century America ... Bell's most notable contribution to basic science, as distinct from invention."
== Early life ==
Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on March 3, 1847, to Alexander Melville Bell, a phonetician, and Eliza Grace Bell (née Symonds). The family home was on South Charlotte Street in Edinburgh, where a stone inscription marks it as Bell's birthplace. He had two brothers: Melville James Bell (1845–1870) and Edward Charles Bell (1848–1867), who both died of tuberculosis. He was born as just "Alexander Bell". At age 10, however, he made a plea to his father to have a middle name like his two brothers. For his 11th birthday, his father acquiesced and allowed him to adopt the name "Graham", chosen out of respect for Alexander Graham, a Canadian being treated by his father who was also a family friend. To close relatives and friends he remained "Aleck". Bell and his siblings attended a Presbyterian Church in their youth.
=== First invention ===
As a child, Bell displayed a curiosity about his world; he gathered botanical specimens and ran experiments at an early age. His best friend was Ben Herdman, a neighbour whose family operated a flour mill. At the age of 12, Bell built a homemade device that combined rotating paddles with sets of nail brushes, creating a simple dehusking machine that was put into operation at the mill and used steadily for a number of years. In return, Ben's father John Herdman gave both boys the run of a small workshop in which to "invent".
From his early years, Bell showed a sensitive nature and a talent for art, poetry, and music that his mother encouraged. With no formal training, he mastered the piano and became the family's pianist. Though normally quiet and introspective, he revelled in mimicry and "voice tricks" akin to ventriloquism that entertained family guests. Bell was also deeply affected by his mother's gradual deafness (she began to lose her hearing when he was 12), and learned a manual finger language so he could sit at her side and tap out silently the conversations swirling around the family parlour. He also developed a technique of speaking in clear, modulated tones directly into his mother's forehead, whereby she would hear him with reasonable clarity. Bell's preoccupation with his mother's deafness led him to study acoustics.
His family was long associated with the teaching of elocution: his grandfather, Alexander Bell, in London, his uncle in Dublin, and his father, in Edinburgh, were all elocutionists. His father published a variety of works on the subject, several of which are still well known, especially The Standard Elocutionist (1860), which appeared in Edinburgh in 1868. The Standard Elocutionist appeared in 168 British editions and sold over 250,000 copies in the United States alone. It explains methods to instruct deaf-mutes (as they were then known) to articulate words and read other people's lip movements to decipher meaning. Bell's father taught him and his brothers not only to write Visible Speech but to identify any symbol and its accompanying sound. Bell became so proficient that he became a part of his father's public demonstrations and astounded audiences with his abilities. He could decipher Visible Speech representing virtually every language, including Latin, Scottish Gaelic, and even Sanskrit, accurately reciting written tracts without any prior knowledge of their pronunciation.
=== Education ===
As a young child, Bell, like his brothers, was schooled at home by his father. At an early age, he was enrolled at the Royal High School in Edinburgh. But he left at age 15, having completed only the first four forms. His school record was undistinguished, marked by absenteeism and lacklustre grades. His main interest remained in the sciences, especially biology, while he treated other school subjects with indifference, to his father's dismay. Upon leaving school, Bell travelled to London to live with his grandfather, Alexander Bell, on Harrington Square. During the year he spent with his grandfather, a love of learning was born, with long hours spent in serious discussion and study. The elder Bell took great efforts to have his young pupil learn to speak clearly and with conviction, attributes he would need to become a teacher himself. At age 16, Bell secured a position as a "pupil-teacher" of elocution and music at Weston House Academy in Elgin, Moray, Scotland. Although enrolled as a student in Latin and Greek, he instructed classes himself in return for board and £10 per session. The next year, he attended the University of Edinburgh, joining his brother Melville, who had enrolled there the previous year. In 1868, Bell completed his matriculation exams and was accepted for admission to University College London, though he did not complete his studies, as his family emigrated to Canada in 1870 following the deaths of his brothers Edward and Melville from tuberculosis.
=== First experiments with sound ===
Bell's father encouraged his interest in speech and, in 1863, took his sons to see a unique automaton developed by Sir Charles Wheatstone based on the earlier work of Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen. The rudimentary "mechanical man" simulated a human voice. Bell was fascinated by the machine, and after he obtained a copy of von Kempelen's book, published in German, and had laboriously translated it, he and Melville built their own automaton head. Their father, highly interested in their project, offered to pay for any supplies and spurred the boys on with the enticement of a "big prize" if they were successful. While his brother constructed the throat and larynx, Bell tackled the more difficult task of recreating a realistic skull. His efforts resulted in a remarkably lifelike head that could "speak", albeit only a few words. The boys would carefully adjust the "lips" and when a bellows forced air through the windpipe, a very recognizable Mama ensued, to the delight of neighbours who came to see the invention.
Intrigued by the results of the automaton, Bell continued to experiment with a live subject, the family's Skye Terrier, Trouve. After he taught it to growl continuously, Bell would reach into its mouth and manipulate the dog's lips and vocal cords to produce a crude-sounding "Ow ah oo ga ma ma". With little convincing, visitors believed his dog could articulate "How are you, grandmama?" Indicative of his playful nature, his experiments convinced onlookers that they saw a "talking dog". These initial forays into experimentation with sound led Bell to undertake his first serious work on the transmission of sound, using tuning forks to explore resonance.
At age 19, Bell wrote a report on his work and sent it to philologist Alexander Ellis, a colleague of his father. Ellis immediately wrote back indicating that the experiments were similar to existing work in Germany, and also lent Bell a copy of Hermann von Helmholtz's work, The Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music.
Dismayed to find that groundbreaking work had already been undertaken by Helmholtz, who had conveyed vowel sounds by means of a similar tuning fork "contraption", Bell pored over the book. Working from his own erroneous mistranslation of a French edition, Bell fortuitously then made a deduction that would underpin all his future work on transmitting sound, reporting: "Without knowing much about the subject, it seemed to me that if vowel sounds could be produced by electrical means, so could consonants, so could articulate speech." He also later remarked: "I thought that Helmholtz had done it ... and that my failure was due only to my ignorance of electricity. It was a valuable blunder ... If I had been able to read German in those days, I might never have commenced my experiments!"
=== Family tragedy ===
In 1865, when the Bell family moved to London, Bell returned to Weston House as an assistant master and, in his spare hours, continued experiments on sound using a minimum of laboratory equipment. Bell concentrated on experimenting with electricity to convey sound and later installed a telegraph wire from his room in Somerset College to that of a friend. Throughout late 1867, his health faltered mainly through exhaustion. His brother Edward was similarly affected by tuberculosis. While Bell recovered (by then referring to himself in correspondence as "A. G. Bell") and served the next year as an instructor at Somerset College, Bath, England, his brother's condition deteriorated. Edward never recovered. Upon his brother's death, Bell returned home in 1867. Melville had married and moved out. With aspirations to obtain a degree at University College London, Bell considered his next years preparation for the degree examinations, devoting his spare time to studying.
Helping his father in Visible Speech demonstrations and lectures brought Bell to Susanna E. Hull's private school for the deaf in South Kensington, London. His first two pupils were deaf-mute girls who made remarkable progress under his tutelage. While Melville seemed to achieve success on many fronts, including opening his own elocution school, applying for a patent on an invention, and starting a family, Bell continued as a teacher. In May 1870, Melville died from complications of tuberculosis, causing a family crisis. His father had also experienced a debilitating illness earlier in life and been restored to health by convalescence in Newfoundland. Bell's parents embarked upon a long-planned move when they realized that their remaining son was also sickly. Acting decisively, Alexander Melville Bell asked Bell to arrange for the sale of all the family property, conclude all his brother's affairs (Bell took on his last student, curing a pronounced lisp), and join his father and mother in setting out for Canada. Reluctantly, Bell also had to conclude a relationship with Marie Eccleston, who, as he had surmised, was not prepared to leave England with him.
== Canada ==
In 1870, 23-year-old Bell travelled with his parents and his brother's widow, Caroline Margaret Ottaway, to Paris, Ontario, to stay with Thomas Henderson, a Baptist minister and family friend. The Bells soon purchased a farm of 10.5 acres (4.2 ha) at Tutelo Heights (now called Tutela Heights), near Brantford, Ontario. The property consisted of an orchard, large farmhouse, stable, pigsty, hen-house, and a carriage house, which bordered the Grand River.
At the homestead, Bell set up a workshop in the converted carriage house near what he called his "dreaming place", a large hollow nestled in trees at the back of the property above the river. Despite his frail condition upon arriving in Canada, Bell found the climate and environs to his liking and rapidly improved. He continued his interest in the study of the human voice, and when he discovered the Six Nations Reserve across the river at Onondaga, learned the Mohawk language and translated its unwritten vocabulary into Visible Speech symbols. For his work, Bell was awarded the title of Honorary Chief and participated in a ceremony where he donned a Mohawk headdress and danced traditional dances.
After setting up his workshop, Bell continued experiments based on Helmholtz's work with electricity and sound. He also modified a melodeon (a type of pump organ) to transmit its music electrically over a distance. Once the family was settled, Bell and his father made plans to establish a teaching practice and in 1871, he accompanied his father to Montreal, where Melville was offered a position to teach his System of Visible Speech.
== Work with deaf people ==
Bell's father was invited by Sarah Fuller, principal of the Boston School for Deaf Mutes (later to become the public Horace Mann School for the Deaf) to introduce the Visible Speech System by providing training for Fuller's instructors, but he declined the post in favour of his son. Travelling to Boston in April 1871, Bell proved successful in training the school's instructors. He was asked to repeat the programme at the American Asylum for Deaf-mutes in Hartford, Connecticut, and the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Returning home to Brantford after six months abroad, Bell continued his experiments with his "harmonic telegraph". The basic concept behind his device was that messages could be sent through a single wire if each was transmitted at a different pitch, but work on both the transmitter and receiver was needed.
Unsure of his future, he contemplated returning to London to complete his studies, but decided to return to Boston as a teacher. His father helped him set up his private practice by contacting Gardiner Greene Hubbard, the president of the Clarke School for the Deaf for a recommendation. Teaching his father's system, in October 1872, Alexander Bell opened his "School of Vocal Physiology and Mechanics of Speech" in Boston, which attracted a large number of deaf pupils, with his first class numbering 30 students. While he was working as a private tutor, one of his pupils was Helen Keller, who came to him as a young child unable to see, hear, or speak. She later said that Bell dedicated his life to the penetration of that "inhuman silence which separates and estranges". In 1893, Keller performed the sod-breaking ceremony for the construction of Bell's new Volta Bureau, dedicated to "the increase and diffusion of knowledge relating to the deaf".
In 1891, Bell established the American Association for the Promotion of the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf (AAPTSD) in New York and endowed the organization with a gift of $25,000. While endorsing the teaching of speech to the deaf, Bell remained neutral as to whether oral, manual or a combination of the three methods would best benefit the student.
Throughout his life, Bell sought to assimilate the deaf and hard of hearing with the broader population. He encouraged speech therapy and lip-reading as well as sign language. He outlined this in an 1898 paper detailing his belief that, with resources and effort, the deaf could be taught to read lips and speak (known as oralism), enabling their integration with wider society. Members of the Deaf community have criticized Bell for supporting lip-reading over the use of sign language.
== Continuing experimentation ==
In 1872, Bell became professor of Vocal Physiology and Elocution at the Boston University School of Oratory. During this period, he alternated between Boston and Brantford, spending summers in his Canadian home. At Boston University, Bell was "swept up" by the excitement engendered by the many scientists and inventors living in the city. He continued his research in sound and endeavoured to find a way to transmit musical notes and articulate speech, but although absorbed by his experiments, he found it difficult to devote enough time to experimentation. With days and evenings occupied by his teaching and private classes, Bell began to stay awake late into the night, running experiment after experiment in rented facilities at his boarding house. Keeping "night owl" hours, he worried that his work would be discovered and took great pains to lock up his notebooks and laboratory equipment. Bell had a specially made table where he could place his notes and equipment inside a locking cover. His health deteriorated as he had severe headaches. Returning to Boston in autumn 1873, Bell made a far-reaching decision to concentrate on his experiments in sound.
Giving up his lucrative private Boston practice, Bell retained only two students, six-year-old "Georgie" Sanders, deaf from birth, and 15-year-old Mabel Hubbard. Each played an important role in the next developments. Georgie's father, Thomas Sanders, a wealthy businessman, offered Bell a place to stay in nearby Salem with Georgie's grandmother, complete with a room to "experiment". Although the offer was made by Georgie's mother and followed the year-long arrangement in 1872 where her son and his nurse had moved to quarters next to Bell's boarding house, it was clear that Mr. Sanders backed the proposal. The arrangement was for teacher and student to continue their work together, with free room and board thrown in. Mabel was a bright, attractive girl ten years Bell's junior who became the object of his affection. Having lost her hearing after a near-fatal bout of scarlet fever close to her fifth birthday, she had learned to read lips but her father, Gardiner Greene Hubbard, Bell's benefactor and personal friend, wanted her to work directly with her teacher.
== The telephone ==
By 1874, Bell's initial work on the harmonic telegraph had entered a formative stage, with progress made both at his new Boston "laboratory" (a rented facility) and at his family home in Canada a big success. While working that summer in Brantford, Bell experimented with a "phonautograph", a pen-like machine that could draw shapes of sound waves on smoked glass by tracing their vibrations. Bell thought it might be possible to generate undulating electrical currents that would correspond to sound waves. He also believed that he would be able to convert the undulating currents back into sound by tuning multiple metal reeds to different frequencies. But he had no working model to demonstrate the feasibility of these ideas.
In 1874, telegraph message traffic was rapidly expanding and, in the words of Western Union President William Orton, had become "the nervous system of commerce". Orton had contracted with inventors Thomas Edison and Elisha Gray to find a way to send multiple telegraph messages on each telegraph line to avoid the great cost of constructing new lines. When Bell mentioned to Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders that he was working on a method of sending multiple tones on a telegraph wire using a multi-reed device, the two began to financially support Bell's experiments. Patent matters were handled by Hubbard's patent attorney, Anthony Pollok.
In March 1875, Bell and Pollok visited the scientist Joseph Henry, then the director of the Smithsonian Institution, to ask his advice on the electrical multi-reed apparatus that Bell hoped would transmit the human voice by telegraph. Henry said Bell had "the germ of a great invention". When Bell said that he lacked the necessary knowledge, Henry replied, "Get it!" That declaration greatly encouraged Bell to keep trying, even though he had neither the equipment needed to continue his experiments nor the ability to create a working model of his ideas. But a chance meeting in 1874 between Bell and Thomas A. Watson, an experienced electrical designer and mechanic at the electrical machine shop of Charles Williams, changed that.
With financial support from Sanders and Hubbard, Bell hired Watson as his assistant, and the two experimented with acoustic telegraphy. On June 2, 1875, Watson accidentally plucked one of the reeds and Bell, at the receiving end of the wire, heard the reed's overtones that would be necessary for transmitting speech. That demonstrated to Bell that only one reed or armature was necessary, not multiple reeds. This led to the "gallows" sound-powered telephone, which could transmit indistinct, voice-like sounds, but not clear speech.
=== The race to the patent office ===
In 1875, Bell developed an acoustic telegraph and drew up a patent application for it. Since he had agreed to share U.S. profits with his investors, Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders, Bell requested that an associate in Ontario, George Brown, attempt to patent it in Britain, instructing his lawyers to apply for a patent in the U.S. only after they received word from Britain (Britain issued patents only for discoveries not previously patented elsewhere).
Meanwhile, Elisha Gray was also experimenting with acoustic telegraphy and thought of a way to transmit speech using a water transmitter. On February 14, 1876, Gray filed a caveat with the U.S. Patent Office for a telephone design that used a water transmitter. That same morning, Bell's lawyer filed Bell's application with the patent office. There is considerable debate about who arrived first and Gray later challenged the primacy of Bell's patent. Bell was in Boston on February 14 and did not arrive in Washington until February 26.
On March 7, 1876, the U.S. Patent Office issued Bell patent 174,465. It covered "the method of, and apparatus for, transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically ... by causing electrical undulations, similar in form to the vibrations of the air accompanying the said vocal or other sound" Bell returned to Boston that day and the next day resumed work, drawing in his notebook a diagram similar to that in Gray's patent caveat.
On March 10, Bell succeeded in getting his telephone to work, using a liquid transmitter similar to Gray's design. Vibration of the diaphragm caused a needle to vibrate in the water, varying the electrical resistance in the circuit. When Bell spoke the sentence "Mr. Watson—Come here—I want to see you" into the liquid transmitter, Watson, listening at the receiving end in an adjoining room, heard the words clearly.
Although Bell was, and still is, accused of stealing the telephone from Gray, Bell used Gray's water transmitter design only after Bell's patent had been granted, and only as a proof of concept scientific experiment, to prove to his own satisfaction that intelligible "articulate speech" (Bell's words) could be electrically transmitted. After March 1876, Bell focused on improving the electromagnetic telephone and never used Gray's liquid transmitter in public demonstrations or commercial use.
The examiner raised the question of priority for the variable resistance feature of the telephone before approving Bell's patent application. He told Bell that his claim for the variable resistance feature was also described in Gray's caveat. Bell pointed to a variable resistance device in his previous application in which he described a cup of mercury, not water. He had filed the mercury application at the patent office on February 25, 1875, long before Gray described the water device. In addition, Gray abandoned his caveat, and because he did not contest Bell's priority, the examiner approved Bell's patent on March 3, 1876. Gray had reinvented the variable resistance telephone, but Bell was the first to write down the idea and test it in a telephone.
The patent examiner, Zenas Fisk Wilber, later stated in an affidavit that he was an alcoholic who was much in debt to Bell's lawyer, Marcellus Bailey, with whom he had served in the Civil War. He said he had shown Bailey Gray's patent caveat. Wilber also said (after Bell arrived in Washington D.C. from Boston) that he showed Bell Gray's caveat and that Bell paid him $100 (equivalent to $2,900 in 2025). Bell said they discussed the patent only in general terms, although in a letter to Gray, Bell admitted that he learned some of the technical details. Bell denied in an affidavit that he ever gave Wilber any money.
=== Later developments ===
On March 10, 1876, Bell used "the instrument" in Boston to call Thomas Watson who was in another room but out of earshot. He said, "Mr. Watson, come here – I want to see you" and Watson soon appeared at his side.
Continuing his experiments in Brantford, Bell brought home a working model of his telephone. On August 3, 1876, from the telegraph office in Brantford, Bell sent a telegram to the village of Mount Pleasant four miles (six kilometres) away, indicating that he was ready. He made a telephone call via telegraph wires and faint voices were heard replying. The following night, he amazed guests as well as his family with a call between the Bell Homestead and the office of the Dominion Telegraph Company in Brantford along an improvised wire strung up along telegraph lines and fences, and laid through a tunnel. This time, guests at the household distinctly heard people in Brantford reading and singing. The third test, on August 10, 1876, was made via the telegraph line between Brantford and Paris, Ontario, eight miles (thirteen kilometres) away. This test is said by many sources to be the "world's first long-distance call". It proved that the telephone could work over long distances, at least as a one-way call.
The first two-way (reciprocal) conversation over a line occurred between Cambridge and Boston (roughly 2.5 miles) on October 9, 1876. During that conversation, Bell was on Kilby Street in Boston and Watson was at the offices of the Walworth Manufacturing Company.
Bell and his partners, Hubbard and Sanders, offered to sell the patent outright to Western Union for $100,000, equal to $3,023,438 today, but it did not work (according to an apocryphal story, the president of Western Union balked, countering that the telephone was nothing but a toy). Two years later, he told colleagues that if he could get the patent for $25 million (equal to $834,051,724 today), he would consider it a bargain. By then, the Bell company no longer wanted to sell the patent. Bell's investors became millionaires while he fared well from residuals and at one point had assets of nearly $1 million.
Bell began a series of public demonstrations and lectures to introduce the new invention to the scientific community as well as the general public. A short time later, his demonstration of an early telephone prototype at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia brought the telephone to international attention. Influential visitors to the exhibition included Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. One of the judges at the Exhibition, Sir William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin), a renowned Scottish scientist, described the telephone as "the greatest by far of all the marvels of the electric telegraph".
On January 14, 1878, at Osborne House, on the Isle of Wight, Bell demonstrated the device to Queen Victoria, placing calls to Cowes, Southampton, and London. These were the first publicly witnessed long-distance telephone calls in the UK. The queen found the process "quite extraordinary" although the sound was "rather faint". She later asked to buy the equipment that was used, but Bell offered to make "a set of telephones" specifically for her.
The Bell Telephone Company was created in 1877, and by 1886, more than 150,000 people in the U.S. owned telephones. Bell Company engineers made numerous other improvements to the telephone, which emerged as one of the most successful products ever. In 1879, the company acquired Edison's patents for the carbon microphone from Western Union. This made the telephone practical for longer distances, and it was no longer necessary to shout to be heard at the receiving telephone.
Pedro II of Brazil was the first person to buy stock in the Bell Telephone Company. One of the first telephones in a private residence was installed in his palace in Petrópolis, his summer retreat forty miles (sixty-four kilometres) from Rio de Janeiro.
In January 1915, Bell made the first ceremonial transcontinental telephone call. Calling from the AT&T head office at 15 Dey Street in New York City, Bell was heard by Thomas Watson at 333 Grant Avenue in San Francisco. The New York Times reported:
On October 9, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas A. Watson talked by telephone to each other over a two-mile wire stretched between Cambridge and Boston. It was the first wire conversation ever held. Yesterday afternoon [on January 25, 1915], the same two men talked by telephone to each other over a 3,400-mile wire between New York and San Francisco. Dr. Bell, the veteran inventor of the telephone, was in New York, and Mr. Watson, his former associate, was on the other side of the continent.
=== Competitors ===
As is sometimes common in scientific discoveries, simultaneous developments occurred, as evidenced by a number of inventors who were at work on the telephone. Over 18 years, the Bell Telephone Company faced 587 court challenges to its patents, including five that went to the U.S. Supreme Court, but none was successful in establishing priority over Bell's original patent, and the Bell Telephone Company never lost a case that had proceeded to a final trial stage. Bell's laboratory notes and family letters were the key to establishing a long lineage to his experiments. The Bell company lawyers successfully fought off myriad lawsuits generated initially around the challenges by Elisha Gray and Amos Dolbear. In personal correspondence to Bell, both Gray and Dolbear had acknowledged his prior work, which considerably weakened their later claims.
On January 13, 1887, the U.S. government moved to annul the patent issued to Bell on the grounds of fraud and misrepresentation. After a series of decisions and reversals, the Bell company won a decision in the Supreme Court, though a couple of the original claims from the lower court cases were left undecided. By the time the trial had wound its way through nine years of legal battles, the U.S. prosecuting attorney had died and the two Bell patents (No. 174,465, dated March 7, 1876, and No. 186,787, dated January 30, 1877) were no longer in effect, although the presiding judges agreed to continue the proceedings due to the case's importance as a precedent. With a change in administration and charges of conflict of interest (on both sides) arising from the original trial, the U.S. attorney general dropped the lawsuit on November 30, 1897, leaving several issues undecided on the merits.
During a deposition filed for the 1887 trial, Italian inventor Antonio Meucci also claimed to have created the first working model of a telephone in Italy in 1834. In 1886, in the first of three cases in which he was involved, Meucci took the stand as a witness in hope of establishing his invention's priority. Meucci's testimony was disputed due to lack of material evidence for his inventions, as his working models were purportedly lost at the laboratory of American District Telegraph (ADT) of New York, which was incorporated as a subsidiary of Western Union in 1901. Meucci's work, like that of many other inventors of the period, was based on earlier acoustic principles and, despite evidence of earlier experiments, the final case involving Meucci was eventually dropped upon Meucci's death. But due to the efforts of Congressman Vito Fossella, on June 11, 2002, the U.S. House of Representatives stated that Meucci's "work in the invention of the telephone should be acknowledged". This did not put an end to the still contentious issue. Some modern scholars do not agree that Bell's work on the telephone was influenced by Meucci's inventions.
The value of Bell's patent was acknowledged throughout the world, and patent applications were made in most major countries. When Bell delayed the German patent application, the electrical firm Siemens & Halske set up a rival manufacturer of Bell telephones under its own patent. Siemens produced near-identical copies of the Bell telephone without having to pay royalties. The establishment of the International Bell Telephone Company in Brussels, Belgium, in 1880, as well as a series of agreements in other countries eventually consolidated a global telephone operation. The strain put on Bell by his constant appearances in court, necessitated by the legal battles, eventually resulted in his resignation from the company.
== Family life ==
On July 11, 1877, a few days after the Bell Telephone Company was established, Bell married Mabel Hubbard (1857–1923) at the Hubbard estate in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His wedding present to his bride was to turn over 1,487 of his 1,497 shares in the newly formed Bell Telephone Company. Shortly thereafter, the newly-weds embarked on a year-long honeymoon in Europe. During that excursion, Bell took a handmade model of his telephone with him, making it a "working holiday". The courtship had begun years earlier; however, Bell waited until he was more financially secure before marrying. Although the telephone appeared to be an "instant" success, it was not initially a profitable venture and Bell's main sources of income were from lectures until after 1897. One unusual request exacted by his fiancée was that he use "Alec" rather than the family's earlier familiar name of "Aleck". From 1876, he would sign his name "Alec Bell". They had four children:
Elsie May Bell (1878–1964) who married Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor of National Geographic fame.
Marian Hubbard Bell (1880–1962) who was referred to as "Daisy". Married David Fairchild.
Two sons who died in infancy (Edward in 1881 and Robert in 1883).
The Bell family home was in Cambridge, Massachusetts, until 1880 when Bell's father-in-law bought a house in Washington, D.C.; in 1882 he bought a home in the same city for Bell's family, so they could be with him while he attended to the numerous court cases involving patent disputes.
Bell was a British subject throughout his early life in Scotland and later in Canada until 1882 when he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. In 1915, he characterized his status as: "I am not one of those hyphenated Americans who claim allegiance to two countries." Despite this declaration, Bell has been proudly claimed as a "native son" by all three countries he resided in: the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
By 1885, a new summer retreat was contemplated. That summer, the Bells had a vacation on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada, spending time at the small village of Baddeck. Returning in 1886, Bell started building an estate on a point across from Baddeck, overlooking Bras d'Or Lake. By 1889, a large house, christened The Lodge was completed and two years later, a larger complex of buildings, including a new laboratory, were begun that the Bells would name Beinn Bhreagh (Gaelic: Beautiful Mountain) after Bell's ancestral Scottish highlands. Bell also built the Bell Boatyard on the estate, employing up to 40 people building experimental craft as well as wartime lifeboats and workboats for the Royal Canadian Navy and pleasure craft for the Bell family. He was an enthusiastic boater, and Bell and his family sailed or rowed a long series of vessels on Bras d'Or Lake, ordering additional vessels from the H.W. Embree and Sons boatyard in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. In his final, and some of his most productive years, Bell split his residency between Washington, D.C., where he and his family initially resided for most of the year, and Beinn Bhreagh, where they spent increasing amounts of time.
Until the end of his life, Bell and his family would alternate between the two homes, but Beinn Bhreagh would, over the next 30 years, become more than a summer home as Bell became so absorbed in his experiments that his annual stays lengthened. Both Mabel and Bell became immersed in the Baddeck community and were accepted by the villagers as "their own". The Bells were still in residence at Beinn Bhreagh when the Halifax Explosion occurred on December 6, 1917. Mabel and Bell mobilized the community to help victims in Halifax.
== Later inventions ==
Although Alexander Graham Bell is most often associated with the invention of the telephone, his interests were extremely varied. According to one of his biographers, Charlotte Gray, Bell's work ranged "unfettered across the scientific landscape" and he often went to bed voraciously reading the Encyclopædia Britannica, scouring it for new areas of interest. The range of Bell's inventive genius is represented only in part by the 18 patents granted in his name alone and the 12 he shared with his collaborators. These included 14 for the telephone and telegraph, four for the photophone, one for the phonograph, five for aerial vehicles, four for "hydroairplanes", and two for selenium cells. Bell's inventions spanned a wide range of interests and included a metal jacket to assist in breathing, the audiometer to detect minor hearing problems, a device to locate icebergs, investigations on how to separate salt from seawater, and work on finding alternative fuels.
Bell worked extensively in medical research and invented techniques for teaching speech to the deaf. During his Volta Laboratory period, Bell and his associates considered impressing a magnetic field on a record as a means of reproducing sound. Although the trio briefly experimented with the concept, they could not develop a workable prototype. They abandoned the idea, never realizing they had glimpsed a basic principle which would one day find its application in the tape recorder, the hard disc and floppy disc drive, and other magnetic media.
Bell's own home used a primitive form of air conditioning, in which fans blew currents of air across great blocks of ice. He also anticipated modern concerns with fuel shortages and industrial pollution. Methane gas, he reasoned, could be produced from the waste of farms and factories. At his Canadian estate in Nova Scotia, he experimented with composting toilets and devices to capture water from the atmosphere. In a magazine article published in 1917, he reflected on the possibility of using solar energy to heat houses.
=== Photophone ===
Bell and his assistant Charles Sumner Tainter jointly invented a wireless telephone, named a photophone, which allowed for the transmission of both sounds and normal human conversations on a beam of light. Both men later became full associates in the Volta Laboratory Association.
On June 21, 1880, Bell's assistant transmitted a wireless voice telephone message a considerable distance, from the roof of the Franklin School in Washington, D.C., to Bell at the window of his laboratory, some 700 feet (213 m) away, 19 years before the first voice radio transmissions.
Bell believed the photophone's principles were his life's "greatest achievement", telling a reporter shortly before his death that the photophone was "the greatest invention [I have] ever made, greater than the telephone". The photophone was a precursor to the fiber-optic communication systems which achieved popular worldwide usage in the 1980s. Its master patent was issued in December 1880, many decades before the photophone's principles came into popular use.
=== Metal detector ===
Bell is also credited with developing one of the early versions of a metal detector through the use of an induction balance, after the shooting of U.S. President James A. Garfield in 1881. According to some accounts, the metal detector worked flawlessly in tests but did not find Guiteau's bullet, partly because the metal bed frame on which the President was lying disturbed the instrument, resulting in static. Garfield's surgeons, led by self-appointed chief physician Doctor Willard Bliss, were sceptical of the device, and ignored Bell's requests to move the President to a bed not fitted with metal springs. Alternatively, although Bell had detected a slight sound on his first test, the bullet may have been lodged too deeply to be detected by the crude apparatus.
Bell's own detailed account, presented to the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1882, differs in several particulars from most of the many and varied versions now in circulation, by concluding that extraneous metal was not to blame for failure to locate the bullet. Perplexed by the peculiar results he had obtained during an examination of Garfield, Bell "proceeded to the Executive Mansion the next morning ... to ascertain from the surgeons whether they were perfectly sure that all metal had been removed from the neighborhood of the bed. It was then recollected that underneath the horse-hair mattress on which the President lay was another mattress composed of steel wires. Upon obtaining a duplicate, the mattress was found to consist of a sort of net of woven steel wires, with large meshes. The extent of the [area that produced a response from the detector] having been so small, as compared with the area of the bed, it seemed reasonable to conclude that the steel mattress had produced no detrimental effect." In a footnote, Bell adds, "The death of President Garfield and the subsequent post-mortem examination, however, proved that the bullet was at too great a distance from the surface to have affected our apparatus."
=== Hydrofoils ===
The March 1906 Scientific American article by American pioneer William E. Meacham explained the basic principle of hydrofoils and hydroplanes. Bell considered the invention of the hydroplane as a very significant achievement. Based on information gained from that article, he began to sketch concepts of what is now called a hydrofoil boat. Bell and assistant Frederick W. "Casey" Baldwin began hydrofoil experimentation in the summer of 1908 as a possible aid to airplane takeoff from water. Baldwin studied the work of the Italian inventor Enrico Forlanini and began testing models. This led him and Bell to the development of practical hydrofoil watercraft.
During his world tour of 1910–11, Bell and Baldwin met with Forlanini in France. They had rides in the Forlanini hydrofoil boat over Lake Maggiore. Baldwin described it as being as smooth as flying. On returning to Baddeck, a number of initial concepts were built as experimental models, including the Dhonnas Beag (Scottish Gaelic for 'little devil'), the first self-propelled Bell-Baldwin hydrofoil. The experimental boats were essentially proof-of-concept prototypes that culminated in the more substantial HD-4, powered by Renault engines. A top speed of 54 miles per hour (87 km/h) was achieved, with the hydrofoil exhibiting rapid acceleration, good stability, and steering, along with the ability to take waves without difficulty.
In 1913, Dr. Bell hired Walter Pinaud, a Sydney yacht designer and builder as well as the proprietor of Pinaud's Yacht Yard in Westmount, Nova Scotia, to work on the pontoons of the HD-4. Pinaud soon took over the boatyard at Bell Laboratories on Beinn Bhreagh, Bell's estate near Baddeck, Nova Scotia. Pinaud's experience in boatbuilding enabled him to make useful design changes to the HD-4. After the First World War, work began again on the HD-4. Bell's report to the U.S. Navy permitted him to obtain two 350-horsepower (260-kilowatt) engines in July 1919. On September 9, 1919, the HD-4 set a world marine speed record of 70.86 miles per hour (114.04 kilometres per hour), a record which stood for one year.
=== Aeronautics ===
In 1891, Bell had begun experiments to develop motor-powered heavier-than-air aircraft. The AEA was first formed as Bell shared the vision to fly with his wife, who advised him to seek "young" help as Bell was at the age of 60.
In 1898, Bell experimented with tetrahedral box kites and wings constructed of multiple compound tetrahedral kites covered in maroon silk. The tetrahedral wings were named Cygnet I, II, and III, and were flown both unmanned and manned (Cygnet I crashed during a flight carrying Selfridge) in the period from 1907 to 1912. Some of Bell's kites are on display at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site.
Bell was a supporter of aerospace engineering research through the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), officially formed at Baddeck, Nova Scotia, in October 1907 at the suggestion of his wife Mabel and with her financial support after the sale of some of her real estate. The AEA was headed by Bell and the founding members were four young men: American Glenn H. Curtiss, a motorcycle manufacturer at the time and who held the title "world's fastest man", having ridden his self-constructed motor bicycle around in the shortest time, and who was later awarded the Scientific American Trophy for the first official one-kilometre flight in the Western hemisphere, and who later became a world-renowned airplane manufacturer; Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, an official observer from the U.S. Federal government and one of the few people in the army who believed that aviation was the future; Frederick W. Baldwin, the first Canadian and first British subject to pilot a public flight in Hammondsport, New York; and J. A. D. McCurdy–Baldwin and McCurdy being new engineering graduates from the University of Toronto.
The AEA's work progressed to heavier-than-air machines, applying their knowledge of kites to gliders. Moving to Hammondsport, the group then designed and built the Red Wing, framed in bamboo and covered in red silk and powered by a small air-cooled engine. On March 12, 1908, over Keuka Lake, the biplane lifted off on the first public flight in North America. The innovations that were incorporated into this design included a cockpit enclosure and tail rudder (later variations on the original design would add ailerons as a means of control). One of the AEA's inventions, a practical wingtip form of the aileron, was to become a standard component on all aircraft. The White Wing and June Bug were to follow and by the end of 1908, over 150 flights without mishap had been accomplished. However, the AEA had depleted its initial reserves and only a $15,000 grant from Mrs. Bell allowed it to continue with experiments. Lt. Selfridge had also become the first person killed in a powered heavier-than-air flight in a crash of the Wright Flyer at Fort Myer, Virginia, on September 17, 1908.
Their final aircraft design, the Silver Dart, embodied all of the advancements found in the earlier machines. On February 23, 1909, Bell was present as the Silver Dart flown by J. A. D. McCurdy from the frozen ice of Bras d'Or made the first aircraft flight in Canada. Bell had worried that the flight was too dangerous and had arranged for a doctor to be on hand. With the successful flight, the AEA disbanded and the Silver Dart would revert to Baldwin and McCurdy, who began the Canadian Aerodrome Company and would later demonstrate the aircraft to the Canadian Army.
== Heredity and genetics ==
Bell, along with many members of the scientific community at the time, took an interest in the popular science of heredity which grew out of the publication of Charles Darwin's book On the Origin of Species in 1859. On his estate in Nova Scotia, Bell conducted meticulously recorded breeding experiments with rams and ewes. Over the course of more than 30 years, Bell sought to produce a breed of sheep with multiple nipples that would bear twins. He specifically wanted to see if selective breeding could produce sheep with four functional nipples with enough milk for twin lambs. This interest in animal breeding caught the attention of scientists focused on the study of heredity and genetics in humans.
In November 1883, Bell presented a paper at a meeting of the National Academy of Sciences titled Upon the Formation of a Deaf Variety of the Human Race. The paper is a compilation of data on the hereditary aspects of deafness. Bell's research indicated that a hereditary tendency toward deafness, as indicated by the possession of deaf relatives, was an important element in determining the production of deaf offspring. He noted that the proportion of deaf children born to deaf parents was many times greater than the proportion of deaf children born to the general population. In the paper, Bell delved into social commentary and discussed hypothetical public policies to bring an end to deafness. He also criticized educational practices that segregated deaf children rather than integrating them fully into mainstream classrooms. The paper did not propose sterilization of deaf people or prohibition on intermarriage, noting that "We cannot dictate to men and women whom they should marry and natural selection no longer influences mankind to any great extent." Bell concludes the paper by stating:“If the laws of heredity that are known to hold in the case of animals also apply to man, the intermarriage of deaf-mutes through a number of successive generations should result in the formation of a deaf variety of the human race.On the other hand, if it can be shown that congenitally deaf persons marry one another without any greater liability to the production of deaf offspring than is to be found among the people at larger, then it will be evident that we cannot safely apply to man the deductions that have been drawn from experiments upon animals.”A review of Bell's Memoir upon the Formation of a Deaf Variety of the Human Race appearing in an 1885 issue of the American Annals of the Deaf and Dumb states that "Dr. Bell does not advocate legislative interference with the marriages of the deaf for several reasons one of which is that the results of such marriages have not yet been sufficiently investigated." The article goes on to say that "the editorial remarks based thereon did injustice to the author." The paper's author concludes by saying "A wiser way to prevent the extension of hereditary deafness, it seems to us, would be to continue the investigations which Dr. Bell has so admirable begun until the laws of the transmission of the tendency to deafness are fully understood, and then by explaining those laws to the pupils of our schools to lead them to choose their partners in marriage in such a way that deaf-mute offspring will not be the result."
Historians have noted that Bell explicitly opposed laws regulating marriage, and never mentioned sterilization in any of his writings. Even after Bell agreed to engage with scientists conducting eugenic research, he consistently refused to support public policy that limited the rights or privileges of the deaf.
Bell's interest and research on heredity attracted the interest of Charles Davenport, a Harvard professor and head of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. In 1906, Davenport, who was also the founder of the American Breeder's Association, approached Bell about joining a new committee on eugenics chaired by David Starr Jordan. In 1910, Davenport opened the Eugenics Records office at Cold Spring Harbor. To give the organization scientific credibility, Davenport set up a Board of Scientific Directors naming Bell as chairman. Other members of the board included Luther Burbank, Roswell H. Johnson, Vernon L. Kellogg, and William E. Castle.
In 1921, a Second International Congress of Eugenics was held in New York at the Museum of Natural History and chaired by Davenport. Although Bell did not present any research or speak as part of the proceedings, he was named as honorary president as a means to attract other scientists to attend the event. A summary of the event notes that Bell was a "pioneering investigator in the field of human heredity".
== Death ==
Bell died of complications arising from diabetes on August 2, 1922, at his private estate in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, at age 75. Bell had also been affected by pernicious anemia. His last view of the land he had inhabited was by moonlight on his mountain estate at 2:00 a.m. While tending to him after his long illness, Mabel, his wife, whispered, "Don't leave me." By way of reply, Bell signed "no...", lost consciousness, and died shortly after.
On learning of Bell's death, the Canadian Prime Minister, Mackenzie King, cabled Mrs. Bell, saying:
My colleagues in the Government join with me in expressing to you our sense of the world's loss in the death of your distinguished husband. It will ever be a source of pride to our country that the great invention, with which his name is immortally associated, is a part of its history. On the behalf of the citizens of Canada, may I extend to you an expression of our combined gratitude and sympathy.
Bell's coffin was constructed of Beinn Bhreagh pine by his laboratory staff, lined with the same red silk fabric used in his tetrahedral kite experiments. To help celebrate his life, his wife asked guests not to wear black (the traditional funeral colour) while attending his service, during which soloist Jean MacDonald sang a verse of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Requiem":
Upon the conclusion of Bell's funeral, for one minute at 6:25 p.m. Eastern Time, "every phone on the continent of North America was silenced in honor of the man who had given to mankind the means for direct communication at a distance".
Alexander Graham Bell was buried atop Beinn Bhreagh mountain, on his estate where he had resided increasingly for the last 35 years of his life, overlooking Bras d'Or Lake. He was survived by his wife Mabel, his two daughters, Elsie May and Marian, and nine of his grandchildren.
== Legacy and honours ==
Honours and tributes flowed to Bell in increasing numbers as his invention became ubiquitous and his personal fame grew. Bell received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities to the point that the requests almost became burdensome. During his life, he also received dozens of major awards, medals, and other tributes. These included statuary monuments to both him and the new form of communication his telephone created, including the Bell Telephone Memorial erected in his honour in Alexander Graham Bell Gardens in Brantford, Ontario, in 1917.
A large number of Bell's writings, personal correspondence, notebooks, papers, and other documents reside in both the United States Library of Congress Manuscript Division (as the Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers), and at the Alexander Graham Bell Institute, Cape Breton University, Nova Scotia; major portions of which are available for online viewing.
A number of historic sites and other marks commemorate Bell in North America and Europe, including the first telephone companies in the United States and Canada. Among the major sites are:
The Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site, maintained by Parks Canada, which incorporates the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, close to the Bell estate Beinn Bhreagh;
The Bell Homestead National Historic Site, includes the Bell family home, "Melville House", and farm overlooking Brantford, Ontario and the Grand River. It was their first home in North America;
Canada's first telephone company building, the "Henderson Home" of the late 1870s, a predecessor of the Bell Telephone Company of Canada (officially chartered in 1880). In 1969, the building was carefully moved to the historic Bell Homestead National Historic Site in Brantford, Ontario, and was refurbished to become a telephone museum. The Bell Homestead, the Henderson Home telephone museum, and the National Historic Site's reception centre are all maintained by the Bell Homestead Society;
The Alexander Graham Bell Memorial Park, which features a broad neoclassical monument built in 1917 by public subscription. The monument depicts mankind's ability to span the globe through telecommunications;
The Alexander Graham Bell Museum (opened in 1956), part of the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site which was completed in 1978 in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. Many of the museum's artifacts were donated by Bell's daughters.
In 1880, Bell received the Volta Prize with a purse of 50,000 French francs (approximately US$350,000 in today's currency) for the invention of the telephone from the French government. Among the luminaries who judged were Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas. The Volta Prize was conceived by Napoleon III in 1852, and named in honour of Alessandro Volta, with Bell becoming the second recipient of the grand prize in its history. Since Bell was becoming increasingly affluent, he used his prize money to create endowment funds (the 'Volta Fund') and institutions in and around Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, including the Volta Laboratory Association (1880), also known as Volta Laboratory and as the Alexander Graham Bell Laboratory, which eventually led to the Volta Bureau (1887), a centre for studies on deafness, which remains in operation in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
The Volta Laboratory became an experimental facility devoted to scientific discovery, and the very next year it improved Edison's phonograph by substituting wax for tinfoil as the recording medium and incising the recording rather than indenting it, key upgrades that Edison himself later adopted. The laboratory was also the site where he and his associate invented his "proudest achievement", "the photophone", the "optical telephone" which presaged fibre optical telecommunications while the Volta Bureau would later evolve into the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (the AG Bell), a centre for the research and pedagogy of deafness.
In partnership with Gardiner Greene Hubbard, Bell helped establish the publication Science during the early 1880s. In 1898, Bell was elected as the second president of the National Geographic Society, serving until 1903, and was primarily responsible for the extensive use of illustrations, including photography, in the magazine. He also served for many years as a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution (1898–1922). The French government conferred on him the decoration of the Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honour); the Royal Society of Arts in London awarded him the Albert Medal in 1902; the University of Würzburg, Bavaria, granted him a PhD, and he was awarded the Franklin Institute's Elliott Cresson Medal in 1912. He was one of the founders of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers in 1884 and served as its president from 1891 to 1892. Bell was later awarded the AIEE's Edison Medal in 1914 "For meritorious achievement in the invention of the telephone".
The bel (B) and the smaller decibel (dB) are units of measurement of sound pressure level (SPL) invented by Bell Labs and named after him. Since 1976, the IEEE's Alexander Graham Bell Medal has been awarded to honour outstanding contributions in the field of telecommunications.
In 1936, the US Patent Office declared Bell first on its list of the country's greatest inventors, leading to the US Post Office issuing a commemorative stamp honouring Bell in 1940 as part of its 'Famous Americans Series'. The First Day of Issue ceremony was held on October 28 in Boston, Massachusetts, the city where Bell spent considerable time on research and working with the deaf. The Bell stamp became very popular and sold out in little time. The stamp became, and remains to this day, the most valuable one of the series.
The 150th anniversary of Bell's birth in 1997 was marked by a special issue of commemorative £1 banknotes from the Royal Bank of Scotland. The illustrations on the reverse of the note include Bell's face in profile, his signature, and objects from Bell's life and career: users of the telephone over the ages; an audio wave signal; a diagram of a telephone receiver; geometric shapes from engineering structures; representations of sign language and the phonetic alphabet; the geese which helped him to understand flight; and the sheep which he studied to understand genetics. Additionally, the Government of Canada honoured Bell in 1997 with a C$100 gold coin, in tribute also to the 150th anniversary of his birth, and with a silver dollar coin in 2009 in honour of the 100th anniversary of flight in Canada. That first flight was made by an airplane designed under Dr. Bell's tutelage, named the Silver Dart. Bell's image, and also those of his many inventions have graced paper money, coinage, and postal stamps in numerous countries worldwide for many dozens of years.
Alexander Graham Bell was ranked 57th among the 100 Greatest Britons (2002) in an official BBC nationwide poll, and among the Top Ten Greatest Canadians (2004), and the 100 Greatest Americans (2005). In 2006, Bell was also named as one of the 10 greatest Scottish scientists in history after having been listed in the National Library of Scotland's 'Scottish Science Hall of Fame'. Bell's name is still widely known and used as part of the names of dozens of educational institutes, corporate namesakes, street and place names around the world.
=== Honorary degrees ===
Alexander Graham Bell, who could not complete the university program of his youth, received at least a dozen honorary degrees from academic institutions, including eight honorary LL.D.s (Doctorate of Law), two Ph.D.s, a D.Sc., and an M.D.:
Gallaudet College (then named National Deaf-Mute College) in Washington, D.C. (Ph.D.) in 1880
University of Würzburg in Würzburg, Bavaria (Ph.D.) in 1882
Heidelberg University in Heidelberg, Germany (M.D.) in 1886
Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts (LL.D.) in 1896
Illinois College, in Jacksonville, Illinois (LL.D.) in 1896, possibly 1881
Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts (LL.D.) in 1901
University of St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland (LL.D) in 1902
University of Oxford in Oxford, England (D.Sc.) in 1906
University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland (LL.D.) in 1906
The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. (LL.D.) in 1913
Queen's University at Kingston in Kingston, Ontario, Canada (LL.D.) in 1908
Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire (LL.D.) in 1913, possibly 1914
== Portrayal in film, television and fiction ==
The 1939 film The Story of Alexander Graham Bell was based on his life and works.
Eyewitness No. 90 A Great Inventor Is Remembered, a 1957 NFB short about Bell.
The 1965 BBC miniseries Alexander Graham Bell starring Alec McCowen and Francesca Annis.
The 1992 film The Sound and the Silence was a TV film.
Biography aired an episode Alexander Graham Bell: Voice of Invention on August 6, 1996.
John Tench portrays Bell five times in the Canadian television period detective series Murdoch Mysteries. Bell appeared in "Invention Convention" (April 24, 2012), "Murdoch in Toyland" (May 8, 2012), "8 Footsteps" (October 9, 2017), "Staring Blindly into the Future" (January 13, 2020) and "Murdoch and the Sonic Boom" (October 24, 2022).
A Sign of Her Own, by Sarah Marsh (2024), a novel about a pupil of Bell's Visible Speech, who is "gradually realising and acting upon the harm he was inflicting on her and other deaf people." |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Theodoropoulos | Mikhail Theodoropoulos | Mikhail Theodoropoulos (born 1933) is a Greek wrestler. He competed in the men's Greco-Roman bantamweight at the 1960 Summer Olympics. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pud_Galvin | Pud Galvin | James Francis "Pud" Galvin (December 25, 1856 – March 7, 1902) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher in the 19th century. He was MLB's first 300-game winner and was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965.
In 1883, Galvin had 656+1⁄3 innings pitched (IP); the next season, he had 636+1⁄3 IP. These totals are the fifth and sixth most IP by a player in a single season, respectively.
== Baseball career ==
Galvin grew up in Kerry Patch, an Irish neighborhood in St. Louis. He debuted for St. Louis of the National Association in 1875, the franchise's inaugural season, and started eight games for the team. He spent the next 6+1⁄2 seasons with Buffalo in the International Association and later of the National League. In his first full MLB season in 1879, Galvin had a win–loss record of 37–27 and a 2.28 earned run average (retroactively calculated; ERA was not an established statistic before the 20th century) in 593 innings pitched. On August 20, 1880, he became the first major league pitcher to throw a no-hitter on the road, leading his Buffalo Bisons to a 1–0 victory over the Worcester Worcesters. He pitched over 400 innings in 1880, 1881, and 1882. In 1883, Galvin went 46–29 with a 2.72 ERA, setting career highs in wins, games started (75), complete games (72), and innings pitched (656.1); he led the NL in the latter three categories. The following season, in 1884, he went 46–22 with a 1.99 ERA in 72 games started, 71 complete games, and 636.1 innings pitched.
Galvin was traded to the Pittsburgh Alleghenys midseason in 1885. He played for the Allegheny club from 1885 to 1889, pitching over 300 innings each year. He jumped to the Pittsburgh Burghers of the short-lived Players' League before the 1890 season and then returned to the Alleghenys (now named the "Pirates") after the season. On June 14, 1892, Galvin was traded to the St. Louis Browns. He retired after the 1892 season, though he made a brief return to Buffalo (by this time a minor league franchise) in 1894.
Galvin played in an era where two-man pitching rotations were common – hence his 6,003 innings pitched and 646 complete games, both of which are second only to the career totals of Cy Young. Upon his retirement, Galvin held all-time records in several pitching categories, including wins, innings pitched, games started, games completed and shutouts. He became MLB's first 300-game winner in 1888. Galvin holds the record for most games started in a single season by a pitcher before 1893, 75 (tied with Will White). Galvin is the only player in baseball history to win 20 or more games in 10 different years without winning a pennant, finishing his career with a total of 365 wins and 310 losses.
The nickname "Pud" originated because Galvin was said to make hitters "look like pudding." Galvin was also nicknamed "The Little Steam Engine", a tribute to his power in spite of his small size. He was sometimes known as "Gentle Jeems" because of his kind disposition.
== Legacy ==
Galvin died poor at age 45 on March 7, 1902 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and, as a Roman Catholic, is buried in Calvary Catholic Cemetery. He was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965 by the Veterans Committee. In honor of his achievements in Buffalo, Galvin was inducted into the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.
A 2006 NPR article referred to Galvin as "the first baseball player to be widely known for using a performance-enhancing substance." The Washington Post reported that Galvin used the Brown-Séquard elixir, which contained monkey testosterone, before a single game in 1889. However, no one seemed bothered by the use of the elixir, and the newspaper practically endorsed it after the game, saying that Galvin's performance was "the best proof yet furnished of the value of the discovery." |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Enterprise_(NCC-1701) | USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) | USS Enterprise is a series of starships in the Star Trek media franchise. Enterprise is the main setting of the original Star Trek television series (1966–69), nine Star Trek films, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022–present). The vessels carry their crew on a mission "to explore strange, new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before."
Matt Jefferies designed the Enterprise for television, and its core components – a flying saucer-shaped primary hull, two offset engine nacelles, and a cylindrical secondary hull – persisted across several television and film redesigns. The vessel influenced the design of subsequent franchise spacecraft, including other vessels named Enterprise, and the model filmed for the original Star Trek TV series has been on display for decades at the National Air and Space Museum.
Initially a vision of the potential for human spaceflight, the Enterprise became a popular culture icon. The Enterprise has repeatedly been identified as one of the best-designed and most influential science fiction spacecraft.
== Development and production ==
=== Concept and initial design ===
Series creator Gene Roddenberry reviewed hundreds of science fiction magazines, dating back to 1931, to gather ideas about what he wanted Star Trek's main vessel to look like. Despite the research, he was more confident in what he did not want than what he did want. He set several parameters:
We're [...] out in deep space, on the equivalent of a cruiser-size spaceship. We don't know what the mode of power is, but I don't want to see any trails of fire. No streaks of smoke, no jet intakes, rocket exhaust, or anything like that [...]. It will be like a deep space exploration vehicle, operating throughout our galaxy.
Roddenberry further specified that the ship would have a crew of 100–150 and be incredibly fast. Art director Pato Guzman's assistant, Matt Jefferies, was responsible for designing the ship and several of its sets. Jefferies and Roddenberry did not want the vessel to look like any of the rocket ships already used by the aerospace industry or in popular culture; many designs were rejected for being "too conventional". To meet Roddenberry's requirement that the ship look believable, Jefferies tried "to visualize what the fourth, fifth or tenth generation of present-day equipment would be like". Jefferies' experience with aviation let him imbue his designs with what he called "aircraft logic". He imagined the ship's engines would be too powerful to be near the crew, requiring them to be set apart from the hull. Jefferies initially rejected a disk-shaped component, worried about the similarities to flying saucers; however, a spherical module eventually flattened into a disk. Because the ship would be expected to flash by quickly on television screens, Jefferies wanted the design to be "very simple, but immediately identifiable – a shape that you could instantly pick out."
During a visit with Jefferies, Roddenberry and NBC staff were drawn to a sketch of the ship resembling its final configuration. Jefferies had created a small model of this design that, when held from a string, hung upside-down – an appearance he had to "unsell". He kept the hull smooth, with a sense that the ship's components were serviced from inside. He designed the Klingon starship seen in the third season by rearranging and changing the shape of Enterprise's basic modules: a main body, two engine pods, and a neck with a head on it. Some of Jefferies' rejected design concepts – such as spherical hull sections and warp engines that encircle a ship – inspired future Star Trek vessel designs.
The Enterprise was originally named Yorktown, but Roddenberry was fascinated by the aircraft carrier Enterprise and had "always been proud of that ship and wanted to use the name." The NCC-1701 registry stems from NC being one of the international aircraft registration codes assigned to the United States. The second C was added because Soviet aircraft used Cs, and Jefferies believed a venture into space would be a joint operation by the United States and Russia. Jefferies rejected 3, 6, 8, and 9 as "too easily confused" on screen; he eventually reasoned the Enterprise was the first vessel of Starfleet's 17th starship design, hence 1701. The Making of Star Trek explains that USS means "United Space Ship" and that "Enterprise is a member of the Starship Class". Licensed texts, on-screen graphics, and dialogue later describe the ship as a Constitution-class vessel.
=== Filming models ===
The first miniature built from Jefferies' drawings was a 4-inch (100 mm) scale model. Desilu Studios, which produced Star Trek, hired Richard C. Datin to make a pre-production model. Datin used a subcontractor with a large lathe for major subcomponents and otherwise worked on the model for approximately 110 hours during November 1964. The 33-inch (0.84 m) model was made mostly of pine, with Plexiglass and brass details. Datin made minor changes after Roddenberry's review, and he submitted the completed model – which cost about $600 (equivalent to $6,229 in 2025) – to Desilu in December 1964.
Desilu then ordered a larger filming model, which Datin contracted to Volmer Jensen and Production Model Shop in Burbank. Datin supervised the work and did detailing on the model, which was constructed from plaster, sheet metal, and wood. When completed, it was 135 inches (3.43 m) long, weighed 125 kilograms (276 lb), and cost $6,000 (equivalent to $61,299 in 2025). The model was delivered too late to be used much for the initial pilot, "The Cage". When Roddenberry was approved to film the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (1966), various details of this 11-foot model were altered, and the starboard windows and running lights were internally illuminated. When the series went into production, the model was altered again, and it was regularly modified throughout its active filming. Most of the fine details on the large model were not visible to television viewers. Wiring for the interior lighting ran into the model on its left side, so it could only be filmed from the right; for shots requiring the other side of the Enterprise, the footage was either flipped or filmed using the 33-inch model. Because of this, some of the fine details added to the model were added only to its right side. The model was filmed with an 18mm lens "to accentuate the speed of travel as well as retain an adequate depth of field."
The 11-foot model was initially filmed by Howard Anderson. Anderson's team struggled to film the model in a way that suggested it was moving at tremendous speeds, as the producers wanted to avoid the cliched look of a spacecraft drifting through space. Additionally, the model was so large there was little room in the filming space for the camera to move around it. Anderson could not keep up with the filming and special effects needs for regular production, so producers hired several other studios to contribute effects and additional footage. Motion control equipment was too expensive, so the ship was filmed with stop motion. Filming was often delayed by the heat generated by the studio and model's lights. Most third-season footage of the Enterprise was reused first- or second-season footage. Special effects were produced as cheaply as possible. Animators for Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973–75) rotoscoped Enterprise footage to recreate the ship's movements, contributing to the impression of the animated series being a fourth season of the original. The animated show's limited color palette could not accommodate all of the ship's various colors, so the Enterprise was depicted as a consistent gray.
=== Sets, sounds, and fixtures ===
The Enterprise was meant to serve as a familiar, recurring setting, similar to Dodge City in Gunsmoke and Blair General Hospital in Dr. Kildare. Guzman created the first bridge set design in 1964. The bridge was monochromatic for "The Cage", but it was redecorated for "Where No Man Has Gone Before" because of the increasing popularity of color televisions. The first pilot episode's bridge set was rigid, making it difficult for cameras to move in. For series production, the bridge set was rebuilt modularly, allowing large sections to be removed to make camera movement easier. The complicated electronics that provided bridge set readouts and lights required expensive air conditioning to avoid overheating. The chairs used on the bridge and other sets were manufactured by Burke of Dallas and were similar to the tulip chair designed by Eero Saarinen. When production ended after the third season, major elements of the bridge set were donated to the UCLA Theater Arts Department; the remaining components were discarded.
Reusing sets helped address Desilu's budget concerns. The engine room, whose sense of scale was enhanced by the use of forced perspective, was redressed as the shuttlebay. Other sets that were redressed to save costs included the briefing room, which also served as the recreation room and cargo deck; and Kirk's cabin, which was also Spock's. Going into the show's second season, NBC executives pressed the production to have fewer episodes based on the ship, and more that occur on alien worlds. In April 1968, Roddenberry pushed back, comparing the Enterprise to the home and ranch on Bonanza, the location of some of that show's best episodes. He also said they would create new Enterprise sets to "help counteract any 'sameness' about the ship". Roddenberry described the ship's hallways as "Des Moines Holiday Inn Style". To keep the ship from looking too sterile, Mike Minor created paintings that hung in Kirk's quarters, the recreation area, and the upper rim of the bridge.
As production continued, standing sets like the engine room and bridge became increasingly detailed. Jefferies and associate producer Bob Justman walked through the production lots looking for "serendipitous items" that could be modified into set details to enhance the interiors. Jefferies added new details to a portable maintenance tunnel set each time it was used. The production staff called the set the "Jefferies tube" as an inside joke, and the term is used in dialogue to describe similar crawl spaces in spinoffs.
Sound effects designer Doug Grindstaff created sounds for different parts of the vessel: console sound effects were often created with a Hammond electric organ or other musical instrument, and engine sounds were created in part with a noisy air conditioner. Although there is no sound in space, producers thought that dramatic license required the ship to make noise during exterior shots. The sound of the ship "whoosh"ing past in the main title sequence was recorded by composer Alexander Courage.
Although the interior in The Animated Series was largely recreated from the live action series, a second turbolift was added to the bridge in response to Roddenberry being asked, "What do they do if the [one turbolift's] doors get stuck?" Franz Joseph designed full Enterprise interior deck plans in 1974 with approval from Roddenberry.
=== 1970s redesigns for television and film ===
Soon after the animated Star Trek went off the air, pre-production began on Star Trek: Planet of the Titans. Ken Adam and Ralph McQuarrie designed a new Enterprise with a triangular hull that later inspired the appearance of the eponymous ship in Star Trek: Discovery. Planet of the Titans was dropped in favor of a return to television with Star Trek: Phase II, for which Jefferies designed a new Enterprise. He began with the original design and identified components, such as the engines, that would have been upgraded. Some elements, like the sensor dish, would move inside the ship to be more easily serviced. Abandoning Phase II in favor of producing Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) necessitated additional Enterprise redesigns because the film medium would resolve more detail than television, and one of the most difficult challenges facing the producers was recreating the Enterprise. Roddenberry told Cinefantastique that the changes to the Enterprise would be explained within the story as the outcome of a major refit.
When Jefferies left the project, art director Richard Taylor wanted to start over with designing the Enterprise; however, Roddenberry convinced him to continue working with Jefferies' design. Taylor brought on Andrew Probert to help refine the ship's details. Probert added items such as phaser banks, control thrusters, and hatches for saucer section landing gear; Taylor redesigned the edge of the saucer and elements of the warp nacelles. Art director Joe Jennings and conceptual illustrator Mike Minor added additional details. David Kimble created diagrams and deck plans for the updated Enterprise that were provided to model makers, toy companies, and other licensed product manufacturers.
Jim Dow was in charge of building the model. Paramount Pictures subsidiary Magicam spent 14 months and $150,000 building the 8-foot (2.4 m), 39-kilogram (86 lb) model. An arc-welded aluminum skeleton ensured parts of the ship would not sag, bend, or shake. While the original Enterprise model was seen in only 17 poses, the new model had five articulation points and could be shot from any angle. Paul Olsen painted the "Aztec" hull pattern to provide an additional level of detail and to suggest the presence of interlocking panels providing strength. The effect was made possible by small particles of mica in the paint, which altered its apparent color. However, the paint created light flare that made it hard to discern the edge of the ship against a dark background, and bluescreen light reflected by the pearlescent paint also complicated filming. Effects supervisor Douglas Trumbull relit the ship as if it were an ocean liner, "a grand lady of the seas at night", because there would be no external light source in deep space. A 20-inch (51 cm) model was used for long shots.
Production designer Harold Michelson was responsible for the ship's interior design. The Enterprise interiors were designed to be distinct from the film's Klingon ship, and certain support structure designs were used throughout the Enterprise sets to convey a shared motif. A new bridge had been designed and partially built for Phase II, and Michelson largely retained the design and its consoles. The weapons console was rotated 90 degrees to break the monotony of stations facing the wall. Designer Lee Cole brought logic and function to the console designs, though Michelson wanted to remain focused on "drama, spectacle and beauty" over accuracy and logic. Rear projection films for bridge displays came initially from Stowmar Enterprises. When production exhausted the films faster than Stowmar could supply them, production designers manufactured their own from oscilloscopes, medical imagery, and an experimental computer lab.
Set designer Lewis Splittgerber described the engine room set as the most difficult to realize. Through forced perspective and small actors, the 40-foot (12 m) set was depicted as a 100-foot (30 m) engineering space. Corridors were initially a straight-wall design similar to the television series, and Michelson changed them to an angular design with light radiating upward. Director Robert Wise wanted the corridors to be narrower than on the television series, and mirrors gave the impression that they were longer than they actually were. Wise was also responsible for the ship's drab interior color scheme: the muted colors were meant to be comfortable across a five-year journey. The 2001 director's cut replaced several bridge computer voices with human voices to "warm up" the film.
=== Sequel film adjustments, destruction, and return ===
The Enterprise model was slightly refurbished for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), with its exterior shine dulled and extra detail added to the frame. Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) staff found the Enterprise difficult to work with: it took eight people to mount the model and a forklift to move it. Illustrator Mike Minor described the ship as a "sculpture" with an "aerodynamic shape," requiring careful filming so that its movements did not appear "silly". ILM developed several techniques to depict battle damage to the Enterprise without actually harming the model.
The smaller Wrath of Khan budget required the reuse of existing sets, but they presented challenges in realizing director Nicholas Meyer's desire for a "livelier" tone. The Enterprise was given a ship's bell, boatswain's call, and more blinking lights and signage to match the nautical atmosphere Meyer wanted to convey. Rear-projection systems for bridge displays were replaced with monitors looping taped material created by graphic designer Lee Cole at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The bridge set was "unbuttoned" so segments could be removed to better accommodate filming more dynamic action, though filming on the 360-degree set was still challenging. Further complicating the set was that it served three roles in the film: the Enterprise bridge, the Reliant bridge, and the Starfleet Academy bridge simulator. The production crew made several "plugs" to cover consoles and alcoves, and pyrotechnics could destroy the plugs during combat sequences without damaging the underlying set. Kirk's quarters were redressed with more personal items and a more naval appearance, and the same set depicted Spock's more "monastic" quarters. The torpedo bay set is a redress of the Klingon bridge from The Motion Picture, and David Kimble's deck plans from The Motion Picture influenced how previously unseen interior arrangements like the torpedo bay were depicted in The Wrath of Khan.
Recognizing the plot of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) was otherwise predictable, producer and screenwriter Harve Bennett decided to have the Enterprise destroyed. News of the ship's demise leaked despite Bennett's insistence that it be kept secret. Visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston hated the Enterprise model and reveled in its destruction. Rather than damage the large and expensive model, several less expensive miniatures and modules were created and destroyed. One of the destroyed models had been created by Brick Price Movie Miniatures for Star Trek Phase II.
Ralston hoped the ship's destruction would lead to a redesigned ship for future sequels, but the producers of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) decided to have the crew assigned to a new Enterprise that is virtually identical to the previous ship. It took ILM more than six weeks to restore and repaint the original model to appear as the new USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-A. After visiting ILM, Majel Barrett described the model as "gorgeous," and she said some of its details – such as the windows into the arboretum – were not done justice by photographs. The existing bridge set was refurbished and repainted to serve as the Enterprise-A bridge at the end of The Voyage Home, and the set's sleek "Okudagrams" designed by scenic artist Michael Okuda were adopted in subsequent productions. A new $250,000 bridge set was built for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989). Director Nicholas Meyer wanted the Enterprise to feel grittier and more realistic for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), but realizing that vision was limited by the need to use existing sets. Cinematographer Hiro Narita changed the clean, bright look of the bridge from The Final Frontier by lighting it differently in The Undiscovered Country.
Several Enterprise film sets were redressed for Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994); likewise, some Next Generation sets were used to depict interiors of the Enterprise-A. For example, Kirk's quarters in The Motion Picture were redressed as Data's quarters in The Next Generation, and the set then served as Kirk's and Spock's quarters in The Undiscovered Country.
=== Spinoff appearances and computer-generated models ===
Producers working on the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics" (1992), in which Montgomery Scott visits a recreation of the Enterprise, initially planned to use the film-era set. Ultimately, recreations of the original television series' captain's chair, navigation console, and engineering console were rented from fans, and the rest was filled in with archival footage and greenscreen technology. The bridge was again partially recreated, with other parts added digitally, for the Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations" (1996), in which the crew visits the Enterprise during the events of "The Trouble With Tribbles" (1967). Okuda used a computer to recreate the graphics seen on the Enterprise sets, and others were drawn by artist Doug Drexler. Set designer Laura Richarz's biggest challenge was finding Burke chairs to populate the ship: she found just one, and the production team make molds to create more.
"Trials and Tribble-ations" also required exterior shots of the Enterprise. Greg Jein created an Enterprise model exactly half the size of the 11-foot original, and it was the first production model of the starship to be built in more than 30 years. Although the eight-foot film model's original pearlescent paint had been covered and it was redressed as the Enterprise-A, it was used as a referent for the CGI Enterprise created for the 2001 director's cut of The Motion Picture. A CGI Enterprise makes a cameo appearance at the end of the Star Trek: Enterprise series finale, "These Are the Voyages..." (2005). Artists creating a CGI Enterprise for the remastered original series had to ensure the model was not so detailed that it was incongruous with the overall 1960s production.
=== 2009 film franchise reboot ===
The Enterprise was redesigned for the 2009 Star Trek film. Previsualization lead David Dozoretz credits the designers for overcoming the challenge of doing "a 2009 version of the '60s". Director J. J. Abrams wanted Enterprise to have a "hot rod" look while retaining the traditional shape, and he otherwise gave designers leeway. The designers wanted the Enterprise to appear as carefully crafted as a luxury car. Concept artist Ryan Church retained much of the original Enterprise design and focused on the functionality behind the familiar components. His initial designs were modeled and refined by set designer Joseph Hiura. This design was then given to ILM for further refinement and developed into photo-realistic models by Alex Jaeger's team. ILM's Roger Guyett, recalling the original Enterprise as being "very static", added moving parts. ILM retained subtle geometric forms and patterns to allude to the original Enterprise, and the model's digital paint recreated the "Aztec" hull pattern from the first films. The large engine nacelles had a sleeker finish and shape compared to the original ship's otherwise simple nacelles. Sean Hargreaves' redesign of the successor NCC-1701-A "beef[ed] up" the vessel's support pylons, which are depicted as vulnerabilities in Star Trek Beyond (2016).
According to Abrams, recreating the original bridge would have been ridiculous and too small. Abrams' enthusiasm for a new iPhone influenced Church's bridge redesign. Sophisticated technology became a motif on the new set, with multiple displays and computer graphics. The viewscreen from the television series was kept, and giving different characters their own computer displays suggested the idea of a team working together. Because the original series transporter room seemed flat to Abrams, he used swirling light and camera movement to make the new set and effects more dynamic. The budget prevented the creation of a huge, functional engineering room set, and producers instead filmed at a Budweiser plant. Ben Burtt consulted with original series sound designer Douglas Grindstaff on sound design for the new Enterprise.
=== Redesign for streaming series ===
==== Discovery ====
The Enterprise appears briefly at the end of Star Trek: Discovery's first-season finale (2018) and occasionally during the show's second season (2019). John Eaves, Scott Schneider, and William Budge redesigned the Enterprise for Discovery, which occurs about a decade before the original Star Trek. The designers usually had only a few weeks to design a vessel, but they worked on Enterprise from April to October 2017. Other than a few small notes, they were given no explicit direction about the ship's appearance; Schneider called the redesign project the trio's "golden hour".
They considered but quickly rejected a design significantly different from Jefferies' original. Eaves created 10 relatively similar sketches that streamlined the original Enterprise to appear more consistent with Discovery's sleek aesthetic, and the team selected one to refine. They developed the vessel with the assumption that components like the warp nacelles and impulse engines would be replaced over time; the modules for the Enterprise's appearance in Discovery are meant to appear more primitive than what is depicted in Star Trek. The designers tried to incorporate elements from other ships that precede and succeed the Enterprise, such as the 21st-century Phoenix in Star Trek: First Contact (1996), the 22nd-century Enterprise in Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005), and the USS Enterprise-B in Star Trek Generations (1994). They also included elements from the Enterprise refit for The Motion Picture. One distinct challenge was the hull: Jefferies' design featured a smooth hull, but the lack of features would appear too simple on modern high-definition displays. The designers added details, such as phaser banks and control thrusters, that "must have been there" on the original Enterprise but were not depicted on the Star Trek models. The ship's scale also fluctuated, which meant the designers had to adjust window sizes and patterns.
Budge kept the designers in check by ensuring details and features added to the Enterprise were consistent with other Discovery ships, such as whether the bridge would have a window: most Discovery ship bridges have a front-facing window, but the Enterprise had never been depicted with one. The solution was to depict the Enterprise bridge as having a large piece of transparent aluminum at its front that can become either transparent or opaque. Eaves sent the design team's model to the visual effects team, which made further design changes. Discovery producer Gretchen J. Berg said she hoped fans see the Enterprise's appearance in Discovery as a blend of old and new Star Trek. Another Discovery producer, Aaron Harberts, wasn't worried whether fans were satisfied with the ship's redesign: while many of the staff who developed the new appearance were Star Trek fans, Harberts said fans rarely agree on anything.
The Enterprise bridge appears in the second season's finale. Production designer Tamara Deverell and her team wanted to honor the original bridge but needed to create the set using current techniques and to meet modern audience expectations. The production's widescreen format, as opposed to the original series' 4:3 aspect ratio, required the set design to be more "stretched out" horizontally; designers referenced Star Trek film bridges – also recorded in widescreen – to assist with designing for the different ratio. The bridge was a fully constructed set, save for greenscreen for the main viewer. The set maintained the original's layout and included references and details from Star Trek, such as Sulu's and Spock's console scanners, red bridge railings, and turbolift handles. They also created new elements, such as a corridor running behind the bridge. According to Deverell, the hardest part of designing the bridge was choosing the color palette. The bridge chairs were nearly identical to those used in Star Trek, and the captain's chair was heavily influenced by Captain Kirk's original. A fan-created replica of the original bridge – later opened as museum – sent the production team hundreds of buttons for the set's consoles.
==== Strange New Worlds ====
Enterprise is the main setting of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022–present), which depicts the ship led by Captain Christopher Pike. Anson Mount, who plays Pike, said Strange New Worlds has a "big idea of the week" like the original Star Trek, and as such the Enterprise is "the star of the show". Rebecca Romijn, who plays first officer Una Chin-Riley, called the Enterprise "sexy, and groovy, and fun." According to producer Akiva Goldsman, the show's designers "tried to evoke the experience of watching [the original Star Trek], but with the grammar available to us today." Goldsman describes the ship as aspirational and meant to pull audiences into an imagined future.
The Enterprise in Strange New Worlds differs slightly from its Discovery appearance. The bridge set for Strange New Worlds was more compact than the one built for Discovery to bring it closer to the size of the original series set. The sets were designed to function like a practical starship, with moving components and pre-programmed monitor graphics that reacted to the actors. While the viewscreen was a visual effect in Discovery, it was physically built into the Strange New Worlds set. Sickbay was an entirely new design, meant to convey a large scale and capable of accommodating many camera movements. Designers relied on a massive augmented reality LED volume to depict the scale of main engineering. Due to COVID-19, some sets were not complete when filming began; Goldsman said they were "building the Enterprise around shooting on the Enterprise." Production designers also changed the color scheme, "warming" it from its Discovery palette. A specific shade of red is used as a secondary color throughout the ship, complementing warm and cold off-whites.
== Depiction ==
Starfleet commissioned the Enterprise in 2245. Robert April is the Enterprise's first captain, succeeded by Christopher Pike. Pike leads the Enterprise for approximately a decade, and he is the commanding officer in the original Star Trek pilot, the second season of Star Trek: Discovery, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Throughout the first live action and animated Star Trek television series, Captain James T. Kirk commands the ship and its 430-person crew on an exploration mission from 2264 to 2269. Star Trek: The Motion Picture takes place in the 2270's as the Enterprise is completing an 18-month refit overseen by its new captain, Willard Decker. Decker describes the refit vessel as "an almost totally new Enterprise" when Admiral Kirk takes command to address a threat to Earth. Star Trek novels and other media depict a second five-year mission under Kirk's command between the events of the first and second films.
Captain Spock commands the Enterprise, serving as a training ship, at the beginning of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in 2285. Kirk assumes command to investigate problems at space station Regula 1. The USS Reliant, hijacked by Khan Noonien Singh, seriously damages the Enterprise; Spock sacrifices his life to save the ship. Starfleet decides to decommission the damaged Enterprise at the beginning of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and Kirk and his senior officers steal the ship as part of their plan to restore Spock's life. During their mission, a Klingon attack disables the Enterprise. Kirk lures most of the Klingons onto the immobilized vessel, which he and his officers set to self-destruct before abandoning ship.
When Kirk and his officers return to Earth in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Kirk is demoted to captain and given command of a new USS Enterprise, with the registry NCC-1701-A. Various licensed materials describe the ship's history before its commissioning as Enterprise, such as it being re-named from USS Yorktown, USS Ti-Ho, or USS Atlantis. Spock's half-brother Sybok hijacks the Enterprise-A and takes it to the center of the galaxy in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Enterprise thwarts the renegade Klingon General Chang's attempt to disrupt a peace summit. At the film's conclusion, Enterprise is ordered to report to spacedock to be decommissioned. The Enterprise-A is part of the Fleet Museum in Star Trek: Picard's third season (2023).
=== Reboot film series ===
The 2009 reboot film Star Trek and its sequels occur in a different timeline than the original Star Trek. The Enterprise first appears while under construction in Riverside, Iowa, in 2255. Captain Christopher Pike commands Enterprise on its 2258 maiden voyage to respond to a Vulcan distress call. At the film's conclusion, James Kirk is promoted to captain and receives command of the Enterprise. The vessel is destroyed in Star Trek Beyond and a new Enterprise, NCC-1701-A, is commissioned under Kirk's command.
== Critical reaction ==
=== Original appearance ===
Like other Star Trek ships with the same name, the original Enterprise is "a character in its own right," and the ship "was just as important ... as Kirk, Spock, and McCoy". According to film critic Scott Jordan Harris, the Enterprise was the franchise's most important character, pointing out:Crucially, the famous words that begin each episode of the TV show, and that recur in the films, are not "These are the voyages of Captain Kirk ..." or "These are the voyages of Starfleet ..." They are "These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise ..." Writing in the Journal of Popular Film & Television, National Air and Space Museum curator Margaret Weitekamp identifies two distinct celebrity Enterprises: the fictional starship Enterprise as a character or popular culture icon, and the actual physical objects (for example, the filming models) as an iconic design. According to Weitekamp, "The two Enterprises overlap, and are clearly related, but they do not map completely onto each other," and unpacking distinctions between them contributes to scholarly analysis of popular and material culture and of "this significant television artifact".
The Enterprise's design, which influenced future starships in the franchise, is iconic. The design came at the end of a trend for science-fiction spaceships to resemble rockets, and just as real spacecraft began to influence sci-fi designs. When it first appeared on television, the Enterprise was called an "elegant and weird looking behemoth". Design expert Jonathan Glancey described the "convincing and exciting" Enterprise as having the same aesthetic appeal as the Concorde jet, B-17 bomber, and Queen Elizabeth 2 ocean liner. The interiors are also exemplars of 1960s design. Popular Mechanics said the original Enterprise has the best design of the franchise's various ships named Enterprise. io9 ranked the original design as the best version of the Enterprise, characterizing the original as superior to ten later versions of its namesake.
=== Film redesign and destruction ===
Harris included the Enterprise as one of the 50 most significant objects to appear in film, alongside the ruby slippers in The Wizard of Oz, the Maschinenmensch in Metropolis, and the Batmobile in Batman Begins. Time called the ship's redesign for The Motion Picture "bold" and "handsome". Conversely, Harlan Ellison called the Enterprise a "jalopy" in The Motion Picture, and The Washington Post said the Enterprise looked "like a toy boat in a lava lamp" in The Wrath of Khan. Entertainment Weekly wrote that, after being depicted as a complicated vessel requiring detailed care in The Wrath of Khan, it seemed "a bit loony" for the Enterprise to be operable by just a handful of officers in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Jill Sherwin suggested that the aging Enterprise in The Search for Spock served as a metaphor for the aging Star Trek franchise. io9 ranked the film appearance as the second-best design of an Enterprise.
The destruction of the Enterprise in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock has been described as "truly iconic" and "a good way to go", though David Gerrold wrote that it "casts a pall" over The Search for Spock that even Spock's resurrection does not displace. In her biography of DeForest Kelley, Terry Lee Rioux calls the Enterprise a "mother goddess" who, consistent with "one of the oldest and highest myths" in humanity, sacrifices herself so her children, the crew, can live on. David C. Fein, who produced the director's cut of The Motion Picture, described the Enterprise as Kirk's lover, and said destroying the ship meant Kirk "killed the woman that he loves more than any existing being in the world." Popular Mechanics ranked the ship's destruction the 32nd greatest scene in science fiction.
=== Spin-off television appearances ===
The New York Times called it "a joy" to see the original Enterprise as redesigned for Discovery's second-season premiere. Engadget called the Enterprise in Strange New Worlds "gorgeous inside and out." Writing for Tor.com, Keith DeCandido praised Strange New Worlds' producers for balancing the Enterprise's original 1960s look with what audiences expect from modern productions. TrekCore said Strange New Worlds' set dressing and use show the Enterprise "as both a character unto herself and as a mirror reflecting the people who inhabit her."
== Impact ==
=== Within the franchise ===
The original Enterprise and 1979 film designs have affected subsequent Star Trek productions. The USS Excelsior in Star Trek III is meant to make the Enterprise "look old and out of date". Model maker Bill George tried to imagine what the Enterprise would look like if it were designed by the Japanese, and he used that impression as the basis for his refinement of the Excelsior model. Andrew Probert returned to Star Trek to design a new USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-D, for Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), which takes place 100 years after the original Star Trek. The Enterprise-D retains the hallmarks of Matt Jefferies' Enterprise design: a saucer section, engineering section, and a pair of engine nacelles. Probert did this in part to assuage skeptical fans who were concerned about the original Enterprise being "replaced". Much of Probert's design is based on a "what if?" painting he made after finalizing the 1979 film Enterprise design. The USS Titan in Star Trek: Picard's third season draws inspiration from the film redesign, which producer Terry Matalas called "the best starship design ever made.
=== Broader culture ===
The starship Enterprise has had considerable cultural impact, and the original ship's model is "a living cultural object". Bjo Trimble said the original Star Trek received more fan letters about the Enterprise than any of the actors. According to film critic Scott Jordan Harris, although the contemporaneous Apollo program prompted intellectual awareness of the possibilities of space travel, it was the Enterprise of the 1960s that sparked space travel fantasies. A 1976 write-in campaign led to the first Space Shuttle being named Enterprise rather than Constitution. In 2009, Virgin Galactic named its first commercial spaceship VSS Enterprise to honor the Star Trek vessel. The United States Navy evaluated the efficiency of the Enterprise bridge's style and layout, and the USS Independence's bridge and USS Zumwalt's Ship's Mission Center have been compared to the Enterprise bridge. An Enterprise bridge replica created for a Star Trek fan series was later opened as a public exhibit. The distinct beeps emitted by R2-D2 in Star Wars are "an offspring" of the melodic sounds created for the Enterprise's bridge console. Vulcan, Alberta, created a 31-foot (9.4 m) model starship inspired by the Enterprise.The Enterprise design has been licensed for use in variety of games, models, and toys. AMT's 1966 Enterprise model is one of the company's highest-selling kits: one million kits sold during the show's first year of production; the previous bestseller, a car from The Munsters, took two years to reach one million sales. Ballantine Books released a set of Enterprise blueprints in April 1975, and by December 1976 they were in their seventh printing. The first run of a cutaway drawing of the Enterprise for The Motion Picture sold over one million prints. In 2010, Simon & Schuster's Gallery Books published a Haynes Manual for "owners" of the USS Enterprise. The United States Postal Service has released several USS Enterprise stamps. Pulitzer Prize–winning editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich has used the Enterprise as the setting for two of his illustrations for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
=== Production models and props ===
The three-foot model was loaned out during the production of The Motion Picture and lost until 2024. Paramount Pictures donated the 11-foot model to the Smithsonian Institution in 1974, disassembled across three crates and dirty. In shipping the model, Paramount estimated the value of the model at $5,000. Starting in 1976, it hung at an exhibit gallery entrance at the National Air and Space Museum before being moved to the gift shop, where it stayed for 14 years. In the first of its initial restorations, the model was altered to look more like the starship Enterprise and less like a studio filming model. The model underwent restorations in 1974, 1984, 1992, and 2016. For much of its time on display, fans have been surprised at the differences between the model and their expectations about how the "real" spacecraft should appear. A substantial, multi-year restoration culminated in 2016 with the unveiling of a new display in the Milestones of Flight Hall. This restoration highlighted the duality of the Enterprise as both a filming model and inspirational starship.
The original captain's chair prop sold at auction for $304,750. In 2006, Paul Allen bought the Enterprise model created for the original Star Trek films for $240,000; it is on display at the Museum of Pop Culture. Another model of the film version is on display at aerospace company Blue Origin. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Scirocco | Volkswagen Scirocco | The Volkswagen Scirocco is a sport compact car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen in two generations from 1974 to 1992 and a third generation from 2008 until 2018. Production of the third generation ended without a successor. It is a three-door hatchback with a front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout. The Scirocco derives its name from the Mediterranean wind.
== First generation (1974) ==
Volkswagen began work on the car during the early 1970s as the replacement for the aging Karmann Ghia coupe, and designated it the Typ 53 internally. Although the platform of the Golf was used to underpin the new Scirocco, almost every part of the car was re-engineered in favour of a new styling (penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro) which was sleeker and sportier than that of the Golf. The Scirocco debuted at the 1973 Geneva Motor Show.
Launched six months before the Golf, in order to resolve any teething troubles before production of the high volume hatchback started, the Scirocco went on sale in Europe in 1974 and in North America in 1975. Type 1 models featured a range of four-cylinder engines with displacements from 1.1 to 1.6 litres, with a 1.7 also offered in North America, all featuring a single-overhead camshaft and two valves per cylinder.
The design of the vehicle combined with the lack of D.O.T.-approved rectangular headlights, made it necessary to have four round headlights, two for low beam use, and all four for high beam use for all the cars imported to the US. Many European owners of Scirocco with smaller engines replaced the two rectangular headlights with four round headlights to eliminate the differentiation between smaller and less powerful engines and larger and more powerful ones. However, the European "TS" version, for which maximum power was listed as 85 PS (63 kW; 84 hp), was easily distinguishable from the less powerful "L" and "S" (50 and 70 PS) versions which came with just two rectangular headlights. An automatic transmission option was added in January 1975. Automatic transmission-equipped Sciroccos were generally rare outside North America.
The Scirocco GTi entered production in the summer of 1976, while the later cult Golf GTI was not unveiled until the autumn of the same year. Its high-revving, 81 kW (109 hp) 1.6-litre engine featured mechanical fuel injection, 175/70HR13 tires on 5.5Jx13 wheels, a larger duckbill style front spoiler, a red frame for the grille, and the standard car's solid front brake discs were replaced with 239 mm (9.4 in) ventilated discs. Anti-roll bars were also fitted front and rear.
During the production of the "Type 53", there were subtle changes to the body and trim. On cars produced after the summer break in August 1975 (for the 1976 model year), the conventional two wiper system changed to a single wiper which parks on the passenger side of the windscreen, while the driver also benefited from improved, lighter, steering linkage. However, air conditioning became available as an option on the domestic market in August 1975. The possibility to retrofit the installation, together with a larger battery, was offered to existing owners. In August 1977 (for model year 1978) the separate front side marker and turn signal, changed to a combination wrap-around orange lens. At the same time, behind the doors the B-pillar colour changed from body colour to black, which was thought to give the car a more pleasing profile. Other mid-life changes include the move from chrome bumpers with rubberised end caps to a plastic-coated one-piece wrap around bumper. In 1979, the one-piece "flag" style outside mirrors transitioned to a two-piece shrouded mirror. The car changed little before being replaced by the second generation in March 1981 (Europe).
There were also special variants throughout the Type 1 production. Most distinguishable by paint schemes and trim, there were special versions called "Sidewinder", "Sidewinder II", "Champagne Edition", "Champagne Edition II" and the "S". The Champagne Edition II only came in white with black accents and a Zender front spoiler. On the NA models the 1980 "S" versions came in only three colours, Alpine White, Black and Mars Red with unique colour accents. This "S" model differed from the base model by having blacked out chrome trim, day glow additions to the exterior trim, Recaro designed sports seats, white letter tires, sport strips and a standard five-speed transmission. This was followed by the 1981 "S" versions which only came in Cosmos Silver Metallic, Cirrus Gray Metallic and Mars Red without the colour accents. Steel sunroofs were an available option on both the "S" non-"S" vehicles. Unlike the sunroofs on the second-generation Sciroccos introduced in 1982, these earlier versions only tilted open. They did not slide back but could be removed and stored in a special fabric folder and placed in the trunk hatch. Not forgetting the addition of the "Storm" models, available in two colours with a run of 250 cars in each colour.
=== Japan ===
The Scirocco was sold in Japan at Yanase dealerships that specialize in North American and European vehicles with right hand drive starting in 1976, initially offering the TS trim package with the 1.5-liter engine and a 4-speed manual transmission. In 1977, the GTE and LS were offered with the 1.5-liter engine and the fuel injection technology from Bosch. The GTE was available with either the 4-speed manual transmission or the 3-speed automatic, while the LS offered the automatic only.
=== North America ===
The 1975–1978 model year USA vehicles had four-speed manual transmission; for the 1979–1980 model years, USA vehicles were offered a five-speed manual transmissions as an option. In 1981, the five-speed became standard. The engine option was mostly limited to one, although it changed frequently over the years. The 1975 models had 1.5 L (1471 cc), followed by a larger 1.6 with 76 hp (57 kW) in 1976 and 1977. For 1978 Volkswagen reverted to a short-stroke 1.5 L (now of 1457 cc), stating that this made it easier to meet emissions requirements. Power dropped accordingly, down to 71 hp (53 kW) but with some fuel economy improvements. Buyers demanded otherwise and for 1979 the 1.6 L (1588 cc) was reinstated, now with power up somewhat to 78 hp (58 kW). 1981 USA models had a standard 1.7 L (1,715 cc), all featuring a single-overhead camshaft and two valves per cylinder.
== Second generation (1981) ==
A heavily redesigned "Type 2" variant (internally designated Typ 53B) went on sale in 1981, although it remained on the A1 platform. The second generation Scirocco, still assembled on behalf of Volkswagen by Karmann of Osnabrück (in the same factory as the first generation Scirocco), was first shown at the 1981 Geneva Motor Show in March that year. Designed by Volkswagen's own internal design team, the new car featured increased front and rear headroom, increased luggage space and a reduction in the coefficient of drag. One feature of the Type 2 was the location of the rear spoiler midway up the glass on the rear hatch. A mid-cycle update occurred in 1984, which included minor changes over the 1982 model: removal of the outlined "SCIROCCO" script from the rear hatch (below the spoiler), a redesigned air conditioning compressor, and a different brake master cylinder with in-line proportioning valves and a brake light switch mounted to the pedal instead of on the master cylinder.
Halfway through the 1984 model year, a new space-saver spare wheel was added, that provided room for a larger fuel tank (with a second "transfer" fuel pump). Leather interior, power windows and mirrors, air conditioning, and a manual sunroof were options for all years. The 1984 model year saw the return of two windshield wipers (vs the large single wiper), absent since the 1976 models.
Eleven different engines were offered in the Type 2 Scirocco over the production run, although not all engines were available in all markets. These engines included both carburetor and fuel injection engines. Initially all models had eight-valve engines. A 16-valve head was developed by tuner Oettinger in 1981, with the modification adopted by Volkswagen when they showed a multi-valve Scirocco at the 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show. It went on sale in Germany and a few other markets in July 1985, with a catalyzed model arriving in 1986. Displacements ranged from 1.3 liters up to 1.8 liters. Power ranged from 44 kW (60 PS) to 82 kW (112 PS) for the 8-valve engines and either 95 kW (129 PS) or 102 kW (139 PS) for the 16-valve engines.
Numerous trim levels existed, depending on the model year and market, and included the L, CL, GL, LS, GLS, GLI, GT, GTI, GTL, GTS, GTX, GT II, Scala, GT 16V and GTX 16V. Special limited edition models including the California Edition (1983, USA), Storm (1984, UK), White Cat (1985, Europe), Tropic (1986, Europe), Wolfsburg Edition (1983–1985, USA and Canada) and Slegato (1988, Canada) were also produced. These special models typically featured unique interior/exterior color combinations, special alloy wheels and had special combinations of options such as leather, multifunction trip computer and/or power windows as standard.
Scirocco sales continued until 1992 in Germany, the UK, and some other European markets. The Scirocco was briefly joined but effectively replaced by the Corrado in the VW line-up, although this had been on sale since 1988 and was aimed further upmarket.
The Scirocco continued to be offered to Japanese buyers, but only the GTi with the 1.8 L engine in either manual or automatic transmissions, but starting with 1986 only the automatic transmission was offered. It did continue to comply with Japanese Government dimension regulations.
=== North America ===
Specifications in North America are somewhat different from those of cars sold in the rest of the world, due to the differing safety and emissions regulations in place there. In North America, 1982 and 1983 models produce 74 hp (55 kW) and 90 ft⋅lbf (122 N⋅m) of torque. The engine code was EN. The 1984 models produce 90 hp (67 kW) and 100 ft⋅lbf (136 N⋅m) of torque, the engine code was JH. In mid-1986, a 16-valve model was released in the United States and Canada, which included a full body skirt, larger rear spoiler, and tear-drop shaped wheel slots to distinguish it from Type 2 8-valve models. Sales continued until 1988 in the United States, 1989 in Canada, being effectively replaced in both markets by the more expensive Corrado.
== Third generation (2008) ==
Volkswagen officially announced in June 2006 production of a new Scirocco model at the AutoEuropa assembly plant in Palmela, Portugal.
The new model, identified by the internal type numbers 137 or 1K8, is based on the PQ35 platform of the Golf V and was unveiled at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show. It went on sale in summer 2008 in Europe, with sales in other countries beginning early 2009. The Type 3 Scirocco won "Car of the Year 2008" from Top Gear Magazine.
The 2008 model of the Scirocco received a five star safety rating from Euro NCAP even after the driver test dummy's head hit the steering wheel when the airbag bottomed out.
The model tested was a left-hand-drive three-door hatchback and scored in four areas:
Adult Occupant 87%, 31 points.
Child Occupant 73%, 36 points.
Pedestrian 53%, 19 points.
Safety Assist 71%, 5 points.
=== Scirocco R-line (2011–2018) ===
In 2011, Volkswagen added the R-line trim for all engine versions of the car. It included new front and back bumpers, side skirts on the exterior, and seats with grey Alcantara, R-line badges on the backs of the seats, driving wheel and on the doorsteps inside the car.
=== Scirocco R (2009–2018) ===
The Scirocco R is a production model based on the GT24. Its 1,984 cc (2.0 L) TSI straight-four engine is rated at 195 kW; 261 hp (265 PS) at 6,000 rpm and 350 N⋅m (258 lb⋅ft) of torque at 2,500 rpm. It features large air intake openings in the front bumper, an integrated front spoiler, bi-xenon headlights, larger rear roof edge spoiler, black diffuser, dual exhaust with chrome tailpipes, and Talladega 19-inch alloy wheels. In September 2014, the R model had a facelift on the styling of the car and a power increase taking it to 206 kW; 280 PS (276 hp).
UK models went on sale in 2009.
=== Facelift ===
Six years after its launch in 2008, Volkswagen revealed the 2014 Scirocco facelift at the Geneva Motor Show. On the outside the changes were not obvious as Volkswagen installed only a slightly re-profiled bumper, new bi-xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights and they also tweaked the grille. At the back there were restyled LED taillights, along with a reworked bumper and boot lid. The changes carried over onto the range-topping Scirocco R as well.
=== Scirocco GTS (2015–2017) ===
Volkswagen unveiled the Scirocco GTS, featuring the same engine found in the Mk7 Golf GTI.
=== Engines ===
All models include standard six-speed manual transmission. The 1.4 TSI (162 PS) can optionally be fitted with a seven-speed DSG transmission, while the 2.0 TSI 200, 2.0 TSI 210, R 2.0 TSI 265 and 2.0 TDI are available with a six-speed DSG transmission.The EA888 2.0 TSI uses an IHI K03 water-cooled turbocharger incorporated in exhaust manifold, while a BorgWarner turbocharger is used in EA113 2.0 TSI versions.
The 140 bhp 2.0 TDI engine is also provided with the BlueMotion Technology package. This package features stop start technology and regenerative braking to reduce emissions to 118 g/km CO2.
=== Motorsports ===
In the 24 Hours Nürburgring in May 2008, three new Volkswagen Sciroccos competed, finishing 11th and 15th out of a field of over 200 cars, with veteran Hans-Joachim Stuck driving both cars (and Carlos Sainz the slower one). The direct competitors, two Opel Astra H GTC driven by drivers selected from 18,000 hopefuls in a year-long TV covered process, were beaten decisively. In the 2012 edition of the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship Johan Kristoffersson won the championship for Volkswagen Team Biogas in a Scirocco.
=== Absence of a North American version ===
In April 2007, Volkswagen America vice president Adrian Hallmark claimed that Volkswagen preferred not to bring the Scirocco to North America since it could negatively affect Golf GTI sales. It was later stated that the final decision would be made in 2008 by Martin Winterkorn (Volkswagen's CEO), not Volkswagen of America.
In early March 2008, MotorAuthority reported that, due to the increasing gap between the United States dollar and the euro, the Scirocco would not be made available for American consumers. "This car would fit the U.S. market but at the current exchange rate we wouldn't make any money," Volkswagen sales and marketing chief Detlef Wittig told Bloomberg reporters.
=== Concepts ===
==== IROC concept (2006) ====
A concept car previewing the then upcoming Scirocco III was unveiled at the 2006 Paris Motor Show. Named IROC, from the middle four letters of "Scirocco", it used a 200 hp (149 kW) TSI engine.
==== Scirocco GT24 (2008–) ====
The Scirocco GT24 is a race car for the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. It has a 2.0 L TSI engine rated at 325 PS (239 kW; 321 hp) and 340 N⋅m (251 lb⋅ft) at 2,100 rpm as well as a DSG transmission.
The GT24 was unveiled at the GTI Meet 2008 in Wörthersee.
==== Scirocco Studie R (2008) ====
The Studie R is a concept car based on the Scirocco GT24, after Volkswagen had cancelled the production of the Scirocco R32. It has a 2.0 L TSI engine rated at 270 PS (199 kW; 266 hp), six-speed dual clutch transmission, four-piston brake calipers and a sound-optimized exhaust system with oval tailpipes.
The Studie R was unveiled at the Bologna Motor Show.
== Future ==
In 2017, Volkswagen's Chief Development Officer Dr. Frank Welsch stated that Volkswagen was contemplating options for a new small coupé, and was not clear on how they would approach a new Scirocco, and the possibility of a MEB-based concept. Welsch said that if the Scirocco name was to be used again, it would only be for a sporty 2-door coupé, and would not have a drastically different design from previous Sciroccos. In 2020, when asked if a new Scirocco was planned, board member Thomas Ulbrich answered "I don't think so", and that they were in no rush to release a new coupé. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zanzibar_War | Anglo-Zanzibar War | The Anglo-Zanzibar War was a military conflict fought between the United Kingdom and the Sultanate of Zanzibar on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted between 38 and 45 minutes, marking it as the shortest recorded war in history. The immediate cause of the war was the suspicious death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on 25 August 1896 and the subsequent succession of Sultan Khalid bin Barghash. The British authorities preferred Hamoud bin Mohammed, who was more favourable to British interests, as sultan. The agreement of 14 June 1890, instituting a British protectorate over Zanzibar, specified that a candidate for accession to the sultanate should obtain the permission of the British consul; Khalid had not fulfilled this requirement. The British considered this a casus belli and sent an ultimatum to Khalid demanding that he order his forces to stand down and leave the palace. In response, Khalid called up his palace guard and barricaded himself inside the palace.
The ultimatum expired at 09:00 local time on 27 August, by which time the British had gathered two cruisers, three gunboats, 150 marines and sailors, and 900 Zanzibaris in the harbour space, ready to surround the Sultan's palace. The Royal Navy contingent were under the command of Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson and the pro-Anglo Zanzibaris were commanded by Brigadier-General Lloyd Mathews of the Zanzibar army (who was also the First Minister of Zanzibar). Around 2,800 Zanzibaris defended the palace; most were recruited from the civilian population, but they also included the sultan's palace guards and several hundred of his servants and slaves. The defenders had several artillery pieces and machine guns, which were set in front of the palace sighted at the British ships. A bombardment, opened at 09:02, set the palace on fire and disabled the defending artillery. A small naval action took place, with the British sinking the Zanzibari royal yacht HHS Glasgow and two smaller vessels. Some shots were also fired ineffectually at the pro-British Zanzibari troops as they approached the palace. The flag at the palace was shot down and fire ceased at 09:46.
The sultan's forces sustained roughly 500 casualties, while only one British sailor was injured. Sultan Khalid received asylum in the German consulate before escaping to German East Africa (in the mainland part of present Tanzania). The British quickly placed Sultan Hamoud in power at the head of a puppet government. The war marked the end of the Sultanate of Zanzibar as a sovereign state and the start of a period of heavy British influence.
== Background ==
Zanzibar was an island country in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Tanganyika; today it forms part of Tanzania. The main island, Unguja (or Zanzibar Island), had been under the nominal control of the Sultans of Oman since 1698 when they expelled the Portuguese settlers who had claimed it in 1499. Sultan Majid bin Said declared the island independent from Oman in 1858, which was recognised by the United Kingdom, and split the sultanate from that of Oman. Barghash bin Said, the second sultan and Khalid's father, had been forced by British ultimatum and a threat of blockade to abolish the Zanzibar slave trade in June 1873, though it was later discovered that instructions from London would have prohibited aggressive action being taken immediately if that ultimatum had been rejected.
The subsequent sultans established their capital and seat of government at Zanzibar Town where a palace complex was built on the sea front. By 1896, this consisted of the palace itself; the Beit al-Hukm, an attached harem; and the Beit al-Ajaib or "House of Wonders"—a ceremonial palace said to be the first building in East Africa to be provided with electricity. The complex was mostly constructed of local timber and was not designed as a defensive structure. All three main buildings were adjacent to one another in a line and linked by wooden covered bridges above street height.
Britain had recognised Zanzibar's sovereignty and its sultanate in 1886, after a long period of friendly interaction, and generally maintained good relations with the country and its sultans. However, Germany was also interested in East Africa, and the two powers vied for control of trade rights and territory in the area throughout the late 19th century. Sultan Khalifah had granted rights to the land of Kenya to Britain and that of Tanganyika to Germany, a process resulting in the prohibition of slavery in those lands. Many of the Arab ruling classes were upset by this interruption of a valuable trade, which resulted in some unrest. In addition, the German authorities in Tanganyika refused to fly the flag of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, which led to armed clashes between German troops and the local population. One such conflict in Tanga claimed the lives of 20 Arabs.
Sultan Khalifah sent Zanzibari troops led by Brigadier-General Lloyd Mathews, a former lieutenant of the Royal Navy, to restore order in Tanganyika. The operation was largely successful, but anti-German feeling among the Zanzibari people remained strong. Further conflicts erupted at Bagamoyo, where 150 natives were killed by German military forces, and at Ketwa, where German officials and their servants were murdered. Khalifah then granted extensive trade rights to the Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC) who, with German assistance, established a naval blockade to halt the continuing domestic slave trade. Upon Khalifah's death in 1890 Ali bin Said ascended to the sultanate. Sultan Ali banned the domestic slave trade (but not slave ownership), declared Zanzibar a British protectorate and appointed Lloyd Mathews as First Minister to lead his cabinet. The British were also guaranteed a veto over the future appointment of sultans.
The year of Ali's ascension also saw the signing of the Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty between Britain and Germany. This treaty officially demarcated the spheres of interest in East Africa and ceded Germany's rights in Zanzibar to the United Kingdom. This granted the British government more influence in Zanzibar, which they intended to use to eradicate slavery there, an objective they had held as early as 1804.
Sultan Ali's successor was Hamad bin Thuwaini, who became sultan in 1893. Hamad maintained a close relationship with the British, but there was dissent among his subjects over the increasing British control over the country, the British-led army and the abolition of the valuable slave trade. In order to control this dissent, the British authorities authorised the sultan to raise a Zanzibari palace bodyguard of 1,000 men, but these troops were soon involved in clashes with the British-led police. Complaints about the bodyguards' activities were also received from the European residents in Zanzibar Town.
=== 25 August 1896 ===
Sultan Hamad died suddenly at 11:40 EAT (08:40 UTC) on 25 August 1896. His 29-year-old nephew Khalid bin Bargash, who was suspected by some of his assassination, moved into the palace complex at Zanzibar Town without British approval, in contravention of the treaty agreed with Ali. The British government preferred an alternative candidate, Hamoud bin Muhammed, who was more favourably disposed towards them. Khalid was warned by the consul and diplomatic agent to Zanzibar, Basil Cave, and General Mathews to think carefully about his actions. This course of action had proved successful three years earlier when Khalid had tried to claim the sultanate after the death of Ali, and the British consul-general, Rennell Rodd, had persuaded him of the dangers of such an action.
Khalid ignored Cave's warning, and his forces began mustering in the Palace Square under the command of Captain Saleh of the palace bodyguard. By the end of the day, they numbered 2,800 men armed with rifles and muskets. The majority were civilians, but the force included 700 Zanzibari Askari soldiers who had sided with Khalid. The sultan's artillery, which consisted of several Maxim machine guns, a Gatling gun, a 17th-century bronze cannon, and two 12-pounder field guns, was aimed at the British ships in the harbour. The 12-pounders had been presented to the sultan by Wilhelm II, the German emperor. The sultan's troops also took possession of the Zanzibari Navy, which consisted of one wooden sloop, the HHS Glasgow, based on the British frigate Glasgow and built as a royal yacht for the sultan in 1878.
Mathews and Cave also began to muster their forces, already commanding 900 Zanzibari askaris under Lieutenant Arthur Edward Harington Raikes of the Wiltshire Regiment who was seconded to the Zanzibar Army and held the rank of brigadier-general. 150 sailors and marines were landed from the Pearl-class protected cruiser Philomel and the gunboat Thrush, which were anchored in the harbour. The naval contingent, under the command of Captain O'Callaghan, came ashore within fifteen minutes of being requested to deal with any rioting caused by the general population. A smaller contingent of sailors under Lieutenant Watson of Thrush were put ashore to guard the British consulate, where British citizens were requested to gather for protection. HMS Sparrow, another gunboat, entered the harbour and was anchored opposite the palace next to Thrush.
Some concerns were raised among the British diplomats as to the reliability of Raikes' askaris, but they proved to be steady and professional troops hardened by military drill and several expeditions to East Africa. They later became the only land troops to be fired upon by the defenders. Raikes' troops were armed with two Maxim guns and a nine pounder cannon, and were stationed at the nearby customs house. The sultan attempted to have the US consul, Richard Dorsey Mohun, recognise his accession, but the messenger was told:
...as his accession had not been verified by Her Majesty's government, it is impossible to reply.
Cave continued to send messages to Khalid requesting that he stand down his troops, leave the palace and return home, but these were ignored, and Khalid replied that he would proclaim himself sultan at 15:00. Cave stated that this would constitute an act of rebellion and that Khalid's sultanate would not be recognised by the British government. At 14:30, Sultan Hamad was buried, and exactly 30 minutes later a royal salute from the palace guns proclaimed Khalid's succession. Cave could not open hostilities without government approval and telegraphed the following message to the Foreign Office of Lord Salisbury's administration in London:
Are we authorised in the event of all attempts at a peaceful solution proving useless, to fire on the Palace from the men-of-war?
Meanwhile, Cave informed all other foreign consuls that all flags were to remain at half mast in honour of the late Hamad. The only one that did not was a large red flag flying from Khalid's palace. Cave also informed the consuls not to recognise Khalid as sultan, to which they agreed.
=== 26 August ===
At 10:00 on 26 August, the Archer-class protected cruiser Racoon arrived at Zanzibar Town and was anchored in line with Thrush and Sparrow. At 14:00, the Edgar-class protected cruiser St George, flagship of the Cape of Good Hope and West Africa Station, steamed into the harbour. On board were Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson, the commander-in-chief, and further British marines and sailors. At around the same time Lord Salisbury's reply arrived authorising Cave and Rawson to use the resources at their disposal to remove Khalid from power. The telegraph read: "You are authorised to adopt whatever measures you may consider necessary, and will be supported in your action by Her Majesty's Government. Do not, however, attempt to take any action which you are not certain of being able to accomplish successfully."
Cave attempted further negotiations with Khalid, but these failed and Rawson sent an ultimatum, requiring him to haul down his flag and leave the palace by 09:00 on 27 August or he would open fire. During the afternoon, all merchant vessels were cleared from the harbour and the British women and children removed to St George and a British-India Steam Navigation Company vessel for their safety. That night, Consul Mohun noted that: "The silence which hung over Zanzibar was appalling. Usually drums were beating or babies cried but that night there was absolutely not a sound."
== War ==
At 08:00 on the morning of 27 August, after a messenger sent by Khalid requested parley from Cave, the consul replied that he would only have salvation if he agreed to the terms of the ultimatum. At 08:30 a further messenger from Khalid declared that "We have no intention of hauling down our flag and we do not believe you would open fire on us"; Cave replied that "We do not want to open fire, but unless you do as you are told we shall certainly do so." At 08:55, having received no further word from the palace, aboard St George Rawson hoisted the signal "prepare for action".
At exactly 09:00, General Lloyd Mathews ordered the British ships to commence the bombardment. At 09:02 Her Majesty's Ships Racoon, Thrush and Sparrow opened fire at the palace simultaneously. Thrush's first shot immediately dismounted an Arab 12-pounder cannon. Three thousand defenders, servants and slaves were present in the largely wooden palace, and even with barricades of crates, bales and rubber, there were many casualties from the high explosive shells. Despite initial reports that he had been captured and was to be exiled to India, Sultan Khalid escaped from the palace. A Reuters news correspondent reported that the sultan had "fled at the first shot with all the leading Arabs, who left their slaves and followers to carry on the fighting", but other sources state that he remained in the palace for longer. The shelling ceased at around 09:40, by which time the palace and attached harem had caught fire, the Sultan's artillery had been silenced and his flag cut down.
During the bombardment a small naval engagement occurred when, at 09:05, the obsolete Glasgow fired upon the St George using her armament of 7 nine-pounder guns and a Gatling gun, which had been a present from Queen Victoria to the sultan. The return fire caused Glasgow to sink, though the shallow harbour meant that her masts remained out of the water. Glasgow's crew hoisted a British flag as a token of their surrender, and they were all rescued by British sailors in launches. Thrush also sank two steam launches whose Zanzibari crews shot at her with rifles. Some land fighting occurred when Khalid's men fired on Raikes' askaris, with little effect, as they approached the palace. The fighting ceased with the end of the shelling. The British controlled the town and the palace, and by the afternoon Hamoud bin Muhammed, an Arab favourable to the British, had been installed as sultan with much reduced powers. The British ships and crews had fired around 500 shells, 4,100 machine gun rounds and 1,000 rifle rounds during the engagement.
== Aftermath ==
Approximately 500 Zanzibari men and women were killed or wounded during the bombardment, most of the dead a result of the fire that engulfed the palace. It is unknown how many of these casualties were combatants, but Khalid's gun crews were said to have been "decimated". British casualties amounted to one petty officer severely wounded aboard Thrush who later recovered. Although the majority of the Zanzibari townspeople sided with the British, the town's Indian quarter suffered from opportunistic looting, and around twenty inhabitants died in the chaos. To restore order, 150 British Sikh troops were transferred from Mombasa to patrol the streets. Sailors from St George and Philomel were landed to form a fire brigade to contain the fire, which had spread from the palace to the nearby customs sheds. There was some concern about the fire at the customs sheds as they contained a sizeable store of explosives, but no explosion occurred.
Sultan Khalid, Captain Saleh and around forty followers sought refuge in the German consulate following their flight from the palace, where they were guarded by ten armed German sailors and marines while Mathews stationed men outside to arrest them if they tried to leave. Despite extradition requests, the German consul, the recently posted Albrecht von Rechenberg, later Governor of German East Africa, refused to surrender Khalid to the British as his country's extradition treaty with Britain specifically excluded political prisoners. Instead, the German consul promised to remove Khalid to German East Africa without him "setting foot on the soil of Zanzibar". At 10:00 on 2 October, SMS Seeadler of the Imperial German Navy arrived in port; at high tide, one of Seeadler's boats made it up to the consulate's garden gate, and Khalid stepped directly from consular grounds to a German war vessel and hence was free from arrest. He was transferred from the boat onto Seeadler and was then taken to Dar es Salaam in German East Africa. Khalid was captured by British forces in 1916, during the East African Campaign of World War I, and exiled to Seychelles and Saint Helena before being allowed to return to East Africa, where he died at Mombasa in 1927. The British punished Khalid's supporters by forcing them to pay reparations to cover the cost of shells fired against them and for damages caused by the looting, which amounted to 300,000 rupees.
Sultan Hamoud was loyal to the British and acted as a figurehead for an essentially British-run government, the sultanate only being retained to avoid the costs involved with running Zanzibar directly as a crown colony. Several months after the war, Hamoud, with British prompting, abolished slavery in all its forms. The emancipation of slaves required them to present themselves to a government office and proved a slow process—within ten years only 17,293 slaves had been freed, from an estimated population of 60,000 in 1891.
The badly damaged palace complex was completely changed by the war. The harem, lighthouse and palace were demolished as the bombardment had left them unsafe. The palace site became an area of gardens, while a new palace was erected on the site of the harem. The House of Wonders was almost undamaged and would later become the main secretariat for the British governing authorities. During renovation work on the House of Wonders in 1897, a clocktower was added to its frontage to replace the lighthouse lost to the shelling. The wreck of Glasgow remained in the harbour in front of the palace, where the shallow waters ensured that her masts would remain visible for several years to come; it was eventually broken up for scrap in 1912.
The British protagonists were highly regarded by the governments in London and Zanzibar for their actions leading up to and during the war, and many were rewarded with appointments and honours. General Raikes, leader of the askaris, was appointed a First Class (Second Grade) member of the Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar on 24 September 1896, a First Class member of the Zanzibari Order of Hamondieh on 25 August 1897 and later promoted to Commander of the Zanzibar armies. General Mathews, the Zanzibari army commander, was appointed a member of the Grand Order of Hamondieh on 25 August 1897 and became First Minister and Treasurer to the Zanzibari government. Basil Cave, the consul, was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 1 January 1897 and promoted to consul-general on 9 July 1903. Harry Rawson was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath for his work in Zanzibar and would later be Governor of New South Wales in Australia. Rawson was also appointed a first class member of the Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar on 8 February 1897 and the Order of Hamondieh on 18 June 1898.
There were no further rebellions against British influence during the remaining 67 years of the protectorate.
== Duration ==
The war, lasting less than three-quarters of an hour, is considered the shortest in recorded history. Several durations are given by sources, including 38, 40 and 45 minutes, but the 38-minute duration is the most often quoted. The variation is due to confusion over what actually constitutes the start and end of a war. Some sources take the start of the war as the order to open fire at 09:00 and some with the start of actual firing at 09:02. The end of the war is usually put at 09:40, when the last shots were fired and the palace flag struck, but some sources place it at 09:45. The logbooks of the British ships also suffer from this uncertainty with St George indicating that cease-fire was called and Khalid entered the German consulate at 09:35, Thrush at 09:40, Racoon at 09:41, and Philomel and Sparrow at 09:45. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_Canada#Prime_ministers | List of prime ministers of Canada#Prime ministers | The prime minister of Canada is the official who serves as the primary minister of the Crown, chair of the Cabinet, and thus head of government of Canada. Twenty-four people (twenty-three men and one woman) have served as prime minister. Officially, the prime minister is appointed by the governor general of Canada, but by constitutional convention, the prime minister must have the confidence of the elected House of Commons. Normally, this is the leader of the party caucus with the greatest number of seats in the house. However, in a minority parliament the leader of an opposition party may be asked to form a government if the incumbent government resigns and the governor general is persuaded that they have the confidence of the House.
By constitutional convention, a prime minister holds a seat in parliament and, since the early 20th century, this has more specifically meant the House of Commons.
The 24th and current prime minister is Mark Carney, who assumed office on 14 March 2025. There are currently six living former prime ministers. The most recent former prime minister to die was Brian Mulroney, on 29 February 2024.
== Model ==
The office is not outlined in any of the documents that constitute the written portion of the Constitution of Canada; executive authority is formally vested in the sovereign and exercised on the sovereign's behalf by the governor general. The prime ministership is part of Canada's constitutional convention tradition. The office was modelled after that which existed in the United Kingdom at the time of Confederation. John A. Macdonald was commissioned by the Viscount Monck on 24 May 1867 to form the first government of the Canadian Confederation. On 1 July 1867, the first ministry assumed office.
== Term ==
When the prime minister begins their term is determined by the date that they are sworn in as prime minister or, if they do not take an oath as prime minister, the date they were sworn into another portfolio, as an oath of office as prime minister is not required. However, since 1957, all incoming prime ministers have sworn an oath as prime minister. Before 1920, prime ministers' resignations were accepted immediately by the governor general and the last day of the ministries were the date he died or the date of resignation. Since 1920, the outgoing prime minister has only formally resigned when the new government is ready to be formed. The Interpretation Act of 1967 states that "where an appointment is made effective or terminates on a specified day, that appointment is considered to be effective or to terminate after the end of the previous day". Thus, although the outgoing prime minister formally resigns only hours before the incoming ministry swears their oaths, both during the day, the ministries are effectively changed at midnight the night before. Some sources, including the Parliament of Canada, apply this convention as far back as 1917. Two prime ministers have died in office: John A. Macdonald (1867–1873, 1878–1891) and John Thompson (1892–1894), both of natural causes. All others have resigned, either after losing an election or upon retirement.
== Prime ministers ==
Canadian custom is to count by the individuals who were prime minister, not by terms. Since Confederation, 24 prime ministers have been called upon by the governor general to form 30 Canadian ministries.
== Timeline ==
=== Lifespan timeline === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_(1889) | USS Maine (1889) | |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Kratochvil | Michel Kratochvil | Michel Frank Kratochvil (born 7 April 1979) is a former tennis player from Switzerland. He was a member of the Swiss Davis Cup Team between 2000 and 2004 with a singles record 3–9, winning the decider in the first round of the 2003 World Group against Martin Verkerk of Netherlands 1–6, 7–6, 7–6, 6–1. He played doubles alongside Roger Federer in the 2002 Gstaad Open who was the defending champion but lost in the first round this time. He also defeated reigning champion Andre Agassi in the first round 2002 Indian Wells Masters.
== ATP career finals ==
=== Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups) ===
== ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals ==
=== Singles: 10 (5–5) ===
=== Doubles: 4 (0–4) ===
== Performance timeline ==
=== Singles === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyndham_Lewis | Wyndham Lewis | Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a Canadian-born British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited Blast, the literary magazine of the Vorticists.
His novels include Tarr (1916–17) and The Human Age trilogy, comprising The Childermass (1928), Monstre Gai (1955) and Malign Fiesta (1955). A fourth volume, The Trial of Man, remained unfinished upon his death. He wrote two autobiographical volumes: Blasting and Bombardiering (1937) and Rude Assignment: A Narrative of my Career Up-to-Date (1950).
== Life and career ==
=== Early life ===
Percy Wyndham Lewis was born on 18 November 1882, reputedly on his father's yacht off the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. His English mother, Anne Stuart Lewis (née Prickett), and American father, Charles Edward Lewis, separated about 1893. His mother subsequently returned to England. Lewis was educated in England at Rugby School and then, from 16, the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, but left for Paris without finishing his course. He spent most of the 1900s travelling around Europe and studying art in Paris. Whilst there he attended lectures by Henri Bergson on process philosophy.
=== Early work and development of Vorticism (1908–1915) ===
In 1908 Lewis moved to London, England, where he would reside for much of his life. In 1909 he published his first work, accounts of his travels in Brittany, in Ford Madox Ford's The English Review. He was a founding member of the Camden Town Group, which brought him into close contact with the Bloomsbury Group, particularly Roger Fry and Clive Bell, with whom he soon fell out.
In 1912 he exhibited his work at the second Post-Impressionist exhibition: Cubo-Futurist illustrations to Timon of Athens and three major oil paintings. In 1912 he was commissioned to produce a decorative mural, a drop curtain, and more designs for The Cave of the Golden Calf, an avant-garde nightclub and cabaret on Heddon Street.
From 1913 to 1915 Lewis developed the style of geometric abstraction for which he is best known today, which his friend Ezra Pound dubbed "Vorticism". Lewis sought to combine the strong structure of Cubism, which he found was not "alive", with the liveliness of Futurist art, which lacked structure. The combination was a strikingly dramatic critique of modernity. In his early visual works Lewis may have been influenced by Bergson's process philosophy. Though he was later savagely critical of Bergson, he admitted in a letter to Theodore Weiss (19 April 1949) that he "began by embracing his evolutionary system." The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was an equally important influence.
Lewis had a brief tenure at Roger Fry's Omega Workshops, but left after a quarrel with Fry over a commission to provide wall decorations for the Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition, which Lewis believed Fry had misappropriated. He and several other Omega artists started a competing workshop called the Rebel Art Centre. The Centre operated for only four months, but it gave birth to the Vorticist group and its publication, Blast. In Blast Lewis formally expounded the Vorticist aesthetic in a manifesto, distinguishing it from other avant-garde practices. He also wrote and published a play, Enemy of the Stars. It is a proto-absurdist, Expressionist drama. The Lewis scholar Melania Terrazas identifies it as a precursor to the plays of Samuel Beckett.
=== World War I (1915–1918) ===
In 1915 the Vorticists held their only British exhibition before the movement broke up, largely as a result of the First World War. Lewis himself joined up under the Derby Scheme in March 1916 just before conscription was brought in. He was assigned to the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) and after training was posted to 183rd Siege Battery, RGA, forming at Weymouth, Dorset, in which he served as a Bombardier. At the second attempt he was accepted as an officer cadet and went to the cadet school at Trowbridge before his battery deployed overseas. On completing his officer training he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant and in January 1917 was posted to the newly-raised 330th Siege Battery, RGA. 330th Siege Battery embarked on 24 May 1917 for the Western Front. It served on the Flanders coast and then at Ypres during the Third Ypres offensive. Much of Lewis's time was spent in Forward Observation Posts looking down at apparently deserted German lines, registering targets and calling down fire from batteries massed around the rim of the Ypres Salient. He wrote vivid accounts of narrow misses and deadly artillery duels, though not all of these can be corroborated.
After the Third Battle of Ypres Lewis was appointed an official war artist for the Canadian and British governments. For the Canadians he painted A Canadian Gun-pit (1918) from sketches made on Vimy Ridge. For the British he painted one of his best-known works, A Battery Shelled (1919), drawing on his own experience at Ypres. Lewis exhibited his war drawings and some other paintings of the war in an exhibition, "Guns", in 1918. Although the Vorticist group broke up after the war, Lewis's patron, John Quinn, organised a Vorticist exhibition at the Penguin Club in New York City in 1917.
Between 1907 and 1911 Lewis had written what would be his first published novel, Tarr, which was revised and expanded in 1914–15 and serialised in the London literary magazine The Egoist from April 1916 to November 1917. It was first published in book form in 1918 by Alfred A. Knopf in New York and by The Egoist in London. It is widely regarded as one of the key texts in literary modernism.
Lewis later documented his experiences and opinions of this period of his life in the autobiographical Blasting and Bombardiering (1937), which covered the time up to 1926.
=== Tyros and writing (1918–1929) ===
After the war Lewis resumed his career as a painter with a major exhibition, Tyros and Portraits, at the Leicester Galleries in 1921. "Tyros" were satirical caricatures intended to comment on the culture of the "new epoch" that succeeded the First World War. A Reading of Ovid and Mr Wyndham Lewis as a Tyro are the only surviving oil paintings from this series. Lewis also launched his second magazine, The Tyro, of which there were only two issues. The second (1922) contained an important statement of Lewis's visual aesthetic: "Essay on the Objective of Plastic Art in our Time". It was during the early 1920s that he perfected his incisive draughtsmanship.
By the late 1920s he concentrated on writing. He launched another magazine, The Enemy (1927–1929), largely written by himself and declaring its belligerent critical stance in its title. The magazine and other theoretical and critical works he published from 1926 to 1929 mark a deliberate separation from the avant-garde and his previous associates. He believed that their work failed to show sufficient critical awareness of those ideologies that worked against truly revolutionary change in the West, and therefore became a vehicle for these pernicious ideologies. His major theoretical and cultural statement from this period is The Art of Being Ruled (1926).
Time and Western Man (1927) is a cultural and philosophical discussion that includes penetrating critiques of James Joyce, Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound that are still read. Lewis also attacked the process philosophy of Bergson, Samuel Alexander, Alfred North Whitehead and others. By 1931 he was advocating the art of ancient Egypt as impossible to surpass.
=== Fiction and political writing (1930–1936) ===
In 1930 Lewis published The Apes of God, a biting satirical attack on the London literary scene, including a long chapter caricaturing the Sitwell family. The writer Richard Aldington, however, found it "the greatest piece of writing since Ulysses", by James Joyce. In 1937 Lewis published The Revenge for Love, set in the period leading up to the Spanish Civil War and regarded by many as his best novel. It is strongly critical of communist activity in Spain and presents English intellectual fellow travellers as deluded.
Despite serious illness necessitating several operations, he was very productive as a critic and painter. He produced a book of poems, One-Way Song, in 1933, and a revised version of Enemy of the Stars. An important book of critical essays also belongs to this period: Men without Art (1934). It grew out of a defence of Lewis's satirical practice in The Apes of God and puts forward a theory of "non-moral", or metaphysical, satire. The book is probably best remembered for one of the first commentaries on William Faulkner and a famous essay on Ernest Hemingway.
=== Return to painting (1936–1941) ===
After becoming better known for his writing than his painting in the 1920s and early 1930s, he returned to more concentrated work on visual art, and paintings from the 1930s and 1940s constitute some of his best-known work. The Surrender of Barcelona (1936–37) makes a significant statement about the Spanish Civil War. It was included in an exhibition at the Leicester Galleries in 1937 that Lewis hoped would re-establish his reputation as a painter. After the publication in The Times of a letter of support for the exhibition, asking for something from the show to be purchased for the national collection (signed by, among others, Stephen Spender, W. H. Auden, Geoffrey Grigson, Rebecca West, Naomi Mitchison, Henry Moore and Eric Gill) the Tate Gallery bought the painting, Red Scene. Like others from the exhibition, it shows an influence from Surrealism and Giorgio de Chirico's metaphysical painting. Lewis was highly critical of the ideology of Surrealism, but admired the visual qualities of some Surrealist art.
During this period Lewis also produced many of his most well-known portraits, including pictures of Edith Sitwell (1923–1936), T. S. Eliot (1938 and 1949), and Ezra Pound (1939). His 1938 portrait of Eliot was rejected by the selection committee of the Royal Academy for their annual exhibition and caused a furore. Augustus John resigned in protest.
=== Second World War and North America (1941–1945) ===
Lewis spent the Second World War in the United States and Canada. In 1941 in Toronto he produced a series of watercolour fantasies centred on themes of creation, crucifixion and bathing.
He grew to appreciate the cosmopolitan and "rootless" nature of the American melting pot, declaring that the greatest advantage of being American was to have "turned one's back on race, caste, and all that pertains to the rooted state." He praised the contributions of African Americans to American culture, and regarded Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco as the "best North American artists," predicting that when "the Indian culture of Mexico melts into the great American mass to the North, the Indian will probably give it its art." He returned to England in 1945.
=== Later life and blindness (1945–1951) ===
By 1951 he was completely blinded by a pituitary tumour that placed pressure on his optic nerve. It ended his career as a painter, but he continued writing until his death. He published several autobiographical and critical works: Rude Assignment (1950), Rotting Hill (1951), a collection of allegorical short stories about his life in "the capital of a dying empire"; The Writer and the Absolute (1952), a book of essays on writers including George Orwell, Jean-Paul Sartre and André Malraux; and the semi-autobiographical novel Self Condemned (1954).
The BBC commissioned Lewis to complete his 1928 work The Childermass, which was published as The Human Age and dramatised for the BBC Third Programme in 1955. In 1956 the Tate Gallery held a major exhibition of his work, "Wyndham Lewis and Vorticism", in the catalogue to which he declared that "Vorticism, in fact, was what I, personally, did and said at a certain period"—a statement which brought forth a series of "Vortex Pamphlets" from his fellow Blast signatory William Roberts.
== Personal life ==
From 1918 to 1921, Lewis lived with Iris Barry, with whom he had two children. He is said to have shown little affection for them.
In 1930, Lewis married Gladys Anne Hoskins (1900–1979), who was affectionately known as Froanna. They lived together for 10 years before marrying, and never had children. Lewis did not tell all of his friends about his marriage, as he was jealous of them meeting her. Froanna modelled for some of his work, and characters in his books reflect her.
Lewis converted to Catholicism in 1921. He died in 1957 and was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium. By the time of his death he had written 40 books.
=== Political views ===
In 1931, after a visit to Berlin, Lewis published Hitler, a book presenting Adolf Hitler as a "man of peace", with members of his party being threatened by communist street violence. His unpopularity among liberals and anti-fascists grew, especially after Hitler came to power in 1933. Following a second visit to Germany in 1937, Lewis changed his views and began to retract his previous political comments. He recognised the reality of Nazi treatment of Jews after a visit to Berlin in 1937. In 1939 he published an attack on antisemitism titled The Jews, Are They Human?, which was favourably reviewed in The Jewish Chronicle. He also published The Hitler Cult (1939), which firmly revoked his earlier support for Hitler.
Politically, Lewis remained an isolated figure through the 1930s. In Letter to Lord Byron, W. H. Auden called Lewis "that lonely old volcano of the Right." Lewis thought there was what he called a "left-wing orthodoxy" in Britain in the 1930s. He believed it was against Britain's self-interest to ally with the Soviet Union, "which the newspapers most of us read tell us has slaughtered out-of-hand, only a few years ago, millions of its better fed citizens, as well as its whole imperial family."
In Anglosaxony: A League that Works (1941), Lewis reflected on his earlier support for fascism:Fascism – once I understood it – left me colder than communism. The latter at least pretended, at the start, to have something to do with helping the helpless and making the world a more decent and sensible place. It does start from the human being and his suffering. Whereas fascism glorifies bloodshed and preaches that man should model himself upon the wolf.His sense that America and Canada lacked a British-type class structure had increased his opinion of liberal democracy, and in the same pamphlet he defends liberal democracy's respect for individual freedom against its critics on both the left and right. In America and Cosmic Man (1949) Lewis argued that Franklin D. Roosevelt, the US president from 1933 to 1945, had successfully managed to reconcile individual rights with the demands of the state.
== Legacy ==
In recent years there has been renewed critical and biographical interest in Lewis and his work, and he is now regarded as a major British artist and writer of the twentieth century. Rugby School hosted an exhibition of his works in November 2007 to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of his death. The National Portrait Gallery in London held a major retrospective of his portraits in 2008. Two years later the Fundación Juan March (Madrid, Spain), held a large exhibition (Wyndham Lewis 1882–1957) featuring a comprehensive collection of Lewis's paintings and drawings. As Tom Lubbock pointed out, it was "the retrospective that Britain has never managed to get together."
In 2010 Oxford World's Classics published a critical edition of the 1928 text of Tarr, edited by Scott W. Klein of Wake Forest University. The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University held an exhibition entitled "The Vorticists: Rebel Artists in London and New York, 1914–18" from 30 September 2010 through 2 January 2011. The exhibition then travelled to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice (29 January – 15 May 2011: "I Vorticisti: Artisti ribellia a Londra e New York, 1914–1918") and then to Tate Britain under the title "The Vorticists: Manifesto for a Modern World" between 14 June and 4 September 2011.
Several readings by Lewis are collected on The Enemy Speaks, an audiobook published in compact disc form in 2007 and featuring extracts from "One Way Song" and The Apes of God, as well as radio talks titled "When John Bull Laughs" (1938), "A Crisis of Thought" (1947) and "The Essential Purposes of Art" (1951).
A blue plaque now stands on the house in Kensington, London, where Lewis lived, No. 61 Palace Gardens Terrace.
=== Critical reception ===
In his essay "Good Bad Books" George Orwell presents Lewis as the exemplary writer who is cerebral without being artistic. Orwell wrote, "Enough talent to set up dozens of ordinary writers has been poured into Wyndham Lewis's so-called novels… Yet it would be a very heavy labour to read one of these books right through. Some indefinable quality, a sort of literary vitamin, which exists even in a book like [1921 melodrama] If Winter Comes, is absent from them."
In 1932 Walter Sickert sent Lewis a telegram in which he said that Lewis's pencil portrait of Rebecca West proved him to be "the greatest portraitist of this or any other time."
==== Anti-semitism ====
For many years Lewis's novels have been criticised for their satirical and hostile portrayals of Jews. Tarr was revised and republished in 1928, giving a new Jewish character a key role in making sure a duel is fought. This has been interpreted as an allegorical representation of a supposed Zionist conspiracy against the West. His literary satire The Apes of God has been interpreted similarly, because many of the characters are Jewish, including the modernist author and editor Julius Ratner, a portrait which blends antisemitic stereotype with the historical literary figures John Rodker and James Joyce.
A key feature of these interpretations is that Lewis is held to have kept his conspiracy theories hidden and marginalised. Since the publication of Anthony Julius's T. S. Eliot, Anti-Semitism, and Literary Form (1995), where Lewis's antisemitism is described as "essentially trivial", this view is no longer taken seriously.
== Books ==
Tarr (1918) (novel)
The Caliph's Design : Architects! Where is Your Vortex? (1919) (essay)
The Art of Being Ruled (1926) (essays)
The Wild Body: A Soldier of Humour And Other Stories (1927) (short stories)
The Lion and the Fox: The Role of the Hero in the Plays of Shakespeare (1927) (essays)
Time and Western Man (1927) (essays)
The Childermass (1928) (novel)
Paleface: The Philosophy of the Melting Pot (1929) (essays)
Satire and Fiction (1930) (criticism)
The Apes of God (1930) (novel)
Hitler (1931) (essay)
The Diabolical Principle and the Dithyrambic Spectator (1931) (essays)
Doom of Youth (1932) (essays)
Filibusters in Barbary (1932) (travel; later republished as Journey into Barbary)
Enemy of the Stars (1932) (play)
Snooty Baronet (1932) (novel)
One-Way Song (1933) (poetry)
Men Without Art (1934) (criticism)
Left Wings over Europe; or, How to Make a War about Nothing (1936) (essays)
Blasting and Bombardiering (1937) (autobiography)
The Revenge for Love (1937) (novel)
Count Your Dead: They are Alive!: Or, A New War in the Making (1937) (essays)
The Mysterious Mr. Bull (1938)
The Jews, Are They Human? (1939) (essay)
The Hitler Cult and How it Will End (1939) (essay)
America, I Presume (1940) (travel)
The Vulgar Streak (1941) (novel)
Anglosaxony: A League that Works (1941) (essay)
America and Cosmic Man (1949) (essay)
Rude Assignment (1950) (autobiography)
Rotting Hill (1951) (short stories)
The Writer and the Absolute (1952) (essay)
Self Condemned (1954) (novel)
The Demon of Progress in the Arts (1955) (essay)
Monstre Gai (1955) (novel)
Malign Fiesta (1955) (novel)
The Red Priest (1956) (novel)
The Letters of Wyndham Lewis (1963) (letters)
The Roaring Queen (1973; written 1936 but unpublished) (novel)
Unlucky for Pringle (1973) (short stories)
Mrs Duke's Million (1977; written 1908–10 but unpublished) (novel)
Creatures of Habit and Creatures of Change (1989) (essays)
== Paintings ==
The Theatre Manager (1909), watercolour
The Courtesan (1912), pen and ink, watercolour
Indian Dance (1912), chalk and watercolour
Russian Madonna (also known as Russian Scene) (1912), pen and ink, watercolour
Lovers (1912), pen and ink, watercolour
Mother and Child (1912), oil on canvas, now lost
The Dancers (study for Kermesse) (1912), black ink and watercolour, (image)
Composition (1913), pen and ink, watercolour, (image)
Plan of War (1913–14), oil on canvas
Slow Attack (1913–14), oil on canvas
New York (1914), pen and ink, watercolour
Argol (1914), pen and ink, watercolour
The Crowd (1914–15), oil paint and graphite on canvas, (image)
Workshop (1914–15), oil on canvas, (image)
Vorticist Composition (1915), gouache and chalk, (image)
A Canadian Gun-pit (1919), oil on canvas, (image)
A Battery Shelled (1919), oil on canvas, (image)
Mr Wyndham Lewis as a Tyro (1920–21), oil on canvas, (image)
A Reading of Ovid (Tyros) (1920–21), oil on canvas, (image)
Seated Figure (c. 1921) (image)
Mrs Schiff (1923–24), oil on canvas, (image)
Edith Sitwell (1923–1935), oil on canvas, (image)
Bagdad (1927–28), oil on wood, (image}
Three Veiled Figures (1933), oil on canvas, (image)
Creation Myth (1933–1936, oil on canvas, (image)
Red Scene (1933–1936), oil on canvas, (image)
One of the Stations of the Dead (1933–1837), oil on canvas, (image}
The Surrender of Barcelona (1934–1937), oil on canvas, (image)
Panel for the Safe of a Great Millionaire (1936–37), oil on canvas, (image)
Newfoundland (1936–37), oil on canvas, (image)
Pensive Head (1937), oil on canvas, (image)
Portrait of T. S. Eliot (1938), oil on canvas
La Suerte (1938), oil on canvas, (image)
John Macleod (1938), oil on canvas (image)
Ezra Pound (1939), oil on canvas, (image)
Mrs R.J. Sainsbury (1940–41), oil on canvas, (image)
A Canadian War Factory (1943), oil on canvas, (image)
Nigel Tangye (1946), oil on canvas, (image) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zirconium | Zirconium | Zirconium is a chemical element; it has symbol Zr and atomic number 40. First identified in 1789, isolated in impure form in 1824, and manufactured at scale by 1925, pure zirconium is a lustrous transition metal with a greyish-white color that closely resembles hafnium and, to a lesser extent, titanium. It is solid at room temperature, ductile, malleable and corrosion-resistant. The name zirconium is derived from the name of the mineral zircon, the most important source of zirconium. The word is related to Persian zargun (zircon; zar-gun, "gold-like" or "as gold"). Besides zircon, zirconium occurs in over 140 other minerals, including baddeleyite and eudialyte; most zirconium is produced as a byproduct of minerals mined for titanium and tin.
Zirconium forms a variety of inorganic compounds, such as zirconium dioxide, and organometallic compounds, such as zirconocene dichloride. Five isotopes occur naturally, four of which are stable. The metal and its alloys are mainly used as a refractory and opacifier; zirconium alloys are used to clad nuclear fuel rods due to their low neutron absorption and strong resistance to corrosion, and in space vehicles and turbine blades where high heat resistance is necessary. Zirconium also finds uses in flashbulbs, biomedical applications such as dental implants and prosthetics, deodorant, and water purification systems.
Zirconium compounds have no known biological role, though the element is widely distributed in nature and appears in small quantities in biological systems without adverse effects. There is no indication of zirconium as a carcinogen. The main hazards posed by zirconium are flammability in powder form and irritation of the eyes.
== Characteristics ==
Zirconium is a lustrous, greyish-white, soft, ductile, malleable metal that is solid at room temperature, though it is hard and brittle at lesser purities. In powder form, zirconium is highly flammable, but the solid form is much less prone to ignition. Zirconium is highly resistant to corrosion by alkalis, acids, salt water, and other agents. However, it will dissolve in hydrochloric and sulfuric acid, especially when fluorine is present. Alloys with zinc are magnetic at less than 35 K.
The melting point of zirconium is 1855 °C (3371 °F), and the boiling point is 4409 °C (7968 °F). Zirconium has an electronegativity of 1.33 on the Pauling scale. Of the elements within the d-block with known electronegativities, zirconium has the fourth lowest electronegativity after hafnium, yttrium, and lutetium.
At room temperature zirconium exhibits a hexagonally close-packed crystal structure, α-Zr, which changes to β-Zr, a body-centered cubic crystal structure, at 863 °C. Zirconium exists in the β-phase until the melting point.
=== Isotopes ===
Naturally occurring zirconium is composed of five isotopes. 90Zr, 91Zr, 92Zr, 94Zr, and 96Zr. The first four are stable, while 96 is observed to decay with a half-life of 2.34×1019 years by double beta emission; this is theoretically possible also for 94Zr. Of these natural isotopes, 90Zr is the most common, making up 51.45% of all zirconium, and 96Zr is the least common, comprising only 2.80%.
The artificial radioisotopes of zirconium known range from 77Zr to 114Zr, and 13 nuclear isomers are also listed. The most stable among them is 93Zr, a long-lived fission product, with a half-life of 1.61 million years. Radioactive isotopes at or above mass number 93 decay by electron emission resulting in niobium isotopes, whereas those at or below 89 decay by positron emission or electron capture, resulting in yttrium isotopes.
=== Occurrence ===
Zirconium has a concentration of about 130 mg/kg within the Earth's crust and about 0.026 μg/L in sea water. It is the 18th most abundant element in the crust. It is not found in nature as a native metal, reflecting its intrinsic instability with respect to water. The principal commercial source of zirconium is zircon (ZrSiO4), a silicate mineral, which is found primarily in Australia, Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa and the United States, as well as in smaller deposits around the world. As of 2023, Australia and South Africa are the leading producers, together accounting for approximately half of global zircon production. Zircon resources exceed 60 million tonnes worldwide and annual worldwide zirconium production is approximately 900,000 tonnes. Zirconium also occurs in more than 140 other minerals, including the commercially useful ores baddeleyite and eudialyte.
Zirconium is relatively abundant in S-type stars, and has been detected in the sun and in meteorites. Lunar rock samples brought back from several Apollo missions to the moon have a high zirconium oxide content relative to terrestrial rocks.
EPR spectroscopy has been used in investigations of the unusual 3+ valence state of zirconium. The EPR spectrum of Zr3+, which has been initially observed as a parasitic signal in Fe‐doped single crystals of ScPO4, was definitively identified by preparing single crystals of ScPO4 doped with isotopically enriched (94.6%)91Zr. Single crystals of LuPO4 and YPO4 doped with both naturally abundant and isotopically enriched Zr have also been grown and investigated.
== Production ==
=== Occurrence ===
Zirconium is a by-product formed after mining and processing of the titanium minerals ilmenite and rutile, as well as tin mining. From 2003 to 2007, while prices for the mineral zircon steadily increased from $360 to $840 per tonne, the price for unwrought zirconium metal decreased from $39,900 to $22,700 per ton. Zirconium metal is much more expensive than zircon because the reduction processes are costly.
Collected from coastal waters, zircon-bearing sand is purified by spiral concentrators to separate lighter materials, which are then returned to the water because they are natural components of beach sand. Using magnetic separation, the titanium ores ilmenite and rutile are removed.
Most zircon is used directly in commercial applications, but a small percentage is converted to the metal. Most Zr metal is produced by the reduction of the zirconium(IV) chloride with magnesium metal in the Kroll process. The resulting metal is sintered until sufficiently ductile for metalworking.
=== Separation of zirconium and hafnium ===
Commercial zirconium metal typically contains 1–3% of hafnium, which is usually not problematic because the chemical properties of hafnium and zirconium are very similar. Their neutron-absorbing properties differ strongly, however, necessitating the separation of hafnium from zirconium for nuclear reactors. Several separation schemes are in use. The liquid–liquid extraction of the thiocyanate-oxide derivatives exploits the fact that the hafnium derivative is slightly more soluble in methyl isobutyl ketone than in water. This method accounts for roughly two-thirds of pure zirconium production, though other methods are being researched; for instance, in India, a TBP-nitrate solvent extraction process is used for the separation of zirconium from other metals. Zr and Hf can also be separated by fractional crystallization of potassium hexafluorozirconate (K2ZrF6), which is less soluble in water than the analogous hafnium derivative. Fractional distillation of the tetrachlorides, also called extractive distillation, is also used.
Vacuum arc melting, combined with the use of hot extruding techniques and supercooled copper hearths, is capable of producing zirconium that has been purified of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon.
Hafnium must be removed from zirconium for nuclear applications because hafnium has a neutron absorption cross-section 600 times greater than zirconium. The separated hafnium can be used for reactor control rods.
== Compounds ==
Like other transition metals, zirconium forms a wide range of inorganic compounds and coordination complexes. In general, these compounds are colourless diamagnetic solids wherein zirconium has the oxidation state +4. Some organometallic compounds are considered to have Zr(II) oxidation state. Non-equilibrium oxidation states between 0 and 4 have been detected during zirconium oxidation.
=== Oxides, nitrides, and carbides ===
The most common oxide is zirconium dioxide, ZrO2, also known as zirconia. This clear to white-coloured solid has exceptional fracture toughness (for a ceramic) and chemical resistance, especially in its cubic form. These properties make zirconia useful as a thermal barrier coating, although it is also a common diamond substitute. Zirconium monoxide, ZrO, is also known and S-type stars are recognised by detection of its emission lines.
Zirconium tungstate has the unusual property of shrinking in all dimensions when heated, whereas most other substances expand when heated. Zirconyl chloride is one of the few water-soluble zirconium complexes, with the formula [Zr4(OH)12(H2O)16]Cl8.
Zirconium carbide and zirconium nitride are refractory solids. Both are highly corrosion-resistant and find uses in high-temperature resistant coatings and cutting tools. Zirconium hydride phases are known to form when zirconium alloys are exposed to large quantities of hydrogen over time; due to the brittleness of zirconium hydrides relative to zirconium alloys, the mitigation of zirconium hydride formation was highly studied during the development of the first commercial nuclear reactors, in which zirconium carbide was a frequently used material.
Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is the most commonly used piezoelectric material, being used as transducers and actuators in medical and microelectromechanical systems applications.
=== Halides and pseudohalides ===
All four common halides are known, ZrF4, ZrCl4, ZrBr4, and ZrI4. All have polymeric structures and are far less volatile than the corresponding titanium tetrahalides; they find applications in the formation of organic complexes such as zirconocene dichloride. All tend to hydrolyse to give the so-called oxyhalides and dioxides.
Fusion of the tetrahalides with additional metal gives lower zirconium halides (e.g. ZrCl3). These adopt a layered structure, conducting within the layers but not perpendicular thereto.
The corresponding tetraalkoxides are also known. Unlike the halides, the alkoxides dissolve in nonpolar solvents. Dihydrogen hexafluorozirconate is used in the metal finishing industry as an etching agent to promote paint adhesion.
=== Organic derivatives ===
Organozirconium chemistry is key to Ziegler–Natta catalysts, used to produce polypropylene. This application exploits the ability of zirconium to reversibly form bonds to carbon. Zirconocene dibromide ((C5H5)2ZrBr2), reported in 1952 by Birmingham and Wilkinson, was the first organozirconium compound. Schwartz's reagent, prepared in 1970 by P. C. Wailes and H. Weigold, is a metallocene used in organic synthesis for transformations of alkenes and alkynes.
Many complexes of Zr(II) are derivatives of zirconocene, one example being (C5Me5)2Zr(CO)2.
== History ==
The zirconium-containing mineral zircon and related minerals (jargoon, jacinth, or hyacinth, ligure) were mentioned in biblical writings. The mineral was not known to contain a new element until 1789, when Klaproth analyzed a jargoon from the island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He named the new element Zirkonerde (zirconia), related to the Persian zargun (zircon; zar-gun, "gold-like" or "as gold"). Humphry Davy attempted to isolate this new element in 1808 through electrolysis, but failed. Zirconium metal was first obtained in an impure form in 1824 by Berzelius by heating a mixture of potassium and potassium zirconium fluoride in an iron tube.
The crystal bar process (also known as the Iodide Process), discovered by Anton Eduard van Arkel and Jan Hendrik de Boer in 1925, was the first industrial process for the commercial production of metallic zirconium. It involves the formation and subsequent thermal decomposition of zirconium tetraiodide (ZrI4), and was superseded in 1945 by the much cheaper Kroll process developed by William Justin Kroll, in which zirconium tetrachloride (ZrCl4) is reduced by magnesium:
ZrCl4 + 2 Mg → Zr + 2 MgCl2
== Applications ==
Approximately 900,000 tonnes of zirconium ores were mined in 1995, mostly as zircon.
Most zircon is used directly in high-temperature applications. Because it is refractory, hard, and resistant to chemical attack, zircon finds many applications. Its main use is as an opacifier, conferring a white, opaque appearance to ceramic materials. Because of its chemical resistance, zircon is also used in aggressive environments, such as moulds for molten metals.
Zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) is used in laboratory crucibles, in metallurgical furnaces, and as a refractory material Because it is mechanically strong and flexible, it can be sintered into ceramic knives and other blades. Zircon (ZrSiO4) and cubic zirconia (ZrO2) are cut into gemstones for use in jewelry. Zirconium dioxide is a component in some abrasives, such as grinding wheels and sandpaper. Zircon is also used in dating of rocks from about the time of the Earth's formation through the measurement of its inherent radioisotopes, most often uranium and lead.
A small fraction of the zircon is converted to the metal, which finds various niche applications. Because of zirconium's excellent resistance to corrosion, it is often used as an alloying agent in materials that are exposed to aggressive environments, such as surgical appliances, light filaments, and watch cases. The high reactivity of zirconium with oxygen at high temperatures is exploited in some specialised applications such as explosive primers and as getters in vacuum tubes. Zirconium powder is used as a degassing agent in electron tubes, while zirconium wire and sheets are utilized for grid and anode supports. Burning zirconium was used as a light source in some photographic flashbulbs. Zirconium powder with a mesh size from 10 to 80 is occasionally used in pyrotechnic compositions to generate sparks. The high reactivity of zirconium leads to bright white sparks.
=== Nuclear applications ===
Cladding for nuclear reactor fuels consumes about 1% of the zirconium supply, mainly in the form of zircaloys. The desired properties of these alloys are a low neutron-capture cross-section and resistance to corrosion under normal service conditions. Efficient methods for removing the hafnium impurities were developed to serve this purpose.
One disadvantage of zirconium alloys is the reactivity with water, producing hydrogen, leading to degradation of the fuel rod cladding:
Zr + 2 H2O → ZrO2 + 2 H2
Hydrolysis is very slow below 100 °C, but rapid at temperature above 900 °C. Most metals undergo similar reactions. The redox reaction is relevant to the instability of fuel assemblies at high temperatures. This reaction occurred in the reactors 1, 2 and 3 of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant (Japan) after the reactor cooling was interrupted by the earthquake and tsunami disaster of March 11, 2011, leading to the Fukushima I nuclear accidents. After venting the hydrogen in the maintenance hall of those three reactors, the mixture of hydrogen with atmospheric oxygen exploded, severely damaging the installations and at least one of the containment buildings.
Zirconium is a constituent of uranium zirconium hydrides, nuclear fuels used in research reactors.
=== Space and aeronautic industries ===
Materials fabricated from zirconium metal and ZrO2 are used in space vehicles where resistance to heat is needed.
High temperature parts such as combustors, blades, and vanes in jet engines and stationary gas turbines are increasingly being protected by thin ceramic layers and/or paintable coatings, usually composed of a mixture of zirconia and yttria.
Zirconium is also used as a material of first choice for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) tanks, propellant lines, valves, and thrusters, in propulsion space systems such as these equipping the Sierra Space's Dream Chaser spaceplane where the thrust is provided by the combustion of kerosene and hydrogen peroxide, a powerful, but unstable, oxidizer. The reason is that zirconium has an excellent corrosion resistance to H2O2 and, above all, do not catalyse its spontaneous self-decomposition as the ions of many transition metals do.
=== Medical uses ===
Zirconium-bearing compounds are used in many biomedical applications, including dental implants and crowns, knee and hip replacements, middle-ear ossicular chain reconstruction, and other restorative and prosthetic devices.
Zirconium binds urea, a property that has been utilized extensively to the benefit of patients with chronic kidney disease. For example, zirconium is a primary component of the sorbent column dependent dialysate regeneration and recirculation system known as the REDY system, which was first introduced in 1973. More than 2,000,000 dialysis treatments have been performed using the sorbent column in the REDY system. Although the REDY system was superseded in the 1990s by less expensive alternatives, new sorbent-based dialysis systems are being evaluated and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Renal Solutions developed the DIALISORB technology, a portable, low water dialysis system. Also, developmental versions of a Wearable Artificial Kidney have incorporated sorbent-based technologies.
Sodium zirconium cyclosilicate is used by mouth in the treatment of hyperkalemia. It is a selective sorbent designed to trap potassium ions in preference to other ions throughout the gastrointestinal tract.
Mixtures of monomeric and polymeric Zr4+ and Al3+ complexes with hydroxide, chloride and glycine, called aluminium zirconium glycine salts, are used in a preparation as an antiperspirant in many deodorant products. It has been used since the early 1960s, as it was determined more efficacious as an antiperspirant than contemporary active ingredients such as aluminium chlorohydrate.
=== Defunct applications ===
Zirconium carbonate (3ZrO2·CO2·H2O) was used in lotions to treat poison ivy but was discontinued because it occasionally caused skin reactions.
== Safety ==
Although zirconium has no known biological role, the human body contains, on average, 250 milligrams of zirconium, and daily intake is approximately 4.15 milligrams (3.5 milligrams from food and 0.65 milligrams from water), depending on dietary habits. Zirconium is widely distributed in nature and is found in all biological systems, for example: 2.86 μg/g in whole wheat, 3.09 μg/g in brown rice, 0.55 μg/g in spinach, 1.23 μg/g in eggs, and 0.86 μg/g in ground beef. Further, zirconium is commonly used in commercial products (e.g. deodorant sticks, aerosol antiperspirants) and also in water purification (e.g. control of phosphorus pollution, bacteria- and pyrogen-contaminated water).
Short-term exposure to zirconium powder can cause irritation, but only contact with the eyes requires medical attention. Persistent exposure to zirconium tetrachloride results in increased mortality in rats and guinea pigs and a decrease of blood hemoglobin and red blood cells in dogs. However, in a study of 20 rats given a standard diet containing ~4% zirconium oxide, there were no adverse effects on growth rate, blood and urine parameters, or mortality. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) legal limit (permissible exposure limit) for zirconium exposure is 5 mg/m3 over an 8-hour workday. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended exposure limit (REL) is 5 mg/m3 over an 8-hour workday and a short term limit of 10 mg/m3. At levels of 25 mg/m3, zirconium is immediately dangerous to life and health. However, zirconium is not considered an industrial health hazard. Furthermore, reports of zirconium-related adverse reactions are rare and, in general, rigorous cause-and-effect relationships have not been established. No evidence has been validated that zirconium is carcinogenic or genotoxic.
Among the numerous radioactive isotopes of zirconium, 93Zr is among the most common. It is released as a product of nuclear fission of 235U and 239Pu, mainly in nuclear power plants and during nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s and 1960s. It has a very long half-life (1.53 million years), its decay emits only low energy radiations, and it is not considered particularly hazardous. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Credit_and_Commerce_International | Bank of Credit and Commerce International | The Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) was an international bank founded in 1972 by Agha Hasan Abedi, a Pakistani financier. The bank was registered in Luxembourg with head offices in Karachi and London. A decade after opening, BCCI had more than 400 branches in 78 countries and assets in excess of US$20 billion, making it the seventh largest private bank in the world.
BCCI came under the scrutiny of financial regulators and intelligence agencies in the 1980s, due to concerns that it was poorly regulated. Subsequent investigations revealed that it was involved in massive money laundering and other financial crimes, and had illegally gained controlling interest in a major American bank. BCCI became the focus of a massive regulatory battle in 1991, and, on 5 July of that year, customs and bank regulators in seven countries raided and locked down records of its branch offices during Operation C-Chase.
Investigators in the United States and the UK determined that BCCI had been "set up deliberately to avoid centralized regulatory review, and operated extensively in bank secrecy jurisdictions. Its affairs were extraordinarily complex. Its officers were sophisticated international bankers whose apparent objective was to keep their affairs secret, to commit fraud on a massive scale, and to avoid detection".
The liquidators, Deloitte & Touche, filed a lawsuit against the bank's auditors, Price Waterhouse and Ernst & Young, which was settled for $175 million in 1998. By 2013, Deloitte & Touche claimed to have recovered about 75% of the creditors' lost money.
BCCI continues to be cited as a lesson to be heeded by leading figures in the world of finance and banking. In March 2023, the United States' Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu stated that "there are strong parallels between FTX and the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, better known in bank regulatory circles as BCCI, which failed in 1991 and led to significant changes in how global banks are supervised."
== History ==
BCCI's founder, Agha Hasan Abedi, established the bank in 1972. Abedi, a prolific banker, had previously set up the United Bank Limited in Pakistan in 1959 sponsored by Saigols. Preceding the nationalization of United Bank Limited in 1974, he sought to create a new supranational banking entity. BCCI was created with capital 25% of which came from Bank of America and the remaining 75% from Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
BCCI expanded rapidly in the 1970s, pursuing long-term asset growth over profits, seeking high-net-worth individuals and regular large deposits. The company itself divided into BCCI Holdings with the bank under that splitting into BCCI SA (Luxembourg) and BCCI Overseas (Grand Cayman). BCCI also acquired parallel banks through acquisitions: buying the Banque de Commerce et Placements (BCP) of Geneva in 1976, and creating KIFCO (Kuwait International Finance Company), Credit & Finance Corporation Ltd, and a series of Cayman-based companies held together as ICIC (International Credit and Investment Company Overseas, International Credit and Commerce [Overseas], etc.). Overall, BCCI expanded from 19 branches in five countries in 1973 to 27 branches in 1974 and 108 branches by 1976, with assets growing from $200 million to $1.6 billion. This growth caused extensive underlying capital problems. The Guardian alleged that BCCI was using cash from deposits to fund operating expenses, rather than making investments. Investigative journalist and author Joseph J. Trento has argued that the bank's transformation was guided by the head of Saudi intelligence with a view to enabling it to finance covert American intelligence operations at a time, in the aftermath of Watergate, when the American intelligence agencies were defending themselves from investigations by domestic authorities.
In 1973, the BCCI applied for an offshore banking licence in Singapore that was rejected by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on the basis that the bank was too new at just a year old and low in capitalisation. In 1980, they attempted to reapply but were yet again turned down by the MAS on the basis of its weak international regard.
BCCI entered the African markets in 1979, and Asia in the early 1980s. BCCI was among the first foreign banks awarded a license to operate in the Chinese Shenzhen Special Economic Zone which bore testament to Agha Hasan Abedi's public relations skills, a feat that had yet to be achieved by the likes of Citicorp and JP Morgan. Some of China's largest state banks were depositors in BCCI's Shenzhen branch.
There was rigid compartmentalization; the 248 managers and general managers reported directly to Abedi and the CEO Swaleh Naqvi. It was structured in such a way that no single country had overall regulatory supervision over it so as not to hinder potential growth and expansion opportunities. Its two holding companies were based in Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands – two jurisdictions where banking regulation was notoriously weak. It was also not regulated by a country that had a central bank. On several occasions, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a bureau within the U.S. Department of the Treasury that regulates national banks, told the Federal Reserve in no uncertain terms that BCCI must not be allowed to buy any American bank because it was poorly regulated.
By 1980, BCCI was reported to have assets of more than $4 billion with more than 150 branches in 46 countries. Bank of America was "bewildered" by BCCI and reduced its holding in 1980, and the company came to be held by a number of groups, with International Credit and Investment Corp ('ICIC') owning 70%. By 1989, ICIC's shareholding was reduced to 11% with Abu Dhabi groups holding almost 40%. However, large numbers of shares were held by BCCI nominees.
In 1982, 15 Middle Eastern investors bought Financial General Bankshares, a large bank holding company headquartered in Washington, D.C. All the investors were BCCI clients, but the Fed received assurances that BCCI would be in no way involved in the management of the company, which was renamed First American Bankshares. To alleviate regulators' concerns, Clark Clifford, an adviser to five presidents, was named First American's chairman. Clifford headed a board composed of himself and several other distinguished American citizens, including former United States Senator Stuart Symington. In truth, BCCI had been involved in the purchase of FGB/First American from the beginning. Abedi had been approached about buying it as early as 1977, but by this time BCCI's reputation in the United States was so poor that it could not hope to buy an American bank on its own (as mentioned above, the OCC was adamantly opposed to BCCI's being allowed to buy its way into the American banking industry). Rather, it used the First American investors as nominees. Moreover, Clifford's law firm was retained as general counsel, and also handled most of BCCI's American legal work. BCCI was also heavily involved in First American personnel matters. The relationship between the two was so close that rumors spread BCCI was the real owner of First American.
BCCI had an unusual annual auditing system: Price Waterhouse were the accountants for BCCI Overseas, while Ernst & Young audited BCCI and BCCI Holdings (London and Luxembourg). Other companies such as KIFCO and ICIC were audited by neither. In October 1985, the Bank of England and the Monetary Institute of Luxembourg (Luxembourg's bank regulator) ordered BCCI to change to a single accountant, alarmed at reported BCCI losses on the commodities and financial markets. Price Waterhouse became the bank's sole accountant in 1987.
In 1990, a Price Waterhouse audit of BCCI revealed an unaccountable loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. The bank approached Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who made good the loss in exchange for an increased shareholding of 78%. Much of BCCI's documentation was then transferred to Abu Dhabi. The audit also revealed numerous irregularities. Most seriously, BCCI had made a staggering $1.48 billion worth of loans to its own shareholders, who used BCCI stock as collateral.
The audit also confirmed what many Americans who watched BCCI long suspected – that BCCI secretly (and illegally) owned First American. When the Fed cleared the group of Arab investors to buy First American, it did so on the condition that they supplement their personal funds with money borrowed from banks with no connection to BCCI. Contrary to that agreement, several stockholders had borrowed heavily from BCCI. Even more seriously, they pledged their First American stock as collateral. When they failed to make interest payments, BCCI took control of the shares. It was later estimated that in this manner, BCCI had ended up with 60% or more of First American's stock.
Despite these problems, Price Waterhouse signed BCCI's 1989 annual report, largely due to Zayed's firm commitment to propping up the bank. Abedi was succeeded by Swaleh Naqvi as the bank's chief, who, in the aftermath following controversy over BCCI, was replaced by Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry in the late 1980s.
== Lending practices ==
BCCI contended that its growth was fueled by the increasingly large number of deposits by oil-rich states that owned stock in the bank as well as by sovereign developing nations. However, this claim failed to mollify the regulators. For example, the Bank of England ordered BCCI to cap its branch network in the United Kingdom at 45 branches.
There was particular concern over BCCI's loan portfolio, because of its roots in areas where modern banking was still an alien concept. For instance, a large number of its customers were devout Muslims who are against charging interest on loans – a major pillar of modern banking – because they consider it to be riba, or usury. In many third-world countries, a person's financial standing did not matter as much as his relationship with his banker. One particularly notable example is the Gokal family, a prominent family of shipping magnates. The three Gokal brothers, Abbas, Mustafa and Murtaza, were owners of the Gulf Group. They had a relationship with Abedi dating back to his days at United Bank. Abedi personally handled their loans, with little regard for details such as loan documents or creditworthiness. At one point, BCCI's loans to the Gokal companies were equivalent to US$1.2 billion, three times the bank's capital. The case of Nazmu Virani, the UK based property tycoon who borrowed £500 million unsecured, was widely reported. Longstanding banking practice dictates that a bank not lend more than 10% of its capital to a single customer.
== Money laundering ==
In addition to violations of lending laws, BCCI was also accused of opening accounts or laundering money for figures such as Saddam Hussein, Manuel Noriega, Hussain Muhammad Ershad, and Samuel Doe, and for criminal organizations, such as the Medellín Cartel and Abu Nidal. Police and intelligence experts nicknamed BCCI the "Bank of Crooks and Criminals International" for its penchant for catering to customers who dealt in arms, drugs, and hot money. Both Syed A. Hussain (b. 1960 or 1961) and Amjad Awan, (b. 1946 or 1947) a Pakistani banker that headed the Panamanian branch of BCCI in the early 1980s, assisted Noriega with Noriega's accounts at BCCI.
William von Raab, a former U.S. Commissioner of Customs, also told the Kerry Committee that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency held "several" accounts at BCCI. According to a 1991 article in Time magazine, the National Security Council also had accounts at BCCI, which were used for a variety of covert operations, including transfers of money and weapons during the Iran–Contra affair. In 1991, due to Congressional oversight, the CIA admitted that it was aware of BCCI's illegal money laundering activities related to drugs.
== Investigations begin ==
BCCI's demise began in 1986, when a U.S. Customs undercover operation led by Special Agent Robert Mazur infiltrated the bank's private client division in Tampa, Florida, and uncovered their active role soliciting deposits from drug traffickers and money launderers. This two-year undercover operation concluded in 1988 with a fake wedding that was attended by BCCI officers and drug dealers from around the world, who had established a personal friendship and working relationship with undercover agent Mazur. At the same time he was dealing undercover with BCCI executives, Mazur used his undercover operation to establish a relationship with the hierarchy of the Medellín Cartel as one of their sources for laundering drug proceeds. Mazur's and others' roles in the sting operation were highlighted in the film The Infiltrator (2016, adapted from the eponymous autobiography).
In 1988, the bank was implicated as the center of a major money laundering scheme. After a six-month trial, BCCI, under immense pressure from U.S. authorities, pleaded guilty in 1990, but only on the grounds of respondeat superior. While federal regulators took no action, Florida regulators forced BCCI to pull out of the state.
In 1990, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch presented an impassioned defense of the bank in a speech on the Senate floor. He and his aide, Michael Pillsbury, were involved in efforts to counter the negative publicity that surrounded the bank, and Hatch solicited the bank to approve a $10 million loan to a close friend, Monzer Hourani.
== Sandstorm report ==
In March 1991, the Bank of England asked Price Waterhouse to carry out an inquiry. On 24 June 1991, using the code name "Sandstorm" for BCCI, Price Waterhouse submitted the Sandstorm report showing that BCCI had engaged in "widespread fraud and manipulation" that made it difficult, if not impossible, to reconstruct BCCI's financial history.
The Sandstorm report, parts of which were leaked to The Sunday Times, included details of how the Abu Nidal terrorist group had manipulated details and through using fake identities had opened accounts at BCCI's Sloane Street branch in London. Britain's internal security service, MI5, had signed up two sources inside the branch to hand over copies of all documents relating to Abu Nidal's accounts. One source was the Syrian-born branch manager, Ghassan Qassem, the second a young British employee.
The Abu Nidal link man for the BCCI accounts was a man based in Iraq named Samir Najmeddin or Najmedeen. Throughout the 1980s, BCCI had set up millions of dollars' worth of letters of credit for Najmeddin, largely for arms deals with Iraq. Qassem later swore in an affidavit that Najmeddin was often accompanied by an American, whom Qassem subsequently identified as the financier Marc Rich. Rich was later indicted in the United States for tax evasion and racketeering in an apparently unrelated case and fled the country.
Qassem also told reporters that he had once escorted Abu Nidal, who was allegedly using the name Shakir Farhan, around town to buy a tie, without realizing who he was. This revelation led in 1991 to one of the London Evening Standard's best-known front-page headlines: "I Took Abu Nidal Shopping".
== Forced closure ==
BCCI was awaiting final approval for a restructuring plan in which it would have re-emerged as the "Oasis Bank". However, after the Sandstorm report, regulators concluded BCCI was so fraught with problems that it had to be seized. It had already been ordered to shut down its American operations in March for its illegal control of First American.
On 5 July 1991, regulators persuaded a court in Luxembourg to order BCCI liquidated on the grounds that it was hopelessly insolvent. According to the court order, BCCI had lost more than its entire capital and reserves the year before. At 1 pm London time that day (8 am in New York City), regulators marched into BCCI's offices and shut them down. Around a million depositors were immediately affected by this action.
On 7 July 1991, Hong Kong Office of the Commissioner of Banking (predecessor
of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority) ordered BCCI to shut down its business in Hong Kong on the grounds that BCCI had problem loans and the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi, the major shareholder of BCCI, refused to provide funds to the Hong Kong BCCI. Hong Kong BCCI was liquidated on 17 July 1991.
A few weeks after the seizure, on 29 July, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau announced that a Manhattan grand jury had indicted BCCI, Abedi and Naqvi on twelve counts of fraud, money laundering, and larceny. Morgenthau, who had been investigating BCCI for more than two years, claimed jurisdiction because millions of dollars laundered by the bank flowed through Manhattan. Also, Morgenthau cited BCCI's secret ownership of First American, which operated a subsidiary in New York City. Morgenthau said that all of BCCI's deposits had been fraudulently collected because the bank misled depositors about its ownership structure and financial condition. He described BCCI as "the largest bank fraud in world financial history".
On 15 November, BCCI, Abedi and Naqvi were indicted on federal charges that it had illegally bought control of another American bank, Independence Bank of Los Angeles, using Saudi businessman Ghaith Pharaon as the puppet owner.
Just a month later, BCCI's liquidators (Deloitte, PWC) pleaded guilty to all criminal charges pending against the bank in the United States (both those lodged by the federal government and by Morgenthau), clearing the way for BCCI's formal liquidation that fall. BCCI paid $10 million in fines and forfeited all $550 million of its American assets – at the time, the largest single criminal forfeiture ever obtained by federal prosecutors. The money was used to repay losses to First American and Independence and to make restitution to BCCI's depositors. None of this was enough to rescue both banks, however; Independence was seized later in 1992, while First American was forced into a sale to First Union in 1993.
Many of the major players in the scandal have never been brought to trial in American or UK courts. Abedi, for example, died in 1995. He was under indictment in the United States and UK for crimes related to BCCI, but Pakistani officials refused to give him up for extradition because they felt the charges were politically motivated. Even without this to consider, he had been in poor health since suffering a stroke in the 1980s. Pharaon remained a fugitive until his death in 2017.
In 2002, Denis Robert and Ernest Backes, former number three of financial clearing house Clearstream, discovered that BCCI had continued to maintain its activities after its official closure, with microfiches of Clearstream's illegal unpublished accounts.
Estimates of financial losses range from $10 billion to $17 billion, though some of it has been recovered by the bank's liquidators, Deloitte & Touche.
== American inquiries and legal actions ==
In 1991, Robert Mueller declared the government had been investigating BCCI since 1986 resulting in intense media coverage.
In 1992, United States Senators John Kerry and Hank Brown became the co-authors of a report on BCCI, which was delivered to the Committee on Foreign Relations. The BCCI scandal was one of a number of disasters that influenced thinking leading to the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) of 1998. The report found that Clifford and his legal/business partner Robert A. Altman had been closely involved with the bank from 1978, when they were introduced to BCCI by Bert Lance, the former director of the Office of Management and Budget, to 1991. Earlier, Pharaon was revealed to have been the puppet owner of National Bank of Georgia, a bank formerly owned by Lance before being sold back to First American (it had previously been an FGB subsidiary before Lance bought it). Clifford and Altman testified that they had never observed any suspicious activity, and had themselves been deceived about BCCI's control of First American. However, the federal government and Morgenthau contended that the two men knew, or should have known, that BCCI controlled First American. Pharaon also was revealed to be the puppet controlling owner of CenTrust Bank in Miami, Florida.
Morgenthau and the federal government brought indictments against Clifford and Altman, but did not pursue Clifford due to his age and deteriorating health (he died in 1998). Altman was indicted and tried in New York, though he was ultimately acquitted following a jury verdict of not guilty. Altman later accepted a de-facto lifetime ban from any role in the banking industry to settle a civil suit by the Fed.
== British inquiry and litigation ==
The British government set up an independent inquiry, chaired by Lord Justice Bingham, in 1992. Its House of Commons Paper, Inquiry into the Supervision of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, was published in October of that year. Following the report, BCCI liquidators Deloitte Touche filed suit against the Bank of England for £850m, claiming that the Bank was guilty of misfeasance in public office. The suit lasted 12 years. It ended in November 2005, when Deloitte withdrew its claims after England's High Court ruled that it was "no longer in the best interests of creditors" for the litigation to continue. Deloitte eventually paid the Bank of England £73 million for its legal costs. According to news reports at the time, it was the most expensive case in British legal history.
== Litigation elsewhere ==
Although major litigation has ended in the case, suits and legal actions relating to the bank were still being brought in 2013, more than 20 years after the bank's failure.
== Former directors ==
Khalid bin Mahfouz – non-executive director. Mahfouz and his brothers owned a 20% stake in BCCI between 1986 and 1990.
Alfred Hartman
Shaikh Mohammed Ishaq
== Legal cases involving BCCI ==
Bank of Credit and Commerce International SA v Aboody [1992] 4 All ER 955, pre-collapse case, later overturned, on the criteria for undue influence if someone is pressured into signing a mortgage agreement
Mahmud and Malik v Bank of Credit and Commerce International SA [1998] AC 20, where employees sued the bank for breach of mutual trust and confidence by carrying on unlawful activities and thereby tarnishing the employees' reputations.
Bank of Credit and Commerce International (Overseas) Ltd v Akindele [2000] EWCA Civ 502 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demi_Moore | Demi Moore | Demi Gene Moore ( də-MEE; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. Her accolades include a Golden Globe, a Critics' Choice Award, and an Actor Award, and nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2025, she appeared on Time's 100 most influential people in the world list, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that year.
Moore began her career as a model and joined the cast of the soap opera General Hospital in 1981. After departing the show in 1983, she rose to prominence as a member of the Brat Pack, with roles in the films Blame It on Rio (1984), St. Elmo's Fire (1985), and About Last Night... (1986). She emerged a star with her portrayal of a grieving girlfriend in the romance film Ghost (1990), had further box office success with A Few Good Men (1992), Indecent Proposal (1993), and Disclosure (1994), and received a then-unprecedented $12.5 million to star in Striptease (1996). Her output decreased significantly after The Scarlet Letter (1995), The Juror (1996), and G.I. Jane (1997) fell below commercial expectations.
Moore has sporadically held leading roles in arthouse films; supporting roles in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Bobby (2006), Mr. Brooks (2007), Margin Call (2011), and Rough Night (2017); as well as television credits in If These Walls Could Talk (1996), Empire (2017–2018), Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (2024), and Landman (2024–present). She gained renewed recognition for her performance as an aging celebrity in the body horror film The Substance (2024), for which she received her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
Moore has been married three times. From 1981 to 1985, she was married to musician Freddy Moore. From 1987 to 2000, she was married to Bruce Willis, with whom she has three daughters. She was married to Ashton Kutcher from 2005 to 2013. Her 2019 memoir, Inside Out, reached number one on The New York Times Best Seller. People magazine named her the most beautiful woman in the world in 2025.
== Early life ==
Demi Moore was born Demetria Gene Harmon on November 11, 1962, in Roswell, New Mexico. Her biological father, Air Force airman Charles Foster Harmon Sr., deserted her then-18-year-old mother, Virginia (née King), after a two-month marriage before Moore's birth. Charles came from Lanett, Alabama, and Virginia was born in Richmond, California but had grown up in Roswell. Moore's maternal grandmother was raised on a farm in Elida, New Mexico. Moore has deep roots in the South Central and Southern U.S., particularly Oklahoma, Arkansas and Georgia. When Moore was three months old, her mother married Dan Guynes, a newspaper advertising salesman who frequently changed jobs; as a result, the family moved many times. In 1967 they had Moore's half-brother Morgan. Moore said in 1991, "My dad is Dan Guynes. He raised me. There is a man who would be considered my biological father who I don't really have a relationship with." Moore has half-siblings from Harmon's other marriages, but she does not keep in contact with them.
Moore's stepfather Dan Guynes married and divorced Virginia twice. On October 20, 1980, a year after their second divorce from each other, Guynes committed suicide. Her biological father Harmon died in 1997 from liver cancer in Brazoria, Texas. Moore's mother had a long arrest record which included drunk driving and arson. Moore broke off contact with her mother in 1989, when she left halfway through a rehab stay Moore had financed at the Hazelden Foundation in Minnesota. Virginia Guynes posed nude for the magazine High Society in 1993, where she spoofed Moore's Vanity Fair pregnancy and bodypaint covers and parodied her clay scene from Ghost. Moore and Guynes reconciled shortly before Guynes died of a brain tumor on July 2, 1998.
Moore spent her early childhood in Roswell, and later, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Bob Gardner, a photographer for the Monongahela Daily Herald when Dan Guynes was head of advertising, recalled that Moore "looked malnourished and not so much abused as neglected. That haunting look as a child made me feel uneasy." She suffered from strabismus, which was corrected by two operations, as well as kidney dysfunction. Moore learned that Guynes was not her real father at age 13, when she discovered a marriage certificate and inquired about the circumstances since she "saw my parents were married in February 1963. I was born in '62."
At age 14, Moore returned to her hometown of Roswell and lived with her grandmother for six months before relocating to Washington State, where her recently separated mother was residing near Seattle. Several months later, the family moved again to West Hollywood, California, where Moore's mother took a job working for a magazine distribution company. Moore attended Fairfax High School there. In 2019, she stated she was raped at 15 by landlord Basil Doumas, then 49. Doumas claimed he had paid Moore's mother to get access to Moore to rape her, although Moore said it is unclear if this was true.
In November 1978, Moore moved in with 28-year-old guitarist Tom Dunston, quitting high school in her junior year to work as a receptionist at 20th Century Fox —a job she secured through Dunston's mother, who was an executive assistant to producer Douglas S. Cramer. She signed with the Elite Modeling Agency, then enrolled in acting classes after being inspired by her next-door neighbor, 17-year-old German starlet Nastassja Kinski. Moore's first and second roles as a professional actress were guest spots on the TV shows W.E.B. and Kaz (though neither is listed in her IMDb filmography). In August 1979, three months before her 17th birthday, Moore met musician Freddy Moore, at the time leader of the band Boy, at the Los Angeles nightclub The Troubadour. He obtained a divorce in late 1980 and married Demi six weeks later.
== Career ==
=== Beginnings and breakthrough (1980–1989) ===
Moore co-wrote three songs with Freddy Moore and appeared in the music video for their selection It's Not a Rumor, performed by his band, the Nu-Kats. She continues to receive royalty checks from her songwriting work (1980–1981).
Moore appeared on the cover of the January 1981 issue of the adult magazine Oui, taken from a photo session in which she had posed nude. In a 1988 interview, Moore said she "only posed for the cover of Oui —I was 16; I told them I was 18." Interviewer Alan Carter said, "However, some peekaboo shots did appear inside. And later, nude shots of her turned up in Celebrity Sleuth —photos that she once said 'were for a European fashion magazine'." In 1990, she told another interviewer, "I was 17 years old. I was underage. It was just the cover."
Moore made her film debut as the protagonist's girlfriend in Choices (1981), a sports drama directed by Silvio Narizzano. It did not garner much attention until after Moore became a household name, with home video releases heavily hyping up her appearance. Her second feature was the 3-D sci-fi horror Parasite (1982), for which director Charles Band had instructed casting director Johanna Ray to "find me the next Karen Allen". It proved to be a minor hit on the drive-in circuit, ultimately grossing $7 million. Moore had already joined the cast of the ABC soap opera General Hospital several months before the film's release, playing the role of investigative reporter Jackie Templeton through 1983. During her tenure on the series, she made an uncredited cameo appearance in the 1982 spoof Young Doctors in Love.
Moore's film career took off in 1984 following her appearance as the teenage daughter of a businessman (played by Michael Caine) in the sex comedy Blame It on Rio. In No Small Affair (1984), she played the love interest of an amateur photographer, opposite Jon Cryer. Sheila Benson of Los Angeles Times called her "the movie's revelation", asserting that she was "gamine, molten, wild, tragicomic and genuinely affecting." Her commercial breakthrough came with her role as an uninhibited banker in Joel Schumacher's yuppie drama St. Elmo's Fire (1985). Having lobbied for her casting, the director urged her to go to rehab before shooting and hired a full-time sober companion during production. The film received negative reviews, but was a box office success and brought her widespread recognition. Because of her association with that film, she was often listed as part of the Brat Pack, a label she felt was "demeaning".
Moore progressed to more serious material with the romantic dramedy About Last Night... (1986), in which she played one half of a Chicago couple, alongside Rob Lowe. It marked a positive turning point in her career, as Moore noted that, following its release, she began seeing better scripts. Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and praised her performance, writing, "There isn't a romantic note she isn't required to play in this movie, and she plays them all flawlessly." The success of About Last Night... was unrivaled by Moore's other two 1986 releases, One Crazy Summer and Wisdom, the last youth-oriented films in which she would star.
Moore made her professional stage debut in an off-Broadway production of The Early Girl, which ran at the Circle Repertory Company in fall 1986. Mel Gussow of The New York Times deemed it a "striking debut" and observed that she "has exactly the right combination of naivete and know-how, and[…] is unabashed about the demands of the performance." In 1988, Moore starred as a prophecy-bearing mother in the apocalyptic drama The Seventh Sign —her first outing as a solo film star— and in 1989, she played the quick-witted local laundress and part-time prostitute in Neil Jordan's Depression-era allegory We're No Angels, opposite Robert De Niro and Sean Penn.
=== Established career (1990–1997) ===
Moore's most successful film to date is the supernatural romantic melodrama Ghost, which grossed over $505 million at the box office and was the highest-grossing film of 1990, as well as the most rented videocassette of 1991. She played a young woman in jeopardy to be protected by the ghost of her murdered boyfriend through the help of a reluctant psychic. The love scene between Moore and Patrick Swayze that starts in front of a potter's wheel to the sound of "Unchained Melody" has become an iconic moment in cinema history. Ghost was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, while Moore's performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination and the Saturn Award for Best Actress. She started fashion trends with her uncharacteristically gamine look, and legions of women emulated the short haircut she sported throughout the film. At one point, Ghost and Die Hard 2, starring Moore's then-husband Bruce Willis, would occupy the number one and number two spots at the box office, a feat that would not be accomplished again for a married Hollywood couple until 2024.
In 1991, Moore starred as a lawyer in the horror comedy Nothing but Trouble, a murder suspect in the mystery thriller Mortal Thoughts, and a clairvoyant woman in the romantic comedy The Butcher's Wife. Mortal Thoughts, which co-starred Willis, was a "passion project" for Moore, who wanted a more challenging role following the success of Ghost and was particularly drawn to her character's New Jersey dialect. After the original director was fired and replaced by Alan Rudolph, she took it upon herself to mitigate the film's financial constraints, offering to pay overtime for the shooting.
Moore received a $2.5 million fee to star in The Butcher's Wife, but later regretted making the film. It was noted that, during production, she was "catered to by an assistant, a dialogue coach, a masseuse, a psychic consultant, [her daughter]'s nanny, and a bodyguard […]—in addition to the standard-issue hairdresser, makeup person, and stand-in. She arrived for each morning's shoot in a limo and insisted on flying between locations by private plane." Screenwriter Ezra Litwak stated: "Demi is very much a movie star. Everything revolves around that fact. She knows what she wants and how to get it." The film was a critical and commercial failure, but Roger Ebert embraced her performance, describing it as "warm and cuddly."
Moore's next roles —a lieutenant commander in Rob Reiner's A Few Good Men (1992), a morally tested wife in Adrian Lyne's Indecent Proposal (1993), and a sexually charged employer in Barry Levinson's Disclosure (1994)— raised her demand among studios. The three aforementioned films opened atop the box office and were blockbuster hits. Producer Martin Shafer considered her to be "every bit as valuable as [her male counterparts]" and called her "the biggest female star in the world."
With her A-list status, some of Moore's film choices were the subject of widespread scrutiny. Her portrayal of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter (1995), a "freely adapted" version of the historical romance novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was met with harsh disapproval. James Berardinelli found her to be "out of her depth" and noted that her "insufficient" range resulted in a "weak" performance. She played an author with commitment issues in the coming-of-age drama Now and Then (1995), which she described as "more than just a film […] it was an adventure". Now and Then did not score with critics but found box office success and cult following.
Moore became the world's highest-paid actress when she was paid a record-breaking salary of $12.5 million to star as a FBI secretary-turned-stripper in Striptease (1996). Her own daughter Rumer Willis, who was 7 years old when the film was released, played her character's daughter. Despite grossing a respectable $113 million worldwide, Striptease was heavily disliked. Brian D. Johnson of Maclean's was critical of Moore's acting and described the film as a "tacky" display of her vanity. She starred as a single mother intimidated by a mobster in the thriller The Juror (1996), which did not connect with critics nor audiences. For both Striptease and The Juror, she received the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress.
Moore produced and starred in HBO's If These Walls Could Talk (1996), a three-part anthology about abortion alongside Sissy Spacek and Cher. Its screenwriter, Nancy Savoca, directed two segments, including one in which Moore played a widowed nurse in the early 1950s seeking a back-alley abortion. If These Walls Could Talk became HBO's highest-rated original film to date, drawing 6.9 million viewers. For the film, Moore received Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film and Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television, as well as a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Television Movie. In 1996, she provided the voice of Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Dallas Grimes in Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, both of which were the highest-grossing animated films that year.
Moore portrayed the first woman to undergo training in the Navy SEALs in Ridley Scott's G.I. Jane (1997). For her role, she shaved her head and went through a rigorous two-week military training. The film received mixed reviews and earned her another Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress, but her performance was largely praised by critics. Budgeted at $50 million, it was a moderate commercial success, grossing $98.4 million worldwide. Striptease and G.I. Jane were considered to have contributed to a professional downturn, on which she later remarked: "With Striptease, it was as if I had betrayed women, and with G.I. Jane, it was as if I had betrayed men." Nevertheless, she has described G.I. Jane as one of her proudest professional achievements. In 1997, she played an ultrapious Jewish convert psychiatrist in Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry, and an emotionally estranged wife in Mark Pellington's short film Destination Anywhere.
=== Hiatus and sporadic roles (1998–2007) ===
After G.I. Jane, Moore retreated from the limelight and moved to Hailey, Idaho, on a full-time basis to devote herself to raising her three daughters. She was off-screen for three years before re-emerging in the arthouse psychological drama Passion of Mind (2000), the first English-language film from Belgian director Alain Berliner. Her performance as a woman with dissociative identity disorder was favourably reviewed, but the film was deemed "naggingly slow" by some critics and failed to find an audience. She felt that Passion of Mind "didn't get the best of [her]" due to the death of her mother and her divorce from Willis. She then resumed her self-imposed career hiatus and continued to turn down film offers. Producer Irwin Winkler said in 2001, "I had a project about a year and a half ago, and we made an inquiry about her —a real good commercial picture. She wasn't interested."
Moore returned to the screen, playing a villain, in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), opposite Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu. Her role was specifically written for her and proved, according to Barrymore, to have "upstaged" the film's heroines. A scene, in particular, featuring her in a swimsuit, attracted "very heightened" media attention. She found herself intimidated by the response, which she said made her question her place in the industry. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone remarked: "It's a relief when Demi Moore shows up as [a] fallen angel ... Moore, 40, looks great in a bikini and doesn't even try to act. Her unsmiling sexiness cuts through the gigglefest as the angels fight, kick, dance and motocross like Indiana Jones clones on estrogen." A commercial success, Full Throttle made $259.1 million worldwide, but it was followed by yet another three-year absence from the screen. In the interim, she signed on as the face of Versace and Helena Rubinstein.
After a leading role as a grieving novelist in the mystery thriller Half Light (2006), Moore reunited with Emilio Estevez for his drama Bobby (2006), about the hours leading up to the Robert F. Kennedy assassination, in which she portrayed an alcoholic singer whose career is on the downswing. As a member of the ensemble cast, she was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Motion Picture and won the Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Ensemble Cast.
Moore reunited with Blame It on Rio co-star Michael Caine for the British heist drama Flawless (2007), which saw her portray an American executive helping to steal a handful of diamonds from the London Diamond Corporation during the 1960s. A writer for Miami Herald asserted: "The inspired pairing of Demi Moore and Michael Caine as a pair of thieves in the diamond-heist semi-caper movie Flawless goes a long way toward overcoming the film's slack, leisurely pacing." She appeared as a driven police officer investigating a serial killer in the psychological thriller Mr. Brooks (2007). Critic Peter Travers felt that her role "deserved better than being saddled with an absurd back story as an heiress with a fortune-hunting husband." Mr. Brooks was profitable, grossing $48.1 million worldwide.
=== Independent films and varied ventures (2008–2023) ===
Moore made her directorial debut with the coming-of-age short film Streak (2008), which starred her daughter Rumer and screened at the Nashville Film Festival. In 2009, Moore played a daughter helping her father deal with age-related health problems in the dramedy Happy Tears, as well as a stealth marketer in the comedy The Joneses. The latter film was largely highlighted, with critics concluding that it "benefits from its timely satire of consumer culture" as well as a "strong" performance from Moore. That year, she acted in the 9th edition of 24 Hour Plays on Broadway at the American Airlines Theatre. In Bunraku (2010), a film Moore described as a "big action adventure," she starred as a courtesan and a femme fatale with a secret past.
Moore portrayed a chief risk management officer at a large Wall Street investment bank during the initial stages of the 2008 financial crisis in the corporate drama Margin Call (2011), in which she was part of an ensemble cast that included Kevin Spacey, Simon Baker, and Paul Bettany. The film was favourably received, and earned the cast nominations for Best Ensemble from the Gotham Awards, the Phoenix Film Critics Society and the Central Ohio Film Critics Association. She was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award in the category of Outstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film for her work as a director in a segment of the Lifetime anthology film Five (2011).
During this period, Moore's career was noted to have shifted into "smaller movies and smaller roles". She played a "brash and overtly sexual second wife" in the black comedy Another Happy Day (2011), mothers in the coming-of-age films LOL (2012) and Very Good Girls (2013), an old flame of a quick-draw killer in the Western drama Forsaken (2015), the daughter of a retired high school teacher in the road comedy Wild Oats (2016), and the neglected wife of an indicted businessman in the drama Blind (2017). David Fear of Rolling Stone described her as "someone who, despite the fact that she still graces screens […], makes you feel as if they’ve gone into self-exile in order to survive."
Between 2017 and 2018, Moore had a recurring arc as a mysterious take-charge nurse on Empire. The comedy Rough Night (2017) featured her as one half of a swinger couple seducing a member of a bachelorette party. Alonso Duralde for The Wrap called her "wonderfully skeevy", but Tim Grierson for Screen Daily considered her part to be a "wobbly subplot" of the film. Her only wide theatrical release of the decade, Rough Night made $47.3 million globally. She played a social worker in the Hindi-language drama Love Sonia (2018), and an unethical CEO in the black comedy Corporate Animals (2019).
Moore's memoir, Inside Out, in which she discusses her childhood, relationships and personal struggles, was published in September 2019, by HarperCollins. The book reached number one on The New York Times' combined print & e-book nonfiction best-sellers list and the hardcover nonfiction best-sellers list.
In 2020, Moore played a protective matriarch in the thriller Songbird, recurred as the mother of a subversive outsider in three episodes of Brave New World, and was among the celebrities who made cameo appearances modeling lingerie at Rihanna's Savage x Fenty Vol. 2 fashion show. That year, she served as a producer and played the title role in the podcast Dirty Diana. Moore recorded the project from her bathroom and saw it as an opportunity to explore sexuality through a sex positive message.
Moore's supporting turn as an eccentric neighbor in the musical drama Please Baby Please (2022) earned her positive notices. Tara Bradly of the Irish Times found her to be a "marvel" in her role. Writing for Variety, Manuel Betancourt felt that the film "understands one should always give Demi Moore a movie star entrance […] we’re encouraged to get lost in the fantasy Moore creates for us." She played a cameo as Nicolas Cage's in-movie fictional ex-wife in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022).
=== Renewed critical success (2024–present) ===
In 2024, Moore played socialite Ann Woodward in the Ryan Murphy anthology series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans on FX, and began starring as the wife of an oil tycoon in Taylor Sheridan's drama series Landman on Paramount+.
In Coralie Fargeat's body horror film The Substance (2024), Moore played an aging star who uses a black market drug to make herself younger. It premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, and Moore's performance was praised by critics. Nicholas Barber of BBC called it "her best big-screen role in decades" and praised her for being "fearless in parodying her public image." Phil de Semlyen of Time Out believed Moore "glues it all together, going full Isabelle Adjani-in-Possession in a vanity-free performance full of bruised ego, dawning horror and vulnerability." She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress, and an Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress.
Moore will next star in Boots Riley's film I Love Boosters. In April 2025, she was chosen People's World's Most Beautiful of 2025. On May 9, 2025, it was announced that Moore would star alongside actor Colman Domingo in the film Strange Arrivals, directed by Roger Ross Williams, based on the true story of Betty and Barney Hill, an interracial couple who, in 1961, became the first reported case of an alien abduction.
== Public image ==
=== Status and persona ===
Moore is viewed as a pioneer for equal salary for women in Hollywood. She was paid $12.5 million for her role in Striptease, which was more money than any other actress had ever been offered at the time. Producers for Striptease and G.I. Jane got into a bidding war to see who could get her to film first. Striptease won and Moore became the world's highest-paid actress in 1995. According to Entertainment Weekly, Moore's fee for the film caused a "reverse domino effect" in the industry, as "Sharon Stone's asking price jumped from $6 million to $7 million, Jodie Foster went from $7 million to $8 million, Meg Ryan moved from $6 million to $8 million, and Julia Roberts leaped from $12 million to $13 million." She became a teen icon in the 1980s, and by the 1990s was the most sought-after woman in Hollywood, establishing herself as a sex symbol and one of the bankable stars.
During the production of G.I. Jane, it was reported that Moore had ordered studio chiefs to charter two planes for her entourage and her, which reinforced her negative reputation for being a diva —she had previously turned down the Sandra Bullock role in While You Were Sleeping because the studio refused to meet her salary demands, and was dubbed "Gimme Moore" by the media. Retrospectively, Lifetime called her a "pioneer for other actresses by being the first female lead to demand the same salary, benefits and billing as her male counterparts". Profiling Moore in 2007, The Guardian observed: "Her screen persona always has something indestructible about it. There's a toughness, a strength, a determination." She was the subject of an E! True Hollywood Story special in 2003 and of a Celebrity Style Story special in 2012.
Moore has been included in a number of magazine lists of the world's most beautiful women. In 1996, she was selected as one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. In 1999, she was a guest editor for the November issue of Marie Claire, and was ranked eighth on Forbes' list of Top 20 Actresses, based on three separate lists of box office receipts. In 2004, People ranked her ninth on their list of All-Time Most Beautiful Women. In 2006, she was voted seventh on Life & Style's Best Dressed Female poll. In December 2019, The Wall Street Journal listed a cover story about Moore as one of their most-read stories in the year. In 2025, she was placed at number one on People's annual list of 100 Most Beautiful People, and was one of Time magazine's The 100 Most Influential People of 2025.
Moore has 4.5 million followers on Twitter, as of January 2020. She uses Twitter as a platform to raise awareness of sexual trafficking and slavery. "She is practicing what she preaches: More than half of her posts are on the subject, directing followers where to get involved", Harper's Bazaar reported in August 2010. Moore remarked: "I like to connect to people in the virtual world [...] exchanging thoughts and ideas, when in the physical world we might never have the opportunity to cross paths." As of March 2024, Moore has 6.1 million Instagram followers.
Moore has graced the cover of numerous international fashion magazines, including W, Vanity Fair, Interview, Rolling Stone, Glamour, InStyle, Time and Vogue. She posed nude on the October 2019 cover of Harper's Bazaar. As of 2024, she has appeared on magazine covers every year since 1980. Moore has appeared in television commercials for Keds, Oscar Mayer, Diet Coke, Lux, Jog Mate, and Seibu Department Stores, and print ads for Versace and Ann Taylor. She became a global brand ambassador for Kérastasein 2026.
=== Vanity Fair covers ===
In August 1991, Moore appeared nude on the cover of Vanity Fair under the title More Demi Moore. Annie Leibovitz shot the picture while Moore was seven months pregnant with her second child, Scout LaRue Willis, intending to portray "anti-Hollywood, anti-glitz" attitude. The cover drew significant attention and was widely discussed in the media. The frankness of Leibovitz's portrayal of a pregnant sex symbol led to divided opinions, ranging from suggestions of sexual objectification to celebrations of the photograph as a symbol of empowerment.
The photograph was subject to numerous parodies, including the Spy Magazine version, which placed Moore's then-husband Bruce Willis's head on the body of a male model with a false belly. In Leibovitz v. Paramount Pictures Corp., Leibovitz sued over one parody featuring Leslie Nielsen, made to promote the 1994 film Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult. In the parody, the model's body was attached to what is described as "the guilty and smirking face" of Nielsen. The teaser said "Due this March." The case was dismissed in 1996 because the parody relied "for its comic effect on the contrast between the original." In November 2009, the Moroccan magazine Femmes du Maroc emulated the pose with Moroccan news reporter Nadia Larguet, causing controversy in the majority-Muslim nation.
In August 1992, Moore again appeared nude on the cover of Vanity Fair, this time modeling for body painting artist Joanne Gair in Demi's Birthday Suit.
== Personal life ==
=== Marriages and relationships ===
On February 8, 1981, at the age of 18, Moore married singer Freddy Moore, then 30 and recently divorced from his first wife. Before their marriage, Demi had already begun using Freddy's surname as her stage name. The pair separated in 1983, after which Demi had a relationship with Timothy Hutton. She filed for divorce from Freddy in September 1984; it was finalized on August 7, 1985. Moore was then engaged to actor Emilio Estevez, with whom she co-starred in St. Elmo's Fire and Wisdom, a crime drama he also wrote and directed. The pair planned to marry on December 6, 1986, but called off the engagement after a woman filed a $2 million paternity suit against Estevez.
On November 21, 1987, Moore married her second husband, actor Bruce Willis. She and Willis had three daughters: Rumer Glenn Willis (born 1988), Scout LaRue Willis (born 1991), and Tallulah Belle Willis (born 1994). They announced their separation on June 24, 1998, and divorced on October 18, 2000. Despite the divorce, Moore maintains a close friendship with Willis and his current wife Emma Heming Willis, and has assisted her and their respective children with caretaking for Willis as his health has declined. Moore had a three-year romance with martial arts instructor Oliver Whitcomb, whom she dated from 1999 to 2002.
In 2003, Moore began dating actor Ashton Kutcher. Soon after they began dating, Moore became pregnant and she suffered a stillbirth six months into the pregnancy. They married on September 24, 2005. The wedding was attended by about 150 close friends and family of the couple, including Willis. In November 2011, after months of media speculation about the state of the couple's marriage, Moore announced her decision to end her marriage to Kutcher. After over a year of separation, Kutcher filed for divorce from Moore on December 21, 2012, in Los Angeles Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. Moore filed her response papers in March 2013, requesting spousal support and payment of legal fees from Kutcher. On November 26, 2013, their divorce was finalized.
=== Beliefs and interests ===
Politically, Moore is a supporter of the Democratic Party.
Moore was at one point a follower of Philip Berg's Kabbalah Centre religion, and initiated Ashton Kutcher into the faith, having said that she "didn't grow up Jewish, but ... would say that [she has] been more exposed to the deeper meanings of particular rituals than any of [her] friends that did." She is no longer affiliated with Berg's organization.
Moore has varying interest on Indian Spirituality and follows Mata Amritanandamayi.
According to The New York Times, Moore is "the world's most high-profile doll collector," and among her favorites is the Gene Marshall fashion doll. She has reportedly kept a separate residence to house her 2,000 dolls. Moore is also a fan of soccer and supports Arsenal FC.
== Activism and philanthropy ==
Moore has supported numerous charities, including All Day Foundation, American Foundation for AIDS Research, Artists for Peace and Justice, Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, Declare Yourself, Free The Slaves, Healthy Child Healthy World, Raising Malawi, The Art of Elysium and UNICEF. In 2010, Moore defeated Kevin Bacon to win $250,000 in the Pepsi Refresh Celebrity Challenge. She chose to support the organization GEMS: Girls Educational & Mentoring Services, a non-profit group which aims to empower young women who have been the victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. She traveled to Haiti with the Artists for Peace and Justice following the earthquake of 2010. She has also supported Chrysalis, a non-profit organization which offers employment opportunities to the homeless.
Moore became a special contributor to the CNN Freedom Project and traveled to Nepal to meet with 2010 CNN Hero of the Year Anuradha Koirala and her organization, Maiti Nepal, which has rescued more than 12,000 stolen Nepalese children from sex trafficking since 1993. She was the narrator and anchor of CNN's documentary on child trafficking, called Nepal's Stolen Children, which aired on June 26, 2011. In the documentary, Moore talked to Nepal's prime minister, Jhalanath Khanal, and young girls who were forced into prostitution before being saved by a Nepalese nonprofit. She appeared on PETA's Worst-Dressed List in 2009 for wearing fur, but two years later, she supported the group's efforts to ban circus workers' use of bullhooks on elephants.
In 2009, Moore and Kutcher launched the Demi and Ashton Foundation (DNA), a nonprofit, non-governmental organization directed towards fighting child sexual slavery. The foundation's first campaign included several celebrities, including Justin Timberlake, Sean Penn, Bradley Cooper appearing in a series of viral videos proclaiming: "Real Men Don't Buy Girls." In November 2012, the foundation said it was renaming as Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children, which aimed "to disrupt and deflate the predatory behavior of those who abuse and traffic children, solicit sex with children or create and share child pornography." Thorn assisted law enforcement in identifying 5,894 child sex trafficking victims and rescuing 103 children from "situations where their sexual abuse was recorded and distributed" in 2017, according to the organization's impact report that year. In 2018, Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization, Visionary Women honored Moore with its inaugural Visionary Woman Award for her work to combat human trafficking. In 2022, Thorn found 824,466 child sexual abuse material files and identified 1,895 victims of child sexual abuse. She received the Courage Award at The Women's Cancer Research Fund's gala in 2024.
== Acting credits and accolades ==
Moore is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award and an Actor Award, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Directors Guild of America Award, and two Independent Spirit Awards.
Her highest-grossing and most-positively reviewed films, according to the online portal Box Office Mojo and the review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, include: |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Guy | Family Guy | Family Guy is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois, their children, Meg, Chris, and Stewie, and their anthropomorphic pet dog, Brian. Set in the fictional city of Quahog, Rhode Island, the show exhibits much of its humor in the form of cutaway gags that often lampoon American culture.
The family was conceived by MacFarlane after he developed two animated films, The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve. MacFarlane redesigned the films' protagonist, Larry, and his dog, Steve, and renamed them Peter and Brian, respectively. MacFarlane pitched a fifteen-minute pilot to Fox in May 1998, and the show was greenlit and began production. Family Guy's cancellation was announced shortly after the third season had aired in 2002, with one unaired episode eventually premiering on Adult Swim in 2003, finishing the series' original run. Favorable DVD sales and high ratings from syndicated reruns since then convinced Fox to revive the show in 2004; a fourth season began airing the following year, on May 1, 2005.
Family Guy received generally positive reviews during its first seven seasons. Since then, the series has received criticism for a perceived decline in quality. In 2009, it was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, the first time an animated series had been nominated for the award since The Flintstones in 1961. In 2013, TV Guide ranked Family Guy as the ninth-greatest TV cartoon. The series has drawn significant criticism for its storylines, humor, and character portrayals, including allegations of racism, sexism, homophobia, and reliance on offensive stereotypes and graphic violence.
Many tie-in media based on the show have been released, including Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, a straight-to-DVD special released in 2005; Family Guy: Live in Vegas, a soundtrack-DVD combo released in 2005, featuring music from the show as well as music created by MacFarlane and Walter Murphy; a video game and pinball machine, released in 2006 and 2007, respectively; since 2005, six books published by Harper Adult; and Laugh It Up, Fuzzball: The Family Guy Trilogy (2010), a collection of three episodes parodying the original Star Wars trilogy. A spin-off series, The Cleveland Show, featuring Cleveland Brown, aired from September 27, 2009 to May 19, 2013.
On April 2, 2025, it was announced that Family Guy would be renewed for four more seasons in what is considered a "mega deal" with parent company Disney. This renewal will take the show through the 2028–29 television season. The twenty-fourth season premiered in October 2025, and regular episodes premiered on February 15, 2026.
In March 2026, it was announced that a second spin-off series, Stewie, was given a two-season order for Fox. Stewie is set to premiere during the 2027–28 season.
== Premise ==
=== Characters ===
The show centers around the adventures and activities of the dysfunctional Griffin family, consisting of father Peter Griffin, a bumbling and clumsy blue-collar worker; his wife Lois, a stay-at-home mother and piano teacher (in early episodes) who is a member of the affluent Pewterschmidt family; Meg, their often bullied teenage daughter who is constantly ridiculed or ignored by the family; Chris, their awkward teenage son, who is overweight, unintelligent, unathletic, and in many respects a younger version of his father; and Stewie, their diabolical, adult-mannered infant son of ambiguous sexual orientation who is an evil genius and uses stereotypical archvillain phrases. Living with the family is their witty, smoking, martini-swilling, sarcastic, English-speaking anthropomorphic pet dog Brian, although he is still considered a pet in many ways.
Recurring characters appear alongside the Griffin family. These include the family's neighbors: sex-crazed airline pilot bachelor Glenn Quagmire; deli owner/mail carrier Cleveland Brown and his wife Loretta (later Donna); paraplegic police officer Joe Swanson, his wife Bonnie, their son Kevin and their baby daughter Susie; neurotic Jewish pharmacist Mort Goldman, his wife Muriel, and their geeky and annoying son Neil, and elderly child molester Herbert. TV news anchors Tom Tucker and Diane Simmons, Asian reporter Tricia Takanawa, and Blaccu-Weather meteorologist Ollie Williams also make frequent appearances. Actor James Woods guest stars as himself in multiple episodes, as did Adam West, prior to his death.
=== Setting ===
The primary setting of Family Guy is Quahog ( K(W)OH-hog), a fictional city in Rhode Island that was founded by Peter's ancestor, Griffin Peterson. MacFarlane resided in Providence during his time as a student at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and the show contains distinct Rhode Island landmarks similar to real-world locations.
== Episodes ==
=== Notes ===
Season 23 had eighteen episodes broadcast on Fox, and two are Hulu exclusives that are not a part of the normal season.
Season 24 will have fifteen episodes broadcast on Fox, with an additional two Hulu exclusives that are not a part of the normal season.
== Production ==
=== Development ===
MacFarlane conceived Family Guy in 1995 while studying animation at the Rhode Island School of Design. During college, he created his thesis film titled The Life of Larry, which was submitted by his professor at RISD to Hanna-Barbera. MacFarlane was hired by the company. In 1996, MacFarlane created a sequel to The Life of Larry titled Larry and Steve, which featured a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve; the short was broadcast in 1997 as one of Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons.
Executives at Fox saw the Larry shorts and contracted MacFarlane to create a series, titled Family Guy, based on the characters. Fox proposed that MacFarlane complete a 15-minute short and gave him a budget of $50,000. MacFarlane pitched the completed demo short to Fox on May 15, 1998, which featured the first appearance of the Griffin family. The first seven minutes of the pitch pilot, which had a storyline parallel to the pilot that aired on television in January 1999, would be included in Family Guy DVD sets. The full fifteen-minute pitch demo remained lost until it was uploaded to the internet by Robert Paulson on his personal website in 2022. Despite this, the pitch demo was not discovered by the public until March 2025.
Several aspects of Family Guy were inspired by the Larry shorts. While MacFarlane worked on the series, the characters of Larry and his dog Steve slowly evolved into Peter and Brian Griffin. MacFarlane stated that the difference between The Life of Larry and Family Guy was that "Life of Larry was shown primarily in my dorm room and Family Guy was shown after the Super Bowl."
Family Guy was originally planned to start out as short movies for the sketch show Mad TV, but the plan changed, because MADtv's budget was not large enough to support animation production. MacFarlane noted that he then wanted to pitch it to Fox, as he thought that it was the place to create a prime-time animation show. Family Guy was originally pitched to Fox in the same year as King of the Hill, but the show was not bought until years later, when King of the Hill became successful.
After the pilot episode of Family Guy aired, the series was given the greenlight. MacFarlane drew inspiration from several sitcoms such as The Simpsons and All in the Family. Premises were drawn from several 1980s Saturday-morning cartoons he watched as a child, such as The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang and Rubik, the Amazing Cube.
=== Renewals ===
On January 26, 2023, Fox announced that the series had been renewed for seasons 22 and 23, taking the show through the 2024–25 television season. Season 22 premiered on October 1, 2023. Season 23 premiered on February 16, 2025.
On April 2, 2025, it was announced that Family Guy would be renewed for four more seasons in what is considered a "mega deal" with parent company Disney. This renewal will take the show through the 2028–2029 television season, which coincides with the 30th anniversary of the shows' launch in January 1999. Additionally, each season will consist of 15 episodes.
=== Executive producers ===
MacFarlane has served as an executive producer throughout the show's entire history. The first executive producers were David Zuckerman, Lolee Aries, David Pritchard, and Mike Wolf. Family Guy has had many executive producers in its history, including Daniel Palladino, Kara Vallow, and Danny Smith. David A. Goodman joined the show as a co-executive producer in season three and eventually became an executive producer.
=== Writing ===
The first team of writers assembled for the show consisted of Chris Sheridan, Danny Smith, Gary Janetti, Ricky Blitt, Neil Goldman, Garrett Donovan, Matt Weitzman, and Mike Barker.
These scripts generally include cutaway gags. Various gags are pitched to MacFarlane and the rest of the staff, and those deemed the funniest are included in the episode. MacFarlane has explained that it normally takes 10 months to produce an episode because the show uses hand-drawn animation. The show rarely comments on current events for this reason. The show's initial writers had never written for an animated show, and most came from live-action sitcoms.
MacFarlane explained that he is a fan of 1930s and 1940s radio programs, particularly the radio thriller anthology Suspense, which led him to give early episodes ominous titles like "Death Has a Shadow" and "Mind Over Murder." MacFarlane said that the team dropped the naming convention after individual episodes became hard to identify, and the novelty wore off. For the first few months of production, the writers shared one office, lent to them by the King of the Hill production crew.
Credited with 19 episodes, Steve Callaghan is the most prolific writer on the Family Guy staff. Many of the writers that have left the show have gone on to create or produce other successful series. Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan co-wrote 13 episodes for the NBC sitcom Scrubs during their eight-year run on the show, while also serving as co-producers and working their way up to executive producers. Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman left the show and went on to create the long-running and still ongoing adult animated series American Dad!. (MacFarlane is also a co-creator of American Dad!) On November 4, 2013, it was announced that Barker had departed American Dad! during its run as well, after 10 seasons of serving as producer and co-showrunner over the series.
During the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, official production of the show halted for most of December 2007 and for various periods afterward. Fox continued producing episodes without MacFarlane's final approval, which he termed "a colossal dick move" in an interview with Variety. Though MacFarlane refused to work on the show, his contract under Fox required him to contribute to any episodes it would subsequently produce. Production officially resumed after the end of the strike, with regularly airing episodes recommencing on February 17, 2008. According to MacFarlane, in 2009, it cost about $2 million to make an episode of Family Guy.
During his September 2017 AMA on Reddit, MacFarlane revealed that he had not written for the show since 2010, choosing instead to focus on production and voice acting.
On May 12, 2023, it was announced that the showrunners of Family Guy, including Seth MacFarlane, would temporarily leave the show as a result of the 2023 Writers Guild of America Strike.
=== Voice cast ===
Seth MacFarlane voices three of the show's main characters: Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, and Stewie Griffin. Since MacFarlane had a strong vision for these characters, he chose to voice them himself, believing it would be easier than for someone else to attempt it. MacFarlane drew inspiration for the voice of Peter from a security guard he overheard talking while attending the Rhode Island School of Design. Stewie's voice was based on the voice of English actor Rex Harrison, especially his performance in the 1964 musical drama film My Fair Lady. MacFarlane uses his regular speaking voice when playing Brian. MacFarlane also provides the voices for various other recurring and one-time-only characters, most prominently those of the Griffins' neighbor Glenn Quagmire, news anchor Tom Tucker, and Lois' father, Carter Pewterschmidt.
Alex Borstein voices Peter's wife Lois Griffin, Asian correspondent Tricia Takanawa, Loretta Brown, and Lois' mother, Babs Pewterschmidt. Borstein was asked to provide a voice for the pilot while she was working on MADtv. She had not met MacFarlane or seen any of his artwork and said it was "really sight unseen". At the time, Borstein was performing in a stage show in Los Angeles. She played a redheaded mother whose voice she had based on one of her cousins.
Seth Green primarily voices Chris Griffin and Neil Goldman. Green stated that he did an impression of the character Buffalo Bill from the thriller film The Silence of the Lambs during his audition.
Mila Kunis and Lacey Chabert have both voiced Meg Griffin. Chabert left the series after the first season because of time conflicts with schoolwork (at the time) and her role on Party of Five. When Kunis auditioned for the role, she was called back by MacFarlane, who instructed her to speak slower. He then told her to come back another time and enunciate more. Once she claimed that she had it under control, MacFarlane hired her.
Mike Henry voices Herbert, Bruce the Performance Artist, Consuela, the Greased-up Deaf Guy, and until 2021, Cleveland Brown. Henry met MacFarlane at the Rhode Island School of Design and kept in touch with him after they graduated. A few years later, MacFarlane contacted him about being part of the show; he agreed and came on as a writer and voice actor. During the show's first four seasons, he was credited as a guest star, but beginning with season five's "Prick Up Your Ears", he has been credited as a main cast member. On June 26, 2020, after twenty years of voicing the character, Mike Henry announced on Twitter that he was stepping down from voicing Cleveland, stating "persons of color should play characters of color." On September 25, 2020, it was announced that Arif Zahir would take over as the voice of Cleveland.
Other recurring cast members include Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson, Jennifer Tilly as Bonnie Swanson, John G. Brennan as Mort Goldman and Horace the bartender, Carlos Alazraqui as Jonathan Weed, Adam Carolla and Norm Macdonald as Death, Lori Alan as Diane Simmons, Phil LaMarr as Ollie Williams and Judge Dignified Q. Blackman, and Kevin Michael Richardson as Jerome. Fellow cartoonist Butch Hartman has made guest voice appearances in episodes as various characters. Also, writer Danny Smith voices various recurring characters, such as Ernie the Giant Chicken. Alexandra Breckenridge also appears as many various characters. Adam West appeared as the eponymous Mayor Adam West, until his death in 2017.
Episodes often feature guest voices from a wide range of professions, including actors, athletes, authors, bands, musicians, and scientists. Many guest voices star as themselves. Leslie Uggams was the first to appear as herself, in the fourth episode of the first season, "Mind Over Murder". The episode "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven" guest starred the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, including Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, Wil Wheaton, Marina Sirtis, and even Denise Crosby (season 1 as Tasha Yar), playing themselves; this is the episode with the most guest stars of the seventh season.
=== Early history and cancellation ===
Family Guy officially premiered after Fox's broadcast of Super Bowl XXXIII on January 31, 1999, with "Death Has a Shadow". The show debuted to 22 million viewers and immediately generated controversy regarding its adult content. The show returned on April 11, 1999, with "I Never Met the Dead Man". Family Guy garnered decent ratings in Fox's 8:30 pm slot on Sunday, scheduled between The Simpsons and The X-Files. At the end of its first season, the show ranked No. 33 in the Nielsen ratings, with 12.8 million households tuning in. The show launched its second season in a new time slot, Thursday at 9 pm, on September 23, 1999. Family Guy was pitted against NBC's Frasier, and the series' ratings declined sharply. Subsequently, Fox removed Family Guy from its schedule and began airing episodes irregularly. The show returned on March 7, 2000, at 8:30 pm on Tuesdays, where it was constantly beaten in the ratings by ABC's then-new breakout hit Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, coming in at No. 114 in the Nielsen ratings with 6.3 million households tuning in. Fox announced that the show had been canceled in May 2000, at the end of the second season. However, following a last-minute reprieve, on July 24, 2000, Fox ordered 13 additional episodes to form a third season.
The show returned on November 8, 2001, once again in a tough time slot: Thursday nights at 8 pm. This slot brought it into competition with Survivor and Friends (a situation later referenced in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story). During its second and third seasons, Fox frequently moved the show around to different days and time slots with little or no notice and, consequently, the show's ratings suffered. Upon Fox's annual unveiling of its 2002 fall line-up on May 15, 2002, Family Guy was absent. Fox announced that the show had been officially canceled shortly thereafter.
=== Cult success and revival ===
Fox attempted to sell the rights for reruns of the show, but finding networks that were interested was difficult; Cartoon Network eventually bought the rights "basically for free", according to the president of 20th Century Fox Television. Family Guy premiered in reruns on Adult Swim on April 20, 2003, and immediately became the block's top-rated program, dominating late-night viewing in its time period versus cable and broadcast competition and boosting viewership by 239%. The complete first and second seasons were released on DVD the same week the show premiered on Adult Swim, and the show became a cult phenomenon, selling 400,000 copies within one month. Sales of the DVD set reached 2.2 million copies, becoming the best-selling television DVD of 2003 and the second-highest-selling television DVD ever, behind the first season of Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show. The third-season DVD release also sold more than a million copies. The show's popularity in DVD sales and reruns rekindled Fox's interest, and, on May 20, 2004, Fox ordered 35 new episodes of Family Guy, marking the first revival of a television show based on DVD sales.
"North by North Quahog", which premiered May 1, 2005, was the first episode to be broadcast after the show's hiatus. It was written by MacFarlane and directed by Peter Shin. MacFarlane believed the show's three-year hiatus was beneficial, because animated shows do not normally have hiatuses, and towards the end of their seasons, "... you see a lot more sex jokes and bodily function jokes and signs of a fatigued staff that their brains are just fried". With "North by North Quahog", the writing staff tried to keep the show "[...] exactly as it was" before its cancellation, and "None of us had any desire to make it look any slicker". The episode was watched by 11.85 million viewers, the show's highest ratings since the airing of the first season episode "Brian: Portrait of a Dog".
=== Lawsuits ===
In March 2007, comedian Carol Burnett filed a $6 million lawsuit against 20th Century Fox, claiming that her charwoman cartoon character had been portrayed on the show without her permission. She stated it was a trademark infringement and that Fox violated her publicity rights. On June 4, 2007, United States District Judge Dean D. Pregerson rejected the lawsuit, stating that the parody was protected under the First Amendment, citing Hustler Magazine v. Falwell as a precedent.
On October 3, 2007, Bourne Co. Music Publishers filed a lawsuit accusing the show 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., the sole United States copyright owner of the song, alleged the parody pairs a "thinly veiled" copy of its music with antisemitic lyrics. Named in the suit were 20th Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Co., Cartoon Network, MacFarlane, and 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" act involving absurd "faux" magical hand gestures while humming the distinctive tune "Fine and Dandy". 20th Century Fox, MacFarlane, Callaghan and 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.
== Hallmarks ==
=== "Road to" episodes ===
The "Road to" episodes are a series of hallmark travel episodes. They are a parody of the seven Road to ... comedy films starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. These episodes have always involved Stewie and Brian in some foreign, supernatural or science-fiction location, unrelated to the show's normal location in Quahog. The first, titled "Road to Rhode Island", aired on May 30, 2000, during the second season. The episodes are known for featuring elaborate musical numbers, similar to the Road films. The episodes contain several trademarks, including a special version of the opening sequence, custom musical cues and musical numbers, and parodies of science fiction and fantasy films.
The original idea for the "Road to" episodes came from MacFarlane, as he is a fan of the films of Crosby, Hope, and Dorothy Lamour. The first episode was directed by Dan Povenmire, who would direct the rest of the "Road to" episodes until the episode "Road to Rupert", at which point he had left the show to create Phineas and Ferb with Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Series regular Greg Colton then took over Povenmire's role as director of the "Road to" episodes.
The "Road to" episodes are generally considered by critics and fans to be some of the greatest in the series, thanks to the developing relationship between Stewie and Brian and the strong plotlines of the episodes themselves.
=== Humor ===
Family Guy uses the film-making technique of cutaways, which occur in the majority of Family Guy episodes.
Early episodes based much of their comedy on Stewie's "super villain" antics, such as his constant plans for total world domination, his evil experiments, plans and inventions to get rid of things he dislikes, and his constant attempts at matricide. As the series progressed, the writers and MacFarlane agreed that his personality and the jokes were starting to feel dated, so they began writing him with a different personality. Family Guy often includes self-referential humor. The most common form is jokes about the Fox network, and occasions where the characters break the fourth wall by addressing the audience. For example, in "North by North Quahog", the first episode that aired after the show's revival, included Peter telling the family that they had been canceled because Fox had to make room in their schedule for shows like Dark Angel, Titus, Undeclared, Action, That '80s Show, Wonderfalls, Fastlane, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Skin, Girls Club, Cracking Up, The Pitts, Firefly, Get Real, FreakyLinks, Wanda at Large, Costello, The Lone Gunmen, A Minute with Stan Hooper, Normal, Ohio, Pasadena, Harsh Realm, Keen Eddie, The Street, The American Embassy, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, The Tick, Luis, and Greg the Bunny. Lois asks whether there is any hope, to which Peter replies that if all these shows are canceled they might have a chance; the shows were indeed canceled during Family Guy's hiatus.
The show uses catchphrases, and most of the primary and secondary characters have them. Notable expressions include Quagmire's "Giggity giggity goo", Peter's "Freakin' sweet", Cleveland's "Oh, that's nasty", and Joe's "Bring it on!"
== Reception and legacy ==
In 2016, a New York Times study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that, like other satirical comedies, Family Guy is most popular in cities. The show's popularity was more correlated with support for Hillary Clinton than any other show". As of 2008, the franchise has generated $1 billion in total revenue, including $400 million from TV syndication, $400 million from DVD sales, and $200 million from merchandise sales.
=== Ratings ===
Family Guy experienced a significant increase in viewership following its availability on various streaming platforms, with a particularly notable rise in popularity on Hulu. In 2018, it ranked among the most-watched TV series on the streaming service Sling TV. In 2020, Hulu announced that Family Guy was one of the top five most-watched non-sports and non-news related live shows on the streaming service. Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on U.S. television screens, estimated that the series was watched for 910 million minutes from July 29 to August 4, 2024. The following week, it garnered 881 million minutes of viewing time from August 5 to 11, 2024, making it the sixth most-streamed television show overall. From August 12 to 18, 2024, Family Guy generated 834 million minutes of viewership, ranking it as the eighth most-streamed television show overall. From August 26 to September 1, 2024, it amassed more than 1 billion minutes of viewing time, securing its position as the third most-streamed series overall. In December 2025, Disney announced that Family Guy was among the television series to surpass one billion hours streamed on Disney+ in 2025.
=== Critical reception ===
Family Guy has received generally positive reviews, particularly for its pop culture references, blue humor, satire, and non-sequitur storytelling. Catherine Seipp of National Review Online described it as a "nasty but extremely funny" cartoon. Caryn James of The New York Times called it a show with an "outrageously satirical family" that "includes plenty of comic possibilities and parodies". The Sydney Morning Herald named Family Guy the "Show of the Week" on April 21, 2009, hailing it a "pop culture-heavy masterpiece". Frazier Moore from The Seattle Times called it an "endless craving for humor about bodily emissions". He thought it was "breathtakingly smart" and said a "blend of the ingenious with the raw helps account for its much broader appeal". He summarized it as "rude, crude and deliciously wrong". The New Yorker's Nancy Franklin said that Family Guy is becoming one of the best animated shows; she commented on its ribaldry and popularity. The show has become a hit on Hulu; it is the second-highest viewed show after Saturday Night Live. IGN called Family Guy a great show and commented that it has gotten better since its revival. They stated that they cannot imagine another half-hour sitcom that provides as many laughs as Family Guy. Empire praised the show and its writers for creating really hilarious moments with unlikely material. They commented that one of the reasons they love the show is because nothing is sacred—it makes jokes and gags of almost everything. Robin Pierson of The TV Critic praised the series as "a different kind of animated comedy which clearly sets out to do jokes which other cartoons can't do." Family Guy has proven popular in the United Kingdom, regularly obtaining between 700,000 and 1 million viewers for re-runs on BBC Three.
The series has attracted many celebrities. Robert Downey Jr. telephoned the show production staff and asked if he could produce or assist in an episode's creation, as his son is a fan of the show; the producers subsequently created a character for Downey. Lauren Conrad met MacFarlane while recording a Laguna Beach clip for the episode "Prick Up Your Ears" (season 5, 2006). She has watched Family Guy for years and considers Stewie her favorite character. Commenting on his appearance in the episode "Big Man on Hippocampus" (season 8, 2010), actor Dwayne Johnson stated that he was a "big fan" of Family Guy. Johnson befriended MacFarlane after he had a minor role in Johnson's 2010 film Tooth Fairy. R&B singer Rihanna has admitted to being a fan of Family Guy, as has pop singer Britney Spears; she tries to imitate Stewie's English accent. Spears, who was mocked for her personal problems in the South Park episode "Britney's New Look" in 2008, offered to appear in a cameo to hit back at the similar animated show, but MacFarlane declined, stating that he did not want to start a feud with the series.
=== Awards ===
Family Guy and its cast have been nominated for 27 Emmy Awards, with 8 wins. MacFarlane won the Outstanding Voice-Over Performance award for his performance as Stewie; Murphy and MacFarlane won the Outstanding Music and Lyrics award for the song "You Got a Lot to See" from the episode "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows"; Steven Fonti won the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation award for his storyboard work in the episode "No Chris Left Behind"; and Greg Colton won the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation award for his storyboard work in the episode "Road to the Multiverse". The show was nominated for eleven Annie Awards, and won three times, twice in 2006 and once in 2008. In 2009, it was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, becoming the first animated program to be nominated in this category since The Flintstones in 1961. The Simpsons was almost nominated in 1993, but voters were hesitant to pit cartoons against live action programs. The show was nominated for a Grammy in 2011. Family Guy has been nominated and has won various other awards, including the Teen Choice Awards and the People's Choice Awards. In the 1,000th issue of Entertainment Weekly, Brian Griffin was selected as the dog for "The Perfect TV Family". Wizard Magazine rated Stewie the 95th-greatest villain of all time. British newspaper The Times rated Family Guy the 45th-best American show in 2009. IGN ranked Family Guy number seven in the "Top 100 Animated Series" and number six in the "Top 25 Primetime Animated Series of All Time". Empire named it the twelfth-greatest TV show of all time in 2008. In 2005, viewers of the UK television channel Channel 4 voted Family Guy number 5 on their list of the 100 Greatest Cartoons. Brian was awarded the 2009 Stoner of the Year award by High Times for the episode "420", marking the first time an animated character received the honor. In 2004 and 2007, TV Guide ranked Family Guy number 12 and number 15 in their list of top cult shows ever. Family Guy has garnered six Golden Reel Awards nominations, winning three. In 2013, TV Guide ranked Family Guy the ninth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time.
=== Criticism and controversy ===
One of the initial critics to give the show negative reviews was Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly; he called it "The Simpsons as conceived by a singularly sophomoric mind that lacks any reference point beyond other TV shows". The Parents Television Council (PTC), a conservative non-profit watchdog, has attacked the series since its premiere and has branded various episodes as "Worst TV Show of the Week". In May 2000, the PTC launched a letter-writing campaign to the Fox network in an effort to persuade the network to cancel the show. The PTC has placed the show on their annual lists of "Worst Prime-Time Shows for Family Viewing" in 2000, 2005, and 2006. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received multiple petitions requesting that the show be blocked from broadcasting on indecency grounds. Tucker and the PTC have both accused the show of portraying religion negatively, and of being racist. Because of the PTC, some advertisers have canceled their contracts after reviewing the content of the episodes, claiming it to be unsuitable. Critics have compared the show's humor and characters with those of The Simpsons.
Various episodes of the show have generated controversy. In "420" (season seven, 2009), Brian decides to start a campaign to legalize cannabis in Quahog; the Venezuelan government reacted negatively to the episode and banned Family Guy from airing on their local networks, which generally syndicate American programming. Venezuelan justice minister Tareck El Aissami, citing the promotion of the use of cannabis, stated that any cable stations that did not stop airing the series would be fined; the government showed a clip which featured Brian and Stewie singing the praises of marijuana as a demonstration of how the United States supports cannabis use. In "Extra Large Medium" (season eight, 2010) a character named Ellen (who has Down syndrome) states that her mother is the former governor of Alaska, which strongly implies that her mother is Sarah Palin, the only woman to have served in the office of governor in the state. Palin, the mother of a child with Down syndrome, criticized the episode in an appearance on The O'Reilly Factor, calling those who made the show "cruel, cold-hearted people".
== Broadcast and streaming ==
In the United States, the show currently airs on Adult Swim, Comedy Central, and FXX. The show was first syndicated to Adult Swim and TBS from 2003 to 2021, sharing the rights to the first fifteen seasons. It was syndicated to various local stations from 2007 to 2024. In April 2019, FX Networks began airing reruns of season 16 on FXX, with season 17 debuting that October, and shared off-network rights to both seasons with sister channel Freeform. After Adult Swim and TBS' rights expired on September 18, 2021, FXX and Freeform began airing the first fifteen seasons. The show also joined FX's lineup that same month.
The show's departure from Adult Swim on September 18, 2021, was commemorated with a remembrance bumper created by the network, which played after the final airing (the episode "Stewie is Enceinte"). The bumper showed animations of several Adult Swim characters bidding farewell to Family Guy, including shots of Peter crying at the beginning and the Griffin family waving goodbye towards the end.
Comedy Central began airing the show on September 2, 2024, as part of a non-exclusive licensing deal between Paramount and Disney. Comedy Central debuted the show with an all-day marathon on Labor Day. A similar licensing deal was then struck with Warner Bros. Discovery Networks for the show to return to Adult Swim starting January 1, 2025, with the network planning a 3-day marathon to celebrate.
In the United States, the series is available for streaming exclusively on Hulu. Additionally, Hulu launched two holiday specials of Family Guy in late 2024, marking the first time a new episode of the show airs on a streaming platform; Internationally, Family Guy is available to stream on Star on Disney+. The first such special premiered on October 14, 2024. The second special would then air on November 25, 2024. The show's second Halloween special for Hulu would air on October 6, 2025. The United States is the only country where the show is not available on either Disney+ or Star+.
Initially, Family Guy was not available to stream on Disney+ in Latin America, as it had been available on the standalone service Star+, however, Star+ content merged with Disney+ content on June 26, 2024, and Star+ was discontinued altogether on July 24, 2024.
Family Guy premiered in Australia on April 9, 1999, on the Seven Network, in 2000 on Fox8, and on 7mate on September 27, 2010. Initially, only 2 seasons were available to stream on Disney+ Star due to pre-existing contracts. The other 17 seasons were added on December 1, 2021, after the contract expired.
In Canada, the series premiered January 31, 1999, on Global and September 1, 2003, on Teletoon at Night. Beginning in the 2015–2016 season, the show moved to Citytv; the show would once again return to the channel in 2023. Starting in November 2021, the series moved to Disney+. In addition to Teletoon at Night, the show has been syndicated to TVtropolis (now DTour). As of January 2025, Adult Swim Canada and FXX Canada syndicate the series. Since 2024, CHCH and Citytv share the broadcast rights to the series due to scheduling issues with new episodes streaming the next day on Disney+.
The show airs in India on Star World Premiere, in Ireland on 3e, and in New Zealand on TVNZ Duke; previously it screened on defunct channel Four.
In the United Kingdom, Family Guy premiered in September 1999, originally on Channel 4 and Sky One. In January 2005, Fox UK (then known as FX) began broadcasting the show. From October 2005, BBC Two started screening Family Guy before the show moved to BBC Three in September 2006. Beginning with season 14, the show moved to ITV2, premiering on February 29, 2016, while the BBC would continue to hold the rights for past seasons until 2017.
== Franchise ==
=== Books ===
Family Guy: It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One was written by executive story editor Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and actress Alex Borstein. The book was first published on May 8, 2007. The book is a biographical monologue by Lois Griffin covering a portion of her life, spanning from her memories of growing up to her attempted run for mayor in the town of Quahog. Though the book primarily consists of a loose narrative monologue by Lois, it is also interspersed with sections from other characters such as Peter Griffin. The book covers events featured in the Family Guy episode "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One", with which it shares a title. It was published in the United Kingdom in 2007 by Orion Books.
A comic book based on the Family Guy universe was produced. Published by Titan Comics, edited by Steve White, and illustrated by Anthony Williams and S. L. Gallant, the writing and the illustrations were supervised by the show's producers. The first comic book was released on July 27, 2011.
=== Live performances ===
As promotion for the show and as Newman described "[to] expand interest in the show beyond its diehard fans", Fox organized four Family Guy Live! performances, which featured cast members reading old episodes aloud. The cast also performed musical numbers from the Family Guy: Live in Vegas comedy album. The stage shows were an extension of a performance by the cast during the 2004 Montreal Comedy Festival. The Family Guy Live! performances, which took place in Los Angeles and New York, sold out and were attended by around 1,200 people each.
In 2009, a special televised performance show aired, titled Family Guy Presents Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show, in which voice actors Alex Borstein and MacFarlane performed songs from the show, as well as a parody of Lady Gaga's song "Poker Face" in the voice of Marlee Matlin, who appeared on stage as a guest during the performance. Some new animated gags also appeared in the show.
=== Film ===
In a July 22, 2007, interview with The Hollywood Reporter, MacFarlane announced that he may start working on a feature film, although "nothing's official." 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 it would be written by him and series co-producer Ricky Blitt.
On November 30, 2012, MacFarlane confirmed plans to produce a Family Guy film. The project was put on hold while MacFarlane worked on Ted 2.
On August 10, 2018, Fox announced that a live-action/animated film based on the series was in development.
In July 2019, MacFarlane confirmed that there would be a Family Guy film.
During PaleyFest in April 2024, MacFarlane revealed that he has known what the plot of the film would be for the past 15 years, but had not had the time to write it.
=== Spin-offs ===
MacFarlane co-created—alongside Mike Henry and Richard Appel—the Family Guy spin-off The Cleveland Show, which premiered September 27, 2009. They began discussing the project in 2007.
On March 12, 2026, it was announced that a second spin-off series, Stewie, was given a two-season order for Fox. The new animated comedy is reported to follow Stewie Griffin in preschool and will explore time and space travel. Unlike Cleveland Brown, who was not seen on Family Guy while appearing on The Cleveland Show, Stewie Griffin will remain on Family Guy and will be seen on both shows. The spin-off is set to premiere during the 2027–28 season.
=== Video games ===
The Family Guy Video Game! is a 2006 action game released by 2K Games and developed by High Voltage Software.
Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse, which is centered around the episode "Road to the Multiverse", was released on November 20, 2012.
Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff launched on iOS and Android on April 10, 2014.
Animation Throwdown: The Quest For Cards, a card game with content and characters from five animated television shows from Fox – Family Guy, Futurama, American Dad!, Bob's Burgers and King of the Hill – was released in 2016 by Kongregate.
Family Guy: Another Freakin' Mobile Game was released on iOS on April 25, 2017.
Warped Kart Racers is a racing game that was released on Apple Arcade in May 2022. The game features the entire Griffin family, and includes characters from American Dad!, King of the Hill and Solar Opposites.
=== Merchandise ===
As of 2009, six books have been released about the Family Guy universe, all published by HarperCollins since 2005. The first, Family Guy: Stewie's Guide to World Domination (ISBN 978-0-06-077321-2) by Steve Callahan, was released on April 26, 2005. Written in the style of a graphic novel, the plot follows Stewie's plans to rule the world. Other books include Family Guy: It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One (ISBN 978-0-7528-7593-4), which covers the events of the episode of the same name; and Family Guy and Philosophy: A Cure for the Petarded (ISBN 978-1-4051-6316-3), a collection of 17 essays exploring the connections between the series and historical philosophers. A book written from Brian's point of view (written by Andrew Goldberg) was published in 2006, called Brian Griffin's Guide to Booze, Broads and the Lost Art of Being a Man.
Family Guy has been commercially successful in the home market. The show was the first to be resurrected because of high DVD sales. The first volume, covering the show's first two seasons, sold 1.67 million units, topping TV DVD sales in 2003, while the second volume sold another million units. Volumes six and seven debuted at fifth place in United States DVD sales; volume seven was the highest-selling television DVD, selling 171,000 units by June 21, 2009. Family Guy Presents Blue Harvest, the DVD featuring the Star Wars special "Blue Harvest", was released on January 15, 2008, and premiered at the top of United States DVD sales. The DVD was the first Family Guy DVD to include a digital copy for download to the iPod. In 2004, the first series of Family Guy toy figurines was released by Mezco Toyz; each member of the Griffin family had their own toy, with the exception of Stewie, of whom two different figures were made. Over the course of two years, four more series of toy figures were released, with various forms of Peter. In 2008, the character Peter appeared in advertisements for Subway Restaurants, promoting the restaurant's massive feast sandwich. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllobates | Phyllobates | Phyllobates is a genus of poison dart frogs native to Central and South America. The genus contains seven known species, which are distributed from eastern Nicaragua to the Pacific coast of Colombia.
Phyllobates contains the most poisonous species of frog, the golden poison frog (P. terribilis). They are typical of the poison dart frogs, in that all species have bright warning coloration (aposematism), and have varying degrees of toxicity. Only species of Phyllobates are used by natives of South American tribes as sources of poison for their hunting darts. The most toxic of the many poisonous alkaloids these frogs contain (in glands in their skin) is batrachotoxin, alongside a wide variety of other toxic compounds. Some populations of Phyllobates lugubris in Central America are not known to be toxic.
== Taxonomy ==
The genus name is derived from the Greek words φύλλον ("phyllon"; for "leaf") and βαίνω ("baino"; for "walk, step"). Phyllobates used to contain many of the species which are now within the genera Ranitomeya and Andinobates. However, it now just contains seven member species within the Phyllobates bicolor and Phyllobates lugubris species groups. These are:
All these different species within the genus exhibit a diversity in color. Some examples are, P. terribilis, with color morphs of "mint", "yellow", and "orange". P. vittatus, another example, is always black as a ground color, but can show yellow stripes, orange stripes, red stripes,(stripes of all colors can be seen in two forms, narrow- and wide-banded) and turquoise, green, or blue legs, etc. The bicolor dart frog (Phyllobates bicolor) can range from yellow to orange, from black legs to green legs, to almost a uniform color of any of the aforementioned color morphs. P. aurotaenia specimens are yellow-banded or orange. They are always smaller than P. vittatus, and beyond locality, this is the best way to differentiate between the two in the field or in the hobby.
== Source of toxin ==
The toxic alkaloid batrachotoxin is only present in frogs found in the wild; after extended captivity, they lose their toxin, indicating that they acquire it (or metabolize it) from their natural diet; this alkaloid has been found in Papuan beetle species in the family Melyridae, and other related genera can be found in Colombia and other areas where Phyllobates are found. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Russell,_1st_Earl_Russell | John Russell, 1st Earl Russell | John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and again from 1865 to 1866.
The third son of the 6th Duke of Bedford, Russell was educated at Westminster School and Edinburgh University before entering Parliament in 1813. In 1828 he took a leading role in the repeal of the Test Acts which discriminated against Catholics and Protestant dissenters. He was one of the principal architects of the Reform Act 1832, which was the first major reform of Parliament since the Restoration, and a significant early step on the road to democracy and away from rule by the aristocracy and landed gentry. He favoured expanding the right to vote to the middle classes and enfranchising Britain's growing industrial towns and cities, but he never advocated universal suffrage and he opposed the secret ballot. Russell was outspoken on many issues over the course of his career, advocating Catholic emancipation in the 1820s, calling for the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1845, denouncing Pope Pius IX's revival of Catholic bishoprics in 1850, and supporting Italian unification during the 1860s.
Russell's ministerial career spanned four decades. In addition to his two terms as prime minister, between 1831 and 1865 he served in the cabinets of Earl Grey, Viscount Melbourne, the Earl of Aberdeen, and Viscount Palmerston. Russell's relationship with Palmerston was often stormy and contributed to bringing down Russell's first government in 1852 and Palmerston's first government in 1858. However, their renewed alliance from 1859 was one of the foundations of the united Liberal Party, which would go on to dominate British politics in the following decades. While Russell was an energetic and effective minister during the 1830s and helped to commit the Whigs to a reform agenda, he proved less successful as prime minister. During his two periods as prime minister he often suffered from a disunited cabinet and weak support in the House of Commons, meaning he was unable to carry out much of his agenda. During his first premiership, his government failed to deal effectively with the Irish Famine, a disaster that saw the loss of a quarter of Ireland's population through death and emigration. During his second premiership, he split his party by pressing for further parliamentary reform and was forced from office only to watch Derby and Disraeli carry a more ambitious Reform Bill.
== Early life and education ==
Russell was born on 18 August 1792 into the highest echelons of the British aristocracy, being the third son of John Russell, later 6th Duke of Bedford, and Georgiana Byng, daughter of George Byng, 4th Viscount Torrington. The Russell family had been one of the principal Whig dynasties in England since the 17th century, and were among the richest handful of aristocratic landowning families in the country, but as a younger son of the 6th Duke of Bedford, he was not expected to inherit the family estates. As a younger son of a duke, he bore the courtesy title "Lord John Russell", but he was not a peer in his own right. He was, therefore, able to sit in the House of Commons until he was made an earl in 1861 and was elevated to the House of Lords.
Russell was born two months premature and was small and sickly as a child (even in adulthood he remained under 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) in height, and his small stature was frequently the butt of jokes by political opponents and caricaturists). In 1801, at the age of nine, he was sent away to school. Shortly thereafter, his mother died. After being withdrawn from Westminster School in 1804 due to ill health, Russell was educated by tutors, including Edmund Cartwright. In 1806, Russell's father was made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the short-lived Ministry of All the Talents, and it was during this time that the young Russell met Charles James Fox. Fox was Russell's formative political hero and would remain an inspiration throughout his life. Russell attended the University of Edinburgh from 1809 to 1812, lodging with Professor John Playfair, who oversaw his studies. He did not take a degree. Although often in poor health, he travelled widely in Britain and in Continental Europe, and held a commission as Captain in the Bedfordshire Militia in 1810. During his continental travels, Russell visited Spain where his brother was serving as aide-de-camp to Lord Wellington in the Peninsular War. The following year, Russell had a 90-minute meeting with Napoleon in December 1814, during the former emperor's exile at Elba.
== Early political career: 1813–1846 ==
=== Backbench MP: 1813–1830 ===
Russell entered the House of Commons as a Whig in 1813 at the age of 20. The future reformer gained his seat by virtue of his father, the Duke of Bedford, instructing the 30 or so electors of Tavistock to return him as an MP even though at the time Russell was abroad and under age.
Russell entered Parliament more out of a sense of duty and family tradition than out of serious political ambition. With the exception of the 1806–1807 coalition government in which Russell's father had served, the Whigs had been out of power since 1783, and Russell could have had no certain expectation of a ministerial career. In June 1815, Russell denounced the Bourbon Restoration and Britain's declaration of war against the recently-returned Napoleon by arguing in the House of Commons that foreign powers had no right to dictate France's form of government.
In 1817, tired of the prospect of perpetual opposition, Russell resigned from Parliament. After spending a year out of politics and travelling on the continent, he changed his mind and re-entered Parliament for Tavistock at the 1818 general election. In 1819, Russell embraced the cause of parliamentary reform and he led the more reformist wing of the Whigs throughout the 1820s. In 1828, while still an opposition backbencher, Russell introduced a Sacramental Test bill with the aim of abolishing the prohibitions on Catholics and Protestant dissenters being elected to local government and from holding civil and military offices. The bill gained the backing of the Tory Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel and was passed into law.
=== Minister under Grey and Melbourne: 1830–1841 ===
When the Whigs came to power in 1830, Russell entered Earl Grey's government as Paymaster of the Forces. Despite being a relatively junior minister, as a vocal advocate for Parliamentary reform for over a decade, Russell became a principal leader in the fight for the Reform Act 1832. He was one of the committee of four tasked by Grey with drafting the reform bill, alongside cabinet ministers Lord Durham, Lord Duncannon and Sir James Graham. Despite not yet being in the Cabinet, Russell was chosen to introduce the bill in March 1831 and over the following year he successfully steered the Reform Act's difficult progress through the Commons.
Russell earned the nickname "Finality Jack" from his pronouncing the Act a final measure but in later years he would go on to push for further reform of Parliament. In May 1834, Russell made a speech on the Irish Tithes bill, in which he argued that the revenue generated by tithes was more than was justified by the size of the established Protestant church in Ireland. Russell argued that a proportion the tithe revenue should instead be appropriated for the education of the Irish poor, regardless of denomination.
The speech was seen by its opponents as an attack on the established church in Ireland and it cemented a split within Grey's government over the issue of Irish tithes. The following month four members of the Cabinet resigned over the issue, weakening the government's hold on Parliament. Sensing that his position was now hopeless, Grey offered his resignation to the King in July, and was replaced by Viscount Melbourne at the head of the government.
In November 1834, when the leader of the Commons, Lord Althorp, succeeded to the peerage as Earl Spencer, Russell became the leader of the Whigs in the Commons. Russell's appointment prompted King William IV to terminate Melbourne's government, in part because the King objected to Russell's views on the Irish Church. This remains the last time in British history that a monarch has dismissed a government. The subsequent minority Conservative government lasted less than five months before resigning in April 1835. Russell then returned to government office as Home Secretary in Melbourne's second government which was announced on 20 April 1835. Soon after the formation of the new cabinet, the Melbourne called a general election, in which Russell suffered the loss of his home constituency in Devonshire as a result of strong Tory campaigning against Russell. However, as the government had not yet formed in the Commons, a new seat was found for him in the seat of Stroud by persuading Charles Richard Fox to step down. On 19 May he was duly elected again just in time to take his place as Home Secretary and head of the government in the Commons. Through this period, he continued to lead the more reformist wing of the Whig party.
As Home Secretary, Russell recommended and secured conditional royal pardons for the Tolpuddle Martyrs and partial commutation of their sentences. In October 1835 he published plans for prison reform and appointed the first official prison inspectors. In 1837, he chose not to reform the convocation of the 'Hanging Cabinet' that decided, without agreed procedures, on the Royal prerogative of mercy in death sentences. As Home Secretary, he served as the last official receiver of pleas for mercy from those condemned to death. Some of these cases, such as those of James Pratt and John Smith, would, in the 21st century, be legally reviewed, leading to posthumous pardons. In 1836, he introduced the Marriages Act, which introduced civil marriages in England and Wales and allowed Catholics and Protestant Dissenters to marry in their own churches.
In 1837, he steered a series of seven Acts through Parliament, which together reduced the number of offences carrying a sentence of death from thirty-seven to sixteen. This number was reduced further by the Substitution of Punishments of Death Act 1841. After these reforms the death penalty was rarely used in the United Kingdom for crimes other than murder. As Home Secretary Russell also introduced the public registration for births, marriages and deaths and played a large role in democratising the government of cities outside of London.
He then served as Secretary of State for War and the Colonies from 1839 to 1841.
=== Opposition: 1841–1846 ===
In 1841 the Whigs lost the general election to the Conservatives and Russell and his colleagues returned to opposition. In November 1845, following the failure of that year's potato harvest across Britain and Ireland, Russell came out in favour of the repeal of the Corn Laws and called upon the Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel to take urgent action to alleviate the emerging food crisis.
Peel had by this time already become convinced of the need for repeal, but he was opposed in this by the majority of his own cabinet and party. On 11 December 1845, frustrated by his party's unwillingness to support him on repeal, Peel resigned as prime minister and Queen Victoria invited Russell to form a new government. With the Whigs a minority in the Commons however, Russell struggled to assemble the necessary support. When Lord Grey declared that he would not serve in cabinet if Lord Palmerston was made Foreign Secretary, it became clear to Russell that he could not form a viable government.
Russell declined the Queen's invitation on 21 December and Peel agreed to stay on as prime minister. In June 1846, Peel repealed the Corn Laws with Whig support, bitterly dividing the Conservative Party in the process. Later that same night Peel's Irish Coercion Bill was defeated after vengeful anti-repeal Tories voted with the opposition; and Peel, taking this as a vote of no confidence, resigned as prime minister. Russell accepted the Queen's offer to form a government; this time Grey did not object to Palmerston's appointment.
== Prime minister: 1846–1852 ==
=== Appointment ===
Russell took office as prime minister with the Whigs only a minority in the House of Commons. It was the bitter split in the Conservative Party over the Corn Laws that allowed Russell's government to remain in power in spite of this, with Sir Robert Peel and his supporters offering tentative support to the new ministry in order to keep the protectionist Conservatives under Lord Stanley in opposition. At the general election of August 1847 the Whigs made gains at the expense of the Conservatives, but remained a minority, with Russell's government still dependent on the votes of Peelite and Irish Repealer MPs to win divisions in the Commons.
=== Domestic agenda ===
Russell's political agenda was frequently frustrated by his lack of a reliable Commons majority. However, his government was able to secure a number of notable social reforms. Russell introduced teachers' pensions and used Orders in Council to make grants for teacher training. The Public Baths and Wash-houses Acts of 1847 and 1848 enabled local authorities to build municipal baths and washing facilities for the growing urban working classes. Russell lent his support to the passage of the Factories Act 1847, which restricted the working hours of women and young persons (aged 13–18) in textile mills to 10 hours per day.
1848 saw the introduction of the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers and the Public Health Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 63), by which the state assumed responsibility for sewerage, clean water supply, refuse collection and other aspects of public health across much of England and Wales.
Following the election of Lionel de Rothschild in the 1847 general election, Russell introduced a Jewish Relief bill, which would have allowed Rothschild and other Jews to sit in the House of Commons without their having to take the explicitly Christian oath of allegiance. In 1848, the bill was passed by the House of Commons, receiving support from the Whigs and a minority of Conservatives (including future prime minister Benjamin Disraeli). However, it was twice rejected by the Tory dominated House of Lords, as was a new bill in 1851. Rothschild was re-elected in the 1852 general election following the fall of the Russell government but was unable to take his seat until the Jews Relief Act was finally passed in 1858.
=== Ireland ===
Russell's government led the calamitous response to the Irish Famine. During the course of the famine, an estimated one million people died from a combination of malnutrition, disease and starvation and well over one million more emigrated from Ireland. After taking office in 1846, Russell's ministry introduced a programme of public works that by the end of that year employed some half-a-million but proved impossible to administer. In 1846 Russell reported that in one year more than 50,000 Irish families had been "turned out of their wretched dwellings without pity and without refuge...we have made it the most degraded and most miserable country in the world...all the world is crying shame upon us." In January 1847, the government abandoned this policy, realising that it had failed, and turned to a mixture of "indoor" and "outdoor" direct relief; the former administered in workhouses through the Irish Poor Laws, the latter through soup kitchens. The costs of the Poor Law fell primarily on the local landlords, some of whom in turn attempted to reduce their liability by evicting their tenants. In June 1847, the Poor Law Extension Act was passed, which embodied the principle, popular in Britain, that Irish property should support Irish poverty. Irish landlords were believed in Britain to have created the conditions that led to the famine, a view which Russell shared.
=== Relations with the Roman Catholic Church ===
In the first half of his premiership Russell aimed to improve the British government's relations with the papacy and the Catholic clergy in Ireland, which he saw as one of the keys to making Ireland a more willing part of the United Kingdom. Russell proposed to make an annual grant of £340,000 to the Catholic Church in Ireland, with the aim of ameliorating Irish Catholic opinion towards the Union. In 1847, Russell's father-in-law the Earl of Minto was dispatched on a confidential mission to Rome to seek the Pope's support for the grants plan. In the end, the idea had to be abandoned due to Catholic objections to what they saw as an attempt to control their clergy.
However, Russell pressed ahead with plans to re-establish formal diplomatic relations between the Court of St James's and the Holy See, which had been severed when James II was deposed in 1688. Russell managed to pass an Act to authorise an exchange of ambassadors with Rome, but not before the bill was amended by Parliament to stipulate that the Pope's ambassador must be a layman. The Pope refused to accept such a restriction on his choice of representative and so the exchange of ambassadors did not take place. It would not be until 1914 that formal UK-Vatican diplomatic relations were finally established.
Relations with the papacy soured badly in late 1850 after Pope Pius IX issued the bull Universalis Ecclesiae. By this bull Pius unilaterally reintroduced Catholic bishops to England and Wales for the first time since the Reformation. Anti-Catholic feelings ran high with many Protestants incensed at what they saw as impertinent foreign interference in the prerogative of the established Church of England to appoint bishops. Russell, not withstanding his long record of advocating civil liberties for Catholics, shared the traditional Whig suspicion of the Catholic hierarchy, and was angered at what he saw as a papal imposition. On 4 November 1850, in a letter to the Bishop of Durham published in The Times the same day, Russell wrote that the Pope's actions suggested a "pretension to supremacy" and declared that "No foreign prince or potentate will be permitted to fasten his fetters upon a nation which has so long and so nobly vindicated its right to freedom of opinion, civil, political, and religious". Russell's "Durham letter" won him popular support in England but in Ireland it was viewed as an unwarranted insult to the Pope. It lost Russell the confidence of Irish Repealer MPs and the cabinet were angered that he had made such an incendiary statement without having consulting them.
The following year Russell passed the Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851 with Tory support, which made it a criminal offence carrying a fine of £100 for anyone outside of the Church of England to assume an episcopal title "of any city, town or place, or of any territory or district...in the United Kingdom." The Act was widely ignored without consequences and only served to further alienate Irish MPs, thereby weakening the government's position in the Commons.
=== Disagreements with Palmerston and fall of ministry ===
Russell frequently clashed with his headstrong Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston, whose belligerence and support for continental revolution he found embarrassing. In 1847 Palmerston provoked a confrontation with the French government by undermining the plans of the Spanish court to marry the young Spanish Queen and her sister into the French royal family.
He subsequently clashed with Russell over plans to increase the size of the army and the navy to defend against the perceived threat of French invasion, which subsided after the overthrow of the French king in 1848.
In 1850, further tension arose between the two over Palmerston's gunboat diplomacy in the Don Pacifico affair, in which Palmerston sought compensation from the Greek government for the ransacking and the burning of the house of David Pacifico, a Gibraltarian holder of a British passport. Russell considered the matter "hardly worth the interposition of the British lion," and when Palmerston ignored some of his instructions, the Prime Minister wrote to Palmerston telling him he had informed the Queen that he "thought the interests of the country required that a change should take place at the Foreign Department." However, less than a month later Lord Stanley successfully led the House of Lords into passing a motion of censure of the Government over its handling of the affair and Russell realised that he needed to align with Palmerston in order to prevent a similar motion being passed by the House of Commons, which would have obliged the Government to resign. The Government prevailed, but Palmerston came out of the affair with his popularity at new heights since he was seen as the champion of defending British subjects anywhere in the world.
Russell forced Palmerston to resign as Foreign Secretary after Palmerston recognised Napoleon III's coup of 2 December 1851 without first consulting the Queen or Cabinet. Russell tried to strengthen his government by recruiting leading Peelites such as Sir James Graham and the Duke of Newcastle to his administration, but they declined. Out of office, Palmerston sought revenge by turning a vote on a militia bill into a vote of confidence in the Government. A majority vote in favour of an amendment proposed by Palmerston caused the downfall of Russell's ministry on 21 February 1852. This was Palmerston's famous "tit for tat with Johnny Russell."
== Between premierships: 1852–1865 ==
=== In opposition: February–December 1852 ===
Following Russell's resignation, on the 23 February 1852 the Earl of Derby accepted the Queen's invitation to form a government. The new Conservative ministry were a minority in the Commons due to the continuing rift with the Peelites. Derby called a general election for July but failed to secure a majority. After the election Derby's Conservatives held 292 out of the 662 seats in the Commons but were able to carry on in office due to divisions among the opposition. Negotiations over a Whig-Peelite coalition stalled over the question of who would lead it. Russell's authority and popularity within the Whigs had been dented by his falling out with Palmerston, who flatly refused to serve under him again. Moreover he had alienated many in the Peelites and the Irish Brigade, who held the balance of power in the Commons, leaving them unwilling to support another Russell-led government. Palmerston proposed Lord Lansdowne as a compromise candidate. This was acceptable to Russell but Lansdowne was reluctant to take on the burdens of leading a government. The defeat of Disraeli's Budget in December 1852 forced the issue. Derby's government resigned and the Queen sent for Lansdowne and the Peelite Lord Aberdeen. Lansdowne declined the Queen's invitation, pleading ill-health and so Aberdeen was tasked with forming a government.
=== The Aberdeen coalition: 1852–1855 ===
Russell, as the leader of the Whigs, agreed to bring his party into a coalition with the Peelites, headed by Aberdeen. As the leader of the largest party in the coalition, Russell was reluctant to serve under Aberdeen in a subordinate position, but agreed to take on the role of Foreign Secretary on a temporary basis, to lend stability to the fledgling government. He resigned the role in February 1853 in favour of Clarendon, but continued to lead for the government in the Commons and attended cabinet without ministerial responsibilities. Russell was unhappy that half of Aberdeen's cabinet was made up of Peelites, despite the fact that the Whigs contributed hundreds of MPs to the Government's support in the Commons, and the Peelites only around 40. However, he came to admire some of his Peelite colleagues, particularly the Chancellor of the Exchequer William Gladstone, who would go on to become an important political ally in later years.
With Aberdeen's agreement, Russell used his position as Leader of the House of Commons to push for a new Reform Act. Although Russell had promoted the Reform Act 1832 as a one-off measure to re-balance the constitution, after twenty years he had become convinced of the need for further electoral reform. In February 1854 Russell introduced his bill to the House. The property qualification was to be reduced from £10 to £6 in boroughs, and from £50 to £10 in the counties. Additionally 66 seats would be removed from undersized constituencies and redistributed. The second reading of the bill was set for March 1854, but the prospect of imminent war with Russia led to it being postponed until April. After the outbreak of war on 28 March Russell came under pressure from the cabinet to withdraw the bill entirely. Russell threatened to resign if the cabinet abandoned the reform bill, but he was convinced to stay on by Aberdeen, who promised that he would support the reform bill if Russell reintroduced it in a future session. However, with the fall of the Aberdeen government the following year, it would be 12 years before Russell had another chance to introduce a reform bill.
Together with Palmerston, Russell supported the government taking a hard line against Russian territorial ambitions in the Ottoman Empire, a policy that ultimately resulted in Britain's entry into the Crimean War in March 1854, an outcome that the more cautious Aberdeen had hoped to avoid. In the following months Russell grew frustrated by what he saw as a lack of effective war leadership by Aberdeen and the Secretary of State for War, the Duke of Newcastle. Dispatches from the front reported that the army was suffering from supply shortages and a lack of adequate accommodation and medical facilities. In November 1854 Russell urged Aberdeen to replace Newcastle with Palmerston, who he believed would get a firmer grip on the organisation of the war, but these suggestions came to nothing. In January 1855, after a series of military setbacks, a Commons motion was brought by the radical MP John Roebuck to appoint a select committee to investigate the management of the war. Russell, not wishing to vote against an inquiry he believed was badly needed, resigned from the cabinet in order to abstain. Aberdeen viewed the Roebuck motion as a vote of no confidence in his leadership and, accordingly, when it passed by 305-148, he resigned.
In the eyes of many, including the Queen and Aberdeen, Russell's temperamental behaviour and personal ambition had undermined the stability of the coalition. On visiting Windsor Castle to resign, Aberdeen told the Queen "Had it not been for the incessant attempts of Lord John Russell to keep up party differences, it must be acknowledged that the experiment of a coalition had succeeded admirably," an assessment with which the Queen agreed. Russell accepted an invitation from the Queen to form a new government but found that he could not assemble the necessary support, with many of his colleagues having been angered by his abandonment of Aberdeen over the Roebuck motion. Palmerston became prime minister, and Russell reluctantly accepted the role of Colonial Secretary in his cabinet. Russell was sent to Vienna to negotiate peace terms with Russia, but his proposals were rejected and he resigned from the cabinet and returned to the backbenches in July 1855.
=== Return to the backbenches: 1855–1859 ===
Following his resignation Russell wrote to his father-in-law that he would not serve again under Palmerston or any other prime minister. For a time it appeared as if his career in frontbench politics might be over. Russell continued to speak out from the backbenches on the issues he most cared about - lobbying for increased government grants for education and for reduction in the property qualification for Parliamentary elections. In early 1857 Russell became a vocal critic of Palmerston's government over the Anglo-Persian War and the Second Opium War. Russell spoke in support of a motion tabled by Richard Cobden, which criticised British military action in China and calling for a select committee inquiry. When the motion passed on 3 March, Palmerston dissolved Parliament and went to the country. In the subsequent general election Palmerston was swept back into power on a tide of patriotic feeling with an increased majority. Many of Palmerston's critics lost their seats but Russell hung on in the City of London, after fighting off an attempt to deselect him and replace him with a pro-Palmerston Whig candidate. Palmerston's triumph was short-lived. In February 1858 the Government rushed through a Conspiracy to Murder bill, following the attempted assassination of Napoleon III by Italian nationalist Felice Orsini - an attack planned in Britain using British-made explosives. Russell attacked the bill, which he saw as undermined traditional British political liberties to appease a foreign government. On 19 February Russell voted in favour of Thomas Milner Gibson's motion, which criticised the government for bowing to French demands. When the motion passed by 19 votes Palmerston's government resigned.
=== Foreign Secretary under Palmerston: 1859–1865 ===
In 1859, following another short-lived Conservative government, Palmerston and Russell made up their differences, and Russell consented to serve as Foreign Secretary in a new Palmerston cabinet, usually considered the first true Liberal cabinet. This period was a particularly eventful one in the world outside Britain, seeing the Unification of Italy (the change of British government to one sympathetic to Italian nationalism had a marked part in this process), the American Civil War, and the 1864 war over Schleswig-Holstein between Denmark and the German states. Russell arranged the London Conference of 1864, but failed to establish peace in the war. His tenure of the Foreign Office was noteworthy for the famous dispatch in which he defended Italian unification: "Her Majesty's Government will turn their eyes rather to the gratifying prospect of a people building up the edifice of their liberties, and consolidating the work of their independence, amid the sympathies and good wishes of Europe" (27 October 1860).
=== Elevation to the peerage: 1861 ===
In 1861 Russell was elevated to the peerage as Earl Russell, of Kingston Russell in the County of Dorset, and as Viscount Amberley, of Amberley in the County of Gloucester, and of Ardsalla in the County of Meath
in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Henceforth, as a suo jure peer, rather than merely being known as 'Lord' because he was the son of a Duke, he sat in the House of Lords for the remainder of his career.
== Prime Minister again: 1865–1866 ==
When Palmerston suddenly died in late 1865, Russell again became prime minister. His second premiership was short and frustrating, and Russell failed in his great ambition of expanding the franchise, a task that would be left to his Conservative successors, Derby and Benjamin Disraeli. In 1866, party disunity again brought down his government. Russell never again held any office.
== Final years and death ==
Following the death of their daughter-in-law Viscountess Amberley in 1874 and their son Viscount Amberley in 1876, Earl Russell and Countess Russell brought up their orphaned grandchildren, John ("Frank") Russell, who became 2nd Earl Russell on his grandfather's death, and Bertrand Russell who would go on to become a noted philosopher and who in later life recalled his elderly grandfather as "a kindly old man in a wheelchair."
Earl Russell died at home at Pembroke Lodge on 28 May 1878. The Prime Minister, the Earl of Beaconsfield, offered a public funeral and burial at Westminster Abbey for Russell but this was declined by Countess Russell in accordance with her late husband's wish to be buried among his family and ancestors. He is buried at the 'Bedford Chapel' at St. Michael's Church, Chenies, Buckinghamshire.
== Personal life ==
=== Marriages and children ===
Russell married Adelaide Lister (widow of Thomas Lister, 2nd Baron Ribblesdale, who had died in 1832) on 11 April 1835. Together they had two daughters:
Lady Georgiana Adelaide Russell (1836 – 25 September 1922). She married Archibald Peel (son of General Jonathan Peel) on 15 August 1867. They had seven children.
Lady Victoria Russell (20 October 1838 – 9 May 1880). She married Henry Villiers (the son of The Honorable Henry Montagu Villiers) on 16 April 1861. They had ten children and left many descendants.
Adelaide came down with a fever following the birth of their second child and died a few days later on 1 November 1838. Following her death, Russell continued to raise his late wife's four children from her first marriage, as well their two daughters.
On 20 July 1841 Russell remarried, to Lady Frances ("Fanny") Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, daughter of Russell's cabinet colleague Gilbert Elliot, 2nd Earl of Minto. Together they had four children:
John Russell, Viscount Amberley (10 December 1842 – 9 January 1876). He married The Hon. Katherine Stanley on 8 November 1864. They had four children, including a stillborn daughter. Their eldest son, Frank, would succeed Lord John to the title to become the 2nd Earl Russell. Another son, the 3rd Earl, was the philosopher Bertrand Russell.
Hon. George Gilbert William Russell (14 April 1848 – 27 January 1933).
Hon. Francis Albert Rollo Russell (11 July 1849 – 30 March 1914). He married Alice Godfrey (d. 12 May 1886) on 21 April 1885. They had one son. He remarried Gertrude Joachim on 28 April 1891. They had two children.
Lady Mary Agatha Russell (1853 – 23 April 1933).
In 1847 Queen Victoria granted Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park to Lord and Lady John. It remained their family home for the rest of their lives.
=== Religious views ===
Russell was religious in a simple non-dogmatic way and supported "broad church" stances in the Church of England. He opposed the "Oxford Movement" because its "Tractarian" members were too dogmatic and too close to Roman Catholicism. He supported Broad Churchmen or Latitudinarians by several appointments of liberal churchmen as bishops. In 1859 he reversed himself and decided to free non-Anglicans of the duty of paying rates (taxes) to the local Anglican parish. His political clumsiness and opposition to Church finance made him a target of attack and ridicule in many Church circles.
== Legacy and reputation ==
Scion of one of the most powerful aristocratic families, Russell was a leading reformer who weakened the power of the aristocracy. His great achievements, wrote A. J. P. Taylor, were based on his persistent battles in Parliament over the years on behalf of the expansion of liberty; after each loss he tried again and again, until finally, his efforts were largely successful. E. L. Woodward, however, argued that he was too much the abstract theorist:
He was more concerned with the removal of obstacles to civil liberty than with the creation of a more reasonable and civilized society. His political theory centred in the revolution of 1688, and in the clique of aristocratic families to whom the country owed loyalty in return for something like the charte octroyée of the reform bill. Nevertheless, Russell led his Whig party into support for reform; he was the principal architect of the Reform Act 1832 (2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45).
He was succeeded as Liberal leader by former Peelite William Gladstone, and was thus the last true Whig to serve as prime minister. Generally taken as the model for Anthony Trollope's Mr. Mildmay, aspects of his character may also have suggested those of Plantagenet Palliser. An ideal statesman, said Trollope, should have "unblemished, unextinguishable, inexhaustible love of country.... But he should also be scrupulous, and, as being scrupulous, weak."
The Reform Act 1832 and extension of the franchise to British cities are partly attributed to his efforts. He also worked for emancipation, leading the attack on the Test and Corporation acts, which were repealed in 1828, as well as towards legislation limiting working hours in factories in the Factories Act 1847, and the Public Health Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 63).
His government's approach to dealing with the Great Irish Famine is now widely condemned as counterproductive, ill-informed and disastrous. Russell himself was sympathetic to the plight of the Irish poor, and many of his relief proposals were blocked by his cabinet or by the British Parliament.
Queen Victoria's attitude toward Russell was coloured by his role in the Aberdeen administration. On his death in 1878 her journal records that he was "a man of much talent, who leaves a name behind him, kind, & good, with a great knowledge of the constitution, who behaved very well, on many trying occasions; but he was impulsive, very selfish (as shown on many occasions, especially during Ld Aberdeen's administration) vain, & often reckless & imprudent."
A public house in Bloomsbury, large parts of which are still owned by the Bedford Estate, is named after Russell, located on Marchmont Street.
Earl Russell Street is named after him in Aylestone, a suburb of Leicester.
Russell Road in Merton Park, a suburb of London, is named after him, adjacent to Derby, Gladstone, Palmerston and Pelham Roads, all named after former Prime Ministers.
The town of Russell in the Northland Region of New Zealand, was named in honour of him as the then Secretary of State for the Colonies.
== Literature ==
=== Original works ===
Russell published numerous books and essays over the course of his life, especially during periods out of office. He principally wrote on politics and history, but also turned his hand to a variety of other topics and genres. His published works include:
The Life of William Lord Russell (1819) - a biography of his famous ancestor.
Essays and Sketches of Life and Character by a Gentleman who has left his lodgings (1820) - a series of social and cultural commentaries ostensibly found in a missing lodger's rooms, published anonymously.
An Essay on the History of the English Government and Constitution, from the reign of Henry VII. to the present time (1821)
The Nun of Arrouca: a Tale (1822) - a romantic novel set in Portugal during the Peninsular War.
Don Carlos: or, Persecution. A tragedy, in five acts (1822) - a blank verse play on the same subject as the play of the same title by Friedrich Schiller.
Memoirs of the Affairs of Europe from the Peace of Utrecht (1824) - a second volume appeared in 1829.
The Establishment of the Turks in Europe, An Historical Discourse (1828)
The Causes of the French Revolution (1832)
Adventures in the Moon, and Other Worlds (1836) - a collection of fantasy short stories, published anonymously.
The Life and Times of Charles James Fox (1859-1866) - a three volume biography of Russell's political hero.
Essays on the Rise and Progress of the Christian Religion in the West of Europe, from the reign of Tiberius to the Council of Trent (1871)
The Foreign Policy of England 1570-1870, An Historical Essay (1871)
Recollections and Suggestions 1813-1873 (1875) - Russell's political memoir.
=== As editor ===
Correspondence of John, Fourth Duke of Bedford - in three volumes, published between 1842 and 1846.
Memoirs, Journal, and Correspondence of Thomas Moore - in eight volumes, published between 1853 and 1856. Russell was Moore's literary executor and published his papers in accordance with his late friend's wishes.
Memorials and correspondence of Charles James Fox - in four volumes, published between 1853 and 1857.
=== Dedications ===
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens was dedicated to Lord John Russell, "In remembrance of many public services and private kindnesses." In speech given in 1869, Dickens remarked of Russell that "there is no man in England whom I respect more in his public capacity, whom I love more in his private capacity."
== Ancestry ==
== Arms == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwangsan_Kim_clan | Gwangsan Kim clan | The Gwangsan Kim clan (Korean: 광산 김씨; Hanja: 光山 金氏) is a Korean clan with its bon-gwan located in Gwangsan, present-day Gwangju.
The members of the Gwangsan Kim clan are the descendants of Kim Hŭng-gwang (Korean: 김흥광; Hanja: 金興光), the third son of King Sinmu of Silla, the 45th monarch of the Silla.
The family has produced eminent Neo-Confucian scholars during the Joseon Dynasty, including Kim Jang-saeng, Kim Jip, and Kim Man-jung.
== Joseon Dynasty ==
Kim Jang-saeng (1548–1631), Joseon Neo-Confucian scholar, politician, and writer
Kim Tŏngnyŏng (1567–1596), Joseon Imjin War general
Kim Jip (1574–1656), Joseon Neo-Confucian scholar, politician, and writer
Kim Man-jung (1637–1692), Korean novelist and politician
Queen Ingyeong (1661–1680), Joseon queen consort
== Known descendants ==
Maria Kim (1891–1944), Korean independence activist
Stephen Kim Sou-hwan (1922–2009), South Korean cardinal
Kim Yong-san (1922–2011), South Korean businessman
Kim Chunsu (1922–2004), South Korean poet
Kim Yong Sop (1936–2020), South Korean historian
Kim Woo-choong (1936–2019), South Korean businessman
Kim Yong-gun (born 1946), South Korean actor
Hyginus Kim Hee-jong (born 1947), South Korean Roman Catholic prelate
Kim Jang-soo (born 1948), South Korean general and politician
Do-ol (born Kim Yong-ok, 1948), South Korean academic
Kim Hwang-sik (born 1948), South Korean politician
Kim Kap-soo (born 1957), South Korean actor
Kim Eung-soo (born 1961), South Korean actor
Kim Seon-dong (politician, born 1963), South Korean politician
Kim Sang-joong (born 1965), South Korean actor
Kim Soo-ro (born 1970), South Korean actor
Kim Taek-soo (born 1970), South Korean table tennis player
Suki Kim (born 1970), Korean-American journalist and writer
Kim Myung-min (born 1972), South Korean actor
Kim Tae-ho (television director) (born 1975), South Korean television director
Eugene (actress) (born Kim Yoo-jin, 1981), South Korean actress and singer
Hyun Bin (born Kim Tae-pyung, 1982), South Korean actor
Kim Ah-joong (born 1982), South Korean actress
Paul Kim (musician, born 1988), South Korean singer-songwriter
Uee (born Kim Yu-jin, 1988), South Korean actress
Solar (singer) (born Kim Yong-sun, 1991), South Korean singer, member of girl group Mamamoo
Jin (singer) (born Kim Seok-jin, 1992), South Korean singer, member of boy band BTS
V (singer) (born Kim Tae-hyung, 1995), South Korean singer, member of boy band BTS |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Philip,_Duke_of_Edinburgh | Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh | Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark,
later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II and served as consort of the British monarch from her accession on 6 February 1952 until his death in 2021, making him the longest-serving royal consort in British history.
Philip was born in Greece into the Greek and Danish royal families. His family was exiled from the country when he was eighteen months old. Educated in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, he joined the Royal Navy in 1939 at the age of 18. In July 1939, he began corresponding with Princess Elizabeth, then aged 13, the elder daughter and heir presumptive of King George VI. During the Second World War, Philip served with distinction in the Mediterranean and Pacific fleets of the Royal Navy.
In the summer of 1946, King George VI granted Philip permission to marry Elizabeth, who was then 20. Prior to the official announcement of their engagement in July 1947, Philip renounced his Greek and Danish royal titles and styles, became a naturalised British subject, and adopted the surname Mountbatten from his maternal grandparents. In November 1947, he married Elizabeth, was granted the style His Royal Highness, and was created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. They had four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward. Following Elizabeth’s accession to the throne in 1952, Philip left active naval service, having attained the rank of commander. In 1957, he was formally created a British prince.
A keen sportsman, Philip played a significant role in the development of the equestrian discipline of carriage driving. He served as patron, president, or member of more than 780 organisations, including the World Wide Fund for Nature, and was chairman of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, an international youth awards programme for people aged 14 to 24. Philip is the longest-lived male member of the British royal family. He retired from public duties in 2017 at the age of 96, having completed 22,219 solo engagements and delivered 5,493 speeches since 1952. He died at Windsor Castle two months before his 100th birthday.
== Early life and education ==
=== Family, infancy and exile from Greece ===
Philip (Greek: Φίλιππος, romanised: Phílippos) was born on 10 June 1921 on the dining room table at Mon Repos, a villa on the Greek island of Corfu. He was the only son and fifth and final child of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and his wife, Princess Alice of Battenberg. Philip's father was the fourth son of King George I and Queen Olga of Greece, and his mother was the eldest child of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven, and Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven (formerly Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine). A member of the House of Glücksburg, Philip was a prince of both Greece and Denmark by virtue of his patrilineal descent from George I of Greece and George's father, Christian IX of Denmark; he was from birth in the line of succession to both thrones. Philip's four elder sisters were Margarita, Theodora, Cecilie, and Sophie. He was baptised in the Greek Orthodox rite at St. George's Church in the Old Fortress in Corfu. His godparents were his paternal grandmother, Queen Olga of Greece; his cousin George, Crown Prince of Greece; his uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten; and the municipality of Corfu, represented by its mayor, Alexandros Kokotos, and by the president of the council, Stylianos Maniarizis.
Shortly after Philip's birth, his maternal grandfather died in London. The Marquess of Milford Haven was a naturalised British subject who, after a career in the Royal Navy, had renounced his German titles and adopted the surname Mountbatten—an Anglicised version of Battenberg—during the First World War, owing to anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom. After visiting London for his grandfather's memorial service, Philip and his mother returned to Greece, where Prince Andrew had remained to command a Greek Army division embroiled in the Greco-Turkish War.
Greece suffered significant losses in the war, while the Turks made substantial gains. Philip's uncle and high commander of the Greek expeditionary force, King Constantine I, was blamed for the defeat and was forced to abdicate in September 1922. The new military government arrested Andrew, along with others. General Georgios Hatzianestis, who was commanding officer of the army, and five senior politicians were arrested, tried, and executed in the Trial of the Six. Andrew's life was also believed to be in danger and Alice was under surveillance. Finally, in December, a revolutionary court banished Andrew from Greece for life. The British naval vessel HMS Calypso evacuated Andrew's family, with Philip carried to safety in a fruit box.
=== Upbringing in France, Britain and Germany ===
Philip's family settled in a house in the Paris suburb of Saint-Cloud lent to them by his wealthy aunt Princess George of Greece and Denmark. During his time there, Philip was first educated at The Elms, an American school in Paris run by Donald MacJannet, who described Philip as a "know it all smarty person, but always remarkably polite". In 1930 Philip was sent to Britain to live with his maternal grandmother at Kensington Palace and his uncle George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven, at Lynden Manor in Bray, Berkshire. He was then enrolled at Cheam School. Over the next three years, his four sisters married German princes and moved to Germany, his mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and placed in an asylum, and his father took up residence in Monte Carlo. Philip had little contact with his mother for the remainder of his childhood.
In 1933 Philip was sent to Schule Schloss Salem in Germany, which had the "advantage of saving school fees", because it was owned by the family of his brother-in-law Berthold, Margrave of Baden. With the rise of Nazism in Germany, Salem's Jewish founder, Kurt Hahn, fled persecution and founded Gordonstoun School in Scotland, to which Philip moved after two terms at Salem. In 1937, his sister Cecilie; her husband, Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse; their two sons; and Georg Donatus's mother were killed in an air crash at Ostend; Philip, then 16 years old, attended the funeral in Darmstadt. Cecilie and Georg Donatus were members of the Nazi Party. The following year, Philip's uncle and guardian Lord Milford Haven died of bone marrow cancer. Milford Haven's younger brother Lord Louis took parental responsibility for Philip for the remainder of his youth.
Philip did not speak Greek because he had left Greece as an infant. In 1992 he said that he "could understand a certain amount". He stated that he thought of himself as Danish and spoke mostly English, while his family was multilingual. Known for his charm in his youth, Philip was linked to several women, including Osla Benning.
== Naval and wartime service ==
After leaving Gordonstoun in early 1939, Philip completed a term as a cadet at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, then repatriated to Greece, living with his mother in Athens for a month in mid-1939. At the behest of King George II of Greece, his first cousin, he returned to Britain in September to resume training for the Royal Navy. He graduated from Dartmouth the next year as the best cadet in his course. During the Second World War, he continued to serve in the British forces, while two of his brothers-in-law, Prince Christoph of Hesse and Berthold, Margrave of Baden, fought on the opposing German side. Philip was appointed as a midshipman in January 1940. He spent four months on the battleship HMS Ramillies, protecting convoys of the Australian Expeditionary Force in the Indian Ocean, followed by shorter postings on HMS Kent, on HMS Shropshire, and in British Ceylon. After the invasion of Greece by Italy in October 1940, he was transferred from the Indian Ocean to the battleship HMS Valiant in the Mediterranean Fleet.
Philip was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant on 1 February 1941 after a series of courses at Portsmouth, in which he gained the top grade in four out of five sections of the qualifying examination. Among other engagements, he was involved in the Battle of Crete and was mentioned in dispatches for his service during the Battle of Cape Matapan, in which he controlled the battleship's searchlights. He was also awarded the Greek War Cross. In June 1942, he was appointed to the destroyer HMS Wallace, which was involved in convoy escort tasks on the east coast of Britain, as well as the Allied invasion of Sicily.
Promotion to lieutenant followed on 16 July 1942. That October Philip, aged 21, became first lieutenant of HMS Wallace, one of the youngest first lieutenants in the Royal Navy. During the invasion of Sicily, in July 1943, he was second-in-command of Wallace. The ship was attacked at night by German aircraft, which would return to finish off the damaged ship; it was saved by Philip's devising a plan to launch a raft with smoke floats that successfully decoyed the bombers, allowing the ship to slip away unnoticed. In 1944, he moved on to the new destroyer, HMS Whelp, where he saw service with the British Pacific Fleet in the 27th Destroyer Flotilla. He was present in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed. Philip returned to the United Kingdom on the Whelp in January 1946 and was posted as an instructor at HMS Royal Arthur, the Petty Officers' School in Corsham, Wiltshire.
== Marriage ==
In 1939, the British King George VI and Queen Elizabeth toured the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. During the visit, the Queen and Lord Louis Mountbatten asked his nephew Philip to escort the royal couple's daughters, 13-year-old Elizabeth and 9-year-old Margaret, who were Philip's third cousins through Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark. Philip and Elizabeth had first met as children in 1934 at the wedding of Elizabeth's uncle Prince George, Duke of Kent, to Philip's first cousin, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark. After their 1939 meeting, Elizabeth fell in love with Philip, and they began to exchange letters.
Eventually, in the summer of 1946, Philip asked George VI for his daughter's hand in marriage. The King granted his request, provided that any formal engagement be delayed until Elizabeth's 21st birthday the following April. By March 1947, Philip had adopted the surname Mountbatten from his mother's family and had stopped using his Greek and Danish royal titles upon becoming a naturalised British subject. The engagement was announced to the public on 9 July 1947.
The engagement attracted some controversy; Philip had no financial standing, was foreign-born, and had sisters who had married German noblemen with Nazi links. Marion Crawford wrote: "Some of the King's advisors did not think him good enough for her. He was a prince without a home or kingdom. Some of the papers played long and loud tunes on the string of Philip's foreign origin." Later biographies reported that Elizabeth's mother had reservations about the union initially and teased Philip as "the Hun". In later life, however, she told the biographer Tim Heald that Philip was "an English gentleman".
Though Philip appeared "always to have regarded himself as an Anglican", and he had attended Anglican services with his classmates and relations in England and throughout his Royal Navy days, he was baptised in the Greek Orthodox Church. The archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, wanted to "regularise" Philip's position by officially receiving him into the Church of England, which he did in October 1947. The day before the wedding, the King bestowed the style of Royal Highness on Philip, and, on the morning of the wedding, 20 November 1947, he was made the Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich of Greenwich in the County of London. Consequently, being already a Knight of the Garter, between 19 and 20 November 1947, he bore the unusual style Lieutenant His Royal Highness Sir Philip Mountbatten and is so described in the letters patent of 20 November 1947.
Philip and Elizabeth were married in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey, recorded and broadcast by BBC radio to 200 million people around the world. In post-war Britain, it was unacceptable for any of Philip's German relations, including his three surviving sisters, to be invited to the wedding. After their marriage, Philip and Elizabeth took residence at Clarence House. Their first two children were born before Elizabeth's accession in 1952: Prince Charles in November 1948 and Princess Anne in August 1950. The couple's marriage was the longest of any British monarch, lasting over 73 years until Philip died in 2021. Concerned by her father's poor health, Elizabeth insisted that Philip give up smoking, which he did on their wedding day.
Philip was introduced to the House of Lords on 21 July 1948, immediately before his uncle Louis Mountbatten, who had been made Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Philip ostensibly never spoke in the House of Lords. He, his sons and other royals ceased to be members of the House of Lords following the House of Lords Act 1999, although Philip's former brother-in-law, Lord Snowdon, remained in the House.
== Early duties ==
After his honeymoon at the Mountbatten family home, Broadlands, Philip returned to the navy, at first in a desk job at the Admiralty and later on a staff course at the Naval Staff College, Greenwich. From 1949 he was stationed in Malta (residing at Villa Guardamangia) after being posted as the first lieutenant of the destroyer HMS Chequers, the lead ship of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean Fleet. He was promoted to lieutenant commander on 16 July 1950 and given command of the frigate HMS Magpie. Philip was promoted to commander on 30 June 1952, though his active naval career had ended in July 1951.
With the King in ill health, Elizabeth and Philip were both appointed to the Privy Council on 4 November 1951, after a coast-to-coast tour of Canada. At the end of January 1952, the couple set out on a tour of the Commonwealth. They were in Kenya when Elizabeth's father died on 6 February 1952, and she became queen. Philip broke the news to Elizabeth at Sagana Lodge, and the royal party immediately returned to the United Kingdom.
In December 1952, Philip was initiated into Freemasonry by the Worshipful Master of Navy Lodge No 2612, honouring a commitment he had made to George VI, who had made it clear that he expected Philip to maintain the tradition of royal patronage of Freemasonry. However, according to one journalist writing in 1983, Philip's mother-in-law and his uncle Lord Mountbatten had unfavourable views of Freemasonry; after his initiation, Philip took no further part in the organisation. Although as the consort of the Queen, he might in time have been made Grand Master of British Freemasonry, Elizabeth's cousin Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, assumed that role in 1967. Philip's son Charles apparently never joined Freemasonry.
== Consort of the Queen ==
=== Royal house ===
Elizabeth's accession to the throne brought up the question of the name of the royal house, as Elizabeth would typically have taken Philip's last name upon marriage. Lord Mountbatten advocated the name House of Mountbatten. Philip suggested House of Edinburgh after his ducal title. When Elizabeth's grandmother Queen Mary heard of this, she informed Winston Churchill, who later advised Elizabeth to issue a royal proclamation declaring that the royal house was to remain known as the House of Windsor. Philip privately complained, "I am nothing but a bloody amoeba. I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children."
In February 1960, the Queen issued an Order in Council declaring that Mountbatten-Windsor would be the surname of the couple's male-line descendants who are not styled as Royal Highness or titled as prince or princess. While it seems Elizabeth had "absolutely set her heart" on such a change and had it in mind for some time, it occurred only 11 days before the birth of their third child, Prince Andrew, and only after three months of protracted correspondence between English constitutional expert Edward Iwi (who averred that, without such a change, the royal child would be born with "the Badge of Bastardy") and Harold Macmillan, who had attempted to refute Iwi's arguments. Elizabeth and Philip's fourth child, Prince Edward, was born in March 1964.
Six months after she acceded to the throne, Elizabeth announced that Philip was to have "place, pre-eminence and precedence" next to her "on all occasions and in all meetings, except where otherwise provided by Act of Parliament". She also intervened to ensure that Philip would serve as regent for their son Charles in the event of her unexpected death. Parliament passed a bill to that effect in 1953. Contrary to rumours over the years, Elizabeth and Philip were said by insiders to have had a strong relationship throughout their marriage, despite the challenges of Elizabeth's reign. Elizabeth referred to Philip in a speech on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee in 2012 as her "constant strength and guide".
Philip received a Parliamentary annuity (of £359,000 since 1990) to meet official expenses in carrying out public duties. The annuity was unaffected by the reform of royal finances under the Sovereign Grant Act 2011. Any part of the allowance that was not used to meet official expenditure was liable for tax. In practice, the entire allowance was used to fund his official duties.
=== Supporting the Queen ===
As consort, Philip supported his wife in her duties as sovereign, accompanying her to ceremonies such as the State Opening of Parliament in various countries, state dinners, and tours abroad. As chairman of the Coronation Commission, he was the first member of the royal family to fly in a helicopter, visiting the troops that were to take part in the ceremony. Philip was not himself crowned in the coronation service, but knelt before Elizabeth, with her hands enclosing his, and swore to be her "liege man of life and limb". For six months, spanning 1953 and 1954, they toured the Commonwealth; as was customary during previous tours, the children remained in Britain.
In the early 1950s, Philip's sister-in-law, Princess Margaret, considered marrying a divorced older man, Peter Townsend. The press accused Philip of being hostile to the match, to which he replied: "I haven't done anything." Eventually, Margaret and Townsend parted. In 1960 Margaret married Antony Armstrong-Jones, who was created Earl of Snowdon the following year. They divorced in 1978; Margaret did not remarry.
In 1956 Philip and Kurt Hahn founded The Duke of Edinburgh's Award to give young people "a sense of responsibility to themselves and their communities". In the same year, he also established the Commonwealth Study Conferences. From 1956 to 1957, he travelled around the world aboard the newly commissioned HMY Britannia, during which he opened the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne and visited the Antarctic, becoming the first royal to cross the Antarctic Circle. Elizabeth and the children remained in Britain. On the return leg of the journey, Philip's private secretary, Mike Parker, was sued for divorce by his wife. As with Townsend, the press still portrayed divorce as a scandal, and eventually, Parker resigned. He later said that Philip was very supportive and "the Queen was wonderful throughout. She regarded divorce as a sadness, not a hanging offence." In a public show of support, Elizabeth created Parker a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.
Further press reports claimed that the royal couple were drifting apart, which enraged Philip and dismayed Elizabeth, who issued a strongly worded denial. She granted him the style and title of a Prince of the United Kingdom by Letters Patent on 22 February 1957; it was gazetted that Philip was to be known as "His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh". Philip was appointed to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on 14 October 1957, taking his Oath of Allegiance before the Queen in person at her Canadian residence, Rideau Hall. Remarks he made two years later to the Canadian Medical Association on the subject of youth and sport were taken as a suggestion that Canadian children were out of shape. This was at first considered "tactless", but Philip was later admired for his encouragement of physical fitness. While in Canada in 1969, he spoke about his views on republicanism:
It is a complete misconception to imagine that the monarchy exists in the interests of the monarch. It doesn't. It exists in the interests of the people. If at any time any nation decides that the system is unacceptable, then it is up to them to change it.
In 1960 Philip attended the National Eisteddfod of Wales wearing a long green robe, where he was initiated as an Honorary Ovate by the Archdruid of Wales Edgar Phillips through his bardic name Philip Meirionnydd, to reflect his title of Earl of Merioneth. In 1961 he became the first member of the royal family to be interviewed on television, after he appeared on Panorama to answer questions by Richard Dimbleby about the Commonwealth Technical Training Week, an initiative of which he was patron. In 1969 he made a similar appearance on Meet the Press during a tour of North America.
When in 1965 the prime minister of Southern Rhodesia, Ian Smith enacted his illegal Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom, the British diplomat Michael Palliser suggested to Foreign Office Minister George Thomson that Elizabeth appoint Philip as governor-general of Rhodesia and have him arrive with a detachment of Coldstream Guards to dismiss Smith and the Rhodesian Front government. Palliser and Thomson decided the plan was not feasible due to bringing the royal family into politics, as well as the risk to Philip's safety.
=== Charities and patronages ===
Philip was patron of some 800 organisations, particularly focused on the environment, industry, sport, and education. His first solo engagement as Duke of Edinburgh was in March 1948, presenting prizes at the boxing finals of the London Federation of Boys' Clubs at the Royal Albert Hall. He was president of the National Playing Fields Association (now known as Fields in Trust) for 64 years, from 1947 until his grandson Prince William took over the role in 2013. He was appointed a fellow of the Royal Society in 1951. In 1952, he became patron of The Industrial Society (since renamed The Work Foundation). In the same year, and after his father-in-law's death, he took over the role of the Ranger of Windsor Great Park, overseeing its protection and maintenance. From 1955 to 1957, Philip was president of The Football Association and also served two terms as president of the Marylebone Cricket Club, with his tenures starting in 1949 and 1974, respectively. In the same decade, he became the first patron of Lord's Taverners, a youth cricket and disability sports charity, for which he organised fundraising events.
Between 1959 and 1965 Philip was the president of BAFTA. He helped found the Australian Conservation Foundation in 1963 and the World Wildlife Fund in 1961 and served as the latter's UK president from 1961 to 1982, international president from 1981, and president emeritus from 1996. He was also president of the Zoological Society of London for two decades and was appointed an honorary fellow in 1977. Despite his involvement in initiatives for conserving nature, he was also criticised for practices such as fox hunting, shooting of game birds and the killing of a tiger in India in 1961. He was president of the International Equestrian Federation from 1964 to 1986. In 1980 he became world champion in four-in-hand driving with the British national team. He served as chancellor of the universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Salford, and Wales. In 1965, at the suggestion of Harold Wilson, Philip became chair to a scheme set up for awarding industrial innovations, which later became known as The Queen's Awards for Enterprise. In the same year, Philip became president of the Council of Engineering Institutions and in that capacity he assisted with the inception of the Fellowship of Engineering (later the Royal Academy of Engineering), of which he later became the senior fellow. He also commissioned the Prince Philip Designers Prize and the Prince Philip Medal to recognise designers and engineers with exceptional contributions. In 1970 he was involved with the founding of The Maritime Trust for restoring and preserving historic British ships. In 2017 the British Heart Foundation thanked Philip for being its patron for 55 years, during which time, in addition to organising fundraisers, he "supported the creation of nine BHF-funded centres of excellence". He was an honorary fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge.
=== Charles and Diana ===
At the beginning of 1981 Philip wrote to his son Charles counselling him to make up his mind to either propose to Lady Diana Spencer or break off their courtship. Charles felt pressured by his father to make a decision and did so, proposing to Diana in February. They married five months later. By 1992 the marriage had broken down. Elizabeth and Philip hosted a meeting between Charles and Diana, trying to effect a reconciliation, but without success. Philip wrote to Diana, expressing his disappointment at Charles's and her extra-marital affairs and asking her to examine both his and her behaviour from the other's point of view. She found the letters hard to take but appreciated that he acted with good intent. Charles and Diana separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996.
A year after the divorce, Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. At the time, Philip was on holiday at Balmoral with the extended royal family. In their grief, Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry, wanted to attend church, so Elizabeth and Philip took them that morning. For five days, the royal couple shielded their grandsons from the ensuing press interest by keeping them at Balmoral, where they could grieve in private. The royal family's seclusion caused public dismay, but the public mood changed after a live broadcast made by Elizabeth on 5 September. Uncertain as to whether they should walk behind their mother's coffin during the funeral procession, William and Harry hesitated. Philip told William: "If you don't walk, I think you'll regret it later. If I walk, will you walk with me?" On the day of the funeral, Philip, William, Harry, Charles, and Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, walked through London behind her gun carriage. Over the next few years, Mohamed Al-Fayed, whose son Dodi Fayed was also killed in the crash, claimed that Philip had ordered the death of Diana and that the accident was staged. The inquest into Diana's death concluded in 2008 that there was no evidence of a conspiracy.
In October 1994, Prince Philip became the first member of the British royal family to visit Israel. He travelled to Jerusalem to attend a ceremony at Yad Vashem honouring his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, who had been recognised as one of the Righteous Among the Nations for sheltering members of a Jewish family during the Nazi occupation of Greece.
=== Longevity ===
In April 2009, Philip became the longest-serving British royal consort, surpassing Queen Charlotte. He became the oldest-ever male British royal in February 2013 and the third-longest-lived member of the British royal family (following Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) in April 2019. Personally, he was not enthused about living an extremely long life, remarking in a 2000 interview (when he was 79) that he could not "imagine anything worse" and had "no desire whatsoever" to become a centenarian, saying "bits of me are falling off already".
In 2008 Philip was admitted to King Edward VII's Hospital, London, for a chest infection; he walked into the hospital unaided, recovered quickly, and was discharged three days later. After the Evening Standard reported that Philip had prostate cancer, Buckingham Palace—which usually refuses to comment on health rumours—denied the story and the paper retracted it.
In June 2011, in an interview marking his 90th birthday, Philip said that he would now slow down and reduce his duties, stating that he had "done [his] bit". The Queen gave him the title Lord High Admiral for his 90th birthday. While staying at Sandringham House in December 2011, Philip suffered chest pains and was taken to the cardio-thoracic unit at Papworth Hospital, Cambridgeshire, where he underwent successful coronary angioplasty and stenting. He was discharged a few days later.
In June 2012, during the celebrations in honour of his wife's diamond jubilee, Philip was taken from Windsor Castle to King Edward VII's Hospital suffering from a bladder infection. He was subsequently discharged. After a recurrence of infection in August 2012, while staying at Balmoral Castle, he was admitted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for five nights as a precautionary measure. In June 2013, Philip was admitted to the London Clinic for an exploratory operation on his abdomen, spending 11 days in hospital. In May 2014, he appeared in public with a bandage on his right hand after a "minor procedure" was performed in Buckingham Palace the preceding day. In June 2017, Philip was taken from Windsor to London and admitted to King Edward VII's Hospital after being diagnosed with an infection. He spent two nights in the hospital and was unable to attend the State Opening of Parliament and Royal Ascot.
=== Final years and retirement ===
Philip retired from royal duties on 2 August 2017, meeting Royal Marines in his final solo public engagement, aged 96. Since 1952, he had completed 22,219 solo engagements. British prime minister Theresa May thanked him for "a remarkable lifetime of service". On 20 November 2017, he celebrated his 70th wedding anniversary with Elizabeth, which made her the first British monarch to celebrate a platinum wedding anniversary.
In April 2018, Philip was admitted to King Edward VII's Hospital for a planned hip replacement. This came after the Duke missed the annual Maundy and Easter Sunday services. Princess Anne spent about 50 minutes in the hospital and afterwards said her father was "on good form". He was discharged the next day. In May that year, he attended the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and was able to walk with Elizabeth unaided. That October, he also accompanied Elizabeth to the wedding of their granddaughter Princess Eugenie of York with Jack Brooksbank, with The Telegraph reporting that Philip works on a "wake up and see how I feel" basis when deciding whether to attend an event or not.
In January 2019, Philip was involved in a car collision as he drove out onto a main road near the Sandringham Estate. An official statement said he was uninjured. An eyewitness who helped him out of his car said there was "a little bit of blood". The driver and a passenger of the other car were injured and taken to hospital. Philip attended hospital the next morning as a precaution. He apologised, and three weeks later voluntarily surrendered his driving licence. In February, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that prosecuting Philip would not be in the public interest. Philip was still allowed to drive around private estates, and was seen behind the wheel in the grounds of Windsor Castle in April 2019.
In December 2019, Philip stayed at King Edward VII's Hospital and received treatment for a "pre-existing condition" in a visit described by Buckingham Palace as a "precautionary measure". He had not been seen in public since attending Lady Gabriella Windsor's wedding in May 2019. A photo of the royal couple as they isolated at Windsor Castle during the COVID-19 pandemic was released ahead of his 99th birthday in June 2020. In July 2020, he stepped down as Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles, a position he had held since 2007. He was succeeded by his daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
In January 2021, Philip and Elizabeth were vaccinated against COVID-19 by a household doctor at Windsor Castle. In February 2021, Philip was admitted to King Edward VII's Hospital as a "precautionary measure" after feeling unwell; he was visited by Prince Charles. Buckingham Palace confirmed that Philip was "responding to treatment" for an infection. In March, Philip was transferred by ambulance to St Bartholomew's Hospital to continue treatment for an infection, and to undergo "testing and observation" relating to a pre-existing heart condition. He underwent a successful procedure for his heart condition and was transferred back to King Edward VII's Hospital. He was discharged a week later and returned to Windsor Castle.
== Death ==
Philip died of "old age" on the morning of 9 April 2021 at Windsor Castle, at the age of 99. He was the longest-serving royal consort in world history. Elizabeth described his death as "having left a huge void in her life".
The palace said Philip died peacefully, which was confirmed by his daughter-in-law Sophie, Countess of Wessex, who told the press it was "so gentle. It was just like somebody took him by the hand and off he went." His death led to the commencement of Operation Forth Bridge, the plan for publicly announcing his death and organising his funeral. The usual public ceremonial could not take place because of the regulations for the COVID-19 pandemic which restricted the number of mourners to thirty; it was later reported in the press that Elizabeth had rejected a government offer to relax the rules. The funeral took place on 17 April 2021 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, and Philip was temporarily interred alongside 25 other coffins, including that of George III, in the Royal Vault inside St George's. Representatives of countries around the world sent condolences to the royal family upon his death.
As with other senior members of the royal family, Philip's last will and testament will be sealed for at least 90 years, according to a High Court ruling, which deemed it necessary to protect the Sovereign's "dignity and standing". This led to speculation that the will might contain material harmful to the reputation of the royal family. The order was made by the President of the Family Division after a private hearing in July 2021, who said that he had neither seen the will nor been informed of any of its contents. In January 2022, The Guardian challenged the judge's decision to exclude the press from that hearing, arguing that the judge had "erred by failing to consider any lesser interference with open justice than a private hearing", and the newspaper was granted leave to appeal. In July 2022, the Court of Appeal dismissed the newspaper's arguments, stating that the press could not have been informed of the hearing "without risking the media storm that was feared". The court added that "a perceived lack of transparency might be a matter of legitimate public debate, but the (Non-Contentious Probate Rules) allow wills and their values to be concealed from the public gaze in some cases".
A service of thanksgiving for Philip's life took place at Westminster Abbey on 29 March 2022, with Elizabeth, foreign royalty and politicians in attendance. Elizabeth died on 8 September 2022 and the royal couple's bodies were interred in the King George VI Memorial Chapel at St George's on the evening of 19 September after her state funeral.
== Legacy ==
=== Interests ===
Philip played polo until 1971 when he started to compete in carriage driving, a sport which he helped to expand; the sport's early rule book was drafted under his supervision. He was also a keen yachtsman and struck up a friendship in 1949 with boat designer and sailing enthusiast Uffa Fox in Cowes.
Philip's first airborne flying lesson took place in 1952, and by his 70th birthday, he had accrued 5,150 pilot hours. He was presented with Royal Air Force wings in 1953, helicopter wings with the Royal Navy in 1956, and his private pilot's licence in 1959. After 44 years as a pilot, he retired in August 1997 with 5,986 hours spent in 59 different aircraft. In April 2014, it was reported that an old British Pathé newsreel film had been discovered of Philip's 1962 two-month flying tour of South America. Filmed sitting alongside him at the aircraft's controls was his co-pilot Captain Peter Middleton, the grandfather of Philip's granddaughter-in-law Catherine. In 1959, Philip flew solo in a Druine Turbulent, becoming the first and, as of April 2021, the only member of the royal family to have flown a single-seat aircraft.
Philip painted with oils and collected artworks, including contemporary cartoons, which hang at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Sandringham House, and Balmoral Castle. Hugh Casson described Philip's own artwork as "exactly what you'd expect ... totally direct, no hanging about. Strong colours, vigorous brushstrokes." He was patron of the Royal Society of Arts from 1952 until 2011. He was "fascinated" by cartoons about the monarchy and the royal family and was a patron of The Cartoon Museum.
=== Personality and image ===
Philip's down-to-earth manner was attested to by a White House butler, who recalled that, on a visit in 1976, Philip engaged him and a fellow butler in a conversation and poured them drinks. As well as having a reputation for bluntness and plain speaking, Philip was noted for occasionally making observations and jokes that were construed as funny or typical for someone of his age and background by some, but as gaffes, awkward, politically incorrect, or even offensive by others. In an address to the General Dental Council in 1960, he jokingly coined a new word for his blunders: "Dontopedalogy is the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it, a science which I have practised for a good many years." Later in life, he suggested his comments may have contributed to the perception that he was "a cantankerous old sod".
In a private conversation with British students from Xi'an's Northwest University during a state visit to China in 1986, Philip joked: "If you stay here much longer, you'll go slit-eyed." The British press reported on the remark as indicative of racial intolerance, but the Chinese authorities were reportedly unconcerned. Chinese students studying in the UK, an official explained, were often told in jest not to stay away too long, lest they go "round-eyed". His comment did not affect Sino-British relations, but it shaped his reputation. Philip also made comments on the eating habits of Cantonese people, stating: "If it has four legs and is not a chair, has wings and is not an airplane, or swims and is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it." In Australia he asked an Indigenous Australian entrepreneur: "Do you still throw spears at each other?"
In 2011 historian David Starkey described Philip as a kind of "HRH Victor Meldrew". For example, in May 1999, British newspapers accused Philip of insulting deaf children at a pop concert in Wales by saying: "No wonder you are deaf listening to this row." Later, Philip wrote: "The story is largely invention. It so happens that my mother was quite seriously deaf and I have been Patron of the Royal National Institute for the Deaf for ages, so it's hardly likely that I would do any such thing." When he and Elizabeth met Stephen Menary, an army cadet blinded by a Real IRA bomb, and Elizabeth enquired how much sight he retained, Philip quipped: "Not a lot, judging by the tie he's wearing." Menary later said: "I think he just tries to put people at ease by trying to make a joke. I certainly didn't take any offence." Philip's comparison of prostitutes and wives was also perceived as offensive after he reportedly stated: "I don't think a prostitute is more moral than a wife, but they are doing the same thing."
=== Centenary ===
To mark the centenary of Philip's birth in June 2021, the Royal Collection Trust held an exhibition at Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Titled Prince Philip: A Celebration, it showcased around 150 personal items related to him, including his wedding card, wedding menu, midshipman's logbook from 1940 to 1941, Chair of Estate, and the coronation robes and coronet that he wore for his wife's coronation in 1953. George Alexis Weymouth's portrait of Philip in the ruins of Windsor Castle after the fire of 1992 formed part of a focus on Philip's involvement with the subsequent restoration.
The Royal Horticultural Society also marked Philip's centenary by breeding a new rose in his honour, christened "The Duke of Edinburgh Rose", created by British rose breeder Harkness Roses. Elizabeth, as patron of the society, was given the deep pink commemorative rose in honour of her husband, and she remarked that "It looks lovely". A Duke of Edinburgh Rose has since been planted in the mixed rose border of Windsor Castle's East Terrace Garden. Philip played a major role in the garden's design.
In September 2021, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution honoured Philip by naming their new state-of-the-art lifeboat Duke of Edinburgh. The tribute was initially planned to mark his 100th birthday. In the same month, a documentary initially planned for his centenary was broadcast on BBC One under the title Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers, with contributions from his children, their spouses, and seven of his grandchildren.
=== Portrayals ===
Philip has been portrayed by several actors, including Stewart Granger (The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana, 1982), Christopher Lee (Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story, 1982), David Threlfall (The Queen's Sister, 2005), James Cromwell (The Queen, 2006), and Finn Elliot, Matt Smith, Tobias Menzies, and Jonathan Pryce (The Crown, 2016 onwards). He also appears as a fictional character in Nevil Shute's novel In the Wet (1952), Paul Gallico's novel Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Moscow (1974), Tom Clancy's novel Patriot Games (1987), and Sue Townsend's novel The Queen and I (1992).
== Books ==
Philip authored:
Forewords to:
== Titles, styles, honours, and arms ==
Philip held many titles throughout his life. Originally holding the title and style of a prince of Greece and Denmark, Philip abandoned these royal titles before he married and was thereafter created a British duke, among other noble titles. Elizabeth formally issued letters patent in 1957 making him a British prince.
=== Honours and honorary military appointments ===
Philip was awarded medals from Britain, France, and Greece for his service during the Second World War, as well as ones commemorating the coronations of George VI and Elizabeth II and the silver, gold and diamond jubilees of Elizabeth. George VI appointed him to the Order of the Garter on the eve of his wedding on 19 November 1947. Since then, Philip received 17 appointments and decorations in the Commonwealth and 48 from foreign states. The inhabitants of some villages on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu, worship Philip as a god-like spiritual figure; the islanders possess portraits of him and hold feasts on his birthday.
Upon his wife's accession to the throne in 1952, Philip was appointed Admiral of the Sea Cadet Corps, Colonel-in-Chief of the British Army Cadet Force, and Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Air Training Corps. The following year, he was appointed to the equivalent positions in Canada and made Admiral of the Fleet, Captain General Royal Marines, Field Marshal, and Marshal of the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. Subsequent military appointments were made in New Zealand and Australia. In 1975 he was appointed colonel of the Grenadier Guards, a position he handed over to his son Andrew in 2017. On 16 December 2015, he relinquished his role as Honorary Air Commodore-in-Chief and was succeeded by his granddaughter-in-law Catherine, then Duchess of Cambridge, as Honorary Air Commandant.
To celebrate Philip's 90th birthday, Elizabeth appointed him Lord High Admiral, as well as to the highest ranks available in all three branches of the Canadian Armed Forces. On their 70th wedding anniversary, 20 November 2017, she appointed him Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, making him the first British national since his uncle Lord Mountbatten of Burma to be entitled to wear the breast stars of four orders of chivalry in the United Kingdom.
=== Arms ===
== Genealogy ==
Both Philip and Elizabeth were great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria, Elizabeth by descent from Victoria's eldest son, King Edward VII, and Philip by descent from Victoria's second daughter, Princess Alice. Both were also descended from King Christian IX of Denmark.
Philip was also related to the House of Romanov through all four of his grandparents. His maternal grandmother, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, was a sister of Empress Alexandra of Russia. In 1993 scientists were able to confirm the identity of the remains of several members of the Romanov family, more than seventy years after their murder in 1918, by comparing their mitochondrial DNA to living matrilineal relatives, including Philip. Philip, Alexandra, and her children were all descended from Princess Alice through a purely female line. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_Columbian_Exposition | World's Columbian Exposition | The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 1 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, held in Jackson Park, was a large water pool representing the voyage that Columbus took to the New World. Chicago won the right to host the fair over several competing cities, including New York City, Washington, D.C., and St. Louis. The exposition was an influential social and cultural event and had a profound effect on American architecture, the arts, American industrial optimism, and Chicago's image.
The layout of the Chicago Columbian Exposition was predominantly designed by John Wellborn Root, Daniel Burnham, Frederick Law Olmsted, and Charles B. Atwood. It was the prototype of what Burnham and his colleagues thought a city should be. It was designed to follow Beaux-Arts principles of design, namely neoclassical architecture principles based on symmetry, balance, and splendor. The color of the material generally used to cover the buildings' façades, white staff, gave the fairgrounds its nickname, the White City. Many prominent architects designed its 14 "great buildings". Artists and musicians were featured in exhibits and many also made depictions and works of art inspired by the exposition. One particularly notable attraction was the world's first ferris wheel, standing at a height of 264 feet, which was designed to rival the Eiffel Tower built for the 1889 World's Fair four years earlier.
The exposition covered 690 acres (2.8 km2), featuring nearly 200 new but temporary buildings of predominantly neoclassical architecture, canals and lagoons, and people and cultures from 46 countries. More than 27 million people attended the exposition during its six-month run. Its scale and grandeur far exceeded the other world's fairs, and it became a symbol of supposed American exceptionalism, much in the same way that the Great Exhibition became a symbol of the Victorian era United Kingdom.
Dedication ceremonies for the fair were held on October 21, 1892, but the fairgrounds were not opened to the public until May 1, 1893. The fair continued until October 30, 1893. In addition to recognizing the 400th anniversary of the Europeans' discovery of the New World, the fair served to show the world that Chicago had risen from the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire, which had destroyed much of the city in 1871.
On October 9, 1893, the day designated as Chicago Day, the fair set a world record for outdoor event attendance, drawing 751,026 people. The debt for the fair was soon paid off with a check for $1.5 million (equivalent to $53.8 million in 2025). Chicago has commemorated the fair with one of the stars on its municipal flag.
== History ==
=== Planning and organization ===
Many prominent civic, professional, and commercial leaders from around the United States helped finance, coordinate, and manage the Fair, including Chicago shoe company owner Charles H. Schwab, Chicago railroad and manufacturing magnate John Whitfield Bunn, and Connecticut banking, insurance, and iron products magnate Milo Barnum Richardson, among many others.
The fair was planned in the early 1890s during the Gilded Age of rapid industrial growth, immigration, and class tension. World's fairs, such as London's 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition, had been successful in Europe as a way to bring together societies fragmented along class lines.
The first American attempt at a world's fair in Philadelphia in 1876 drew crowds, but was a financial failure. Nonetheless, ideas about distinguishing the 400th anniversary of Columbus' landing started in the late 1880s. Civic leaders in St. Louis, New York City, Washington DC, and Chicago expressed interest in hosting a fair to generate profits, boost real estate values, and promote their cities. Congress was called on to decide the location. New York financiers J. P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and William Waldorf Astor, among others, pledged $15 million to finance the fair if Congress awarded it to New York, while Chicagoans Charles T. Yerkes, Marshall Field, Philip Armour, Gustavus Swift, and Cyrus McCormick, Jr., offered to finance a Chicago fair. What finally persuaded Congress was Chicago banker Lyman Gage, who raised several million additional dollars in a 24-hour period, over and above New York's final offer.
Chicago representatives not only fought for the world's fair for monetary reasons, but also for reasons of practicality. In a Senate hearing held in January 1890, representative Thomas Barbour Bryan argued that the most important qualities for a world's fair were "abundant supplies of good air and pure water", "ample space, accommodations and transportation for all exhibits and visitors". He argued that New York had too many obstructions, and Chicago would be able to use large amounts of land around the city where there was "not a house to buy and not a rock to blast" and that it would be located so that "the artisan and the farmer and the shopkeeper and the man of humble means" would be able to easily access the fair. Bryan continued to say that the fair was of "vital interest" to the West, and that the West wanted the location to be Chicago. The city spokesmen would continue to stress the essentials of a successful exposition and that only Chicago was fit to fill these exposition requirements.
The location of the fair was decided through several rounds of voting by the United States House of Representatives. The first ballot showed Chicago with a large lead over New York, St. Louis and Washington, D.C., but short of a majority. Chicago broke the 154-vote majority threshold on the eighth ballot, receiving 157 votes to New York's 107.
The exposition corporation and national exposition commission settled on Jackson Park and an area around it as the fair site. Daniel H. Burnham was selected as director of works, and George R. Davis as director-general. Burnham emphasized architecture and sculpture as central to the fair and assembled the period's top talent to design the buildings and grounds including Frederick Law Olmsted for the grounds. The temporary buildings were designed in an ornate neoclassical style and painted white, resulting in the fair site being referred to as the "White City".
The Exposition's offices set up shop in the upper floors of the Rand McNally Building on Adams Street, the world's first all-steel-framed skyscraper. Davis' team organized the exhibits with the help of G. Brown Goode of the Smithsonian. The Midway was inspired by the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition, which included ethnological "villages".
Civil rights leaders protested the refusal to include an African American exhibit. Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Irvine Garland Penn, and Ferdinand Lee Barnet co-authored a pamphlet entitled "The Reason Why the Colored American is not in the World's Columbian Exposition – The Afro-American's Contribution to Columbian Literature" addressing the issue. Wells and Douglass argued, "when it is asked why we are excluded from the World's Columbian Exposition, the answer is Slavery." Ten thousand copies of the pamphlet were circulated in the White City from the Haitian Embassy (where Douglass had been selected as its national representative), and the activists received responses from the delegations of England, Germany, France, Russia, and India.
The exhibition did include a limited number of exhibits put on by African Americans, including exhibits by the sculptor Edmonia Lewis, a painting exhibit by scientist George Washington Carver, and a statistical exhibit by Joan Imogen Howard. Black individuals were also featured in white exhibits, such as Nancy Green's portrayal of the character Aunt Jemima for the R. T. Davis Milling Company.
=== Operation ===
The fair opened in May and ran through October 30, 1893. Forty-six nations participated in the fair, which was the first world's fair to have national pavilions. They constructed exhibits and pavilions and named national "delegates"; for example, Haiti selected Frederick Douglass to be its delegate. The Exposition drew over 27 million visitors. The fair was originally meant to be closed on Sundays, but the Chicago Woman's Club petitioned that it stay open. The club felt that if the exposition was closed on Sunday, it would restrict those who could not take off work during the work-week from seeing it.
The exposition was located in Jackson Park and on the Midway Plaisance on 630 acres (2.5 km2) in the neighborhoods of South Shore, Jackson Park Highlands, Hyde Park, and Woodlawn. Charles H. Wacker was the director of the fair. The layout of the fairgrounds was created by Frederick Law Olmsted, and the Beaux-Arts architecture of the buildings was under the direction of Daniel Burnham, Director of Works for the fair. Renowned local architect Henry Ives Cobb designed several buildings for the exposition. The director of the American Academy in Rome, Francis Davis Millet, directed the painted mural decorations. Indeed, it was a coming-of-age for the arts and architecture of the "American Renaissance", and it showcased the burgeoning neoclassical and Beaux-Arts styles.
=== Assassination of mayor and end of fair ===
The fair ended with the city in shock, as popular mayor Carter Harrison III was assassinated by Patrick Eugene Prendergast two days before the fair's closing. Closing ceremonies were canceled in favor of a public memorial service.
Jackson Park was returned to its status as a public park, in much better shape than its original swampy form. The lagoon was reshaped to give it a more natural appearance, except for the straight-line northern end where it still laps up against the steps on the south side of the Palace of Fine Arts/Museum of Science & Industry building. The Midway Plaisance, a park-like boulevard which extends west from Jackson Park, once formed the southern boundary of the University of Chicago, which was being built as the fair was closing (the university has since developed south of the Midway). The university's football team, the Maroons, were the original "Monsters of the Midway." The exposition is mentioned in the university's alma mater: "The City White hath fled the earth, / But where the azure waters lie, / A nobler city hath its birth, / The City Gray that ne'er shall die."
== Attractions ==
The World's Columbian Exposition was the first world's fair with an area for amusements that was strictly separated from the exhibition halls. This area, developed by a young music promoter, Sol Bloom, concentrated on Midway Plaisance and introduced the term "midway" to American English to describe the area of a carnival or fair where sideshows are located. It included carnival rides, among them the original Ferris Wheel, built by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. This wheel was 264 feet (80 m) high and had 36 cars, each of which could accommodate 40 people. The importance of the Columbian Exposition is highlighted by the use of rueda de Chicago ("Chicago wheel") in many Latin American countries such as Costa Rica and Chile in reference to the Ferris wheel. One attendee, George C. Tilyou, later credited the sights he saw on the Chicago midway for inspiring him to create America's first major amusement park, Steeplechase Park in Coney Island, New York.
The fair included life-size reproductions of Christopher Columbus' three ships, the Niña (real name Santa Clara), the Pinta, and the Santa María. These were intended to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the Americas. The ships were constructed in Spain and then sailed to America for the exposition. The celebration of Columbus was an intergovernmental project, coordinated by American special envoy William Eleroy Curtis, the Queen Regent of Spain, and Pope Leo XIII. The ships were a very popular exhibit.
Eadweard Muybridge gave a series of lectures on the Science of Animal Locomotion in the Zoopraxographical Hall, built specially for that purpose on Midway Plaisance. He used his zoopraxiscope to show his moving pictures to a paying public. The hall was the first commercial movie theater. Also demonstrated was Ottomar Anschütz's electrotachyscope, which used a Geissler tube to project the illusion of moving images.
The "Street in Cairo" included the popular dancer known as Little Egypt. She introduced America to the suggestive version of the belly dance known as the "hootchy-kootchy", to a tune said to have been improvised by Sol Bloom (and now more commonly associated with snake charmers) which he had composed when his dancers had no music to dance to. Bloom did not copyright the song, putting it immediately in the public domain. This led to Bloom becoming one of the earliest people in U.S. history to make large sums of money from shows which were reminiscent of stripteases.
Although denied a spot at the fair, Buffalo Bill Cody decided to come to Chicago anyway, setting up his Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show just outside the edge of the exposition. Nearby, historian Frederick Jackson Turner gave academic lectures reflecting on the end of the frontier which Buffalo Bill represented.
Louis Comfort Tiffany made his reputation with a stunning chapel designed and built for the Exposition. After the Exposition the Tiffany Chapel was sold several times, even going back to Tiffany's estate. It was eventually reconstructed and restored and in 1999 it was installed at the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art.
Architect Kirtland Cutter's Idaho Building, a rustic log construction, was a popular favorite, visited by an estimated 18 million people. The building's design and interior furnishings were a major precursor of the Arts and Crafts movement.
=== Anthropology ===
There was an Anthropology Building at the World's Fair. Nearby, "The Cliff Dwellers" featured a rock and timber structure that was painted to recreate Battle Rock Mountain in Colorado, a stylized recreation of an American Indian cliff dwelling with pottery, weapons, and other relics on display. There was also an Eskimo display. There were also birch bark wigwams of the Penobscot tribe. Nearby was a working model Indian school, organized by the Office of Indian Affairs, that housed delegations of Native American students and their teachers from schools around the country for weeks at a time.
=== Rail ===
The John Bull locomotive was displayed. It was only 62 years old, having been built in 1831. It was the first locomotive acquisition by the Smithsonian Institution. The locomotive ran under its own power from Washington, DC, to Chicago to participate, and returned to Washington under its own power again when the exposition closed. In 1981 it was the oldest surviving operable steam locomotive in the world when it ran under its own power again.
A Baldwin 2-4-2 locomotive was showcased at the exposition, and subsequently the 2-4-2 type was known as the Columbia.
A British 2-2-2-0 locomotive, London and North Western Railway No.2054 'Queen Empress' was exhibited and latter hauled a train to New York.
An original frog switch and portion of the superstructure of the famous 1826 Granite Railway in Massachusetts could be viewed. This was the first commercial railroad in the United States to evolve into a common carrier without an intervening closure. The railway brought granite stones from a rock quarry in Quincy, Massachusetts, so that the Bunker Hill Monument could be erected in Boston. The frog switch is now on public view in East Milton Square, Massachusetts, on the original right-of-way of the Granite Railway.
Transportation by rail was the major mode of transportation. A 26-track train station was built at the southwest corner of the fair. While trains from around the country would unload there, there was a local train to shuttle tourists from the Chicago Grand Central Station to the fair. The newly built Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad also served passengers from Congress Terminal to the fairgrounds at Jackson Park. The line exists today as part of the CTA Green Line.
=== Country and state exhibition buildings ===
Forty-six countries had pavilions at the exposition. Norway participated by sending the Viking, a replica of the Gokstad ship. It was built in Norway and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean by 12 men, led by Captain Magnus Andersen. In 1919, this ship was moved to Lincoln Park. It was relocated in 1996 to Good Templar Park in Geneva, Illinois, where it awaits renovation.
Thirty-four U.S. states also had their own pavilions. The work of noted feminist author Kate McPhelim Cleary was featured during the opening of the Nebraska Day ceremonies at the fair, which included a reading of her poem "Nebraska". Among the state buildings present at the fair were California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas; each was meant to be architecturally representative of the corresponding states.
Four United States territories also had pavilions located in one building: Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Utah.
Visitors to the Louisiana Pavilion were each given a seedling of a cypress tree. This resulted in the spread of cypress trees to areas where they were not native. Cypress trees from those seedlings can be found in many areas of West Virginia, where they flourish in the climate.
The Illinois was a detailed, full-scale mockup of an Indiana-class battleship, constructed as a naval exhibit.
=== Guns and artillery ===
The German firm Krupp had a pavilion of artillery, which apparently had cost one million dollars to stage, including a coastal gun of 42 cm in bore (16.54 inches) and a length of 33 calibres (45.93 feet, 14 meters). A breech-loaded gun, it weighed 120.46 long tons (122.4 metric tons). According to the company's marketing: "It carried a charge projectile weighing from 2,200 to 2,500 pounds which, when driven by 900 pounds of brown powder, was claimed to be able to penetrate at 2,200 yards a wrought-iron plate three feet thick if placed at right angles."
Nicknamed "The Thunderer", the gun had an advertised range of 15 miles. On this occasion John Schofield declared Krupps' guns "the greatest peacemakers in the world". This gun was later seen as a precursor of the company's World War I Dicke Berta howitzers.
=== Religions ===
The 1893 Parliament of the World's Religions, which ran from September 11 to September 27, marked the first formal gathering of representatives of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions from around the world. According to Eric J. Sharpe, Tomoko Masuzawa, and others, the event was considered radical at the time, since it allowed non-Christian faiths to speak on their own behalf. For example, it is recognized as the first public mention of the Baháʼí Faith in North America; it was not taken seriously by European scholars until the 1960s.
=== Moving walkway ===
Along the banks of the lake ran a moving walkway designed by architect Joseph Lyman Silsbee, the first of its kind open to the public. Called The Great Wharf, Moving Sidewalk, it carried patrons to the casino and allowed people to walk along or ride in seats.
=== Horticulture ===
Horticultural exhibits at the Horticultural Hall included cacti and orchids as well as other plants in a greenhouse.
== Architecture ==
=== White City ===
Most of the buildings of the fair were designed in the neoclassical architecture style. The area at the Court of Honor was known as The White City. Façades were made not of stone, but of a mixture of plaster, cement, and jute fiber called staff, which was painted white, giving the buildings their "gleam". Architecture critics derided the structures as "decorated sheds." The buildings were clad in white stucco, which, in comparison to the tenements of Chicago, seemed illuminated. It was also called the White City because of the extensive use of street lights, which made the boulevards and buildings usable at night.
In 1892, working under extremely tight deadlines to complete construction, director of works Daniel Burnham appointed Francis Davis Millet to replace the fair's official director of color-design, William Pretyman. Pretyman had resigned following a dispute with Burnham. After experimenting, Millet settled on a mix of oil and white lead whitewash that could be applied using compressed air spray painting to the buildings, taking considerably less time than traditional brush painting. Joseph Binks, maintenance supervisor at Chicago's Marshall Field's Wholesale Store, who had been using this method to apply whitewash to the subbasement walls of the store, got the job to paint the Exposition buildings. Claims this was the first use of spray painting may be apocryphal since journals from that time note this form of painting had already been in use in the railroad industry from the early 1880s.
Many of the buildings included sculptural details and, to meet the Exposition's opening deadline, chief architect Burnham sought the help of Chicago Art Institute instructor Lorado Taft to help complete them. Taft's efforts included employing a group of talented women sculptors from the Institute known as "the White Rabbits" to finish some of the buildings, getting their name from Burnham's comment "Hire anyone, even white rabbits if they'll do the work."
The words "Thine alabaster cities gleam" from the song "America the Beautiful" were inspired by the White City.
==== Role in the City Beautiful movement ====
The White City is largely credited for ushering in the City Beautiful movement and planting the seeds of modern city planning. The highly integrated design of the landscapes, promenades, and structures provided a vision of what is possible when planners, landscape architects, and architects work together on a comprehensive design scheme.
The White City inspired cities to focus on the beautification of the components of the city in which municipal government had control; streets, municipal art, public buildings, and public spaces. The designs of the City Beautiful Movement (closely tied with the municipal art movement) are identifiable by their classical architecture, plan symmetry, picturesque views, and axial plans, as well as their magnificent scale. Where the municipal art movement focused on beautifying one feature in a city, the City Beautiful movement began to make improvements on the scale of the district. The White City of the World's Columbian Exposition inspired the Merchants Club of Chicago to commission Daniel Burnham to create the Plan of Chicago in 1909.
=== Great buildings ===
There were fourteen main "great buildings" centered around a giant reflective pool called the Grand Basin. Buildings included:
The Administration Building, designed by Richard Morris Hunt
The Agricultural Building, designed by Charles McKim of McKim, Mead & White
The Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, designed by George B. Post. If this building were standing today, it would rank third in volume (8,500,000m3) and eighth in footprint (130,000 m2) on list of largest buildings. It exhibited works related to literature, science, art and music.
The Mines and Mining Building, designed by Solon Spencer Beman
The Electricity Building, designed by Henry Van Brunt and Frank Maynard Howe
The Machinery Hall, designed by Robert Swain Peabody of Peabody and Stearns
The Woman's Building, designed by Sophia Hayden
The Transportation Building, designed by Adler & Sullivan
The Fisheries Building designed by Henry Ives Cobb
Forestry Building designed by Charles B. Atwood
Horticultural Building designed by Jenney and Mundie
Anthropology Building designed by Charles B. Atwood
=== Transportation Building ===
Louis Sullivan's polychrome proto-Modern Transportation Building was an outstanding exception to the prevailing style, as he tried to develop an organic American form. Years later, in 1922, he wrote that the classical style of the White City had set back modern American architecture by forty years. During June to December 1893, the building and its exhibits were superintended by US Army Colonel William A. Shunk.
As detailed in Erik Larson's popular history The Devil in the White City, extraordinary effort was required to accomplish the exposition, and much of it was unfinished on opening day. The famous Ferris Wheel, which proved to be a major attendance draw and helped save the fair from bankruptcy, was not finished until June, because of waffling by the board of directors the previous year on whether to build it. Frequent debates and disagreements among the developers of the fair added many delays. The spurning of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show proved a serious financial mistake. Buffalo Bill set up his highly popular show next door to the fair and brought in a great deal of revenue that he did not have to share with the developers. Nonetheless, construction and operation of the fair proved to be a windfall for Chicago workers during the serious economic recession that was sweeping the country.
=== Surviving structures ===
Almost all of the fair's structures were designed to be temporary; of the more than 200 buildings erected for the fair, the only two which still stand in place are the Palace of Fine Arts and the World's Congress Auxiliary Building. From the time the fair closed until 1920, the Palace of Fine Arts housed the Field Columbian Museum (now the Field Museum of Natural History, since relocated); in 1933 (having been completely rebuilt in permanent materials), the Palace building re-opened as the Museum of Science and Industry. The second building, the World's Congress Building, was one of the few buildings not built in Jackson Park, instead it was built downtown in Grant Park. The cost of construction of the World's Congress Building was shared with the Art Institute of Chicago, which, as planned, moved into the building (the museum's current home) after the close of the fair.
The three other significant buildings that survived the fair represented Norway, the Netherlands, and the State of Maine. The Norway Building was a recreation of a traditional wooden stave church. After the Fair it was relocated to Lake Geneva, and in 1935 was moved to a museum called Little Norway in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. In 2015 it was dismantled and shipped back to Norway, where it was restored and reassembled. The second is the Maine State Building, designed by Charles Sumner Frost, which was purchased by the Ricker family of Poland Spring, Maine. They moved the building to their resort to serve as a library and art gallery. The Poland Spring Preservation Society now owns the building, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The third is The Dutch House, which was moved to Brookline, Massachusetts.
The 1893 Viking ship that was sailed to the Exposition from Norway by Captain Magnus Andersen is located in Geneva, Illinois. The ship is open to visitors on scheduled days April through October.
The main altar at St. John Cantius in Chicago, as well as its matching two side altars, are reputed to be from the Columbian Exposition.
Since many of the other buildings at the fair were intended to be temporary, they were removed after the fair. The White City so impressed visitors (at least before air pollution began to darken the façades) that plans were considered to refinish the exteriors in marble or some other material. These plans were abandoned in July 1894, when much of the fair grounds was destroyed in a fire.
=== Gallery ===
=== Later criticisms ===
Frank Lloyd Wright later wrote that "By this overwhelming rise of grandomania I was confirmed in my fear that a native architecture would be set back at least fifty years."
According to University of Notre Dame history professor Gail Bederman, the event symbolized a male-dominated and Eurocentrist society. In her 1995 text Manliness and Civilization, she writes, "The White City, with its vision of future perfection and of the advanced racial power of manly commerce and technology, constructed civilization as an ideal of white male power".
According to Bederman, people of color were barred entirely from participating in the organization of the White City and were instead given access only to the Midway exhibit, "which specialized in spectacles of barbarous races – 'authentic' villages of Samoans, Egyptians, Dahomans, Turks, and other exotic peoples, populated by actual imported 'natives.'"
Two small exhibits were included in the White City's "Woman's Building" which addressed women of color. One, entitled "Afro-American" was installed in a distant corner of the building. The other, called "Woman's Work in Savagery," included baskets, weavings, and African, Polynesian, and Native American arts. Though they were produced by living women of color, the materials were represented as relics from the distant past, embodying "the work of white women's own distant evolutionary foremothers."
=== Visitors ===
Helen Keller, along with her mentor Anne Sullivan and Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, visited the fair in summer 1893. Keller described the fair in her autobiography The Story of My Life. Early in July, a Wellesley College English teacher named Katharine Lee Bates visited the fair. The White City later inspired the reference to "alabaster cities" in her poem and lyrics "America the Beautiful". The exposition was extensively reported by Chicago publisher William D. Boyce's reporters and artists. There is a very detailed and vivid description of all facets of this fair by the Persian traveler Mirza Mohammad Ali Mo'in ol-Saltaneh written in Persian. He departed from Persia on April 20, 1892, especially for the purpose of visiting the World's Columbian Exposition.
Pierre de Coubertin visited the fair with his friends Paul Bourget and Samuel Jean de Pozzi. He devotes the first chapter of his book Souvenirs d'Amérique et de Grèce (1897) to the visit. Swami Vivekananda visited the fair to attend the Parliament of the World's Religions and delivered his famous speech Sisters and Brothers of America!. Kubota Beisen was an official delegate of Japan. As an artist, he sketched hundreds of scenes, some of which were later used to make woodblock print books about the Exhibition. Serial killer H. H. Holmes attended the fair with two of his eventual victims, Annie and Minnie Williams.
Bulgarian writer Aleko Konstantinov visited the fair and wrote his nonfiction book To Chicago and Back.
Milton S. Hershey visited the fair. Upon seeing German exhibitor J.M. Lehmann's chocolate making machinery, he purchased the machinery which launched The Hershey Company.
== Souvenirs ==
Examples of exposition souvenirs can be found in various American museum collections. One example, copyrighted in 1892 by John W. Green, is a folding hand fan with detailed illustrations of landscapes and architecture. Charles W Goldsmith produced a set of ten postcard designs, each in full colour, showing the buildings constructed for the exhibition. Columbian Exposition coins were also minted for the event.
== Electricity ==
The effort to power the Fair with electricity, which became a demonstration piece for Westinghouse Electric and the alternating current system they had been developing for many years, took place at the end of what has been called the War of the currents between DC and AC. Westinghouse initially did not put in a bid to power the Fair but agreed to be the contractor for a local Chicago company that put in a low bid of US$510,000 to supply an alternating current-based system.
Edison General Electric, which at the time was merging with the Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric, put in a US$1.72 million bid to power the Fair and its planned 93,000 incandescent lamps with direct current. After the Fair committee went over both proposals, Edison General Electric re-bid their costs at $554,000 but Westinghouse underbid them by 70 cents per lamp to get the contract. Westinghouse could not use the Edison incandescent lamp since the patent belonged to General Electric and they had successfully sued to stop use of all patent infringing designs. Since Edison specified a sealed globe of glass in his design Westinghouse found a way to sidestep the Edison patent by quickly developing a lamp with a ground-glass stopper in one end, based on a Sawyer-Man "stopper" lamp patent they already had. The lamps worked well but were short-lived, requiring a small army of workmen to constantly replace them.
Westinghouse Electric had severely underbid the contract and struggled to supply all the equipment specified, including twelve 1,000-horsepower single-phase AC generators and all the lighting and other equipment required. They also had to fend off a last-minute lawsuit by General Electric claiming the Westinghouse Sawyer-Man-based stopper lamp infringed on the Edison incandescent lamp patent.
The International Exposition was held in an Electricity Building which was devoted to electrical exhibits. A statue of Benjamin Franklin was displayed at the entrance. The exposition featured interior and exterior light and displays as well as displays of Thomas Edison's kinetoscope, search lights, a seismograph, electric incubators for chicken eggs, and Morse code telegraph.
All the exhibits were from commercial enterprises. Participants included General Electric, Brush, Western Electric, and Westinghouse. The Westinghouse Company displayed several polyphase systems. The exhibits included a switchboard, polyphase generators, step-up transformers, transmission line, step-down transformers, commercial size induction motors and synchronous motors, and rotary direct current converters (including an operational railway motor). The working scaled system allowed the public a view of a system of polyphase power which could be transmitted over long distances, and be utilized, including the supply of direct current. Meters and other auxiliary devices were also present.
Part of the space occupied by the Westinghouse Company was devoted to demonstrations of electrical devices developed by Nikola Tesla including induction motors and the generators used to power the system. The rotating magnetic field that drove these motors was explained through a series of demonstrations including an Egg of Columbus that used the two-phase coil in the induction motors to spin a copper egg making it stand on end.
Tesla himself showed up for a week in August to attend the International Electrical Congress, being held at the fair's Agriculture Hall, and put on a series of demonstrations of his wireless lighting system in a specially set up darkened room at the Westinghouse exhibit. These included demonstrations he had previously performed throughout America and Europe including using a nearby coil to light a wireless gas-discharge lamp held in his hand.
Also at the Fair, the Chicago Athletic Association Football team played one of the first night football games against West Point (the earliest being on September 28, 1892, between Mansfield State Normal and Wyoming Seminary). Chicago won the game, 14–0. The game lasted only 40 minutes, compared to the normal 90 minutes.
== Music ==
=== Musicians ===
John Philip Sousa′s Band played for the Exposition dedication celebration in Chicago, 10 October through 21 October 1892.
Joseph Douglass, classical violinist, who achieved wide recognition after his performance there and became the first African-American violinist to conduct a transcontinental tour and the first to tour as a concert violinist.
Sissieretta Jones, a soprano known as "the Black Patti" and an already-famous opera singer.
A paper on African-American spirituals and shouts by Abigail Christensen was read to attendees.
There were many other black artists at the fair, ranging from minstrel and early ragtime groups to more formal classical ensembles to street buskers.
Scott Joplin, pianist, from Texarkana, Texas; became widely known for his piano playing at the fair.
=== Other music and musicians ===
The first Indonesian music performance in the United States was at the exposition. The gamelan instruments used in the performance were later placed in the Field Museum of Natural History.
A group of hula dancers led to increased awareness of Hawaiian music among Americans throughout the country.
Stoughton Musical Society, the oldest choral society in the United States, presented the first concerts of early American music at the exposition.
The first eisteddfod (a Welsh choral competition with a history spanning many centuries) held outside Wales was held in Chicago at the exposition.
A 250-voice Mormon Tabernacle Choir competed in the Eisteddfod, taking the second place prize of $1,000. This was the first appearance of the choir outside the Utah Territory.
On August 12, 1893, Antonín Dvořák conducted a gala "Bohemian Day" concert at the exposition, besieged by visitors including the conductor of the Chicago Symphony, who arranged for performance of Dvořák's American string quartet, just completed in Spillville, Iowa, during a Dvořák family vacation in a Czech-speaking community there.
American composer Amy Beach (1867–1944) was commissioned by the Board of Lady Managers of the fair to compose a choral work (Festival Jubilate, op. 17) for the opening of the Woman's Building.
Sousa's Band played concerts in the south bandstand on the Great Plaza, 25 May to 28 June 1893.
The University of Illinois Military Band conducted by student leaders Charles Elder and Richard Sharpe played concerts twice daily in the Illinois Building 9 June to 24 June 1893. Soloists were William Sandford, euphonium; Charles Elder, clarinet; William Steele, cornet. The band members slept on cots on the top floor of the building.
On June 8, 1893, The Exposition Orchestra, an expanded version of the Chicago Symphony conducted by guest conductor Vojtěch I. Hlaváč, played the American premiere of Modest Mussorgsky's A Night on Bald Mountain as part of a concert of Russian folk music.
A pipe organ containing over 3,900 pipes, one of the largest in the world at the time, was built by the Farrand & Votey Organ Company to the specifications of Chicago organist Clarence Eddy. It was one of the first great organs to rely on electrical connections from its keys to its pipes.
Musicologist Anna Morsch and composer Charlotte Sporleder presented a program of German music.
Composer and pianist Anita Socola Specht won the title "best amateur pianist in the United States," although some of the judges told her, "You are not an amateur, you are an artist!"
== Art ==
=== American artists exhibiting ===
==== Painters ====
=== Japanese art ===
Japan's artistic contribution was mainly in porcelain, cloisonné enamel, metalwork and embroidery. While 55 paintings and 24 sculptures came from Japan, 271 of the 290 exhibits in the Palace of Fine Arts were Japanese. Artists represented included Miyagawa Kozan, Yabu Meizan, Namikawa Sōsuke, and Suzuki Chokichi.
=== Women artists exhibiting ===
The women artists at the Woman's Building included Anna Lownes, Viennese painter Rosa Schweninger, and many others. American composer Amy Cheney Beach was commissioned by the Board of Lady Managers of the fair to compose a choral work (Festival Jubilate, op. 17) for the opening of the Woman's Building. The Mrs Potts sad-iron system was on display. Ami Mali Hicks' stencil design was selected to adorn the frieze in the assembly room of the Women's Building. Musicologist Anna Morsch and composer Charlotte Sporleder presented a program of German music.
The Woman's Building included a Woman's Building Library Exhibit, which had 7,000 books – all by women. The Woman's Building Library was meant to show the cumulative contribution of the world's women to literature.
== "Greatest Refrigerator on Earth" fire tragedy ==
A large Romanesque structure called "Greatest Refrigerator on Earth" stored thousands of pounds of the Exposition's food and held an ice-skating rink for patrons. The large structure demonstrated artificial freezing, a recent development, and was planned by architect Franklin P. Burnham. The structure's floor space was 130 by 255 feet (40 by 78 m) and its height reached almost 200 feet (61 m). On the evening of July 10, 1893, the "Greatest Refrigerator on Earth" caught fire. Two firemen entered, one sliding down a rope and another on a line of hose, and both were trapped in the burning refrigerator. A total of fifteen people died, twelve firefighters and three civilians, in front of a crowd of more than a thousand fairgoers. The only artifact that survived the fire was a twelve-foot copper statue of Christopher Columbus, which was kept as a monument to the men who lost their lives and is kept by the fire museum of Chicago.
== Notable firsts ==
=== Concepts ===
Frederick Jackson Turner lectured on his Frontier thesis.
The Pledge of Allegiance was first performed at the exposition by a mass of school children lined up in military fashion.
Contribution to Chicago's nickname, the "Windy City". Some argue that Charles Anderson Dana of the New York Sun coined the term related to the hype of the city's promoters. Other evidence, however, suggests the term was used as early as 1881 in relation to either Chicago's "windbag" politicians or to its weather.
=== Commemorations ===
United States Mint offered its first commemorative coins: the Columbian Exposition quarter dollar and Columbian Exposition half dollar
The United States Post Office Department produced its first picture postcards and Columbian Issue commemorative stamps.
=== Edibles and potables ===
Juicy Fruit gum
Quaker Oats
Shredded Wheat
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Vienna Sausage started selling its frankfurters and sausages near one of the entrances to the Midway Plaisance, just outside the Old Vienna Village. The company later became known as Vienna Beef, famously recognized as "Chicago's Hot Dog".
=== Inventions and manufacturing advances ===
A device that made plates for printing books in Braille, unveiled by Frank Haven Hall, who met Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan at the exhibit.
Moving walkway, or travelator
The third rail giving electric power to elevated trains led directly to its first continuing US use.
The "clasp locker", a clumsy slide fastener and forerunner to the zipper was demonstrated by Whitcomb L. Judson
Elongated coins (the squashed penny)
Ferris Wheel
First fully electrical kitchen including an automatic dishwasher
Phosphorescent lamps (a precursor to fluorescent lamps)
John T. Shayne & Company, the local Chicago furrier helped America gain respect on the world stage of manufacturing
Clark cell as a standard for measuring voltage
A first prototype of a pressurized aerosol spray, by Francis Davis Millet.
The first practical electric automobile, invented by William Morrison.
=== Organizations ===
Congress of Mathematicians, precursor to International Congress of Mathematicians
Interfaith dialogue (the Parliament of the World's Religions)
First recorded public mention of the Baháʼí Faith in North America
=== Performances ===
The poet and humorist Benjamin Franklin King, Jr. first performed at the exposition.
Bodybuilder Eugen Sandow demonstrated feats of strength, promoted by Florenz Ziegfeld.
Magician Harry Houdini and his brother Theodore performed their magic act at the Midway.
== Later years ==
The exposition was one influence leading to the rise of the City Beautiful movement. Results included grand buildings and fountains built around Olmstedian parks, shallow pools of water on axis to central buildings, larger park systems, broad boulevards and parkways and, after the start of the 20th century, zoning laws and planned suburbs. Examples of the City Beautiful movement's works include the City of Chicago, the Columbia University campus, and the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
After the fair closed, J.C. Rogers, a banker from Wamego, Kansas, purchased several pieces of art that had hung in the rotunda of the U.S. Government Building. He also purchased architectural elements, artifacts and buildings from the fair. He shipped his purchases to Wamego. Many of the items, including the artwork, were used to decorate his theater, now known as the Columbian Theatre.
Memorabilia such as books, tokens, published photographs, and well-printed admission tickets saved by guests are popular among collectors.
The George Washington University maintains a small collection of exposition tickets for viewing and research purposes. The collection is currently cared for by GWU's Special Collections Research Center, located in the Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library.
When the exposition ended the Ferris Wheel was moved to Chicago's north side, next to an exclusive neighborhood. An unsuccessful Circuit Court action was filed against the owners of the wheel to have it moved. The wheel stayed there until it was moved to St. Louis for the 1904 World's Fair.
The Columbian Exposition has celebrated many anniversaries since the fair in 1893. The Chicago Historical Society held an exhibition to commemorate the fair. The Grand Illusions exhibition was centered around the idea that the Columbian Exposition was made up of a series of illusions. The commemorative exhibition contained partial reconstructions, a video detailing the fair, and a catalogue similar to the one sold at the World's Fair of 1893.
== Academic views ==
Henry Adams wrote in his 1907 Education: "The Exposition denied philosophy ... [S]ince Noah’s Ark, no such Babel of loose and ill-jointed, such vague and ill-defined and unrelated thoughts and half-thoughts and experimental out-cries... had ruffled the surface of the Lakes."
Michel-Rolph Trouillot wrote that the academic aspect of the event was not very important, even though the Harvard Peabody Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, and Franz Boas made contributions.
== In popular culture ==
The Exposition is portrayed in the 2017 historical film, The Current War, concerning the competition between George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison to establish the dominant form of electricity in the United States.
1893: A World's Fair Mystery, an interactive fiction (text adventure) by Peter Nepstad that recreates the Exposition in detail
Against the Day, a historical fictional novel by Thomas Pynchon the beginning of which takes place at the Exposition
The Devil in the White City, a non-fiction book intertwining the true tales of the architect behind the Exposition and serial killer H. H. Holmes
Timebound, a time travel novel by Rysa Walker, culminates at the Exposition.
Expo: Magic of the White City, a 2005 documentary film about the Exposition by Mark Bussler
The Exposition served as the setting for Against Odds, a novel by Emma Murdock Van Deventer.
Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth, a graphic novel by Chris Ware set in part at the Exposition
Wonder of the Worlds, an adventure novel by Sesh Heri, where Nikola Tesla, Mark Twain, and Houdini pursue Martian agents who have stolen a powerful crystal from Tesla at the Exposition
The Will of an Eccentric, an adventure novel by Jules Verne, evokes the Exposition with admiration in the early chapters.
The Exposition appears in the season 1 episode "The World's Columbian Exposition" of the NBC series Timeless.
The Exposition is referenced in Sufjan Stevens's song in his album Illinois, "Come On! Feel The Illinoise!", which consists of two parts. Part 1 is titled, "World's Columbian Exposition".
The Exposition plays a role in the historical novel, Owen Glen, by Ben Ames Williams.
Mystery Train Island, a video game level on Poptropica released in 2011, is based on and is partially set at the Exposition, referred to as the 1893 Chicago World's Fair in the game.
BioShock Infinite, a 2013 video game. The floating city-state of Columbia was created at the Exposition and toured across the world to promote American exceptionalism.
The exposition is a key setting of the novel The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros.
The exposition appears in the travel book by Aleko Konstantinov, To Chicago and Back.
The young adult novel Fair Weather by Illinois native author Richard Peck takes thirteen-year-old Rosie Beckett and her family from their downstate family farm to the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me, a 2022 video game which was inspired by H. H. Holmes murder castle
The Exposition appears in "1893", the third episode of the second season of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) television series Loki (2023). In the episode, Loki and Mobius M. Mobius attend the Exposition in search of Ravonna Renslayer and Miss Minutes, and encounter Victor Timely, a variant of Kang the Conqueror, whose help they need to save the multiverse.
The Exposition also appears in the post-credits scene of the MCU film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), which uses footage from Loki despite being released before it. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_Homeland_Security | United States Secretary of Homeland Security | The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with border control, counterterrorism and other aspects of public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the United States. The position was created by the Homeland Security Act following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
The new department consisted primarily of components transferred from other Cabinet departments because of their role in homeland security, such as the Coast Guard, the Federal Protective Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (which includes the United States Border Patrol), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (which includes Homeland Security Investigations), the United States Secret Service, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
On March 5, 2026, President Donald Trump nominated Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma to replace Kristi Noem for the position, saying he expects him to begin serving on March 31. Noem will continue to serve until then.
== List of secretaries of homeland security ==
Prior to the establishment of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, there existed an assistant to the president for the Office of Homeland Security, which was created following the September 11 attacks in 2001.
=== Table notes ===
Republican (7)
Democratic (4)
Independent (5)
Denotes acting homeland security secretary
a. ^ James Loy served as acting secretary in his capacity as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security.
b. ^ Rand Beers served as acting secretary in his capacity as confirmed Undersecretary of Homeland Security for National Protection and Programs and Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security; Beers was the highest ranking Senate-approved presidential appointee at the Department of Homeland Security.
c. ^ Elaine Duke served as acting secretary in her capacity as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security.
d. ^ Kevin McAleenan served as acting secretary in his capacity as Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. His tenure was ruled unlawful.
e. ^ Chad Wolf served as acting secretary in his capacity as Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Strategy, Policy, and Plans. His tenure was ruled unlawful.
f. ^ Peter Gaynor served as acting secretary in his capacity as Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator.
g. ^ David Pekoske served as acting secretary in his capacity as Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration
h. ^ Benjamine Huffman served as acting secretary in his capacity as Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers.
== Order of succession ==
While appointment of acting officials is generally governed by the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (FVRA), the Homeland Security Act of 2002 creates exceptions to FVRA, mandating that the under secretary of homeland security for management is third in the line of succession for Secretary of Homeland Security, and establishes an alternate process by which the secretary can directly establish a line of succession outside the provisions of the FVRA.
As of November 8, 2019, the order of succession is as follows. However, the legality of this update was challenged.
Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
Under Secretary for Management
Commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans
Administrator and Assistant Secretary of the Transportation Security Administration
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Formerly, an April 10, 2019 update to the DHS Orders of Succession, made pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, provided a different order in the case of unavailability to act during a disaster or catastrophic emergency:
Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
Under Secretary for Management
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
Under Secretary for Science and Technology
Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis
Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration
Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans
General Counsel
Deputy Under Secretary for Management
Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Deputy Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration
Deputy Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Deputy Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers
As a result of Executive Order 13753 in 2016, the order of succession for the secretary of homeland security was as follows:
Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Under Secretary of Homeland Security for National Protection and Programs
Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology
Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration
Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Assistant Secretary for Policy
General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security
Deputy Under Secretary for Management
Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Deputy Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration
Deputy Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Deputy Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
== Office of the Secretary of Homeland Security ==
=== Purpose ===
The Office of the Secretary (OS) oversees the execution of the duties of the Department of Homeland Security. Certain elements also aid the secretary of homeland security and senior officials of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as private sector and government partners in their duties.
=== Composition ===
The Office of the Secretary contains several offices and other elements of the DHS. Most of the heads of these elements report directly to the secretary or deputy secretary, but the military advisor and executive secretary report to the DHS chief of staff, a position that is currently vacant since January 2025.
While DHS secretary Kristi Noem was participating in an immigration raid on April 8, 2025, she was accompanied by former Trump campaign manager and senior adviser Corey Lewandowski, who introduced himself to the federal agents as “chief of staff.” DHS later clarified that he is an adviser to DHS and a special government employee. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Trail | Appalachian Trail | The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost 2,200 miles (3,540 km) between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy claims the Appalachian Trail to be the world's longest hiking-only trail. More than three million people hike segments of it each year.
The trail was first proposed in 1921 and completed in 1937. Improvements and changes have continued since then. It became the Appalachian National Scenic Trail under the National Trails System Act of 1968.
The trail is maintained by 31 trail clubs and multiple partnerships and managed by the National Park Service, United States Forest Service, and the nonprofit Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Most of the trail is in forest or wild lands, but some parts traverse towns, roads, and farms. From south to north it passes through Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Thru-hikers walk the entire trail in a single season. The number of thru-hikes per year has increased steadily since 2010, with 715 northbound and 133 southbound thru-hikes reported in 2017. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy estimates there are over 3,000 attempts to traverse the entire trail each year, about 25% of which succeed. Many books, documentaries, and websites are dedicated to the pursuit. Some hike from one end to the other, then turn around and thru-hike the other way, a "yo-yo".
Affiliated trail sections extend from either end from the north as the International Appalachian Trail into Canada and beyond, and from the south as the Eastern Continental Trail into the Southeastern states of Alabama and Florida.
The Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail informally constitute the Triple Crown of Hiking in the United States.
== History ==
The trail was conceived by Benton MacKaye, a forester who wrote his original plan—called "An Appalachian Trail, A Project in Regional Planning"—shortly after his wife's death in 1921. MacKaye's idea detailed a grand trail that would connect a series of farms and wilderness work/study camps for city-dwellers along the Appalachian Mountains from the highest point in the North (Mount Washington in New Hampshire) to the highest in the South (Mount Mitchell in North Carolina). Hiking was an incidental focus of his plan. In 1922, at the suggestion of Major William A. Welch, director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, his idea was publicized by Raymond H. Torrey with a story in the New York Evening Post under a large headline reading "A Great Trail from Maine to Georgia"
On October 7, 1923, the first section of the trail, from Bear Mountain west through Harriman State Park to Arden, New York, was opened. MacKaye then called for a two-day Appalachian Trail conference to be held in March 1925 in Washington, D.C. This meeting inspired the formation of the Appalachian Trail Conference (now called the Appalachian Trail Conservancy) (ATC). Arthur Perkins, a retired judge, and his younger associate Myron Avery took up the cause. In 1929, Perkins, who was also a member of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association and its Blue Blazed Trails committee, found Ned Anderson, a farmer in Sherman, Connecticut, who took on the task of mapping and blazing the Connecticut leg of the trail (1929–1933). It ran from Dog Tail Corners in Webatuck, New York, which borders Kent, Connecticut, at Ashley Falls, 50 miles (80 km) through the northwest corner of the state, up to Bear Mountain at the Massachusetts state line. A portion of the Connecticut trail has since been rerouted (1979–1983) to be more scenic, adhering less to highways and more to wilderness, and includes the Ned K. Anderson Memorial Bridge.
Anderson's efforts helped spark renewed interest in the trail, and Avery, who led the project after Perkins's death in 1932, was able to bring other states on board. Upon taking over the ATC, Avery adopted the goal to build a simple hiking trail. He and MacKaye clashed over the ATC's response to the construction of a road that overlapped part within Shenandoah National Park; MacKaye left the organization, while Avery was willing to reroute the trail. Avery served as Chair of the ATC from 1932 to 1952, the year he died. He was the first to walk the trail end-to-end, though not as a thru-hike, in 1936. In August 1937, the trail was completed to Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine, and the ATC shifted its focus toward protecting the trail lands and mapping the trail for hikers.
In 1977, the Appalachian Trail Conference honored Paul M. Fink as "the guiding influence" in establishing the Trail in Tennessee and North Carolina in the 1920s. Fink was inducted into the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame in 2019. In 1922, only a year after MacKaye's article proposing an Appalachian Trail was written, Fink began corresponding with hiking leaders in New England about building the Trail. When Avery began planning the Trail's route in the south, Fink was the first person he contacted.
Many of the trail's present highlights were not part of the trail in 1937: Roan Mountain, North Carolina and Tennessee; the Mount Rogers high country, including Grayson Highlands, Virginia; the Pochuck Creek swamp, New Jersey; Nuclear Lake, New York; Thundering Falls, Vermont; and Saddleback Mountain, Maine. Except for places where the Civilian Conservation Corps was brought in (mostly in Shenandoah National Park, the Great Smoky Mountains, and Maine), the original trail often climbed straight up and down mountains, creating rough hiking conditions and a treadway prone to severe erosion. The ATC's trail crews and volunteer trail-maintaining clubs have relocated or rehabilitated miles of trail since then.
In 1936, a 121-day Maine to Georgia veteran's group funded and supported thru-hike was reported to have been completed, with all but three miles of the new trail cleared and blazed, by six Boy Scouts from New York City and their guides. The thru-hike was much later recorded and accepted by the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association. In 1938, the trail sustained major damage from a hurricane that went through the New England area. This was soon before the start of World War II, and many of the people working on the trail were called to active duty.
In 1948, Earl Shaffer of York, Pennsylvania, brought a great deal of attention to the project by publicizing the first claimed thru-hike. The claim was later criticized for the hike's omission of significant portions due to shortcuts and car rides. Shaffer later claimed the first north-to-south thru-hike, the first to claim to do so in each direction. Chester Dziengielewski was later named the first southbound thru-hiker. In 1998, Shaffer, nearly 80 years old, hiked the trail, making him the oldest person to claim a completed thru-hike. The first woman to walk the trail in a single season was Peace Pilgrim in 1952, while the first solo woman to complete the hike was 67-year-old Emma Gatewood, who did it northbound in 1955, taking 146 days. She repeated the achievement two years later, and then section-hiked it in 1964.
In the 1960s, the ATC made progress toward protecting the trail from development, thanks to efforts of politicians and officials. Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson offered legislation to protect the route. The National Trails System Act of 1968 designated the Pacific Crest Trail and Appalachian Trail as the first national scenic trails and paved the way for a series of such trails within the national park and national forest systems. Trail volunteers worked with the National Park Service to map a permanent route for the trail, and by 1971 a permanent route had been marked (though minor changes continue to this day). By the close of the 20th century, the Park Service had completed the purchase of all but a few miles of the trail's span.
== Extensions ==
The International Appalachian Trail is a 1,900-mile (3,100 km) extension running northeast from Maine into New Brunswick and Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula, where it ends at Forillon National Park. It is a separate trail and not an official extension of the Appalachian Trail. Other branches are designated in parts of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and along the western shore of Newfoundland, to the northern end of the Appalachian Mountain range, where it enters the Atlantic Ocean, near L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site. The route has since been extended to Greenland, Europe, and Morocco.
Although the Appalachian Trail ends in Georgia, the Appalachian Mountains continue south to Flagg Mountain in Alabama. In 2008, the Pinhoti National Recreation Trail in Alabama and Georgia, which terminates at Flagg Mountain, was connected to the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail via the Benton MacKaye Trail. Promoters of the Southern extension refer to MacKaye's statement at the 1925 conference that the Georgia to New Hampshire trail should, in the future, extend to Katahdin, and "then to Birmingham, Alabama". As of March 2015, The Pinhoti Trail terminates at the base of Flagg Mountain, near Weogufka in Coosa County, 50 miles (80 km) east of Birmingham. In 2010, the Alabama state legislature formed the Alabama Appalachian Mountain Trail Commission to provide state resources for trail improvements, although officially designating Pinhoti as part of the Appalachian Trail would require an act of the United States Congress.
The 8.8-mile (14.2 km) Appalachian Approach Trail in Georgia begins at Amicalola Falls State Park's visitor center and ends at Springer Mountain. Because Springer Mountain is in a remote area, the Approach Trail is often the beginning of North bound thru-hike attempts. Much of the Approach Trail was originally built as part of the Appalachian Trail, before the southern terminus was relocated from Mount Oglethorpe to Springer Mountain in 1958.
== Flora and fauna ==
The Appalachian Trail is home to thousands of species of plants and animals, including 2,000 rare, threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant and animal species.
=== Animals ===
The American black bear (Ursus americanus), among the largest animals along the Appalachian Trail, rarely confronts people. The black bear is the largest omnivore that may be encountered on the trail, and it inhabits all regions of the Appalachians. Bear sightings on the trail are uncommon, except in certain sections, especially Shenandoah National Park and portions of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts sections, where bear populations have increased steadily since 1980; confrontations are rarer still.
Other hazards include venomous snakes, including the Eastern timber rattlesnake and copperhead, which are common along the trail. Both snakes are generally found in drier, rockier sections of the trail; the copperhead's range extends north to around the New Jersey–New York state line, while rattlesnakes are commonly found along the trail in Connecticut and have been reported, although rarely, as far north as New Hampshire. Other large mammals commonly sighted include deer; elk, reintroduced in the Smoky Mountains; and moose, which may be found in the vicinity of Massachusetts and northward.
Small mammal species that inhabit along the trails are beaver, squirrel, river otter, chipmunk, porcupine, bobcat, two species of fox, boar, woodchuck, raccoon, and coyote. Bird species that reside in the trails are wild turkey, ruffed grouse, mourning dove, raven, two species of eagle, wood duck, three species of owl, and three species of hawk as well as warblers. There are different kinds of squirrels along the Appalachian Trail as well, especially in Maine. They are generally smaller and very territorial, and produce a loud call if approached.
For most hikers, the most persistent pests along the trail are ticks, mosquitos, and black flies along with the mice that inhabit shelters.
=== Plants ===
Plant life along the trail is varied. The trail passes through several different biomes from south to north, and the climate changes significantly, particularly dependent upon elevation. In the south, lowland forests consist mainly of second-growth; nearly the entire trail has been logged at one time or another. There are, however, a few old growth locations along the trail, such as Sages Ravine straddling the Massachusetts-Connecticut border and atop higher peaks along the trail on either side of the same border, the Hopper (a glacial cirque westward of the trail as it traverses Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts), and "The Hermitage", near Gulf Hagas in Maine. In the south, the forest is dominated by hardwoods, including oak and tulip trees, also known as yellow poplar. Farther north, tulip trees are gradually replaced by maples and birches. Oaks begin to disappear in Massachusetts. By Vermont, the lowland forest is made up of maples, birch and beech, with colorful foliage displays in September and October. While the vast majority of lowland forest south of the White Mountains is hardwood, many areas have some coniferous trees as well, and in Maine, these often grow at low elevations.
There is a drastic change between the lowland and subalpine, evergreen forest, as well as another, higher break, at tree line, above which only hardy alpine plants grow. The sub-alpine region is far more prevalent along the trail than true alpine conditions. While it mainly exists in the north, a few mountains in the south have subalpine environments, which are typically coated in an ecosystem known as the Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest. Southern ranges and mountains where sub-alpine environments occur include the Great Smoky Mountains, where sub-alpine environments only begin around 6,000 feet (1,800 m) in elevation, Roan Highlands on the North Carolina-Tennessee border, where sub-alpine growth descends below 6,000 feet (1,800 m), and Mount Rogers and the Grayson Highlands in Virginia, where there is some alpine growth above 5,000 feet (1,500 m). Appalachian balds are also found in the Southern highlands, and are believed to occur due to fires or grazing in recent centuries, or in some cases due to thin, sandy soils. Several balds are sprouting trees, and on some, the National Forest service actually mows the grasses periodically in order to keep the balds free of trees.
== Geography ==
There are no subalpine regions between Mount Rogers in Virginia and Mount Greylock in Massachusetts, mainly because the trail stays below 3,000 feet (910 m) from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to Mount Greylock. But Mount Greylock has a large subalpine region, the only such forest in Massachusetts, extending down to 3,000 feet (910 m), which in the south would be far from the subalpine cutoff. This is especially low because Greylock is exposed to prevailing westerly winds, as the summits along its ridgeline rise about 200 to 650 feet (61 to 198 m) higher than any other peak in Massachusetts. Farther north, several peaks in Vermont reach into the subalpine zone, the bottom of which steadily descends as one proceeds northward, so that by the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it often occurs well below 3,000 feet (910 m). At Mount Moosilauke, which summits at 4,802 feet (1,464 m), the first alpine environment on the trail is reached, where only thin, sporadic flora are interspersed with bare rocks. Between the two regions is the krummholz region, where stunted trees grow with their branches oriented away from the winter's prevailing northwest wind, giving the appearance of flags; they are sometimes called "flag trees". This region resembles lowland terrain hundreds of miles north in Canada. It also contains many endangered and threatened species. The trail has been rerouted over New Hampshire's Presidential Range so the Appalachian Mountain Club can protect certain plant life. The alpine cutoff in the Whites is generally between 4,200 and 4,800 feet (1,300 and 1,500 m). Mountains traversed by the A.T. above treeline include Mount Moosilauke, several miles along the Franconia Range and along the Presidential Range. In the Presidentials, the trail climbs as high as 6,288 feet (1,917 m) on Mount Washington and spends about 13 miles (21 km) continuously above treeline, in the largest alpine environment in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains.
The segments of the trail through Pennsylvania are so rocky that hikers call the region "Rocksylvania". These small rocks, which are the result of erosion that has worn away the dirt along the trails, can be tough to walk on for extended periods of time without proper hard-soled shoes.
In Maine, the trail extends into even harsher environments, and subalpine and alpine growth descends to lower elevations. Alpine growth in the state ranges from around 2,500 feet (760 m) in the Mahoosuc Range to below 1,000 feet (300 m) in parts of the Hundred-Mile Wilderness, where nearly every area higher than 1,000 feet (300 m) is evergreen forest. These forests include more species of evergreen, as well. In addition to the white pine, spruce, and hemlock prevalent farther south, Maine has many cedar trees along the trail. Near the northern terminus, there are even some tamarack (larch), a coniferous, pine-needled deciduous tree, which provides displays of yellow in the late fall after the birches and maples have gone bare. The hemlocks in Maine are also notable, as the woolly adelgid, which has ravaged populations farther south, has not come into the state yet, and may be unable to make it so far north due to the cold climate.
Maine also has several alpine regions. In addition to several areas of the Mahoosuc Range, the Baldpates, and Old Blue in southern Maine have alpine characteristics despite elevations below 4,000 feet (1,200 m). Saddleback Mountain and Mount Bigelow, farther north, extend only a bit above 4,000 feet (1,200 m), but each has long alpine areas, with no tree growth on the summit and unobstructed views on clear days. From Mount Bigelow, the trail extends for 150 miles (240 km) with only a small area of alpine growth around 3,500 feet (1,100 m) on the summit of White Cap Mountain. Mount Katahdin, the second-largest alpine environment in the eastern United States, has several square miles of alpine area on the flat "table land" summit as well as the cliffs and aretes leading up to it. Treeline on Mount Katahdin is only around 3,500 feet (1,100 m). This elevation in Massachusetts would barely be a subalpine region, and, south of Virginia, consists of lowland forest. This illustrates the drastic change in climate over 2,000 miles (3,200 km).
== Hiking the trail ==
Bicycles are prohibited from most of the trail, except for the sections that follow the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O Canal) in Maryland and the Virginia Creeper Trail in Virginia. Horses and pack animals are prohibited except horses on the C&O Canal and in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Several short segments of the trail, in towns and scenic natural areas, were built to ADA accessibly standards for wheelchair use.
=== Navigation ===
Throughout its length, the AT is marked by white paint blazes that are 2 by 6 inches (5 by 15 cm). Side trails to shelters, viewpoints and parking areas use similarly shaped blue blazes. In past years, some sections of the trail also used metal diamond markers with the AT logo.
=== Lodging and camping ===
Most hikers carry a lightweight tent, tent hammock or tarp. The trail has more than 250 shelters and campsites available for hikers. The shelters, sometimes called lean-tos (in Maine, Massachusetts, and Connecticut), huts (in Shenandoah National Park), or Adirondack shelters, are generally open, three-walled structures with a wooden floor, although some shelters are much more complex in structure. Shelters are usually spaced a day's hike or less apart, most often near a water source (which may be dry) and with a privy. They generally have spaces for tent sites in the vicinity as the shelters may be full. The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) operates a system of eight huts along 56 miles (90 km) of New Hampshire's White Mountains. These huts are significantly larger than standard trail shelters and offer full-service lodging and meals during the summer months. The Fontana Dam Shelter in North Carolina is more commonly referred to as the Fontana Hilton because of amenities (e.g. flushable toilets) and its proximity to an all-you-can-eat buffet and post office. Several AMC huts have an extended self-service season during the fall, with two extending self-service seasons through the winter and spring. The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club maintains trail cabins, shelters, and huts throughout the Shenandoah region of Virginia.
Shelters are generally maintained by local volunteers. Almost all shelters have one or more pre-hung food hangers (generally consisting of a short nylon cord with an upside-down tuna can suspended halfway down its length) where hikers can hang their food bags to keep them out of the reach of rodents. In hiker lingo, these are sometimes called "mouse trapezes".
Most shelters also contain "unofficial registries", which are known as shelter logs. These logs usually come in the form spiral-bound notebooks that are kept in containers in shelters all along the trail, and signing in them is not required. These logs give hikers a way to leave day-to-day messages while they are on the trail to document where they have been, where they are going, and who/what they have seen. The logs provide a space for informal writing and can also be used to keep track of people on the trail. Most of all, they provide a system of communication for a network of hikers along the trail.
Shelter logs—entries written in log books at certain shelters—can provide proof of who summits certain mountains and can warn about dangerous animals or unfriendly people in the area. Hikers may cite when a certain water source is dried up, providing crucial information to other hikers.
In addition to official shelters, many people offer their homes, places of business, or inns to accommodate AT hikers. One example is the Little Lyford Pond camps maintained by the Appalachian Mountain Club. Inns are more common in sections of the trail that coincide with national parks, most notably Virginia's Shenandoah National Park.
=== Trail communities ===
The trail crosses many roads, providing opportunity for hikers to hitchhike into town for food and other supplies. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy lists over 50 communities that have qualified as part of the organization's "A.T. Community" program, having become recognized for providing food, supplies and accommodations for passers-through. In the areas of the trail closer to trail towns, many hikers have experienced what is sometimes called "trail magic", or assistance from strangers through kind actions, gifts, and other forms of encouragement. Trail magic is sometimes done anonymously. In other instances, persons have provided food and cooked for hikers at a campsite.
Hikers also create their own community while on the trail. Many hikers create long lasting friendships while on the trail. Conversations are easily started because of the common interest of hiking.
=== Hazards ===
The Appalachian Trail is relatively safe. Most injuries or incidents are consistent with comparable outdoor activities. Most hazards are related to weather conditions, human error, plants, animals, diseases, and hostile humans encountered along the trail.
Many animals live around the trail, with bears, snakes, and wild boars posing the greatest threat to human safety. Several rodent- and bug-borne illnesses are also a potential hazard. In scattered instances, foxes, raccoons, and other small animals may bite hikers, posing risk of rabies and other diseases. There has been one reported case (in 1993) of hantavirus (HPS), a rare but dangerous rodent-borne disease affecting the lungs. The affected hiker recovered and hiked the trail the following year. The section of the trail that runs through the Mid-Atlantic and New England states has a very high population of deer ticks carrying Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, and corresponds to the highest density of reported Lyme disease in the country.
The weather is a major consideration for hikers. Hiking season of the trail generally starts in mid-to-late spring, when conditions are much more favorable in the South. However, this time may also be characterized by extreme heat, sometimes in excess of 100 °F (38 °C). Farther north and at higher elevations, the weather can be characterized by low temperatures, strong winds, hail or snow storms and reduced visibility. Prolonged rain, though not typically life-threatening, can undermine stamina and ruin supplies. In March 2015, a hiker was killed on the trail in Maryland when a large tree blew over and fell onto him.
Violent crime is rare but has occurred in a few instances. The first reported homicide on the trail was in 1974 in Georgia. In 1981, the issue of violence on the Appalachian Trail received national attention when Robert Mountford, Jr. and Laura Susan Ramsay, both social workers in Ellsworth, Maine, were murdered by Randall Lee Smith. In 1991, Molly LaRue and Geoff Hood were murdered by Paul David Crews in a trail overnight shelter on Cove Mountain in Pennsylvania. Another homicide occurred in May 1996, when two women were abducted, bound and murdered near the trail in Shenandoah National Park. The primary suspect was later discovered harassing a female cyclist in the vicinity, but charges against him were dropped and the case remained unsolved until 2024.
In May 2019, Oklahoman Ronald S. Sanchez Jr., 43 years old, was murdered at a campsite near Mount Rogers National Recreation Area in western Virginia Jefferson National Forest. A female hiker who has not been identified was also injured by an assailant there. James L. Jordan, 30, of West Yarmouth, Massachusetts was found not guilty of the crimes by reason of insanity.
Human error can lead to casualties as well. In July 2013, 66-year-old lone hiker Geraldine Largay disappeared on the trail in Maine. Largay became lost and survived 26 days before dying. Her remains were found two years later in October 2015. In October 2015, a hiker visiting from England was killed on the trail by falling while taking photos at the Annapolis Rocks overlook in Maryland.
The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic prompted the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to discourage use of the trail and the National Park Service to close all AT-managed hiking shelters from Virginia to Maine. The withdrawal of volunteers and trail-maintenance crews left the trail unprepared for the influx of users escaping home isolation. In 2021, the conservancy suspended issuing hang tags for through-hikers for a period during the continuing pandemic.
=== Trail completion ===
Trail hikers who attempt to complete the entire trail in a single season are called "thru-hikers"; those who traverse the trail during a series of separate trips are known as "section-hikers". Rugged terrain, weather extremes, illness, injury, and the time and effort required make thru-hiking difficult to accomplish. As of 2017, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy estimated that 3,839 hikers set out from Springer Mountain, northbound, 497 from Mount Katahdin, southbound, and reported 1,186 completions of hiking the entire trail, which includes those by both section and through hikers.
Most thru-hikers walk northward from Georgia to Maine, and generally start out in early spring and follow the warm weather as it moves north. These "north-bounders" are also called NOBO (NOrthBOund) or GAME (Georgia(GA)-to-Maine(ME)), while those heading in the opposite direction are termed "south-bounders" (also SOBO or MEGA).
A thru-hike generally requires five to seven months, although some have done it in three months, and several trail runners have completed the trail in less time. Trail runners typically tackle the AT with automobile support teams, without backpacks, and without camping in the woods.
Thru-hikers are classified into many informal groups. "Purists" are hikers who stick to the official AT trail, follow the white blazes, except for side trips to shelters and camp sites. "Blue Blazers" cut miles from the full route by taking side trails marked by blue blazes. The generally pejorative name "Yellow Blazers", a reference to yellow road stripes, is given to those who hitchhike to move either down or up the trail.
Part of hiker subculture includes making colorful entries in logbooks at trail shelters, signed using pseudonyms called "trail names".
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy gives the name "2000 Miler" to anyone who completes the entire trail. The ATC's recognition policy for "2000 Milers" gives equal recognition to thru-hikers and section-hikers, operates on the honor system, and recognizes blue-blazed trails or officially required roadwalks as substitutes for the official, white-blazed route during an emergency such as a flood, forest fire, or impending storm on an exposed, high-elevation stretch. As of 2018, more than 19,000 people had reported completing the entire trail. The northbound completion rate of hiking the trail in twelve months or fewer varied from 19% to 27% from 2011 to 2018. The southbound completion rate varied between 27% and 30% during the same period.
The Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail form what is known as the Triple Crown of long-distance hiking in the United States. In 2001, Brian Robinson became the first one to complete all three trails in a year. In 2018, Heather Anderson (trail name "Anish") became the first woman to complete the three Triple Crown trails in a calendar year.
=== Speed records ===
Fastest known times for self-supported attempts (meaning no vehicle or crew support, like a traditional through-hiker):
Jeff "Legend" Garmire completed the trail southbound on September 21, 2025 in 45 days, 8 hours and 37 minutes.
Heather "Anish" Anderson completed the trail southbound on September 24, 2015, in 54 days, 7 hours, and 48 minutes.
Fastest known times for supported attempts (the athletes travel light, relying on a support crew with food, shelter, medical treatment, etc.):
Tara Dower completed the trail southbound on September 21, 2024 in 40 days, 18 hours, and 5 minutes.
Karel Sabbe completed the trail northbound on August 29, 2018, in 41 days, 7 hours, and 39 minutes.
=== Age records ===
On November 8, 2021, M.J. "Nimblewill Nomad" Eberheart became the oldest person to hike the entire Appalachian Trail at age 83.
On October 13, 2020, Juniper Netteburg is believed to be the youngest person to hike the entire Appalachian Trail under her own power at age 4.
== Route ==
The trail is protected along more than 99% of its course by federal or state ownership of the land or by right-of-way. The trail is maintained by a variety of organizations, environmental advocacy groups, governmental agencies and individuals. Annually, more than 4,000 volunteers contribute over 175,000 hours of effort on the Appalachian Trail, an effort coordinated largely by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) organization. In total, the AT passes through eight national forests and two national parks.
In the course of its journey, the trail follows the ridge line of the Appalachian Mountains, crossing many of its highest peaks and running through wilderness with only a few exceptions. The trail once traversed many hundreds of miles of private property, but today 99% of the trail is on public land.
=== Georgia ===
Georgia has 75 miles (121 km) of the trail, including the southern terminus at Springer Mountain at an elevation of 3,782 feet (1,153 m). At 4,461 ft (1,360 m), Blood Mountain is the highest point on the trail in Georgia. The AT and approach trail, along with many miles of blue blazed side trails, are managed and maintained by the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club. See also: Georgia Peaks on the Appalachian Trail.
=== North Carolina ===
North Carolina has 95.7 mi (154.0 km) of the trail, not including more than 200 miles (320 km) along the Tennessee state line. Altitude ranges from 1,725 to 5,498 ft (526 to 1,676 m). The trail enters from Georgia at Bly Gap, ascending peaks such as Standing Indian Mountain, Mt. Albert, and Wayah Bald. It then goes by Nantahala Outdoor Center at the Nantahala River Gorge and the Nantahala River crossing. Up to this point, the trail is maintained by the Nantahala Hiking Club. Beyond this point, it is maintained by the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club. 30 mi (48 km) further north, Fontana Dam marks the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
=== Tennessee ===
Tennessee has 71 mi (114 km) of the trail, not including more than 200 mi (320 km) along or near the North Carolina state line. The section that runs just below the summit of Kuwohi in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is along the North Carolina and Tennessee state line and is the highest point on the trail at 6,643 ft (2,025 m). The Smoky Mountains Hiking Club (Knoxville, TN) maintains the trail throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Davenport Gap. North of Davenport Gap, the Carolina Mountain Club (Asheville, NC) maintains the trail to Spivey Gap. Then the remaining Tennessee section is maintained by the Tennessee Eastman Hiking & Canoeing Club (Kingsport, TN).
=== Virginia ===
Virginia has 550.3 mi (885.6 km) of the trail (one quarter of the entire trail) including more than 20 mi (32 km) along the West Virginia state line. With the climate, and the timing of northbound thru-hikers, this section is wet and challenging because of the spring thaw and heavy spring rainfall. Substantial portions of the trail closely parallel Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park and, further south, the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy considers as excellent for beginning hikers a well-maintained 104 mi (167 km) section of the trail that the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed in Shenandoah National Park. Climbs in this section rarely exceed 1,000 ft (300 m). In the southwestern portion of the state, the trail goes within one half mile of the highest point in Virginia, Mount Rogers, which is a short side-hike from the AT.
=== West Virginia ===
West Virginia has 4 mi (6.4 km) of the trail, not including about 20 mi (32 km) along the Virginia state line. Here the trail passes through the town of Harpers Ferry, headquarters of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Harpers Ferry is what many consider to be the "psychological midpoint" of the trail's length, although the actual midpoint is about 75 mi (121 km) further north in southern Pennsylvania.
A CSX train derailment on December 21, 2019, damaged the pedestrian footbridge over the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry, severing the trail between West Virginia and Maryland. The foot crossing reopened in July 2020.
=== Maryland ===
Maryland has 41 mi (66 km) of the trail, with elevations ranging from 230 to 1,880 ft (70 to 573 m). Most of the trail runs along the ridgeline of South Mountain in South Mountain State Park. Hikers are required to stay at designated shelters and campsites. The trail runs through the eastern edge of Greenbrier State Park. This can serve as stop point for a hot shower and a visit to the camp store. The trail runs along the C&O Canal Towpath route for 3 miles (4.8 km). Hikers will also pass High Rock, which offers extensive views and is also used as a hang-gliding site. The section ends at Pen Mar Park, which sits on the state line of Maryland and Pennsylvania.
=== Pennsylvania ===
Pennsylvania has 229.6 mi (369.5 km) of the trail. The trail extends from the Pennsylvania-Maryland line at the village of Pen Mar, northeast to the Delaware Water Gap at the Pennsylvania-New Jersey state line. In the south-central region of the state, the trail passes through Pine Grove Furnace State Park, which is often considered the symbolic mid-point of the Appalachian Trail. For much of its length in Pennsylvania, the trail is known for its very rocky terrain, which slows many hikers down while causing injuries and placing strain on equipment. Hikers often call the state "Rocksylvania". The AT community has also dubbed Pennsylvania as the state "where boots go to die".
=== New Jersey ===
New Jersey is home to 72.2 mi (116.2 km) of the trail. The trail enters New Jersey from the south on a pedestrian walkway along the Interstate 80 bridge over the Delaware River, ascends from the Delaware Water Gap to the top of Kittatinny Mountain in Worthington State Forest, passes Sunfish Pond (right), continues north through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and Stokes State Forest and eventually reaches High Point State Park, the highest peak in New Jersey (a side trail is required to reach the actual peak). It then turns in a southeastern direction along the New York state line for about 30 mi (48 km), passing over long sections of boardwalk bridges over marshy land, then entering Wawayanda State Park and then the Abram S. Hewitt State Forest just before entering New York near Greenwood Lake. In New Jersey the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference maintains and updates the Appalachian Trail. Black bear activity along the trail in New Jersey increased rapidly starting in 2001. Hence, metal bear-proof food storage boxes are in place at all New Jersey shelters.
=== New York ===
New York's 88.4 mi (142.3 km) of trail contain very little elevation change compared to other states. From south to north, the trail summits many small mountains under 1,400 ft (430 m) in elevation, its highest point in New York being Prospect Rock at 1,433 ft (437 m), and only 3,000 ft (910 m) from the state line with New Jersey. The trail continues north, climbing near Fitzgerald Falls, passing through Sterling Forest, and then entering Harriman State Park and Bear Mountain State Park. The lowest point on the entire Appalachian Trail is in the Bear Mountain Zoo at 124 ft (38 m). It crosses the Hudson River on the Bear Mountain Bridge. It then passes through Fahnestock State Park, and continues northeast and crosses the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line. This track crossing is the site of the only train station along the trail's length. It enters Connecticut via the Pawling Nature Reserve. The section of the trail that passes through Harriman and Bear Mountain State Parks is the oldest section of the trail, completed in 1923. A portion of this section was paved by 700 volunteers with 800 granite-slab steps followed by over a mile of walkway supported by stone crib walls with boulders lining the path. The project took four years, cost roughly $1 million, and opened in June 2010. The project was done by the New York–New Jersey Trail Conference, which maintains and updates the Appalachian Trail in New York.
=== Connecticut ===
Connecticut's 52 mi (84 km) of trail lie almost entirely along the ridges to the west above the Housatonic River valley.
The state line is also the western boundary of a 480 acres (190 ha) Connecticut reservation inhabited by Schaghticoke Indians. Inside it, the AT roughly parallels its northern boundary, crossing back outside it after 2,000 ft (610 m). The trail proceeds northward through the Housatonic River valley and hills to its west, veering northwesterly and, at Salisbury, ascending the southern Taconic mountains, at Lion's Head affording a view northeasterly towards Mt. Greylock and other points in Massachusetts, and at Bear Mountain, reaching over 2,000 ft (610 m) in elevation for the first time since Pennsylvania and yielding views across the Hudson River valley to the Catskills and across the broad expanse of the Housatonic valley and the Berkshire and Litchfield Hills to the east. Just north of Bear, the trail, as it crosses into Massachusetts, descends into Sages Ravine, a deep gorge in the eastern Taconic ridgeline which is home to a fragile old growth forest. As the trail crosses the brook in the ravine, it leaves the area maintained by the Connecticut section of the Appalachian Mountain Club.
=== Massachusetts ===
Massachusetts has 90 mi (140 km) of trail. The entire section of trail is in western Massachusetts's Berkshire County. It summits the highest peak in the southern Taconic Range, Mount Everett (2,604 ft or 794 m), then descends to the Housatonic River valley and skirts the town of Great Barrington. The trail passes through the towns of Dalton and Cheshire, and summits the highest point in the state at 3,491 ft (1,064 m), Mount Greylock. It then quickly descends to the valley within 2 mi (3.2 km) of North Adams and Williamstown, before ascending again to the Vermont state line. The trail throughout Massachusetts is maintained by the Berkshire Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club.
=== Vermont ===
Vermont has 150 mi (240 km) of the trail. Upon entering Vermont, the trail coincides with the southernmost sections of the generally north–south-oriented Long Trail. It follows the ridge of the southern Green Mountains, summitting such notable peaks as Stratton Mountain, Glastenbury Mountain, and Killington Peak. At Maine Junction, the AT reaches an intersection with the eastern end of the North Country National Scenic Trail, with that trail and the next segment of the Long Trail departing to the north. The AT then turns in a more eastward direction, crossing the White River, passing through Norwich, and entering Hanover, New Hampshire, as it crosses the Connecticut River. The Green Mountain Club maintains the AT from the Massachusetts state line to Route 12. The Dartmouth Outing Club maintains the trail from VT Route 12 to the New Hampshire state line.
=== New Hampshire ===
New Hampshire has 161 mi (259 km) of the trail. The New Hampshire AT is nearly all within the White Mountain National Forest. According to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, New Hampshire has more trail above tree-line than any other Appalachian State.
For northbound thru-hikers, it is the beginning of the main challenges that go beyond enduring distance and time: in New Hampshire and Maine, rough or steep ground are more frequent and alpine conditions are found near summits and along ridges. The trail crosses 15 of the 48 four-thousand footers of New Hampshire, including 6,288 ft (1,917 m) Mount Washington, the highest point of the AT north of Tennessee and most topographically prominent peak in eastern North America. The trail passes within half a mile of 9 additional 4000-footer peaks in the Whites (one summit is only 60 yards from the trail). Entering the alpine zone on the summit of Mount Pierce, from the south, the trail continues in alpine or near-alpine scrub continuously along the high Presidential ridge until descending the southeast flank of Mount Madison into the Great Gulf Wilderness over 12 miles northward. This region is subject to extremes of weather with little natural shelter and only occasional human-made shelter from the elements. The threat of severe and cold conditions in the Presidentials and across the New Hampshire Section is present year-round and requires hikers' careful attention to weather forecasts and planning, provisions and gear.
The Dartmouth Outing Club maintains the Appalachian Trail from the Vermont state line past Mount Moosilauke to Kinsman Notch, northwest of Woodstock, New Hampshire, Randolph Mountain Club maintains 2.2 miles from Osgood Trail near Madison Hut to Edmands Col, with the AMC maintaining the remaining miles through the state.
=== Maine ===
Maine has 281 mi (452 km) of the trail. The northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail is on Mount Katahdin's Baxter Peak in Baxter State Park.
In some parts of the trail in Maine, even the strongest hikers may only average 1 mph (1.6 km/h), with places where hikers must hold on to tree limbs and roots to climb or descend, which is especially hazardous in wet weather. The western section includes a mile-long (1.6 km) stretch of boulders, some of which hikers must pass under, at Mahoosuc Notch, sometimes called the trail's hardest mile.
Although there are dozens of river and stream fords on the Maine section of the trail, the Kennebec River is the only one on the trail that requires a boat crossing. The most isolated portion of the Appalachian Trail, known as the "Hundred-Mile Wilderness", occurs in Maine. It heads east-northeast from the town of Monson and ends outside Baxter State Park just south of Abol Bridge.
Park management strongly discourages thru-hiking within the park before May 15 or after October 15.
The AMC maintains the AT from the New Hampshire state line to Grafton Notch, with the Maine Appalachian Trail Club responsible for maintaining the remaining miles to Mt. Katahdin. The international extension, called the International Appalachian Trail begins at Mt. Katahdin.
== Major intersections ==
Listed from south to north.
Southern terminus: Springer Mountain, Georgia
SR 60 at Woody Gap in Northeast Georgia
US 19 / US 129 / SR 11 at Neels Gap in Northeast Georgia
SR 348 at Tesnatee Gap in Northeast Georgia
SR 17 / SR 75 at Unicoi Gap in Northeast Georgia
US 76 / SR 2 at Dicks Creek Gap in Northeast Georgia
US 64 at Winding Stair Gap in North Carolina
US 19 / US 74 at Nantahala Outdoor Center in North Carolina
NC 143 at Stecoah Gap in North Carolina
NC 28 in Fontana Dam, North Carolina
US 441 / SR 71 at Newfound Gap along the North Carolina/Tennessee state line
SR 32 at Davenport Gap along the North Carolina/Tennessee state line
I-40 along the North Carolina/Tennessee state line
US 25 / US 70 / NC 209 in Hot Springs, North Carolina
US 25 / US 70 at Tanyard Gap in North Carolina
SR 70/ NC 208 at Allen Gap along the North Carolina/Tennessee border
NC 212/ SR 352 at Devil Fork Gap along the North Carolina/Tennessee border
I-26 / US 23 at Sams Gap along the North Carolina/Tennessee state line
US 19W at Spivey Gap in North Carolina
SR 395/ NC 197 at Indian Grave Gap along the North Carolina/Tennessee border
SR 107/ NC 226 at Iron Mountain Gap along the North Carolina/Tennessee border
SR 143/ NC 261 at Carvers Gap along the North Carolina/Tennessee border
US 19E near Roan Mountain, Tennessee
US 321 / SR 67 at Watauga Lake, Tennessee
SR 91 at Cross Mountain Gap in Tennessee
US 421 / SR 34 at Low Gap in Tennessee
US 58 / SR 91 in Damascus, Virginia
US 58 near Damascus, Virginia
US 58 at Summit Cut in Virginia
SR 600 in Grayson County, Virginia
SR 603 in Grayson County, Virginia
SR 650 in Smyth County, Virginia
SR 672 in Smyth County, Virginia
SR 670 in Smyth County, Virginia
SR 601 in Smyth County, Virginia
SR 16 at Mount Rogers National Recreation Area in Virginia
SR 622 in Smyth County, Virginia
SR 686 twice near Atkins, Virginia
SR 615 near Atkins, Virginia
SR 729 near Atkins, Virginia
I-81 / US 11 / SR 683 in Atkins, Virginia
SR 617 near Atkins, Virginia
SR 610 in Smyth County, Virginia
SR 742 in Bland County, Virginia
SR 42 in Bland County, Virginia
SR 625 in Bland County, Virginia
I-77 / US 52 near Wytheville, Virginia
US 460 in Pearisburg, Virginia
I-81 near Roanoke, Virginia
US 501 along the James River near Eagle Rock, Virginia
US 60 near Buena Vista, Virginia
I-64 / US 250 near Waynesboro, Virginia
US 33 in Shenandoah National Park
US 211 near Luray, Virginia
US 522 near Front Royal, Virginia
I-66 in Front Royal, Virginia
US 17 / US 50 near Waterloo, Virginia
US 340 in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
US 340 in Sandy Hook, Maryland
I-70 / US 40 near Hagerstown, Maryland
US 30 near Fayetteville, Pennsylvania
I-76 / I-81 / US 11 in Middlesex Township, Pennsylvania
US 11 / US 15 / US 22 / US 322 in Duncannon, Pennsylvania
I-81 near Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania
I-476 near Slatington, Pennsylvania
I-80 along the Pennsylvania/New Jersey state line
US 206 near Frankford Township, New Jersey
I-87 (New York State Thruway) near Harriman, New York
US 6 / US 9W / US 202 near Fort Montgomery, New York
US 9 near Garrison, New York
Taconic State Parkway near Shenandoah, New York
I-84 near Whaley Lake, New York
US 7 near Falls Village, Connecticut
US 44 near Salisbury, Connecticut
US 7 near Great Barrington, Massachusetts
I-90 (Massachusetts Turnpike) / US 20 near Lee, Massachusetts
US 4 near Rutland, Vermont
I-89 near West Hartford, Vermont
I-91 / US 5 in Norwich, Vermont
I-93 / US 3 near Franconia, New Hampshire
US 302 in the White Mountain National Forest
NH 16 at Pinkham Notch in the White Mountain National Forest
US 2 near Gorham, New Hampshire
US 201 in Caratunk, Maine
Northern terminus: Mount Katahdin, Maine
== Management ==
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (originally, Appalachian Trail Conference) and the National Park Service oversee the entire length of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail via memoranda of understanding with other public agencies through whose land the trail runs, including the U.S. Forest Service, national parks, national forests, the Tennessee Valley Authority, state parks, and others, who help administer portions of the trail corridor. The estimated annual contribution of volunteer services for trail upkeep is $3 million.
== Use in research ==
The Appalachian Trail has been a resource for researchers in a variety of disciplines. Portions of the trail in Tennessee were used on a study on trail maintenance for the trail's "uniform environmental conditions and design attributes and substantial gradient in visitor use." Beginning in 2007, various organizations, including the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the American Hiking Society, began a study to monitor environmental changes that have resulted from higher ozone levels, acid rain, smog, and other air quality factors. Such research has been supported by the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Cornell University, the National Geographic Society, and Aveda Corporation.
Behavioral studies have also been conducted on hikers themselves. A 2007 study on hikers found that most persons hike the trail "for fun and enjoyment of life and for warm relationships with others" and that "environmental awareness, physical challenge, camaraderie, exercise, and solitude" were chief results among hikers. Since the highest single demographic of thru-hikers are males between the ages of 18 and 29, one informal study sought to find the correlation between this group and male college drop-outs. A study in 2018 found that around 95 percent of thru-hikers identified their race or ethnicity as white.
== In popular culture ==
The trail was the setting for the 1998 Bill Bryson book, A Walk in the Woods, and for its 2015 film adaptation of the same name.
The phrase, "hiking the Appalachian Trail", became a euphemism for having an affair after it was used as a cover for Mark Sanford's whereabouts during his 2009 extramarital affair.
North to Maine is a 2009 play about the Appalachian Trail and the thru-hikers who walk it. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Jefferson | Justin Jefferson | Justin Jamal Jefferson (born June 16, 1999) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers, where he won the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship as a junior before being drafted by the Vikings in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft.
Jefferson has been named to the Pro Bowl and the All-Pro team in four of his first five seasons and has amassed the most receiving yards through a player's first five seasons in NFL history. In 2022, at 23 years old, he became the youngest player to lead the league in receptions (128) and receiving yards (1,809), earning Offensive Player of the Year honors.
== Early life ==
Justin Jamal Jefferson was born on June 16, 1999, to John and Elaine Jefferson. He attended Destrehan High School in Destrehan, Louisiana. A low three-star prospect, ranked by 247Sports as the nation's 308th best wide receiver coming out of high school, he committed to Louisiana State University (LSU) to play college football.
== College career ==
Jefferson played at LSU for three years under head coach Ed Orgeron.
=== 2017–2018 ===
After appearing in two games and not recording a catch in his first year at LSU in 2017, Jefferson was their leading receiver in 2018 with 54 catches for 875 yards and six touchdowns. He scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 65-yard reception from Joe Burrow against Ole Miss on September 29, 2018. He had two games going over the 100-yard mark with 108 in a victory over Georgia and 117 in a victory over Arkansas.
=== 2019 ===
In the Tigers' second game of the 2019 season, Jefferson had nine receptions for 163 yards and three touchdowns in a 45–38 victory on the road against Texas. On October 12, against Florida, he had ten receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown in the 42–28 victory. In the SEC Championship, against Georgia, he had seven receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown in the 37–10 victory. Jefferson and the Tigers qualified for the College Football Playoffs with an undefeated record in the 2019 season. He had a historic performance in the Peach Bowl, catching 14 passes for 227 yards and four touchdowns against the Oklahoma Sooners in the College Football Playoff Semifinals at the Peach Bowl. All four touchdowns came in the first half, setting a College Football Playoff game record and tying the record for any bowl game. In the National Championship against Clemson, he had nine receptions for 106 yards in the 42–25 victory. In his junior season, Jefferson co-led the country with 111 receptions. His 18 receiving touchdowns ranked second in the country—behind only teammate Ja'Marr Chase—and his 1,540 receiving yards were ranked third. He had eight games going over the 100-yard mark. He was named one of 12 semi finalists for the Biletnikoff Award. On January 15, 2020, Jefferson announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft.
== Professional career ==
=== 2020 ===
Jefferson was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round with the 22nd overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. The Vikings previously obtained the 22nd selection as part of a blockbuster trade that sent wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills, a trade that has been considered by many around the league as one of the “top win-win deals ever.” Jefferson signed a four-year, $13.12 million contract with the team, with a $7.1 million signing bonus. Jefferson was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on July 27, 2020, before being cleared and activated a week later.
Jefferson made his debut in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, recording two receptions for 26 yards. He made his first start of the season in a Week 3 game against the Tennessee Titans, where he had his first big breakthrough by finishing with 175 receiving yards and a touchdown on seven receptions, but the Vikings lost 31–30. He followed up that performance the next week with four receptions for 103 yards in a 31–23 win over the Houston Texans. In doing so, he became just the fifth rookie wide receiver in Vikings history to have back-to-back games with at least 100 yards receiving. During Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons, Jefferson finished with nine receptions for 166 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
In Week 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jefferson recorded nine catches for 121 yards and a touchdown during a 27–24 overtime win, in this game he broke the 1,000 receiving yard mark. In Week 15 against the Chicago Bears, Jefferson broke Randy Moss' Vikings rookie receiving record by catching eight passes, putting him at 74 receptions, surpassing the 69 catches Moss had in 1998.
By the season's end, Jefferson had set the NFL record for most receiving yards (1,400) by a rookie in NFL history after surpassing Anquan Boldin's 1,377 yards in 2003 (although his record would be broken by his former LSU teammate Ja'Marr Chase the following season). He was one of only two rookies named to the 2021 Pro Bowl, alongside defensive end Chase Young of the Washington Football Team. He was named Rookie of the Year by the Sporting News. He was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team. He was ranked 53rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2021.
=== 2021 ===
Jefferson's season started strong, putting up over 100 receiving yards against the Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, and Los Angeles Chargers over the first eight games of the season. In Week 11, Jefferson had eight catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns in a 34–31 win over the Packers, earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week. In Week 13, Jefferson caught 11 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown in a 29–27 loss to the Lions. Jefferson's 464 yards and three touchdowns through four games in the month of November earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Month, the first of his career. During Week 16, Jefferson passed Odell Beckham Jr. for most receiving yards by a player in his first two NFL seasons.
Jefferson finished the season with 1,616 receiving yards, good for second-most in the NFL in 2021, and just 16 yards short of Randy Moss's single-season franchise record. Jefferson was named to the 2022 Pro Bowl, joining Randy Moss and Sammy White as the only three Vikings wide receivers to make Pro Bowls in each of their first two professional seasons. For the second consecutive year, Jefferson was named a second-team member of the AP All-Pro team, missing a spot on the first-team by a single vote. He was ranked 17th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2022.
=== 2022 ===
Against the Packers in Week 1, Jefferson caught nine passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns in the 23–7 win. During Week 4 against the New Orleans Saints at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Jefferson finished with 147 receiving yards and a rushing touchdown as the Vikings won 28–25. The following week against Bears, Jefferson caught a career-high 12 catches resulting in 154 yards receiving in the 29–22 win. Jefferson's third catch of the game marked 227 career receptions, surpassing Randy Moss for the franchise record of the most receptions in the first three years of a career.
Against the Buffalo Bills in Week 10, Jefferson caught 10 passes for a career-high 193 yards and a touchdown as the Vikings went on to win 33–30 in overtime. One of Jefferson's catches came with two minutes left in the fourth quarter where on 4th down and 18, Jefferson made a one-handed catch for 32 yards, wrestling the ball away from Bills cornerback Cam Lewis on the way to the ground. The catch was widely heralded as one of the greatest of all time, and the play was named the NFL Play of the Year award at the end of the season. His arm sleeves and gloves from the game were also put on display in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his game against the Bills. In Week 12, against the New England Patriots, he had nine receptions for 139 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in the 33–26 victory. In the game against the Patriots, Jefferson passed Moss for the most receiving yards in a player's first three seasons. He won NFC Offensive Player of the Month for November. In Week 14 against the Lions, Jefferson recorded 11 receptions for 223 yards, setting the Vikings single-game record for receiving yards, in the 34–23 road loss. Additionally, in week 15 against the Indianapolis Colts, Jefferson recorded 12 receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown, setting his season total to 1,623 yards, a new career high. Against the Packers in Week 17, he was held to one catch on five targets for 15 yards, the lowest stats in a game of his career. During the same game, Jefferson appeared to inadvertently hit a referee with his helmet out of clear frustration, and received no punishment for the incident. He earned first-team All-Pro honors and a third Pro Bowl nomination for his career.
Jefferson finished the 2022 regular season with a league-leading 128 receptions for 1,809 yards and nine total touchdowns (eight receiving, one rushing). He won the Offensive Player of the Year award and The Sporting News Offensive Player of the Year award, as well as being a final candidate for the league MVP award. He was ranked second by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2023.
=== 2023 ===
On April 25, 2023, the Vikings picked up the fifth-year option of Jefferson's rookie contract. Jefferson started the 2023 regular season with nine receptions for 150 yards in a 20–17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1. Four days later, he had 11 receptions for 159 in a 34–28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2. In Week 3, against the Los Angeles Chargers, he had seven receptions for 149 yards and a touchdown in the 28–24 loss. In Week 4, he had two receiving touchdowns against the Carolina Panthers in the 21–13 victory. On October 11, 2023, the Vikings placed Jefferson on injured reserve, due to a hamstring injury suffered in Week 5 against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Vikings activated Jefferson off of injured reserve on November 28, 2023. In his return against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 14, Jefferson caught two passes for 27 yards before leaving with a chest injury in the second quarter.
Despite missing seven games due to injury, Jefferson still managed to finish the 2023 season with over 1,000 receiving yards. During the season, he set an NFL record for most receiving yards through a player's first four seasons. He was ranked 18th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2024.
=== 2024 ===
On June 3, 2024, Jefferson signed a four-year, $140 million contract extension that includes $110 million guaranteed, keeping him under contract with the Vikings through the 2028 season. The deal made Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL at an average of $35 million per year.
In Week 2, Jefferson caught a 97-yard touchdown pass and achieved 400 career receptions in a 23–17 win over the San Francisco 49ers. He also tied Lance Alworth for the fastest player in NFL history to achieve 6,000 career receiving yards, doing so in 62 games. In Week 11 against the Tennessee Titans, Jefferson passed Torry Holt for the most receiving yards in a player's first five NFL seasons. Jefferson eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in Week 13 against the Arizona Cardinals, becoming the fourth receiver in NFL history to record 1,000 yards in each of his first five seasons. After a career-long six game touchdown drought, Jefferson had his first multi-touchdown performance of the season in Week 14 against the Atlanta Falcons, finishing with 132 yards and two scores in a 42–21 victory. In Week 16, he had ten receptions for 144 yards and two touchdowns in a 27–24 win over the Seattle Seahawks. He was named first team All-Pro for the second time. He earned Pro Bowl honors for the fourth time. He finished the 2024 season with 103 receptions for 1,533 yards and ten touchdowns. He was ranked ninth by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2025.
=== 2025 ===
In Week 4 against the Steelers, Jefferson had ten receptions for 126 yards in the 24–21 loss. In the 2025 season, Jefferson had 84 receptions for 1,048 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He joined Randy Moss and Mike Evans as the only players in NFL history to record six consecutive 1,000 yard seasons to start a career.
== Career statistics ==
=== NFL ===
==== Regular season ====
==== Postseason ====
=== College ===
== Personal life ==
His brothers, Jordan and Rickey, also played college football at LSU. Their father, John, played Division II college basketball. On April 27, 2021, Jefferson was the first NFL player to have a reference in Fortnite with the dance, the Griddy. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claire_Keegan | Claire Keegan | Claire Keegan (born 1968) is an Irish writer known for her short stories, which have been published in The New Yorker, Best American Short Stories, Granta, and The Paris Review. She is also known for her novellas, two of which have been adapted as films.
== Early life and education ==
Claire Keegan was born in 1968, and raised on a farm as one of a large family in County Wicklow, Ireland.
She travelled to New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, when she was 17 and studied English and political science at Loyola University. She returned to Ireland in 1992, working part-time in a library. She later studied for a master's in creative writing at Cardiff University. She subsequently received an M. Phil at Trinity College Dublin.
== Career ==
Keegan's first collection of short stories, Antarctica (1999), won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature and the William Trevor Prize.
Her second collection of short stories, Walk the Blue Fields, was published in 2007. Keegan's 'long, short story' "Foster" won the 2009 Davy Byrnes Short Story Award. "Foster" appeared in the 15 February 2010 issue of The New Yorker and was included in The Best American Short Stories 2011. It was later published by Faber and Faber in a longer form. "Foster" is now included as a text for the Irish Leaving Certificate. It was adapted for film by writer/director Colm Bairéad as An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl; 2022), and was nominated in 2023 for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
In late 2021, Keegan published a novella, Small Things Like These, set in Ireland in the mid-1980s. It was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize. The film adaptation, starring Cillian Murphy, Emily Watson, and Eileen Walsh, had its world premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival on 15 February 2024. In 2024, Oprah Winfrey selected the novel as the 109th choice in her Book Club.
In February 2022 the story So Late in the Day was published in The New Yorker, and was released in a hardback edition in 2023 by Faber.
== Awards and honours ==
Keegan has won the inaugural William Trevor Prize, the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Olive Cook Award and the Davy Byrnes Irish Writing Award 2009. Other awards include the Hugh Leonard Bursary, the Macaulay Fellowship, the Martin Healy Prize, the Kilkenny Prize, and the Tom Gallon Award. She was also a 2002 Wingate Scholar and a two-time recipient of the Francis MacManus Award. She was a visiting professor at Villanova University in 2008. Keegan was the Ireland Fund Artist-in-Residence in the Celtic Studies Department of St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto in March 2009. In 2019, she was appointed as Writing Fellow at Trinity College Dublin. Pembroke College Cambridge and Trinity College Dublin selected Keegan as the 2021 Briena Staunton Visiting Fellow.
The French translation of Small Things Like These (Ce genre de petites choses) has been shortlisted for two prestigious awards: the Francophonie Ambassadors' Literary Award and the Grand Prix de L'Heroine Madame Figaro. In March 2021, Keegan and her French translator, Jacqueline Odin, won the Francophonie Ambassadors' Literary Award. Small Things Like These won the 2022 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction. It became the shortest book to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize at the ceremony in 2022. It was also shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize.
In 2023 Keegan was named "Author of the Year" in conjunction with the Irish Book Awards. Her book So Late in the Day was also shortlisted for the Irish "Novel of the Year" award.
Keegan has been a member of Aosdána since 2008.
== Works ==
=== Novella ===
2021 – Small Things Like These
=== Short story collections ===
1999 – Antarctica. Faber and Faber, London. ISBN 978-0-571-19712-5.
2007 – Walk the Blue Fields. Faber and Faber, London. ISBN 978-0-571-23306-9.
2019 – The Forester's Daughter. Faber and Faber, London. ISBN 978-0-571-35185-5.
2023 – So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men. Grove Press, New York. ISBN 978-0-8021-6085-0.
=== Short stories ===
1998 – "The Singing Cashier". Published in The Paris Review. https://www.theparisreview.org/fiction/1174/the-singing-cashier-claire-keegan
2004 — "Close to the Water’s Edge". Published in Birthday Stories: Selected and Introduced by Haruki Murakami. ISBN 978-1-843-43159-6.
2006 – "Safe". Published by Granta in October 2006. https://granta.com/safe/
2010 – "Foster". Faber and Faber, London. ISBN 978-0-571-25565-8. (First published in The New Yorker, February 15, 2010)
2010 — "Men and Women". Published in The Granta Book of the Irish Short Story. ISBN 978-1-847-08097-4.
2022 – "So Late in the Day". Published in The New Yorker, 21 February 2022. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priest_(1994_film) | Priest (1994 film) | Priest is a 1994 British drama film directed by Antonia Bird. The screenplay by Jimmy McGovern concerns a Roman Catholic priest (Linus Roache) as he struggles with two difficulties that precipitate a crisis of faith. The film's release was controversial and received condemnation from the Church.
The film won the People's Choice Award at the 19th Toronto International Film Festival.
== Plot ==
Father Greg Pilkington, newly assigned to St Mary's parish in inner-city Liverpool, is startled to discover Father Matthew Thomas is engaged in a sexual relationship with rectory housekeeper Maria Kerrigan. Moreover, Father Thomas is a left-wing radical and an outspoken proponent of Liberation Theology, leading him to constant clashes and bickering with the Bishop—who nevertheless appreciates his abilities.
While the young protagonist's personal traditional conservatism and religious beliefs are offended by the older priest's blatant disregard for his vow of celibacy, he struggles with his homosexual urges, especially after he meets a man named Graham at a local gay hangout and the two embark on a physical relationship.
Meanwhile, student Lisa Unsworth has confided she is being sexually abused by her father, who confirms her story and displays no guilt nor any desire to stop. Both have revealed their secret in the confessional, however, so Father Greg is required to honour the sanctity of the Sacrament of Penance and not reveal what he has been told. He tries to warn her mother to keep a close watch on her, but the naive woman believes her daughter is safe while in the care of her husband.
When Mrs. Unsworth discovers her husband molesting Lisa and realises the priest knew what was happening, she lashes out at him. Adding to his torment is his arrest for having sex with Graham in a parked car. He pleads guilty to the charge, and the fact that he is a Catholic priest makes for a sensational news item. The story is headlined on the front page of the local newspaper and, unable to face his parishioners, Father Greg relocates to a remote rural parish headed by a disapproving and unforgiving priest. Father Matthew persuades him to return to St Mary's, and the two preside over a Mass that is disrupted by the loud protests of people opposed to Father Greg's presence at the altar. Father Matthew demands they leave the church. The two priests then begin to distribute the Eucharist, but the remaining parishioners ignore Father Greg and line up to receive communion from Father Matthew. Lisa finally approaches the younger priest, and the two fall into each other's arms, sobbing.
== Cast ==
Linus Roache as Father Greg Pilkington
Tom Wilkinson as Father Matthew Thomas
Robert Carlyle as Graham
Cathy Tyson as Maria Kerrigan
Christine Tremarco as Lisa Unsworth
Robert Pugh as Mr. Unsworth
Lesley Sharp as Mrs. Unsworth
== Production ==
The film was shot on location in Blundellsands, Liverpool, London, and Manchester.
== Release ==
Priest premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 1994 and was one of the most talked about films. Miramax acquired the US distribution rights for $1.75 million and spent a further $500,000 on prints and advertising. The film received very vocal condemnation from the Church, with the Catholic Church in Ireland in particular calling for a ban on theatrical distribution. This marked the first major disagreement between the Church and the Irish Film Censor Board, which decided to release it anyway. It went into general release in the UK on 17 March 1995 and limited release on 8 screens in the US the following week. Catholic organizations in the United States, including the Catholic League and the American Life League, were in an uproar over its planned nationwide release by Miramax during Easter weekend, calling the film "smut," "blasphemous" and "sacrilegious"; staged a national boycott over Miramax parent, Walt Disney Studios; demanded that the film be withdrawn and called for Disney president Michael Eisner to be fired. Exhibitors in New Jersey received threats, including bomb threats, and warning against screening the film.
== Reception ==
=== Critical reception ===
Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 64% approval rating based on 25 critical responses, with an average rating of 7/10.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times rated the film one star out of a possible four, calling the screenplay "shallow and exploitative." He added, "The movie argues that the hidebound and outdated rules of the church are responsible for some people (priests) not having sex although they should, while others (incestuous parents) can keep on having it although they shouldn't. For this movie to be described as a moral statement about anything other than the filmmaker's prejudices is beyond belief."
Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle called it "an exceptional movie," "powerful drama," and "a curiously inspiring statement about faith and morality." He added, "This film is extraordinary for the themes it explores—sometimes with delicious humor—beyond the obvious ... The movie becomes a fascinating glimpse at a vast subject—intolerance vs. understanding. There's some preachiness in Priest, and yet you go away feeling the embrace of something lovely and spiritual."
Gary Kamiya of The San Francisco Examiner observed, "After watching this film, you feel as if Martin Luther had hammered every one of his 95 theses onto various parts of your anatomy, using dull thumbtacks. And although Priest is not without intelligence, humor and pathos, in the end it's little more than a tendentious melodrama. One can sympathize with [its] progressive politics ... and still feel that director Antonia Bird and screenwriter Jimmy McGovern have made things much too easy for themselves ... Priest is less a work of art than an Op-ed piece; as such, whatever virtues it has existed in the sociological sphere, not the aesthetic."
Rita Kempley of The Washington Post said, "Part soap opera and part propaganda, this sometimes affecting drama presents a one-sided examination of the church's teachings on homosexuality and the celibacy of its clergy ... Roache, a veteran of British stage and television, gives a stirring performance, which crests in the film's transcendent finale. Beautifully sustained by the actors and well directed by Bird, this last scene is an emotional epiphany for both the characters and the audience, all bathed in the balm of forgiveness."
=== Box office ===
Opening on eight screens in the United States, it grossed $113,430 on its opening weekend, and eventually grossed $4,165,845 in the US and Canada.
== Accolades ==
The film was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Film but lost to Shallow Grave. It won the People's Choice Award at the 1994 Toronto International Film Festival, was named Best New British Feature at the 1994 Edinburgh International Film Festival, and won the Teddy Award at the 1995 Berlin International Film Festival. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolia | Mongolia | Mongolia is a landlocked country in the East Asia region. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, and covers an area of 1,564,116 square kilometers (603,909 square miles), making it the 18th-largest country in the world and the second largest landlocked country after Kazakhstan, as well as the largest landlocked country that does not border an inland sea. With a population of 3.5 million, Mongolia is the world's most sparsely populated sovereign state, excluding partially unrecognized Western Sahara. The country constitutes a significant portion of the Mongolian Plateau, and its natural environment is characterized by grassy steppe, mountains to the north and west, and the Gobi Desert to the south. Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city, is home to roughly half of the country's population.
The territory of modern-day Mongolia has been ruled by various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu, the Xianbei, the Rouran, the First Turkic Khaganate, the Second Turkic Khaganate, the Uyghur Khaganate and others. In 1206, Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous land empire in history. His grandson Kublai Khan conquered China proper and established the Yuan dynasty. After the collapse of the Yuan, the Mongols retreated to Mongolia and resumed their earlier pattern of factional conflict, except during the era of Dayan Khan and Tumen Zasagt Khan.
In the 16th century, Tibetan Buddhism spread to Mongolia, being further led by the Manchu-founded Qing dynasty, which absorbed the country in the 17th century. By the early 20th century, almost one-third of the adult male population were Buddhist monks. After the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, Mongolia declared independence, and achieved actual independence from the Republic of China in 1921. Shortly thereafter, the country became a satellite state of the Soviet Union. In 1924, the Mongolian People's Republic was founded as a socialist state. After the anti-communist revolutions of 1989, Mongolia conducted its own peaceful democratic revolution in early 1990. This led to a multi-party system, a new constitution of 1992, and transition to a market economy.
Approximately 30% of the population is nomadic or semi-nomadic; horse culture remains integral. Mahayana Buddhism is the majority religion (51.7%), with the irreligious being the second-largest group (40.6%). Islam is the third-largest religious identification (3.2%), concentrated among ethnic Kazakhs. The vast majority of citizens are ethnic Mongols, with roughly 5% of the population being Kazakhs, Tuvans, and other ethnic minorities, who are especially concentrated in the western regions. Mongolia is a member of the United Nations, Asia Cooperation Dialogue, G77, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Non-Aligned Movement and a NATO global partner. Mongolia joined the World Trade Organization in 1997 and seeks to expand its participation in regional economic and trade groups.
== Etymology ==
The name Mongolia means the "Land of the Mongols" in Latin. The Mongolian word "Mongol" (монгол) is of uncertain etymology. Sükhbataar (1992) and de la Vaissière (2021) proposed it being a derivation from Mugulü, the 4th-century founder of the Rouran Khaganate, first attested as the 'Mungu', (Chinese: 蒙兀, Modern Chinese Měngwù, Middle Chinese Muwngu), a branch of the Shiwei in an 8th-century Tang dynasty list of northern tribes, presumably related to the Liao-era Mungku (Chinese: 蒙古, Modern Chinese Měnggǔ, Middle Chinese MuwngkuX).
After the fall of the Liao dynasty in 1125, the Khamag Mongols became a leading tribe on the Mongolian Plateau. However, their wars with the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty and the Tatar confederation had weakened them. The last head of the tribe was Yesügei, whose son Temüjin (Genghis Khan) eventually united all the Shiwei tribes as the Mongol Empire (Yekhe Monggol Ulus). In the thirteenth century, the word Mongol grew into an umbrella term for a large group of Mongolic-speaking tribes united under the rule of Genghis Khan.
Since the adoption of the new Constitution of Mongolia on 13 February 1992, the official name of the state is "Mongolia" (Mongol Uls).
== History ==
=== Prehistory and antiquity ===
The Khoit Tsenkher Cave in Khovd Province shows lively pink, brown, and red ocher paintings (dated to 20,000 years ago) of mammoths, lynx, bactrian camels, and ostriches, earning it the nickname "the Lascaux of Mongolia". The Venus figurines of Mal'ta (21,000 years ago) testify to the level of Upper Paleolithic art in northern Mongolia; Mal'ta is now part of Russia.
Neolithic agricultural settlements (c. 5500–3500 BC), such as those at Norovlin, Tamsagbulag, Bayanzag, and Rashaan Khad, predated the introduction of horse-riding nomadism, a pivotal event in the history of Mongolia which became the dominant culture. The ethnogenesis of Mongolic peoples is largely linked with the expansion of Ancient Northeast Asians. The Mongolian pastoralist lifestyle may in part be derived from the Western Steppe Herders, but without much geneflow between these two groups, suggesting cultural transmission.
Horse-riding nomadism has been documented by archeological evidence in Mongolia during the Copper and Bronze Age Afanasevo culture (3500–2500 BC); this Indo-European culture was active to the Khangai Mountains in Central Mongolia. The wheeled vehicles found in the burials of the Afanasevans have been dated to before 2200 BC. Pastoral nomadism and metalworking became more developed with the later Okunev culture (2nd millennium BC), Andronovo culture (2300–1000 BC) and Karasuk culture (1500–300 BC), culminating with the Iron Age Xiongnu Empire in 209 BC. Monuments of the pre-Xiongnu Bronze Age include deer stones, keregsur kurgans, square slab tombs, and rock paintings.
Although cultivation of crops has continued since the Neolithic period, agriculture has always remained small in scale compared to pastoral nomadism. Agriculture may have first been introduced from the west or arose independently in the region. The population during the Copper Age has been described as mongoloid in the east of what is now Mongolia, and as europoid in the west. Tocharians (Yuezhi) and Scythians inhabited western Mongolia during the Bronze Age. The mummy of a Scythian warrior, which is believed to be about 2,500 years old, was a 30- to 40-year-old man with blond hair; it was found in the Altai, Mongolia. As equine nomadism was introduced into Mongolia, the political center of the Eurasian Steppe also shifted to Mongolia, where it remained until the 18th century. The intrusions of northern pastoralists (e.g. the Guifang, Shanrong, and Donghu) into China during the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC) and Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) presaged the age of nomadic empires.
=== Early states ===
Since prehistoric times, Mongolia has been inhabited by nomads who, from time to time, formed great confederations that rose to power and prominence. Common institutions were the office of the Khan, the Kurultai (Supreme Council), left and right wings, imperial army (Keshig) and the decimal military system. The first of these empires, the Xiongnu of undetermined ethnicity, were brought together by Modu Shanyu to form a confederation in 209 BC. Soon they emerged as the greatest threat to the Qin dynasty, forcing the latter to construct the Great Wall of China. It was guarded by up to almost 300,000 soldiers during Marshal Meng Tian's tenure, as a means of defense against the destructive Xiongnu raids. The vast Xiongnu empire (209 BC–93 AD) was followed by the Mongolic Xianbei empire (93–234 AD), which also ruled more than the entirety of present-day Mongolia. The Mongolic Rouran Khaganate (330–555), of Xianbei provenance was the first to use "Khagan" as an imperial title. It ruled a massive empire before being defeated by the Göktürks (555–745), an even larger empire.
The Göktürks laid siege to Panticapaeum, present-day Kerch, in 576. They were succeeded by the Uyghur Khaganate (745–840) who were defeated by the Kyrgyz. The Mongolic Khitans, descendants of the Xianbei, ruled Mongolia during the Liao dynasty (907–1125), after which the Khamag Mongol (1125–1206) rose to prominence.
Lines 3–5 of the memorial inscription of Bilge Khagan (684–737) in central Mongolia summarizes the time of the Khagans:
In battles they subdued the nations of all four sides of the world and suppressed them. They made those who had heads bow their heads, and who had knees genuflect them. In the east up to the Kadyrkhan common people, in the west up to the Iron Gate they conquered... These Khagans were wise. These Khagans were great. Their servants were wise and great too. Officials were honest and direct with people. They ruled the nation this way. This way they held sway over them. When they died ambassadors from Bokuli Cholug (Baekje Korea), Tabgach (Tang China), Tibet (Tibetan Empire), Avar (Avar Khaganate), Rome (Byzantine Empire), Kirgiz, Uch-Kurykan, Otuz-Tatars, Khitans, Tatabis came to the funerals. So many people came to mourn over the great Khagans. They were famous Khagans.
=== Mongol empire to early 20th century ===
In the chaos of the late 12th century, a chieftain named Temüjin finally succeeded in uniting the Mongol tribes between Manchuria and the Altai Mountains. In 1206, he took the title Genghis Khan, and waged a series of military campaigns – renowned for their brutality and ferocity – sweeping through much of Asia, and forming the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous land empire in world history. Under his successors it stretched from present-day Poland in the west to Korea in the east, and from parts of Siberia in the north to the Gulf of Oman and Vietnam in the south, covering some 33,000,000 square kilometers (13,000,000 sq mi), (22% of Earth's total land area) and had a population of over 100 million people (about a quarter of Earth's total population at the time). The emergence of Pax Mongolica also significantly eased trade and commerce across Asia during its height.
After Genghis Khan's death, the empire was subdivided into four kingdoms or Khanates. These eventually became quasi-independent after the Toluid Civil War (1260–1264), which broke out in a battle for power following Möngke Khan's death in 1259. One of the khanates, the "Great Khaanate", consisting of the Mongol homeland and most of modern-day China, became known as the Yuan dynasty under Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan. He set up his capital in present-day Beijing. After more than a century of power, the Yuan dynasty was overthrown by the Ming dynasty in 1368, and the Yuan court fled to the north, thus becoming the Northern Yuan dynasty. As the Ming armies pursued the Mongols into their homeland, they successfully sacked and destroyed the Mongol capital Karakorum and other cities. Some of these attacks were repelled by the Mongols under Ayushridar and his general Köke Temür.
After the expulsion of the Yuan rulers from China proper, the Mongols continued to rule their homeland, known in historiography as the Northern Yuan dynasty. With the division of the Mongol tribes, it was subsequently also known as "The Forty and the Four" (Döčin dörben) among them. The next centuries were marked by violent power struggles among various factions, notably the Genghisids and the non-Genghisid Oirats, as well as by several Ming invasions (such as the five expeditions led by the Yongle Emperor).
In the early 16th century, Dayan Khan and his khatun Mandukhai reunited all Mongol groups under the Genghisids. In the mid-16th century, Altan Khan of the Tümed, a grandson of Dayan Khan – but not a hereditary or legitimate Khan – became powerful. He founded Hohhot in 1557. After he met with the Dalai Lama in 1578, he ordered the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism to Mongolia. (It was the second time this had occurred.) Abtai Khan of the Khalkha converted to Buddhism and founded the Erdene Zuu monastery in 1585. His grandson Zanabazar became the first Jebtsundamba Khutughtu in 1640. Following the leaders, the entire Mongolian population embraced Buddhism. Each family kept scriptures and Buddha statues on an altar at the north side of their yurt. Mongolian nobles donated land, money and herders to the monasteries. As was typical in states with established religions, the top religious institutions, the monasteries, wielded significant temporal power in addition to spiritual power.
The last Khagan of Northern Yuan was Ligden Khan in the early 17th century. He came into conflicts with the Manchus over the looting of Chinese cities, and also alienated most Mongol tribes. He died in 1634. By 1636, most of the Inner Mongolian tribes had submitted to the Manchus, who founded the Qing dynasty. The Khalkha eventually submitted to Qing rule in 1691, thus bringing all of today's Mongolia under Manchu rule. After several Dzungar–Qing Wars, the Dzungars (western Mongols or Oirats) were virtually annihilated during the Qing conquest of Dzungaria in 1755 and 1758. The Dzungars also fought the Tsardom of Russia over their border, varying from early occupation of Kuznetsk Basin, Invasion of Yenisei and two expeditions by the Russians in 1716 and 1719.
Some scholars estimate that about 80% of the 600,000 or more Dzungar were killed by a combination of disease and warfare. Outer Mongolia was given relative autonomy, being administered by the hereditary Genghisid khanates of Tusheet Khan, Setsen Khan, Zasagt Khan and Sain Noyon Khan. The Jebtsundamba Khutuktu of Mongolia had immense de facto authority. The Manchu forbade mass Chinese immigration into the area, which allowed the Mongols to keep their culture. The Oirats who migrated to the Volga steppes in Russia became known as Kalmyks.
The main trade route during this period was the Tea Road through Siberia; it had permanent stations located every 25 to 30 kilometers (16 to 19 mi), each of which was staffed by 5–30 chosen families.
Until 1911, the Qing dynasty maintained control of Mongolia with a series of alliances and intermarriages, as well as military and economic measures. Ambans, Manchu "high officials", were installed in Khüree, Uliastai, and Khovd, and the country was divided into numerous feudal and ecclesiastical fiefdoms (which also placed people in power with loyalty to the Qing). Over the course of the 19th century, the feudal lords attached more importance to representation and less importance to the responsibilities towards their subjects. The behavior of Mongolia's nobility, together with usurious practices by Chinese traders and the collection of imperial taxes in silver instead of animals, resulted in widespread poverty among the nomads. By 1911 there were 700 large and small monasteries in Outer Mongolia; their 115,000 monks made up 21% of the population. Apart from the Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, there were 13 other reincarnating high lamas, called 'seal-holding saints' (tamgatai khutuktu), in Outer Mongolia.
=== Modern history ===
With the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, Mongolia under the Bogd Khaan declared its independence. However, the newly established Republic of China considered Mongolia to be part of its own territory. Yuan Shikai, the President of the Republic of China, considered the new republic to be the successor of the Qing. Bogd Khaan said that both Mongolia and China had been administered by the Manchu during the Qing, and after the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, the contract of Mongolian submission to the Manchu had become invalid.
The area controlled by the Bogd Khaan was approximately that of the former Outer Mongolia during the Qing period. In 1919, after the October Revolution in Russia, Chinese troops led by warlord Xu Shuzheng occupied Mongolia. Warfare erupted on the northern border. As a result of the Russian Civil War, the White Russian Lieutenant General Baron Ungern led his troops into Mongolia in October 1920, defeating the Chinese forces in Niislel Khüree (now Ulaanbaatar) in early February 1921 with Mongol support.
To eliminate the threat posed by Ungern, Bolshevik Russia decided to support the establishment of a communist Mongolian government and army. This Mongolian army took the Mongolian part of Kyakhta from Chinese forces on 18 March 1921, and on 6 July, Russian and Mongolian troops arrived in Khüree. Mongolia declared its independence again on 11 July 1921. As a result, Mongolia was closely aligned with the Soviet Union over the next seven decades.
==== Mongolian People's Republic ====
In 1924, after the Bogd Khaan died of laryngeal cancer or, as some sources claim, at the hands of Russian spies, the country's political system was changed. The Mongolian People's Republic was established. In 1928, Khorloogiin Choibalsan rose to power. The early leaders of the Mongolian People's Republic (1921–1952) included many with Pan-Mongolist ideals. However, changing global politics and increased Soviet pressure led to the decline of Pan-Mongol aspirations in the following period.
Khorloogiin Choibalsan instituted collectivization of livestock, began the destruction of the Buddhist monasteries, and carried out Stalinist purges, which resulted in the murders of numerous monks and other leaders. In Mongolia during the 1920s, approximately one-third of the male population were monks. By the beginning of the 20th century, 750 monasteries were functioning in Mongolia and by the end of the 1930s almost all had been looted or razed.
In 1930, the Soviet Union stopped Buryat migration to the Mongolian People's Republic to prevent Mongolian reunification. All leaders of Mongolia who did not fulfill Stalin's demands to perform Red Terror against Mongolians were executed, including Peljidiin Genden and Anandyn Amar. The Stalinist purges in Mongolia, which began in 1937, killed more than 30,000 people. Under Stalinist influence in the Mongolian People's Republic, an estimated 17,000 monks were killed, official figures show. Choibalsan, who led a dictatorship and organized Stalinist purges in Mongolia between 1937 and 1939, died suspiciously in the Soviet Union in 1952. Comintern leader Bohumír Šmeral said, "People of Mongolia are not important, the land is important. Mongolian land is larger than England, France and Germany".
After the Japanese invasion of neighboring Manchuria in 1931, Mongolia was threatened on this front. During the Soviet-Japanese Border War of 1939, the Soviet Union successfully defended Mongolia against Japanese expansionism. Mongolia fought against Japan during the Battles of Khalkhin Gol in 1939 and during the Soviet–Japanese War in August 1945 to liberate Inner Mongolia from Japan and Mengjiang.
==== Cold War ====
The February 1945 Yalta Conference provided for the Soviet Union's participation in the Pacific War. One of the Soviet conditions for its participation, put forward at Yalta, was that after the war Outer Mongolia would retain its independence. The referendum took place on 20 October 1945, with (according to official numbers) 100% of the electorate voting for independence.
After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, both countries confirmed their mutual recognition on 6 October 1949. However, the Republic of China used its Security Council veto in 1955, to stop the admission of the Mongolian People's Republic to the United Nations on the grounds it recognized all of Mongolia —including Outer Mongolia— as part of China. This was the only time the Republic of China ever used its veto. Hence, and because of the repeated threats to veto by the ROC, Mongolia did not join the UN until 1961 when the Soviet Union agreed to lift its veto on the admission of Mauritania (and any other newly independent African state), in return for the admission of Mongolia. Faced with pressure from nearly all the other African countries, the ROC relented under protest. Mongolia and Mauritania were both admitted to the UN on 27 October 1961. (see China and the United Nations)
On 26 January 1952, Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal took power in Mongolia after the death of Choibalsan. Tsedenbal was the leading political figure in Mongolia for more than 30 years. While Tsedenbal was visiting Moscow in August 1984, his severe illness prompted the parliament to announce his retirement and replace him with Jambyn Batmönkh.
==== Post-Cold War ====
The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 strongly influenced Mongolian politics and youth. Its people undertook the peaceful Democratic Revolution in January 1990 and the introduction of a multi-party system and a market economy. At the same time, the transformation of the former Marxist-Leninist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party to the current social democratic Mongolian People's Party reshaped the country's political landscape.
A new constitution was introduced in 1992, and the term "People's Republic" was dropped from the country's name. The transition to a market economy was often rocky; during the early 1990s the country had to deal with high inflation and food shortages. The first election victories for non-communist parties came in 1993 (presidential elections) and 1996 (parliamentary elections). China has supported Mongolia's application for membership in the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and granting it observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
== Geography ==
At 1,564,116 km2 (603,909 mi2), Mongolia is the world's 18th-largest country. It is significantly larger than the next-largest country, Peru. It mostly lies between latitudes 41° and 52°N (a small area is north of 52°), and longitudes 87° and 120°E. As a point of reference the northernmost part of Mongolia is on roughly the same latitude as Berlin (Germany) and Saskatoon (Canada), while the southernmost part is on roughly the same latitude as Rome (Italy) and Chicago (US). The westernmost part of Mongolia is on roughly the same longitude as Kolkata in India, while the easternmost part is on the same longitude as Qinhuangdao and Hangzhou in China, as well as the western edge of Taiwan. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its westernmost point is only 36.76 kilometers (22.84 mi) from Kazakhstan, nearly making a quadripoint.
The geography of Mongolia is varied, with the Gobi Desert to the south and cold, mountainous regions to the north and west. Much of Mongolia consists of the Mongolian-Manchurian grassland, with forested areas accounting for 11.2% of the total land area. The whole of Mongolia is considered to be part of the Mongolian Plateau. The highest point in Mongolia is the Khüiten Peak in the Tavan bogd massif in the far west at 4,374 m (14,350 ft). The basin of the Uvs Lake, shared with Tuva Republic in Russia, is a natural World Heritage Site.
=== Climate ===
Mongolia is known as the "Land of the Eternal Blue Sky" or "Country of Blue Sky" (Mongolian: "Mönkh khökh tengeriin oron") because it has over 250 sunny days a year.
Most of the country is hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter, with January averages dropping as low as −30 °C (−22 °F). A vast front of cold, heavy, shallow air comes in from Siberia in winter and collects in river valleys and low basins causing very cold temperatures while slopes of mountains are much warmer due to the effects of temperature inversion (temperature increases with altitude).
In winter the whole of Mongolia comes under the influence of the Siberian Anticyclone. The localities most severely affected by this cold weather are Uvs province (Ulaangom), western Khovsgol (Rinchinlhumbe), eastern Zavkhan (Tosontsengel), northern Bulgan (Hutag) and eastern Dornod province (Khalkhiin Gol). Ulaanbaatar is strongly, but less severely, affected. The cold gets less severe as one goes south, reaching the warmest January temperatures in Omnogovi Province (Dalanzadgad, Khanbogd) and the region of the Altai mountains bordering China. A unique microclimate is the fertile grassland-forest region of central and eastern Arkhangai Province (Tsetserleg) and northern Ovorkhangai Province (Arvaikheer) where January temperatures are on average the same and often higher than the warmest desert regions to the south in addition to being more stable. The Khangai Mountains play a certain role in forming this microclimate. In Tsetserleg, the warmest town in this microclimate, nighttime January temperatures rarely go under −30 °C (−22 °F) while daytime January temperatures often reach 0 °C (32 °F) to 5 °C (41 °F).
The country is subject to occasional harsh climatic conditions known as zud. It results in large proportions of the country's livestock dying from starvation or freezing temperatures or both, resulting in economic upheaval for the largely pastoral population. The annual average temperature in Ulaanbaatar is −1.3 °C (29.7 °F), making it the world's coldest capital city. Mongolia is high, cold and windy. It has an extreme continental climate with long, cold winters and short summers, during which most of its annual precipitation falls. The country averages 257 cloudless days a year, and it is usually at the center of a region of high atmospheric pressure. Precipitation is highest in the north (average of 200 to 350 millimeters (8 to 14 in) per year) and lowest in the south, which receives 100 to 200 millimeters (4 to 8 in) annually. The highest annual precipitation of 622.297 mm (24.500 in) occurred in the forests of Bulgan Province near the border with Russia and the lowest of 41.735 mm (1.643 in) occurred in the Gobi Desert (period 1961–1990). The sparsely populated far north of Bulgan Province averages 600 mm (24 in) in annual precipitation which means it receives more precipitation than Beijing (571.8 mm or 22.51 in) or Berlin (571 mm or 22.5 in).
=== Environmental issues ===
=== Wildlife ===
The name "Gobi" is a Mongol term for a desert steppe, which usually refers to a category of arid rangeland with insufficient vegetation to support marmots but with enough to support camels. Mongols distinguish Gobi from desert proper, although the distinction is not always apparent to outsiders unfamiliar with the Mongolian landscape.
Gobi rangelands are fragile and easily destroyed by overgrazing, which results in expansion of the true desert, a stony waste where not even Bactrian camels can survive. The arid conditions in the Gobi are attributed to the rain shadow effect caused by the Himalayas. Before the Himalayas were formed by the collision of the Indo-Australian plate with the Eurasian plate 10 million years ago, Mongolia was a flourishing habitat for major fauna but still somewhat arid and cold due to distance from sources of evaporation. Sea turtle and mollusk fossils have been found in the Gobi, apart from well-known dinosaur fossils. Tadpole shrimps are still found in the Gobi today. The eastern part of Mongolia including the Onon and Kherlen rivers and Lake Buir form part of the Amur river basin draining to the Pacific Ocean. It hosts some unique species like the Eastern brook lamprey, Daurian crayfish (cambaroides dauricus) and Daurian pearl oyster (dahurinaia dahurica) in the Onon/Kherlen rivers as well as Siberian prawn (exopalaemon modestus) in Lake Buir.
== Government and politics ==
Mongolia is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic with a directly elected President. The people also elect the deputies in the national assembly, the State Great Khural. The president appoints the prime minister, and nominates the cabinet on the proposal of the prime minister. The constitution of Mongolia guarantees a number of freedoms, including full freedom of expression and religion. Mongolia amended its constitution most lately in 2019 transferring some powers from the president to the prime minister. On 31 May 2023, Mongolia's parliament approved a constitutional amendment that increased the number of seats from 76 to 126 and changed the electoral system re-introducing proportional party voting.
Mongolia has a number of political parties; the largest are the Mongolian People's Party and the Democratic Party. The non-governmental organization Freedom House considers Mongolia to be free.
The People's Party – known as the People's Revolutionary Party between 1924 and 2010 – formed the government from 1921 to 1996 (in a one-party system until 1990) and from 2000 to 2004. From 2004 to 2006, it was part of a coalition with the Democrats and two other parties, and after 2006 it was the dominant party in two other coalitions. The party initiated two changes of government from 2004 prior to losing power in the 2012 election. The Democrats were the dominant force in a ruling coalition between 1996 and 2000, and an almost-equal partner with the People's Revolutionary Party in a coalition between 2004 and 2006. An election of deputies to the national assembly on 28 June 2012 resulted in no party having an overall majority; however, as the Democratic Party won the largest number of seats, its leader, Norovyn Altankhuyag, was appointed prime minister on 10 August 2012. In 2014, he was replaced by Chimediin Saikhanbileg. The MPP won a landslide victory in the 2016 elections and the next prime minister was MPP's Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh. In June 2020, MPP won a landslide victory in the election. It took 62 seats and the main opposition DP, 11 of the 76 seats. Before the elections the ruling party had redrawn the electoral map in a way that was beneficial for MPP.
In January 2021, Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh resigned after protests over the treatment of a coronavirus patient. On 27 January 2021, Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene of MPP became new prime minister. He represents a younger generation of leaders that had studied abroad.
The President of Mongolia is able to veto the laws made by parliament, appoint judges and justice of courts and appoint ambassadors. The parliament can override that veto by a two-thirds majority vote. Mongolia's constitution provides three requirements for taking office as president; the candidate must be a native-born Mongolian, be at least 45 years old, and have resided in Mongolia for five years before taking office. The president must also suspend their party membership. After defeating incumbent Nambaryn Enkhbayar, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, a two-time former prime minister and member of the Democratic Party, was elected as president on 24 May 2009 and inaugurated on 18 June that year. The ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (2010) (MPRP) nominated Batbold Sukhbaatar as new Prime Minister in October 2009. Elbegdorj was re-elected on 26 June 2013 and was inaugurated on 10 July 2013 for his second term as president. In June 2017, opposition Democratic Party candidate Khaltmaagiin Battulga won the presidential election. He was inaugurated on 10 July 2017.
In June 2021, former Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, the candidate of the ruling Mongolian People's Party (MPP), became the country's sixth democratically elected president after winning the presidential election.
Mongolia uses a unicameral legislature, the State Great Khural, with 76 seats, which is chaired by the Speaker of the House. Its members are directly elected, every four years, by popular vote. As per 2023 constitutional amendment the parliament increased the number of seats from 76 to 126. According to V-Dem Democracy Indices Mongolia was autocratizing in 2024.
=== Administrative divisions ===
Mongolia is divided into 21 provinces (aimags) and subdivided into 330 districts (sums). Ulaanbaatar is administered separately as a capital city (municipality) with provincial status. The aimags are:
=== Foreign relations ===
Mongolia's foreign relations traditionally focus on its two large neighbors, Russia and China. Mongolia is economically dependent on these countries: China is Mongolia's largest export partner at a 78% share, far above the other top countries (Switzerland at 15%; Singapore 3%). Mongolia receives 36% of imports from China and 29% from Russia. Mongolia is also pursuing a trilateral partnership with China and Russia through the Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline, with a contract to be signed in the "near future" according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. Due to China's status as Mongolia's most important trading partner, Mongolia has been trying to stay out of the current US-China confrontation.
It has begun seeking positive relations with a wider range of other countries especially in cultural and economic matters, focusing on encouraging foreign direct investment and trade. Mongolia has been pursuing a 'third-neighbor' foreign policy since early 1990s to build deeper relations and partnerships with countries beyond its two surrounding neighbors.
Mongolia has been a member of The Forum of Small States (FOSS) since the group's founding in 1992.
Then Vice President of the US Joe Biden, visited Mongolia in 2011 supporting Mongolia's third neighbor policy.
==== Embassies ====
Mongolia maintains many diplomatic missions in other countries and has embassies in the following world capitals:
=== Military ===
Mongolia supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and has sent several successive contingents of 103 to 180 troops each to Iraq. About 130 troops were deployed to Afghanistan. 200 Mongolian troops are serving in Sierra Leone on a UN mandate to protect the UN's special court set up there, and in July 2009, Mongolia decided to send a battalion to Chad in support of MINURCAT.
From 2005 to 2006, about 40 troops were deployed with the Belgian and Luxembourg contingents in Kosovo. On 21 November 2005, George W. Bush became the first-ever sitting US president to visit Mongolia. In 2004, under Bulgarian chairmanship, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) invited Mongolia as its newest Asian partner.
=== Legal system ===
The judiciary of Mongolia is made of a three-tiered court system: first instance courts in each provincial district and each Ulaanbaatar district; appellate courts for each province and also the Capital Ulaanbaatar; and the court of last resort (for non-constitutional matters) at the Supreme Court of Mongolia. For questions of constitutional law there is a separate constitutional court.
A Judicial General Council (JGC) nominates judges which must then be confirmed by the parliament and appointed by the President.
Arbitration centers provide alternative dispute resolution options for commercial and other disputes.
== Economy ==
Economic activity in Mongolia has long been based on herding and agriculture, although development of extensive mineral deposits of copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten and gold have emerged as a driver of industrial production. Besides mining (21.8% of GDP) and agriculture (16% of GDP), dominant industries in the composition of GDP are wholesale and retail trade and service, transportation and storage, and real estate activities. Also, Mongolia produces one-fifth of the world's raw cashmere.
The informal economy is estimated to be at least one-third the size of the official economy. As of 2022, 78% of Mongolia's exports went to the PRC, and the PRC supplied 36% of Mongolia's imports.
The World Bank has stated that Mongolia's development prospects are promising due to an expansion of mining and large public investment, although challenges remain from inflation, weaker external demand from China, and persistent fiscal risks due to sizable contingent liabilities. According to the Asian Development Bank, 27.1% of Mongolia's population lived below the national poverty line in 2022. In the same year, GDP per capita was estimated at $12,100.
Mongolia's real GDP grew by 7% in 2023 due to record-high coal production, driven by strong demand from China. Inflation in early 2024 dropped to 7% due to lower global food and fuel prices. Despite a robust increase in import volumes, Mongolia recorded a current account surplus due to the sharp increase in coal exports. Mining sector growth is expected to continue driving GDP growth, although the International Monetary Fund predicts the current account balance will revert to a sizable deficit due to declining coal prices.
In 2011, Citigroup analysts determined Mongolia to be one of the "global growth generating" countries, which are countries with the most promising growth prospects for 2010–2050. The Mongolian Stock Exchange, established in 1991 in Ulaanbaatar, is among the world's smallest stock exchanges by market capitalization. As of 2024, it has 180 companies listed with a total market capitalization of US$3.2 billion. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) currently ranks Mongolia as 81st globally in its ease of doing business scoring.
Mongolia was ranked 78th in the Global Innovation Index in 2025.
=== Mineral industry ===
Minerals represent more than 80% of Mongolia's exports, a proportion expected to eventually rise to 95%. Fiscal revenues from mining represented 21% of government income in 2010 and rose to 24% in 2018. About 3,000 mining licenses have been issued. Mining continues to rise as a major industry of Mongolia as evidenced by the number of Chinese, Russian and Canadian firms starting mining businesses in Mongolia.
In 2009, the Mongolian government negotiated an agreement with Rio Tinto and Ivanhoe Mines to develop the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold deposit, the biggest foreign-investment project in Mongolia at the time. The mine is now a major producer of copper and gold, with plans to further develop underground production and reach an output of 500,000 tons of copper per year. Mongolian's gold production in 2015 is 15 metric tons. Mongolian lawmakers have also attempted to finance the development of the Tavan Tolgoi area, the world's largest untapped coal deposit. However, proposed international partnerships failed in 2011 and 2015, with Mongolia further canceling an international initial public offering in 2020, citing financial and political difficulties.
In September 2022, Mongolia built and launched a 233-km direct rail link to China, which is a milestone in Mongolia's plan to become China's leading supplier of high-quality coal from the Tavan Tolgoi mine, which has more than six billion tonnes of coal reserves.
=== Agriculture ===
=== Communications ===
Postal services are provided by state-owned Mongol Post and 54 other licensed operators.
=== Energy ===
Mongolia imports 98% of its fuel and is building its first ever oil refinery to reduce its foreign energy dependency.
=== Transportation ===
The Trans-Mongolian Railway is the main rail link between Mongolia and its neighbors. It begins at the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia at the town of Ulan-Ude, crosses into Mongolia, runs through Ulaanbaatar, then passes into China at Erenhot where it joins the Chinese railway system. A separate railroad link connects the eastern city of Choibalsan with the Trans-Siberian Railway. However, that link is closed to passengers after the Mongolian town of Chuluunkhoroot. Mongolia also has a 233 km-long cargo rail link from the Tavan Tolgoi coal mine to Chinese border.
Mongolia has a number of domestic airports, with some of them having international status. However, the main international airport is Chinggis Khaan International Airport, located approximately 52 km (32 mi) south of the capital Ulaanbaatar. Direct flight connections exist between Mongolia and South Korea, mainland China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, Russia, Germany, and Turkey. MIAT Mongolian Airlines is Mongolia's national air carrier, operating international flights, while air carriers such as Aero Mongolia and Hunnu Airlines serve domestic and short international routes.
Many overland roads in Mongolia are only gravel roads or simple cross-country tracks. There are paved roads from Ulaanbaatar to the Russian and Chinese borders, from Ulaanbaatar east- and westward (the so-called Millennium Road), and from Darkhan to Bulgan. A number of road construction projects are currently underway. Mongolia has 4,800 km (3,000 mi) of paved roads, with 1,800 km (1,100 mi) of that total completed in 2013 alone.
== Demographics ==
Mongolia's total population in 2024 was 3,544,835, per the National Statistics Office of Mongolia. This figure includes the total number of Mongolian citizens who usually reside in Mongolia (for more than 183 days or six months), as well as Mongolian citizens living abroad. 51% of the population was female and 49% male, with 71.2% residing in urban areas, compared to 21.8% in rural areas. Mongolia's population growth rate was estimated at 1.2% in 2007.
The first census in the 20th century was carried out in 1918 and recorded a population of 647,500. Since the end of socialism, Mongolia has experienced a decline of total fertility rate (children per woman) that is steeper than in any other country in the world, according to recent UN estimations: in 1970–1975, fertility was estimated to be 7.33 children per woman, dropping to about 2.1 in 2000–2005. The decline ended and in 2005–2010, the fertility value increased to 2.8 in 2013 and stabilized afterwards at a rate of about 2.5-2.6 children per woman around 2020.
The Mongols are moderately homogeneous; ethnic Mongols account for about 95% of the population and consist of Khalkha and other groups, all distinguished primarily by dialects of the Mongol language. The Khalkha make up 86% of the ethnic Mongol population. The remaining 14% include Oirats, Buryats and others. Turkic peoples (Kazakhs and Tuvans) constitute 4.5% of Mongolia's population, and the rest are Russian, Chinese, Korean and American nationalities.
=== Major cities ===
As of 2020, 47.6% of the population lives in Ulaanbaatar, further 21.4% lived in Darkhan, Erdenet, the aimag centers and sum centers, and other permanent settlements, and 31.0% in rural areas.
=== Languages ===
Mongolia's official and national language is Mongolian. A member of the Mongolic language family, the standard dialect is Khalkha Mongol. It coexists with various other, largely mutually intelligible varieties of Mongolic such as Oirat, Buryat, and Khamnigan. Several dialects have been morphing to become more like the central Khalkha dialect in recent years. Most speakers of these dialects are located in the western part of the country, namely Bayan-Ölgii, Uvs, and Khovd. Kazakh, a Turkic language, is the majority language in Bayan-Ölgii, while Tuvan is another Turkic language spoken in Khövsgöl. Mongolian Sign Language is the principal language of the deaf community.
As of the mid-2020s, Mongolian is mainly written using the Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet, introduced during the 1940s. Since the 1990 revolution there has been a minor revival of the historic Mongolian script, which is still the official script used by Mongols in neighboring Inner Mongolia. Although Mongolian script has officially been declared the national script, and is taught from the sixth grade onward at schools, it remains mostly confined to ceremonial usage in daily life. In 2025, Mongolia began using both the Cyrillic and traditional Mongolian scripts for legal papers and official documents.
Since 1990, English has quickly supplanted Russian as the most popular foreign language in Mongolia. In the communist era, Russian was a vital language for mobility and professional communication, with a large number of students studying in the Soviet Union as well as a large number of Soviet professionals and soldiers located within Mongolia. Since then, Mongolia's education system has reoriented away from the Soviet Union to the West, and English has become the dominant foreign language, aided by liberalized media, international aid agencies, the rise of private education and tutoring, as well as official government policy. In the 2014–2015 academic year, 59% of the overall student population studied English at public secondary schools. In 2023, English was declared the "first foreign language", and to be taught from the third grade.
As of the 2014–2015 academic year, the most popular foreign language in specialized language courses were (ordered by popularity), English, Chinese, Russian, Japanese, and Korean. Korean in particular has gained popularity as tens of thousands of Mongolians work in South Korea, forming the largest group of Mongolians abroad.
=== Religion ===
According to the 2020 National Census, among Mongolians aged 15 and above, 51.7% were Buddhists, while 40.6% were non-religious.
Mongolian shamanism has been widely practiced throughout the history of what is now Mongolia, with similar beliefs being common among the nomads of central Asia. They gradually gave way to Tibetan Buddhism, but shamanism has left a mark on Mongolian religious culture, and it continues to be practiced. The Kazakhs of western Mongolia, some Mongols, and other Turkic peoples in the country traditionally adhere to Islam.
Throughout much of the 20th century, the communist government repressed religious practices. It targeted the clergy of the Mongolian Buddhist Church, which had been tightly intertwined with the previous feudal government structures (e.g. from 1911 on, the head of the Church had also been the Khan of the country). In the late 1930s, the regime, then led by Khorloogiin Choibalsan, closed almost all of Mongolia's over 700 Buddhist monasteries and killed at least 30,000 people, of whom 18,000 were lamas. The number of Buddhist monks dropped from 100,000 in 1924 to 110 in 1990.
The fall of communism in 1991 restored public religious practice. Tibetan Buddhism, which had been the predominant religion prior to the rise of communism, again rose to become the most widely practiced religion in Mongolia. The highest-ranking lama of Buddhism in Mongolia has been vacant since the 9th Jebtsundamba's passing in 2012 and the search for the next Jebtsundamba Khutuktu is being complicated by Beijing's desire to assert control over Tibetan Buddhism.
The end of religious repression in the 1990s also allowed for other religions to spread in the country. According to the Christian missionary group Barnabas Fund, the number of Christians grew from just four in 1989 to around 40,000 as of 2008. In May 2013, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) held a cultural program to celebrate twenty years of LDS Church history in Mongolia, with 10,900 members, and 16 church buildings in the country. There are some 1,000 Catholics in Mongolia and, in 2003, a missionary from the Philippines was named Mongolia's first Catholic bishop. In 2017 Seventh-day Adventists reported 2,700 members in six churches up from zero members in 1991.
=== Education ===
During the state socialist period, education was one of the areas of significant achievement in Mongolia. Before the People's Republic, literacy rates were below one percent. By 1952, illiteracy was virtually eliminated, in part through the use of seasonal boarding schools for children of nomadic families. Funding to these boarding schools was cut in the 1990s, contributing to slightly increased illiteracy.
Primary and secondary education formerly lasted ten years, but was expanded to eleven years. Since the 2008–2009 school year, new first-graders are using the 12-year system, with a full transition to the 12-year system in the 2019–2020 school year.
As of 2006, English is taught in all secondary schools across Mongolia, beginning in fourth grade. English has taken over from Russian as the dominant foreign language in Mongolia, particularly in Ulaanbaatar.
Mongolian national universities are all spin-offs from the National University of Mongolia and the Mongolian University of Science and Technology. Almost three in five Mongolian youths now enroll in university. There was a six-fold increase in students between 1993 and 2010.
=== Health ===
== Culture ==
The symbol in the left bar of the national flag is a Buddhist icon called Soyombo. It represents the sun, moon, stars, and heavens per standard cosmological symbology abstracted from that seen in traditional thangka paintings.
=== Architecture ===
The traditional Mongolian dwelling is known as a ger. In the past it was known by the Turkic term yurt, but this has been changing as the Mongolian term becomes better known in English-speaking countries. According to Mongolian artist and art critic N. Chultem, the ger was the basis for development of traditional Mongolian architecture. In the 16th and 17th centuries, lamaseries were built throughout the country. Many of them started as ger-temples. When they needed to be enlarged to accommodate the growing number of worshippers, the Mongolian architects used structures with 6 and 12 angles with pyramidal roofs to approximate to the round shape of a ger. Further enlargement led to a quadratic shape of the temples. The roofs were made in the shape of marquées. The trellis walls, roof poles and layers of felt were replaced by stone, brick, beams and planks, and became permanent.
Chultem distinguished three styles in traditional Mongolian architecture: Mongolian, Tibetan and Chinese as well as combinations of the three. Among the first quadratic temples was Batu-Tsagaan (1654) designed by Zanabazar. An example of the ger-style architecture is the lamasery Dashi-Choiling in Ulaanbaatar. The temple Lavrin (18th century) in the Erdene Zuu lamasery was built in the Tibetan tradition. An example of a temple built in the Chinese tradition is the lamasery Choijing Lamiin Sume (1904), which is a museum today. The quadratic temple Tsogchin in lamasery Gandan in Ulaanbaatar is a combination of the Mongolian and Chinese tradition. The temple of Maitreya (disassembled in 1938) is an example of the Tibeto-Mongolian architecture. Dashi-Choiling monastery has commenced a project to restore the temple and the 25 meters (82 ft) sculpture of Maitreya.
=== Visual arts ===
Before the 20th century, most works of the fine arts in Mongolia had a religious function, and therefore Mongolian fine arts were heavily influenced by religious texts. Thangkas were usually painted or made in appliqué technique. Bronze sculptures usually showed Buddhist deities. A number of great works are attributed to the first Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, Zanabazar.
In the late 19th century, painters like "Marzan" Sharav turned to more realistic painting styles. Under the Mongolian People's Republic, socialist realism was the dominant painting style, however traditional thangka-like paintings dealing with secular, nationalist themes were also popular, a genre known as "Mongol zurag".
Among the first attempts to introduce modernism into the fine arts of Mongolia was the painting Ehiin setgel (Mother's love) created by Tsevegjav in the 1960s. The artist was purged as his work was censored.
All forms of fine arts flourished only after perestroika in the late 1980s. Otgonbayar Ershuu is arguably one of the most well-known Mongolian modern artists in the Western world, he was portrayed in the film "ZURAG" by Tobias Wulff.
=== Music ===
The music of Mongolia is strongly influenced by nature, nomadism, shamanism, and also Tibetan Buddhism. The traditional music includes a variety of instruments, famously the morin khuur, and also the singing styles like the urtyn duu ("long song"), and throat-singing (khoomei). The "tsam" is danced to keep away evil spirits and it was seen as reminiscent of shamanism.
=== Media ===
Mongolian press began in 1920 with close ties to the Soviet Union under the Mongolian Communist Party, with the establishment of the Unen ("Truth") newspaper similar to the Soviet Pravda. Until reforms in the 1990s, the government had strict control of the media and oversaw all publishing, in which no independent media were allowed. The dissolution of the Soviet Union had a significant impact on Mongolia, where the one-party state grew into a multi-party democracy, and with that, media freedoms came to the forefront.
A new law on press freedom, drafted with help from international NGOs on 28 August 1998, and enacted on 1 January 1999, paved the way for media reforms. The Mongolian media currently consists of around 300 print and broadcasting outlets.
Since 2006, the media environment has been improving with the government debating a new Freedom of Information Act, and the removal of any affiliation of media outlets with the government. Market reforms have led to an annually increasing number of people working in the media, along with students at journalism schools.
In its 2013 World Press Freedom Index report, Reporters Without Borders classified the media environment as 98th out of 179, with 1st being most free. In 2016, Mongolia was ranked 60th out of 180.
According to 2014 Asian Development Bank survey, 80% of Mongolians cited television as their main source of information.
=== Cuisine ===
=== Sports and festivals ===
The main national festival is Naadam, which has been organized for centuries and takes place over three days in the summer, consisting of three Mongolian traditional sports, archery, cross-country horse-racing, and wrestling, traditionally recognized as the Three Manly Games of Naadam. In modern-day Mongolia, Naadam is held from 11 to 13 July in the honor of the anniversaries of the National Democratic Revolution and foundation of the Great Mongol State.
Another very popular activity called Shagaa is the "flicking" of sheep ankle bones at a target several feet away, using a flicking motion of the finger to send the small bone flying at targets and trying to knock the target bones off the platform. At Naadam, this contest is popular among older Mongolians.
Horse riding is especially central to Mongolian culture. The long-distance races that are showcased during Naadam festivals are one aspect of this, as is the popularity of trick riding. One example of trick riding is the legend that the Mongolian military hero Damdin Sükhbaatar scattered coins on the ground and then picked them up while riding a horse at full gallop.
Mongolian wrestling is the most popular of all Mongol sports. It is the highlight of the Three Manly Games of Naadam. Historians claim that Mongol-style wrestling originated some seven thousand years ago. Hundreds of wrestlers from different cities and aimags around the country take part in the national wrestling competition.
Other sports such as basketball, weightlifting, powerlifting, association football, athletics, gymnastics, table tennis, jujutsu, karate, aikido, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts have become popular in Mongolia. More Mongolian table tennis players are competing internationally.
Freestyle wrestling has been practiced since 1958 in Mongolia. Mongolian freestyle wrestlers have won the first and the most Olympic medals of Mongolia.
Naidangiin Tüvshinbayar won Mongolia's first ever Olympic gold medal in the men's 100-kilogram class of judo.
Amateur boxing has been practiced in Mongolia since 1948. The Mongolian Olympic boxing national team was founded in 1960. The Communist government of Mongolia banned boxing from 1964 to 1967 but the government soon ended the ban. Professional boxing began in Mongolia in the 1990s.
Mongolia national basketball team enjoyed some success recently, especially at the East Asian Games.
Association football is also played in Mongolia. The Mongolia national football team began playing national games again during the 1990s; but has not yet qualified for a major international tournament. The Mongolia Premier League is the top domestic competition.
Several Mongolian women have excelled in pistol shooting: Otryadyn Gündegmaa is a silver medalist of the 2008 Olympic Games, Munkhbayar Dorjsuren is a double world champion and Olympic bronze medal winner (now representing Germany), while Tsogbadrakhyn Mönkhzul is, as of May 2007, ranked third in the world in the 25-meter pistol event.
Mongolian sumo wrestler Dolgorsürengiin Dagvadorj won 25 top division tournament championships, placing him fourth on the all-time list. In January 2015, Mönkhbatyn Davaajargal took his 33rd top division championship, giving him the most in the history of sumo.
Bandy is the only sport in which Mongolia has finished higher than third place at the Asian Winter Games, which happened in 2011 when the national team captured the silver medal. It led to being chosen as the best Mongolian sports team of 2011. Mongolia won the bronze medal of the B division at the 2017 Bandy World Championship after which the then President of Mongolia, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, held a reception for the team.
Ulaanbataar holds an annual marathon in June. 2015 was the sixth marathon that has been organized by Ar Mongol. The race starts at Sukhbataar Square and is always open to residents and runners who come especially for this event.
Mongolia holds other traditional festivals throughout the year. The Golden Eagle Festival, held annually, draws about 400 eagle hunters on horseback, including the traveler Мөнхбаярт Батсайхан (Mönkhbayart Batsaikhan), to compete with their birds. The Ice Festival and the Thousand Camel Festival are amongst many other traditional Mongolian festivals.
In 2025, a Mongolian team of mixed athletes placed second in the first season of Physical: Asia.
== In film ==
The Eagle Huntress is a 2016 internationally co-produced Kazakh-language documentary feature film directed by Otto Bell that follows the story of Aisholpan Nurgaiv, a 13-year-old Kazakh girl from Mongolia, as she attempts to become the first female eagle hunter to compete in the eagle festival at Ulgii, Mongolia.
In winter 2023, Australian filmmakers Ben Golotta and Morgan Wright traveled with and filmed two horse herders, Batbold, aged 18, and Tsagana, aged 22, herding around 2000 animals across the Tsaikhir Valley, in a traditional journey to take the horses to safer grazing. The practice is diminishing owing to climate change and young Mongolians moving to the cities for work. Batbold's father, Bayankhangai, had undertaken ten such grueling trips. The resulting documentary film, titled Iron Winter, was screened in the Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2025 and is being screened in the Adelaide Film Festival in October 2025. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunfight_at_the_O.K._Corral | Gunfight at the O.K. Corral | The gunfight at the O.K. Corral pitted lawmen against members of a loosely organized group of cattle rustlers and horse thieves called the Cochise County Cowboys on October 26, 1881. While lasting less than a minute, the gunfight has been the subject of many books and films. Taking place in the town of Tombstone in Arizona Territory, the battle has become one archetype of the American Old West. The gunfight was the result of a long-simmering feud between five outlaws (including two sets of brothers) and four representatives of the law, including three brothers. The trigger for the event was the local marshal's decision to enforce a city ordinance that prohibited the carrying of weapons into town. To enforce that ordinance, the lawmen would have to disarm the Cowboys.
The lawmen were three brothers, Virgil, Wyatt, and Morgan Earp, and Wyatt’s close friend Doc Holliday. As Deputy U.S. Marshal and Town Marshal, Virgil was in charge, and it was his decision to enforce the ordinance that led to the gunfight. His two brothers and Doc Holliday had been appointed temporary assistant marshals. At the time of the gunfight, there were five members of the Cowboys in Tombstone: Billy Claiborne, brothers Ike and Billy Clanton, and brothers Tom and Frank McLaury. Despite its name, the gunfight did not take place within or next to the O.K. Corral, which fronted Allen Street and had a rear entrance lined with horse stalls on Fremont Street. The shootout actually took place in a narrow lot on the side of C. S. Fly's photography studio on Fremont Street, six doors west of the O.K. Corral's rear entrance. About thirty shots were fired in thirty seconds. During that brief battle, three men were killed, three were wounded, two ran away, and one fought but was unharmed. Ike Clanton subsequently filed murder charges against the Earps and Holliday. After a thirty-day preliminary hearing and a brief stint in jail, the defendants were shown to have acted lawfully.
The gunfight was not the end of the conflict. On December 28, 1881, Virgil was ambushed and maimed in a murder attempt by the Cowboys. On March 18, 1882, a Cowboy fired from a dark alley through the glass door of Campbell & Hatch's saloon and billiard parlor, killing Morgan. The suspects in both incidents furnished alibis supplied by other Cowboys and were not indicted. Wyatt, newly appointed as Deputy U.S. Marshal in Cochise County, then took matters into his own hands in a personal vendetta. He was pursued by county sheriff Johnny Behan, who had received a warrant from Tucson for Wyatt's killing of Frank Stilwell.
The gunfight was not widely known until two years after Wyatt Earp's death, when Stuart Lake published his 1931 book Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal. The book was the basis for the 1939 film Frontier Marshal, the 1946 film My Darling Clementine, and the 1957 film Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, after which the shootout became known by that name. The shootout was also depicted in the 1993 film Tombstone and the 1994 film Wyatt Earp. Since then, the conflict has been portrayed in numerous Western films and books, and has become an archetype for much of the popular imagery associated with the Old West.
== Background ==
Tombstone, located in Arizona Territory about 30 miles (50 km) from the Mexican border, was founded in March 1879 after silver was discovered in the area. Like many mining boomtowns on the American frontier, Tombstone grew rapidly. At its founding, it had a population of just 100, and only two years later, in late 1881, the population was more than 7,000 (excluding Chinese, Mexicans, women, and children), making it the largest boomtown in the American Southwest.
Silver mining and its attendant wealth attracted many professionals and merchants, who brought their wives and families. With them came churches and ministers. By 1881 the town boasted fancy restaurants, a bowling alley, four churches, an ice house, a school, an opera house, two banks, three newspapers, and an ice cream parlor, along with 110 saloons, fourteen gambling halls, and numerous brothels, all situated among a number of dirty, hardscrabble mines.
Horse rustlers and bandits from the countryside often came to town, and shootings were frequent. In the 1880s, the theft of cattle and the smuggling of alcohol and tobacco across the border were common. The Mexican government assessed heavy export taxes on these items, and smugglers earned a handsome profit by stealing them in Mexico and selling them in Tombstone.
James, Virgil, and Wyatt Earp arrived in Tombstone on December 1, 1879, when the town was mostly composed of tents as living quarters, a few saloons and other buildings, and the mines. Virgil had been hired as Deputy U.S. Marshal for eastern Pima County, with his offices in Tombstone, only days before his arrival. In June 1881 he was also appointed as Tombstone's town marshal (or police chief).
Though not universally liked by the townspeople, the Earp brothers tended to protect the interests of the town's business owners and residents; even so, Wyatt helped protect outlaw "Curly Bill" Brocius from being lynched after he accidentally killed Tombstone town marshal Fred White. In contrast, Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan was generally sympathetic to the interests of the rural ranchers and members of the loosely organized outlaw group called the Cochise County Cowboys, or simply the Cowboys, to which Brocius belonged. (In that time and region, the term cowboy generally meant an outlaw; legitimate cowmen were instead referred to as cattle herders or ranchers.)
== Conflicting versions of events ==
Many of the sources describing the events leading up to the gunfight and details of the gunfight itself conflict with each other. Newspapers of the day were not above taking sides, and news reporting often editorialized on issues to reflect the publisher's interests. John Clum, publisher of The Tombstone Epitaph, had helped organize a "Committee of Safety" (a vigilance committee) in Tombstone in late September 1881. He was elected as Tombstone's first mayor under the new city charter that year.
Clum and his newspaper tended to side with the interests of local business owners and supported Deputy U.S. Marshal Virgil Earp. Harry Woods, the publisher of the other major newspaper, The Daily Nugget, was an undersheriff to Behan. He and his newspaper tended to side with Behan, the Cowboys (some of whom were part-time ranchers and landowners) and the rural interests of the ranchers.
Much of what is known of the event is based on month-long preliminary hearings held afterward, generally known as the Spicer hearings. Reporters from both newspapers covered the hearings and recorded the testimony there and at the coroner's inquest, but only the reporter from the Nugget knew shorthand. The testimony recorded by the court recorder and the two newspapers varied greatly.
According to the Earps' version of events, the fight was in self-defense because the Cowboys, armed in violation of local ordinance, defied a lawful order to hand over their weapons and drew their pistols instead. The Cowboys maintained that they raised their hands, offered no resistance, and were shot in cold blood by the Earps. Sorting out who was telling the truth was difficult then and remains so to this day.
Though usually opposing each other in their depiction of events, reporting by both the Epitaph and the Nugget initially supported the lawmen's version of events. Woods, the publisher of the pro-Cowboy Nugget, was out of town during the hearings, and an experienced reporter, Richard Rule, wrote the story. The Nugget staff had a close relationship with Behan, but Rule's story, as printed in the Nugget the day after the shootout, backed up the Earps' account. This varied widely from Behan's and the Cowboys' later court testimony.
Subsequent stories about the gunfight published in the Nugget after that day supported Behan's and the Cowboys' view of events. Other stories in the Epitaph countered the Nugget's later view entirely and supported the lawmen. Dr. George Goodfellow, who examined the Cowboys after their deaths, told the court that the angle of the wound in Billy Clanton's wrist indicated that his hands could not have been in the air, or holding his coats open by the lapels, as witnesses loyal to the Cowboys testified.
Part-time newspaper reporter Howell "Pat" Hayhurst transcribed the testimony from the hearings in the early 1930s as part of a Federal Writers' Project, which was part of the Works Progress Administration. According to one report, Hayhurst was a friend of the Behan family. After he completed his transcription, he kept the original document in his home, where it was destroyed in a house fire.
== Origins of the conflict ==
=== Earps versus Cowboys ===
The interpersonal conflicts and feuds leading to the gunfight were complex. Each side had strong family ties. The brothers James, Virgil, Wyatt, Morgan, and Warren Earp were a tight-knit family, working together as lawmen, pimps, and saloon owners in several frontier towns, among other occupations, and had moved together from one town to another. Virgil served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and in 1877 became a police officer in Prescott, Arizona Territory. He followed that with a job as a night watchman before he became a constable. Wyatt had held jobs as either a guard or police officer in the cattle-drive towns of Wichita and Dodge City,
Kansas.
James, Virgil, and Wyatt Earp, together with their wives, arrived in Tombstone on December 1, 1879, during the early period of rapid growth associated with mining, when there were only a few hundred residents. Virgil was appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal shortly before he arrived in town. In the summer of 1880, Morgan and Warren Earp also moved to Tombstone. Wyatt arrived hoping he could leave "lawing" behind. He bought a stagecoach, only to find the business was already very competitive. The Earps invested together in several mining claims and water rights. The Earps were Republicans and Northerners who had never worked as cowmen or ranchers.
The Earps quickly came into conflict with Frank and Tom McLaury, Billy and Ike Clanton, Johnny Ringo, and William "Curly Bill" Brocius, among others. They were part of a large, loose association of cattle smugglers and horse thieves known as the Cowboys, outlaws who had been implicated in various crimes. Ike Clanton was prone to drinking heavily and threatened the Earp brothers numerous times.
Tombstone resident George Parson wrote in his diary, "A Cowboy is a rustler at times, and a rustler is a synonym for desperado—bandit, outlaw, and horse thief." The San Francisco Examiner wrote in an editorial, "Cowboys [are] the most reckless class of outlaws in that wild country ... infinitely worse than the ordinary robber." During the 1880s in Cochise County, it was an insult to call a legitimate cattleman a "Cowboy". The Cowboys teamed up for various crimes and came to each other's aid. Virgil thought that some of the Cowboys had met at Charleston and taken "an oath over blood drawn from the arm of Johnny Ringo, the leader, that they would kill us."
=== The Earps as lawmen ===
Among the lawmen involved in the O.K. Corral shooting, only Virgil had any real experience in combat. Virgil had been constable in Prescott and was the deputy United States Marshal in Tombstone. He was appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal for eastern Pima County by U.S. Marshal Crawley Dake, on November 27, 1879, before the Earps arrived in Tombstone on December 1. He was appointed as Tombstone's acting town marshal on September 30, 1880, after popular Tombstone town marshal Fred White was accidentally shot and killed by Brocius. Wyatt had been a deputy city marshal in Kansas, as well as deputy sheriff in Tombstone.
Only six weeks later, Virgil ran for the office on November 12, 1880, but lost to Ben Sippy. However, on June 6, 1881, Sippy asked for a two-week leave of absence. The city soon discovered $3,000 (equivalent to $100,000 in 2025) in financial improprieties in Sippy's records. A few days later Virgil was appointed as town marshal in his place. At the time of the gunfight, Virgil was both Deputy U.S. Marshal and town marshal. The city suspended him as town marshal after Ike Clanton filed murder charges.
After Wyatt first arrived in Tombstone, his business efforts yielded little profit, and he took a job as a stagecoach shotgun messenger for Wells Fargo, guarding shipments of silver bullion. On July 28, 1880, Wyatt was appointed Pima County Deputy Sheriff. He held this position for only three months, until after the election of November 9, 1880, when he resigned. When Virgil was maimed by an assassination attempt, Wyatt was appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal in his place. He held that position until he left Cochise County in April 1882.
Wyatt was an imposing, handsome man: blond, 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, weighing 165 to 170 pounds (75 to 77 kg), broad-shouldered, long-armed, and muscular. He had been a boxer and was reputed to be an expert with a pistol. According to author Leo Silva, Earp showed no fear of any man.
Wyatt had been an assistant marshal when he and policeman James Masterson, along with a few other citizens, fired their pistols at several cowboys who were fleeing town after shooting up a theater. A member of the group, George Hoyt (sometimes spelled Hoy), was shot in the arm and died of his wound a month later. Wyatt always claimed to have been the one to shoot Hoyt, although it could have been anyone among the lawmen. Wyatt had developed a reputation as a no-nonsense, hard-nosed lawman, but prior to the gunfight he had been involved in only one other shooting, in Dodge City, Kansas, during the summer of 1878.
The 1931 book Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal was a best-selling biography by Stuart N. Lake. It established Wyatt Earp's role as a fearless lawman in the American Old West and the legend of the "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" in the public consciousness. But Lake and many others in the popular media wildly exaggerated Wyatt's role as the central figure in the gunfight. It was only discovered much later that Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal, based on eight interviews with Earp, was largely fictional. The book and later Hollywood portrayals embellished Wyatt's reputation and magnified his mystique as a western lawman.
Morgan Earp had been a police officer in Montana, but had no known experience with gunfighting prior to their arrival in Tombstone. While Wyatt was Pima County Deputy Sheriff on July 27, 1880, Morgan Earp took over his job as shotgun messenger for Wells Fargo. Morgan also occasionally assisted Virgil and at the time of the gunfight was a special deputy policeman and drawing pay.
Doc Holliday had a reputation as a gunman and had reportedly been in nine shootouts during his life, although it has only been verified that he killed three men. One well-documented episode occurred on July 19, 1879, when Holliday and his business partner, former deputy marshal John Joshua Webb, were seated in their saloon in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Former U.S. Army scout Mike Gordon got into a loud argument with one of the saloon girls whom he wanted to take with him. Gordon stormed from the saloon and began firing his revolver into the building. Before Gordon could get off his second shot, Holliday killed him. Holliday was tried for murder but acquitted, mostly based on the testimony of Webb.
Holliday had saved Wyatt Earp's life at one time and had become a close friend. He had been living in Prescott, Arizona Territory and making a living as a gambler since late 1879. There, he first met future Tombstone sheriff Johnny Behan, a sometime gambler and saloon owner. In late September 1880, Holliday followed the Earps to Tombstone.
=== Rural Cowboys vs. Tombstone interests ===
The ranch owned by Newman Haynes Clanton near Charleston, Arizona was believed to be the local center for the Cowboys' illegal activities. Tom and Frank McLaury worked with the rustlers buying and selling stolen cattle.
Many of the rural ranchers and Cowboys resented the growing influence of the city residents over county politics and law enforcement. The ranchers largely maintained control of the country outside Tombstone, due in large part to the sympathetic support of Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan, who favored the Cowboys and rural ranchers, and who also grew to intensely dislike the Earps. Behan tended to ignore the Earps' complaints about the McLaurys' and Clantons' horse thieving and cattle rustling. The Earps were known to bend the law in their favor when it affected their gambling and saloon interests, which earned them further enmity with the Cowboy faction.
=== Relevant law in Tombstone ===
To reduce crime in Tombstone, on April 19, 1881, the city council passed ordinance 9, requiring anyone carrying a bowie knife, dirk, pistol or rifle to deposit their weapons at a livery or saloon soon after entering town.
To Provide against Carrying of Deadly Weapons
Section 1. It is hereby declared unlawful to carry in the hand or upon the person or otherwise any deadly weapon within the limits of said city of Tombstone, without first obtaining a permit in writing.
Section 2: This prohibition does not extend to persons immediately leaving or entering the city, who, with good faith, and within reasonable time are proceeding to deposit, or take from the place of deposit such deadly weapon.
Section 3: All fire-arms of every description, and bowie knives and dirks, are included within the prohibition of this ordinance.
The ordinance was the legal basis for City Marshal Virgil Earp's decision to confront the Cowboys on the day of the shootout.
=== Smuggling and stock thefts ===
In the borderlands south of Tombstone there was only one passable route between Arizona and Mexico, a passage known as Guadalupe Canyon. In August 1881, 15 Mexicans carrying gold, coins and bullion to make their purchases were ambushed and killed in Skeleton Canyon. The next month, Mexican Commandant Felipe Neri dispatched troops to the border, where they killed five Cowboys, including Newman Haynes "Old Man" Clanton, in Guadalupe Canyon.
The Earps knew that the McLaurys and Clantons were reputed to be mixed up in the robbery and murder in Skeleton Canyon. Wyatt Earp said in his testimony after the shootout, "I naturally kept my eyes open and did not intend that any of the gang should get the drop on me if I could help it."
=== Earp loses sheriff's office to Behan ===
On July 27, 1880, Pima County Sheriff Charles A. Shibell, whose offices were in the county seat of Tucson, appointed Wyatt Earp as deputy sheriff. On October 28, 1880, Tombstone Marshal Fred White attempted to disarm some late-night revelers who were shooting their pistols in the air. When he attempted to disarm Curly Bill Brocius, the gun discharged, striking White in the abdomen. Wyatt saw the shooting and pistol-whipped Brocius, knocking him unconscious, and arrested him. Wyatt later told his biographer John Flood that he thought Brocius was still armed at the time, and did not see Brocius' pistol on the ground.
Brocius waived the preliminary hearing so he and his case could be immediately transferred to Tucson. Wyatt and a deputy took Brocius in a wagon the next day to Tucson to stand trial, possibly saving him from being lynched. Wyatt testified that he thought the shooting was accidental. It was also demonstrated that Brocius's pistol could be fired from half-cock. Fred White left a statement before he died two days later that the shooting was not intentional. Based on the evidence presented, Brocius was not charged with White's death.
The Tombstone council convened and appointed Virgil Earp as "temporary assistant city marshal" to replace White for a salary of $100 per month (equivalent to $3,300 in 2025) until an election could be held on November 12. For the next few weeks, Virgil represented federal and local law enforcement and Wyatt represented Pima County.
In the November 2, 1880, election for Pima County sheriff, Democrat Shibell ran against Republican Bob Paul, who was expected to win. Votes arrived as late as November 7, and Shibell was unexpectedly re-elected. He immediately appointed Johnny Behan as the new deputy sheriff for eastern Pima County, a job that Wyatt wanted. A controversy ensued when Paul uncovered ballot-stuffing by Cowboys and he sued to overturn the election. While San Simeon precinct, east of Tombstone, only had 10 registered voters, Shibell won that precinct with 103 votes to 1. Ike Clanton was the election inspector and Johnny Ringo was one of the election judges.
Paul finally became sheriff in April 1881, but it was too late to re-appoint Wyatt Earp as deputy sheriff because on February 1, 1881, the eastern portion of Pima County containing Tombstone had been split off into the new Cochise County, which would need its own sheriff, based in the county's largest city, Tombstone. This position was filled by a political appointment from the governor, and Wyatt and Behan both wanted the job. The Cochise County sheriff's position was worth more than $40,000 a year (equivalent to $1.3 million in 2025) because the office holder was also county assessor and tax collector, and the board of supervisors allowed him to keep ten percent of the amounts paid.
Behan used his existing position and his superior political connections to successfully lobby for the position. He also promised Wyatt a position as his undersheriff if he was appointed over Wyatt. Wyatt withdrew from the political contest and the governor and legislature appointed Behan to the job of Cochise County sheriff on February 10, 1881. Behan reneged on his deal with Earp and appointed Harry Woods as undersheriff instead. Behan said he broke his promise to appoint Earp because Wyatt Earp used Behan's name to threaten Ike Clanton when Wyatt recovered his stolen horse from Clanton.
== Earp conflicts with Cowboys ==
Tensions between the Earp family and both the Clanton and McLaury clans increased through 1881. On July 25, 1880, Captain Joseph H. Hurst, of Company A, 12th U.S. Infantry, and Commanding Officer of Fort Bennett, asked Deputy U.S. Marshal Virgil Earp to help him track Cowboys who had stolen six U.S. Army mules from Camp Rucker. This was a federal matter because the animals were U.S. property. Hurst brought four soldiers, and Virgil invited Wyatt and Morgan Earp, as well as Wells Fargo agent Marshall Williams. The posse found the mules on the McLaury's Ranch on Babacomari Creek, northwest of Tombstone, as well as the branding iron used to change the "US" brand to "D8."
To avoid bloodshed, Cowboy Frank Patterson promised Hurst they would return the mules and Hurst persuaded the posse to withdraw. Hurst went to nearby Charleston, but the Cowboys showed up two days later without the mules, laughing at Hurst and the Earps. In response, Hurst had printed and distributed a handbill in which he named Frank McLaury as specifically assisting with hiding the mules. He re-printed this in The Tombstone Epitaph on July 30, 1880. Virgil later said that McLaury had asked him if he had posted the handbills. When Virgil said he had not, McLaury said if Virgil had printed the handbills it was Frank's intention to kill Virgil. He warned Virgil, "If you ever again follow us as close as you did, then you will have to fight anyway." This incident was the first run-in between the Clantons and McLaurys and the Earps.
=== March stagecoach robbery and murder ===
On the evening of March 15, 1881, a Kinnear & Company stagecoach carrying $26,000 in silver bullion (equivalent to $870,000 in 2025) was en route from Tombstone to Benson, Arizona, the nearest freight terminal. Bob Paul, who had run for Pima County Sheriff and was contesting the election he lost due to ballot-stuffing, was temporarily working once again as the Wells Fargo shotgun messenger. He had taken the reins and driver's seat in Contention City because the usual driver, a well-known and popular man named Eli "Bud" Philpot, was ill. Philpot was riding shotgun.
Near Drew's Station, just outside Contention City, a man stepped into the road and commanded them to "Hold!" Three Cowboys attempted to rob the stage. Paul, in the driver's seat, fired his shotgun and emptied his revolver at the robbers, wounding a Cowboy later identified as Bill Leonard in the groin. Philpot, riding shotgun, and passenger Peter Roerig, riding in the rear dickey seat, were both shot and killed. The horses spooked and Paul was not able to bring the stage under control for almost one mile (1.6 km), leaving the robbers with nothing. Paul, who normally rode shotgun, later said he thought the first shot killing Philpot had been meant for him.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Virgil Earp, along with temporary federal deputies Wyatt and Morgan Earp, Wells Fargo agent Marshall Williams, former Kansas Sheriff Bat Masterson (who was dealing faro at the Oriental Saloon), and County Sheriff Behan set out to find the robbers. Wells Fargo issued a wanted poster offering a $3,600 reward (equivalent to $120,000 in 2025) for the three robbers ($1,200 each), dead or alive. Robbery of a mail-carrying stagecoach was both a federal crime and territorial crime, and the posse consisted of both county and federal authorities and deputies.
The posse trailed the robbers to a nearby ranch where they found a drifter named Luther King. He would not tell who his confederates were until the posse lied and told him that Doc Holliday's girlfriend had been shot. Fearful of Holliday's reputation, he confessed to holding the reins of the robbers' horses, and identified Bill Leonard, Harry "The Kid" Head, and Jim Crane as the robbers. They were all known Cowboys and rustlers. Behan and Williams escorted King back to Tombstone.
Remarkably, King walked in the front door of the jail and a few minutes later walked out the back. King had arranged with Undersheriff Harry Woods (publisher of the Nugget) to sell the horse he had been riding to John Dunbar, Sheriff Behan's partner in the Dexter Livery Stable. On March 19, King conveniently escaped while Dunbar and Woods were making out the bill-of-sale. Woods claimed that someone had deliberately unlocked a secured back door to the jail. The Earps and the townspeople were furious at King's easy escape. Williams was later dismissed from Wells Fargo, leaving behind a number of debts, when it was determined he had been stealing from the company for years.
The Earps pursued the other two men for 17 days, riding for 60 hours without food and 36 hours without water, during which Bob Paul's horse died, and Wyatt and Morgan's horses became so weak that the two men walked 18 miles (29 km) back to Tombstone to obtain new horses. After pursuing the Cowboys for over 400 miles (640 km) they could not obtain more fresh horses and were forced to give up the chase. They returned to Tombstone on April 1.
Behan submitted a bill for $796.84, equivalent to $27,000 in 2025, to the county for posse expenses, but he refused to reimburse the Earps for any of their costs. Virgil was incensed. They were later reimbursed by Wells, Fargo & Co., but the incident caused further friction between county and federal law enforcement, and between Behan and the Earps.
After he was passed over by Johnny Behan for the position of undersheriff, Wyatt thought he might beat him in the next Cochise County election in late 1882. He thought catching the murderers of Bud Philpot and Peter Roerig would help him win the sheriff's office. Wyatt later said that on June 2, 1881, he offered the Wells, Fargo & Co. reward money and more to Ike Clanton if he would provide information leading to the capture or death of the stage robbers. According to Wyatt, Ike was initially interested, but the plan was foiled when the three suspects — Leonard, Head and Crane — were killed in unrelated incidents.
Ike began to fear that word of his possible cooperation had leaked, threatening to compromise his standing among the Cowboys. Undercover Wells Fargo Company agent M. Williams suspected a deal, and said something to Ike, who was fearful that other Cowboys might learn of his double-cross. Ike now began to threaten Wyatt and Doc Holliday (who had learned of the deal) for apparently revealing Ike's willingness to help arrest his friends.
The fallout over the Cowboys' attempt to implicate Holliday and the Earps in the robbery, along with Behan's involvement in King's escape, was the beginning of increasingly bad feelings between the Earp brothers and Cowboy factions.
=== Earp and Behan attracted to Josephine Marcus ===
Wyatt Earp and Cochise County sheriff Johnny Behan were interested in the same sheriff's position and also might have shared an interest in the same woman, Josephine Marcus, known as Sadie. Citizens of Tombstone believed that Behan and Sadie were married, but Behan was a known womanizer and had sex with prostitutes and other women. In early 1881, Sadie ended the relationship after she came home and found Behan in bed with the wife of a friend and kicked him out, although she used the Behan surname through the end of that summer. She rented her home sometime before April 1881 to Dr. George Goodfellow.
Wyatt Earp lived with Mattie Blaylock, who was listed as his wife in the 1880 census. She had a growing addiction to the opiate laudanum, which was readily available at the time. Earp remained with Blaylock until he left Tombstone in April 1882. There are no contemporary Tombstone records that indicate a relationship between Sadie and Earp, but Earp certainly knew her, because both Behan and Earp had offices above the Crystal Palace Saloon.
Sadie, traveling as either Mrs. J. C. Earp or Mrs. Wyatt Earp, left for Los Angeles on March 25, 1882, and then returned to her family in San Francisco. In July 1882, Wyatt left Colorado and went to San Francisco, where he sought out Sadie and his brother Virgil, who was seeking treatment for his arm. In February or March 1883, Sadie and Earp left San Francisco for Gunnison, where Earp ran a Faro bank until he received a request in April for assistance from Luke Short in Dodge City. Sadie was his common-law wife for the next 46 years.
=== September stage holdup ===
Tensions between the Earps and the McLaurys further increased when another passenger stage on the 'Sandy Bob Line' in the Tombstone area, bound for Bisbee, was held up on September 8, 1881. The masked bandits robbed all of the passengers of their valuables since the stage was not carrying a strongbox. During the robbery, the driver heard one of the robbers describe the money as "sugar", a phrase known to be used by Frank Stilwell. Stilwell had, until the prior month, been a deputy for Sheriff Behan but had been fired for "accounting irregularities".
Wyatt and Virgil Earp rode with a sheriff's posse and tracked the Bisbee stage robbers. Virgil had been appointed Tombstone's town marshal (i.e., chief of police) on June 6, 1881, after Ben Sippy abandoned the job. Virgil at the same time continued to hold his position of deputy U.S. marshal, and it was in this federal capacity that he continued to chase robbers of stage coaches outside Tombstone city limits. At the scene of the holdup, Wyatt discovered an unusual boot print left by someone wearing a custom-repaired boot heel. The Earps checked a shoe repair shop in Bisbee known to provide widened boot heels and were able to link the boot print to Stilwell.
==== Stilwell and Spence arrests ====
Frank Stilwell had just arrived in Bisbee with his livery stable partner, Pete Spence, when the two were arrested by Deputy U.S. Marshal Virgil Earp for the holdup. Both were friends of Ike Clanton and the McLaurys. At the preliminary hearing, Stilwell and Spence were able to provide several witnesses who supported their alibis. Judge Spicer dropped the charges for insufficient evidence just as he had done for Doc Holliday earlier in the year.
Released on bail, Spence and Stilwell were re-arrested October 13 by Marshal Virgil Earp for the Bisbee robbery on a new federal charge of interfering with a mail carrier. The newspapers, however, reported that they had been arrested for a different stage robbery that occurred on October 8 near Contention City.
Ike and other Cowboys believed the new arrest was further evidence that the Earps were illegally persecuting the Cowboys. They told the Earps that they could expect retaliation. While Virgil and Wyatt were in Tucson for the federal hearing on the charges against Spence and Stilwell, Frank McLaury confronted Morgan Earp. He told him that the McLaurys would kill the Earps if they tried to arrest Spence, Stilwell, or the McLaurys again. The Tombstone Epitaph reported "that since the arrest of Spence and Stilwell, veiled threats [are] being made that the friends of the accused will 'get the Earps.'"
==== Cowboys accuse Holliday of robbery ====
Milt Joyce, a county supervisor and owner of the Oriental Saloon, had a contentious relationship with Doc Holliday. In October 1880, Holliday had trouble with a gambler named Johnny Tyler in Milt Joyce's Oriental Saloon. Tyler had been hired by a competing gambling establishment to drive customers from Joyce's saloon. Holliday challenged Tyler to a fight, but Tyler ran. Joyce did not like Holliday or the Earps and he continued to argue with Holliday.
Joyce ordered Holliday removed from the saloon but would not return Holliday's revolver. But Holliday returned carrying a double-action revolver. Milt brandished a pistol and threatened Holliday, but Holliday shot Joyce in the palm, disarming him, and then shot Joyce's business partner William Parker in the big toe. Joyce then hit Holliday over the head with his revolver. Holliday was arrested and pleaded guilty to assault and battery.
Holliday and his on-again, off-again mistress Big Nose Kate had many fights. After a particularly nasty, drunken argument, Holliday kicked her out. County Sheriff John Behan and Milt Joyce saw an opportunity and exploited the situation. They plied Big Nose Kate with more booze and suggested to her a way to get even with Holliday. She signed an affidavit implicating Holliday in the attempted stagecoach robbery and murders. Holliday was a good friend of Bill Leonard, a former watchmaker from New York, one of three men implicated in the robbery.
Judge Wells Spicer issued an arrest warrant for Holliday. The Earps found witnesses who could attest to Holliday's location at the time of the murders and Kate sobered up, revealing that Behan and Joyce had influenced her to sign a document she did not understand. With the Cowboy plot revealed, Spicer freed Holliday. The district attorney threw out the charges, labeling them "ridiculous." Doc gave Kate some money and put her on a stage out of town.
=== Ike Clanton's conflict with Doc Holliday ===
Wyatt Earp testified after the gunfight that five or six weeks prior he had met Ike Clanton outside the Alhambra Hotel. Ike told Wyatt that Doc Holliday had told him he knew of Ike's meetings with Wyatt and about Ike providing information on Head, Leonard, and Crane, as well as their attempted robbery of the stage. Ike now accused Earp of telling Holliday about these conversations. Earp testified that he told Ike he had not told Holliday anything. Wyatt Earp offered to prove this when Holliday and the Clantons next returned to town.
A month later, the weekend before the shootout, Morgan Earp was concerned about possible trouble with the Cowboys. He asked Doc Holliday to come back to Tombstone from a fiesta celebration in Tucson where Holliday had been gambling. Upon his return, Wyatt Earp asked Holliday about Ike's accusation.
On the morning of Tuesday, October 25, 1881, the day before the gunfight, Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury drove 10 miles (16 km) in a spring wagon from Chandler's Milk Ranch at the foot of the Dragoon Mountains to Tombstone. They were in town to sell a large number of beef stock, most of them owned by the McLaurys. Fred Dodge, an undercover detective for Wells Fargo, heard from J.B. Ayers, another undercover Wells Fargo man in Contention, that Frank McLaury, Billy Clanton, and Billy Claiborne were in town and planning to join Ike and Tom in Tombstone Wednesday afternoon. Dodge, who had been sick, got up and went looking for city marshal Virgil Earp. He found Tombstone Deputy City Marshal Morgan Earp at the Alhambra Saloon instead and told him the news.
Near midnight, Holliday saw Clanton in the Alhambra Saloon and confronted him, accusing him of lying about their previous conversations. They got into a heated argument. Wyatt Earp, who was not wearing a badge, encouraged his brother Morgan to intervene. Morgan took Holliday out onto the street and Ike, who had been drinking steadily, followed them. City Marshal Virgil Earp arrived a few minutes later and threatened to arrest both Holliday and Clanton if they did not stop quarreling.
Wyatt Earp walked over to the Oriental Saloon and Ike followed him. They talked again, and Ike threatened to confront Holliday in the morning. Ike told Earp that the fighting talk had been going on for a long time and that he intended to put an end to it. Ike told Earp, "I will be ready for you in the morning." Wyatt told Ike to go home "because there was no money in it." Ike sat down near Wyatt, his revolver in plain sight, and told Earp "You must not think I won't be after you all in the morning." Virgil Earp went to the Occidental Saloon across the street.
== Morning of the gunfight ==
=== Events leading up to the Ike Clanton court hearing ===
After Holliday's confrontation with Ike Clanton, Wyatt Earp took Holliday back to his room at Camillus Sidney "Buck" Fly's Lodging House to sleep off his drinking, then went home and to bed. Tombstone Marshal Virgil Earp played poker with Ike Clanton, Tom McLaury, Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan and a fifth unnamed man in a back room of the Occidental Saloon until morning.
At about dawn on October 26, the card game broke up and Behan and Virgil Earp went home to bed. Ike Clanton testified later he saw Virgil take his six-shooter out of his lap and stick it in his pants when the game ended. Not having rented a room, Tom McLaury and Ike Clanton had no place to go. Shortly after 8:00 am barkeeper E. F. Boyle spoke to Ike Clanton in front of the telegraph office. Clanton had been drinking all night and Boyle encouraged him to get some sleep, but Ike insisted he would not go to bed. Boyle later testified he noticed Ike was armed and covered his gun for him.
Boyle later said that Ike told him, "'As soon as the Earps and Doc Holliday showed themselves on the street, the ball would open — that they would have to fight' ... I went down to Wyatt Earp's house and told him that Ike Clanton had threatened that when Wyatt, his brothers, and Doc Holliday showed themselves on the street that the ball would open." Ike said in his testimony afterward that he remembered neither meeting Boyle nor making any such statements that day. Deputy Marshal Andy Bronk also heard the talk around town. He woke Virgil, who listened, and went back to sleep. Ike's continuous threats were not worth losing sleep over.
Later in the morning, Ike picked up his rifle and revolver from the West End Corral, where he had deposited his weapons and stabled his wagon and team after entering town. By noon that day, Ike was still drinking and once again armed, in violation of the city ordinance against carrying firearms in the city. He told anyone who would listen he was looking for Holliday or an Earp. At Fly's boarding house where Holliday and his common-law wife Mary Katharine Horony were sleeping, proprietor Mary Fly heard Clanton's threats and banged on Holliday's door. Fly told Horony, "Ike Clanton was here looking for [Holliday], and he had a rifle with him." Horony woke Holliday and relayed the threat, who replied, "If God will let me live to get my clothes on, he will see me."
At about 1:00 p.m., Marshal Virgil and his Deputy Morgan Earp found Ike on Fourth Street, still armed, and Virgil pistol whipped him from behind. Disarming him, the Earps took Ike to appear before Justice of the Peace A.O. Wallace for violating the ordinance. Wyatt waited with Ike while Virgil went to find Justice Wallace so a court hearing could be held.
=== Ike Clanton court hearing ===
While Wyatt waited for Virgil to return with Justice Wallace, witnesses overheard Wyatt tell Ike, "You cattle thieving son-of-a-bitch, and you know that I know you are a cattle thieving son-of-a-bitch, you've threatened my life enough, and you've got to fight!", Ike Clanton was heard to reply, "Fight is my racket, and all I want is four feet of ground!"
Ike reported in his testimony afterward that Wyatt Earp cursed him. He said Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan offered him his rifle and to fight him right there in the courthouse, which Ike declined. Ike also denied ever threatening the Earps. Justice Wallace fined Ike $25 (equivalent to $830 in 2025) plus court costs. Ike paid the fine and Virgil told Ike he could pick up his confiscated rifle and revolver at the Grand Hotel, which was favored by Cowboys when in town. Ike testified that he picked up the weapons from William Soule, the jailer, a couple of days later.
=== Tom McLaury's concealed weapon ===
Outside the court house where Ike was being fined, Tombstone Deputy Marshal Wyatt almost walked into 28-year-old Tom McLaury as the two men were brought up short nose-to-nose. Tom, who had arrived in town the day before, was required by the well-known city ordinance to deposit his pistol when he first arrived in town. When Wyatt demanded, "Are you heeled or not?", McLaury said he was not armed. Wyatt testified that he saw a revolver in plain sight on the right hip of Tom's pants.
As an unpaid deputy marshal for Virgil, Wyatt habitually carried a pistol, in his waistband or in a coat pocket lined with leather to make drawing it easier. Witnesses reported that Wyatt drew his revolver from his coat pocket and pistol whipped Tom McLaury with it twice, leaving him prostrate and bleeding on the street. Saloon-keeper Andrew Mehan testified at the Spicer hearing afterward that he saw McLaury deposit a revolver at the Capital Saloon sometime between 1:00–2:00 p.m., after the confrontation with Wyatt, which Mehan also witnessed.
Wyatt said in his deposition afterward that he had been temporarily acting as city marshal for Virgil the week before while Virgil was in Tucson for the Pete Spence and Frank Stilwell trial. Wyatt said that he still considered himself a deputy city marshal, which Virgil later confirmed. Since Wyatt was an off-duty officer, he could not legally search or arrest Tom for carrying a revolver within the city limits — a misdemeanor offense. Only Virgil or one of his city police deputies, including Morgan Earp and possibly Warren Earp, could search him and take any required action. Wyatt, who was portrayed as a non-drinker, testified at the Spicer hearing that he went to Haffords and bought a cigar and went outside to watch the Cowboys. At the time of the gunfight about two hours later, Wyatt could not know if Tom was still armed.
It was early afternoon by the time Ike and Tom had seen doctors for their head wounds. The day was chilly, with snow still on the ground in some places. Both Tom and Ike had spent the night gambling, drinking heavily, and without sleep. Now they were both out-of-doors, both wounded from head beatings, and at least Ike was still drunk.
=== More Cowboys enter town ===
At around 1:30–2:00 p.m., after Tom had been pistol-whipped by Wyatt, Ike's 19-year-old younger brother Billy Clanton and Tom's older brother Frank McLaury arrived in town. They had heard from their neighbor, Ed "Old Man" Frink, that Ike had been stirring up trouble in town overnight, and they had ridden into town on horseback to back up their brothers.
They arrived from Antelope Springs, 13 miles (21 km) east of Tombstone, where they had been rounding up stock and had breakfasted with Ike and Tom the day before. Both Frank and Billy were armed with a revolver and a rifle, as was the custom for riders in the country outside Tombstone. Apache warriors had engaged the U.S. Army near Tombstone just three weeks before the O.K. Corral gunfight, so the need for weapons outside of town was well established and accepted.
Billy and Frank stopped first at the Grand Hotel on Allen Street, and were greeted by Doc Holliday. They learned immediately about their brothers' beatings by the Earps within the previous two hours. The incidents had generated a lot of talk in town. Angrily, Frank said he would not drink, and he and Billy left the saloon immediately to seek Tom. By law, both Frank and Billy should have left their firearms at the Grand Hotel. Instead, they remained fully armed.
=== Virgil and Wyatt Earp's reactions ===
Wyatt said that he saw Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury in Spangenberg's gun and hardware store on 4th Street filling their gun belts with cartridges. Ike testified afterward that Tom was not there and that he had tried to buy a new revolver but the owner saw Ike's bandaged head and refused to sell him one. Ike, apparently, had not heard Virgil tell him that his confiscated weapons were at the Grand Hotel around the corner from Spangenberg's shop.
When Virgil Earp learned that Wyatt was talking to the Cowboys at Spangenberg's gun shop, he went there himself. Virgil testified afterward that he thought he saw all four men, Ike Clanton, Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury, and Tom McLaury, buying cartridges. Virgil went around the corner on Allen Street to the Wells Fargo office, where he picked up a 10-gauge or 12-gauge, short, double-barreled shotgun. It was an unusually cold and windy day in Tombstone, and Virgil was wearing a long overcoat. To avoid alarming Tombstone's public, Virgil hid the shotgun under his overcoat when he returned to Hafford's Saloon.
From Spangenberg's, the Cowboys moved to the O.K. Corral where witnesses overheard them threatening to kill the Earps. For unknown reasons the Cowboys then walked out the back of the O.K. Corral and then west, stopping in a narrow, empty lot next to C. S. Fly's boarding house.
Virgil initially avoided a confrontation with the newly arrived Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton, who had not yet deposited their weapons at a hotel or stable as the law required. The statute was not specific about how far a recently arrived visitor might "with good faith, and within reasonable time" travel into town while carrying a firearm. This permitted a traveler to keep his firearms if he was proceeding directly to a livery, hotel or saloon. The three main Tombstone corrals were all west of 4th Street between Allen and Fremont, a block or two from where Wyatt saw the Cowboys buying cartridges. Miner Ruben F. Coleman later told The Tombstone Epitaph:
I was in the O.K. Corral at 2:30 p.m. when I saw the two Clantons and the two McLaurys in an earnest conversation across the street at Dunbar's corral. I went up the street and notified Sheriff Behan and told them it was my opinion that they meant trouble, and it was his duty, as sheriff, to go and disarm them. I told him they had gone to the West End Corral. I then went and saw Marshal Virgil Earp and notified him to the same effect.
=== Behan attempts to disarm Cowboys ===
Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan, a friend of the Cowboys, later testified that he woke up about 1:30 p.m. after the late-night card game he went to get a shave at a barbershop. That is where he first learned that the Cowboys were armed. Behan stated he quickly finished his shave and went to locate the Cowboys. At about 2:30 p.m. he found Frank McLaury holding a horse and talking to someone on 4th Street near the corner of Fremont. When he saw Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury near C. S. Fly's photography studio, he walked there with Frank. He told the Cowboys that they must give up their arms. Ike Clanton said he was not armed, and Tom McLaury pulled his coat open to show he was not carrying a weapon.
The Cowboys were located in a narrow 15–20 feet (4.6–6.1 m) lot between the Harwood house and Fly's 12-room boarding house and photography studio at 312 Fremont Street, where Doc Holliday roomed.
Behan later said he attempted to persuade Frank McLaury to give up his weapons, but Frank insisted that he would give up his guns only after City Marshal Virgil Earp and his brothers were first disarmed.
The Cowboys were about a block and a half from the West End Corral at 2nd. Street and Fremont, where Ike and Tom's wagon and team were stabled. Virgil Earp later testified that he thought Ike and Tom were stabled at the O.K. Corral on Allen between 3rd and 4th, from which he thought they would be departing if they were leaving town.
While Ike Clanton later said he was planning to leave town, Frank McLaury reported that he had decided to remain behind to take care of some business. Will McLaury, Tom and Frank's brother and a judge in Fort Worth, Texas, claimed in a letter he wrote during the preliminary hearing after the shootout that Tom and Frank were still armed because they were planning to conduct business before leaving town to visit him in Texas. He wrote that Billy Clanton, who had arrived on horseback with Frank, intended to go with the McLaurys to Fort Worth.
Will McLaury came to Tombstone after the gun fight and joined the prosecution team in an attempt to convict the Earps and Holliday for his brothers' murder. Paul Johnson told a different story, that the McLaurys were about to leave for Iowa to attend the wedding of their sister, Sarah Caroline. Tom and Frank were especially close to Sarah, one of their 14 siblings and half-siblings. Caroline married James Reed in Richland, Iowa at the end of November that year.
=== Virgil decides to disarm Cowboys ===
Citizens reported to Virgil on the Cowboys' movements and their threats told him that Ike and Tom had left their livery stable and entered town while armed, in violation of the city ordinance. Virgil Earp was told by several citizens that the McLaurys and the Clantons had gathered on Fremont Street. Virgil decided he had to disarm the Cowboys. His decision to take action may have been influenced by the Cowboys' repeated threats to the Earps, their proximity to Holliday's room in Fly's boarding house, and their location on the route the Earps usually took to their homes two blocks further west on Fremont Street.
Several members of the citizen's vigilance committee offered to support him with arms, but Virgil refused. He had, during the prior month, appointed Morgan as a Special Policeman. He had also appointed Wyatt as a Special Policeman while Virgil had been in Prescott on business. He had also called on Doc Holliday that morning for help with disarming the Clantons and McLaurys. Wyatt spoke of his brothers Virgil and Morgan as the "marshals" while he acted as "deputy."
Virgil Earp picked up the shotgun he had retrieved from the Wells Fargo office earlier. He gave the shotgun to Doc Holliday who hid it under his overcoat. He took Holliday's walking-stick in return.
As usual, the Earps carried their revolvers in their coat pockets or in their waistbands. Wyatt Earp was carrying a .44 caliber American 1869 Smith & Wesson revolver. Holliday was carrying a nickel-plated pistol in a holster, concealed by his long coat, as was the shotgun. The Earps and Holliday walked west, down the south side of Fremont Street past the rear entrance to the O.K. Corral, but out of visual range of the Cowboys' last reported location.
Near the corner of Fourth St. and Fremont St., the Earps ran into Sheriff Behan. He had left the Cowboys and came toward the Earps, though he looked nervously backward several times. Virgil testified afterward that Behan told them, "For God's sake, don't go down there or they will murder you!" Wyatt said Behan told him and Morgan, "I have disarmed them." Behan testified afterward that he had only said he had gone down to the Cowboys "for the purpose of disarming them," not that he had actually disarmed them. One eyewitness, laundryman Peter H. Fallehy, testified afterward that Virgil Earp told Behan, "those men have made their threats and I will not arrest them but I will kill them on sight."
When Behan said he had disarmed them, Virgil attempted to avoid a fight. "I had a walking stick in my left hand and my hand was on my six-shooter in my waist pants, and when he said he had disarmed them, I shoved it clean around to my left hip and changed my walking stick to my right hand." Wyatt said, "I took my pistol, which I had in my hand, under my coat, and put it in my overcoat pocket." The Earps walked further down Fremont street and came into full view of the Cowboys in the lot.
Wyatt testified he saw "Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury, and Billy Clanton standing in a row against the east side of the building on the opposite side of the vacant space west of Fly's photograph gallery. Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne and a man I don't know [Wes Fuller] were standing in the vacant space about halfway between the photograph gallery and the next building west." Addie Bourland corroborated Wyatt's testimony, stating that she saw "five men opposite my house, leaning against a small house west of Fly's Gallery and one man was holding a horse, standing a little out from the house."
== The gunfight ==
Martha J. King was in Bauer's butcher shop located on Fremont Street. She testified that when the Earp party passed by her location, one of the Earps on the outside of the group looked across and said to Doc Holliday nearest the store, "... let them have it!" to which Holliday replied, "All right."
=== Physical proximity ===
When the Earps approached the lot, the four lawmen initially faced six Cowboys: Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury, Billy Clanton, Billy Claiborne, Wes Fuller, and Ike Clanton. When the Cowboys saw the officers, they stepped away from the Harwood house.
In testimony given by witnesses afterward, they disagreed about the precise location of the men before, during and after the gunfight. The coroner's inquest and the Spicer hearing produced a sketch showing the Cowboys standing, from left to right facing Fremont Street, with Billy Clanton and then Frank McLaury near the Harwood house and Tom McLaury and Ike Clanton roughly in the middle of the lot.
Opposite them and initially only about 6 to 10 feet (1.8 to 3.0 m) away, Virgil Earp was on the left end of the Earp party, standing a few feet inside the vacant lot and nearest Ike Clanton. Behind him a few feet near the corner of C. S. Fly's boarding house was Wyatt. Morgan Earp was standing on Fremont Street to Wyatt's right, and Doc Holliday anchored the end of their line in Fremont Street, a few feet to Morgan's right.
Wyatt Earp drew a sketch in 1924 and another with John Flood on September 15, 1926, that depicted Billy Clanton near the middle of the lot, close to the Harwood house. Tom and Frank McLaury stood deeper in the lot. Frank was in the center between the two buildings, holding the reins of his horse. Tom was closer to C. S. Fly's boarding house. According to Wyatt's sketches, Morgan was on the right of the lawmen, close to the Harwood house, opposite Billy Clanton near the Harwood house and close to Fremont St. Virgil was deeper in the lot, opposite Frank and Ike Clanton. Wyatt was to Virgil's left, opposite Tom. Doc Holliday hung back a step or two on Fremont Street. Neither of Wyatt's sketches included Ike Clanton or Billy Claiborne, who ran from the fight.
=== Gun battle begins ===
Virgil Earp was not expecting a fight. After Behan said that he had disarmed the Cowboys, Virgil and Wyatt put the pistols they had been holding in their waistband or overcoat pocket. Holliday had a short coach gun concealed under his long jacket.
Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury wore revolvers in holsters on their belts and stood alongside their saddled horses with rifles in their scabbards conversing with an unknown man, purported to be Calico Jones, possibly in violation of the city ordinance prohibiting carrying weapons in town.
When Virgil saw the Cowboys, he testified, he immediately commanded the Cowboys to "Throw up your hands, I want your guns!" Wyatt said Virgil told the Cowboys, "Throw up your hands; I have come to disarm you!" Virgil and Wyatt both testified they saw Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton draw and cock their single action six shot revolvers as Calico Jones escaped down an adjacent alley back towards The O.K. Corral. Virgil yelled: "Hold! I don't mean that!" or "Hold on, I don't want that!"
Jeff Morey, who served as the historical consultant on the film Tombstone, compared testimony by partisan and neutral witnesses and came to the conclusion that the Earps described the situation accurately.
Who started shooting first is not certain; accounts by both participants and eyewitnesses are contradictory. The smoke from the black powder used in the weapons added to the confusion of the gunfight in the narrow space. Those loyal to one side or the other told conflicting stories, and independent eyewitnesses who did not know the participants by sight were unable to say for certain who shot first. The six or seven men with guns fired about 30 shots in around 30 seconds.
First two shots
Virgil Earp reported afterward, "Two shots went off right together. Billy Clanton's was one of them." Wyatt testified, "Billy Clanton leveled his pistol at me, but I did not aim at him. I knew that Frank McLaury had the reputation of being a good shot and a dangerous man, and I aimed at Frank McLaury." He said he shot Frank McLaury after both he and Billy Clanton went for their revolvers: "The first two shots were fired by Billy Clanton and myself, he shooting at me, and I shooting at Frank McLaury." Morey agreed that Billy Clanton and Wyatt Earp fired first. Clanton missed, but Earp shot Frank McLaury in the stomach.
All witnesses generally agreed that the first two shots were almost indistinguishable from each other. General firing immediately broke out. Virgil and Wyatt thought Tom was armed. When the shooting started, the horse that Tom McLaury held jumped to one side. Wyatt said he also saw Tom throw his hand to his right hip. Virgil said Tom followed the horse's movement, hiding behind it, and fired once or twice over the horse's back.
Holliday shoots Tom
According to one witness, Holliday drew a "large bronze pistol" (interpreted by some as Virgil's coach gun) from under his long coat, stepped around Tom McLaury's horse, and shot him with the double-barreled shotgun in the chest at close range.
Witness C. H. "Ham" Light saw Tom running or stumbling westward on Fremont Street towards Third Street, away from the gunfight, while Frank and Billy were still standing and shooting. Light testified that Tom fell at the foot of a telegraph pole on the corner of Fremont and 3rd Street and lay there, without moving, through the duration of the fight. Fallehy also saw Tom stagger across the street until he fell on his back. After shooting Tom, Holliday tossed the empty shotgun aside, pulled out his nickel-plated revolver, and continued to fire at Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton.
Cowboys run
Ike Clanton had been publicly threatening to kill the Earps for several months, including very loud threats on the day before. Wyatt told the court afterward that Clanton had bragged that he would kill the Earps or Doc Holliday at his first opportunity. However, when the gunfight broke out, Clanton ran forward and grabbed Wyatt, exclaiming that he was unarmed and did not want a fight. To this protest Wyatt said he responded, "Go to fighting or get away!"
Clanton ran through the front door of Fly's boarding house and escaped, unwounded. Other accounts say that Ike drew a hidden pistol and fired at the Earps before disappearing. Like Ike, Billy Claiborne was unarmed. He and Cowboy Wes Fuller, who had been at the rear of the lot, also ran from the fight as soon as the shooting began.
Frank McLaury shot
According to The Tombstone Epitaph, "Wyatt Earp stood up and fired in rapid succession, as cool as a cucumber, and was not hit." Morgan Earp fired almost immediately, as Billy Clanton drew his gun right-handed. Morgan's shot hit Billy in the right wrist, disabling his hand. Forced to shift the revolver to his left hand, Clanton continued shooting until he emptied the gun. Virgil and Wyatt were now firing. Morgan Earp tripped and fell over a newly buried waterline and fired from the ground.
Wyatt shot Frank McLaury in the abdomen, and Frank took his horse by its reins and struggled across Fremont Street. He tried and failed to grab his rifle from the scabbard but lost control of the horse. Frank crossed Fremont Street firing his revolver instead. Frank and Holliday exchanged shots as Frank moved across Fremont Street, and Frank hit Holliday in his pistol pocket, grazing him. Holliday followed him, exclaiming, "That son of a bitch has shot me and I am going to kill him." Morgan Earp picked himself up and also fired at Frank. Frank fell to the sidewalk on the east side of Fremont Street.
A number of witnesses observed a man leading a horse into the street and firing near it and Wyatt in his testimony thought this was Tom McLaury. Claiborne said only one man had a horse in the fight, and that this man was Frank, holding his own horse by the reins, then losing it and its cover, in the middle of the street. Wes Fuller also identified Frank as the man in the street leading the horse.
Morgan Earp wounded
Though wounded, Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury kept shooting. One of them, perhaps Billy, shot Morgan Earp across the back in a wound that struck both shoulder blades and a vertebra. Morgan went down for a minute before picking himself up. Either Frank or Billy shot Virgil Earp in the calf (Virgil thought it was Billy). Virgil, though hit, fired his next shot at Billy Clanton.
Frank, now entirely across Fremont street and still walking at a good pace according to Claiborne's testimony, fired twice more before he was shot in the head under his right ear. Both Morgan and Holliday apparently thought they had fired the shot that killed Frank, but since neither of them testified at the hearing, this information is only from second-hand accounts. A passerby testified to having stopped to help Frank, and saw Frank try to speak, but he died where he fell, before he could be moved.
Billy Clanton was shot in the wrist, chest and abdomen, and after a minute or two slumped to a sitting position near his original position at the corner of the Harwood house in the lot between the house and Fly's Lodging House. Claiborne said Clanton was supported by a window initially after he was shot, and fired some shots after sitting, with the pistol supported on his leg. After he ran out of ammunition, he called for more cartridges, but C. S. Fly took his pistol at about the time the general shooting ended.
A few moments later, Tom McLaury was carried from the corner of Fremont and Third into the Harwood house on that corner, where he died without speaking. Passersby carried Billy Clanton to the Harwood house, where Tom had been taken. Billy was in considerable pain and asked for a doctor and some morphine. He told those near him, "They have murdered me. I have been murdered. Chase the crowd away and from the door and give me air." Billy gasped for air, and someone else heard him say, "Go away and let me die." Ike Clanton, who had repeatedly threatened the Earps with death, was still running. William Cuddy testified that Ike passed him on Allen Street and Johnny Behan saw him a few minutes later on Toughnut Street.
== Outcome of the battle ==
Both Wyatt and Virgil believed Tom McLaury was armed and testified that he had fired at least one shot over the back of a horse. Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury exchanged gunfire with the lawmen. During the gunfight, Doc Holliday was bruised by a bullet fired by Frank that struck his holster and grazed his hip. Virgil Earp was shot through the calf, he thought by Billy Clanton. Morgan Earp was struck across both shoulder blades by a bullet that Morgan thought Frank McLaury had fired. Wyatt Earp was unhurt. Tom McLaury, his brother Frank, and Billy Clanton were killed.
=== Behan attempts arrest ===
As the wounded lawmen were carried to their homes, they passed in front of the Sheriff's Office, and Johnny Behan told Wyatt Earp, "I will have to arrest you." Wyatt paused two or three seconds and replied very forcibly: "I won't be arrested today. I am right here and am not going away. You have deceived me. You told me these men were disarmed; I went to disarm them." Dr. George Goodfellow treated the Earps' wounds.
=== Cowboy wounds ===
Dr. Henry M. Mathews examined the dead Cowboys late that night. He found Frank McLaury had two wounds: a gunshot beneath the right ear that horizontally penetrated his head, and a second entering his abdomen one inch (2.5 cm) to the left of his navel. Mathews stated that the wound beneath the ear was at the base of the brain and caused instant death. Sheriff Behan testified that he had heard Morgan Earp yell "I got him" after Frank was shot. However, during the gunfight, Frank moved across Fremont street, putting Holliday on Frank's right and Morgan on his left. This makes it much more likely that Holliday shot the fatal round that killed Frank.
When he examined Tom McLaury's body, Mathews found twelve buckshot wounds from a single shotgun blast on the right side under his arm, between the third and fifth ribs. The wound was about four inches (10 cm) across. The nature and location of the wound indicated that it could not have been received if Tom's hands were on his coat lapels as the Cowboys later testified. Both Virgil and Wyatt stated that Holliday had shot Tom, which the coroner's exam supported.
Dr. George Goodfellow testified about Billy Clanton's wounds at the Spicer hearing. He stated that the angle of the wrist wound indicated that Billy's hand could not have been raised over his head as claimed by Cowboy witnesses. In his coroner's report, Mathews did not mention Billy's arm wound, but witness Keefe, who examined the arm closely, testified later that Clanton was shot through the right arm, close to the wrist joint and the bullet passed through the arm from "inside to outside," entering the arm close to the base of the thumb, and exiting "on the back of the wrist diagonally" with the latter wound larger. This indicated to the judge that Billy could not have been holding his coat's lapels open, his arms raised, as the Cowboys testified.
Dr. Mathews found two other wounds on Billy's body. The first was two inches (5 cm) from Clanton's left nipple, and penetrated his lung. The other was in the abdomen beneath the twelfth rib, six inches (20 cm) to the right of the navel. Both were fired from the front. Neither passed completely through his body. The wound to Billy Clanton's right wrist may have been inflicted by Morgan Earp or Doc Holliday immediately at the outset of the fight as Billy was drawing his gun.
=== Weapons carried by the Cowboys ===
Billy Clanton
Billy Clanton was armed with a Colt Frontier Six-Shooter revolver in .44-40 caliber, which was identified by its serial number at the Spicer hearing. C.S. Fly found Billy Clanton's empty revolver in his hand where he lay and took it from him.
Frank McLaury
Frank McLaury was also armed with a Colt Frontier Six-Shooter in .44-40 caliber, which was recovered by laundryman Fallehy on the street about 5 feet (1.5 m) from his body with two rounds remaining in it. Fallehy placed it next to Frank's body before he was moved to the Harwood house. Dr. Mathews laid Frank's revolver on the floor while he examined Billy and Tom. Cowboy witness Wes Fuller said he saw Frank in the middle of the street shooting a revolver and trying to remove a Winchester Rifle from the scabbard on his horse. The two Model 1873 rifles were still in the scabbards on Frank and Tom McLaury's horses when they were found after the gunfight. If, as was customary, Frank carried only five rounds in his revolver, then he had fired only three shots.
Tom McLaury
Witnesses differed about whether Tom McLaury was carrying a weapon during the shootout or not. No revolver or rifle was found near his body and he was not wearing a cartridge belt. Wyatt testified that he had arrested Tom earlier that day when he found him carrying a weapon earlier in violation of a city ordinance. He pistol-whipped him and took him to the courthouse where he was fined. Saloon-keeper Mehan testified that Tom had deposited his revolver at the Capital Saloon on 4th Street and Fremont after his arrest and before the fight, between 1 and 2 p.m. Several Cowboy witnesses testified that Tom was unarmed and claimed that the Earps had murdered a defenseless man.
Behan testified that when he searched Tom McLaury for a weapon prior to the gunfight, he was not thorough, and that Tom might have had a pistol hidden in his waistband. Behan's testimony was significant, since he was a prime witness for the prosecution but had equivocated on this point. Behan's sympathy to the Cowboys was well known, and during the trial he firmly denied he had contributed money to help Ike with his defense costs. However, documents were located in 1997 that showed Behan served as guarantor for a loan to Ike Clanton during the Spicer hearing. Since Wyatt planned to run against Behan for County Sheriff, Behan had an incentive to help convict Wyatt.
A story by Richard Rule in the Cowboy-friendly newspaper, the Nugget, told the story in the manner of the day, without attribution. Rule wrote, "The Sheriff stepped out and said [to the Earps]: 'Hold up boys, don't go down there or there will be trouble; I have been down there to disarm them.'" In his testimony, Behan repeatedly insisted he told the Earps that he only intended to disarm the Cowboys, not that he had actually done so. The article said that Behan "was standing near by commanding the contestants to cease firing but was powerless to prevent it."
The Nugget had a close relationship to Behan. It was owned by Harry Woods, who was also undersheriff to Behan, but Woods was collecting prisoners in El Paso, Texas, that day. So it is extremely likely that Rule interviewed Behan. Both Virgil and Williams' testified that Behan visited Virgil Earp that evening and said, "I am your friend, and you did perfectly right." This corroborated the initial Nugget report, which upon Wood's return was altered to a version that favored the Cowboys and which Behan later supported in his testimony at the hearing.
Though saloon-keeper Andrew Mehan had seen Tom deposit his pistol after his beating by Earp and before the gunfight, none of the Earps had any way of knowing that Tom had left his revolver at the saloon. Hotel keeper Albert "Chris" Billickie, whose father Charles owned the Cosmopolitan Hotel, saw Tom McLaury enter Bauer's butcher shop about 2:00 p.m. He testified that Tom's right-hand pants pocket was flat when he went in but protruded, as if it contained a pistol (so he thought), when he emerged. Retired army surgeon Dr. J. W. Gardiner also testified that he saw the bulge in Tom's pants. However, the bulge in Tom's pants pocket may have been the nearly $3,300 (equivalent to $110,000 in 2025) in cash and receipts found on his body, perhaps in payment for stolen Mexican beef purchased by the butcher.
Wyatt and Virgil Earp and Doc Holliday believed that Tom had a revolver at the time of the gunfight. Wyatt thought Tom fired a revolver under the horse's neck and believed until he died that Tom's revolver had been removed from the scene by Wesley Fuller. Witness Fallehy wrote that he saw Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday shooting at a man who was using a horse to barricade himself, and once shot the man fell. In his statement, Fallehy wrote that the man still held his pistol in his hand. Although he did not see him shoot, he thought Tom McLaury was armed.
Ruben F. Coleman also said afterward that he thought Tom was armed, though he later equivocated on this point. He was quoted in the October 27 issue of The Tombstone Epitaph in which he said, "Tom McLaury fell first, but raised and fired again before he died." Coleman also testified at the coroner's inquest one day later. Part-time newspaper reporter Howell 'Pat' Hayhurst transcribed all of the testimony from the hearing in the early 1930s as part of the Federal Writers' Project, in the Works Progress Administration.
When he transcribed Coleman's second testimony, he quoted Coleman as saying, "Tom McLaury, after the first two shots were fired, ran down Fremont Street and fell ... I think that the report I gave to the Epitaph was pretty near correct as published." However, it is known that Hayhurst arbitrarily removed text that he decided was not relevant. Author Stuart N. Lake later said Hayhurst 'mutilated' the transcription. The documents were subsequently lost and are still unaccounted for.
Even if Tom was not armed with a revolver, Virgil Earp testified Tom attempted to grab a rifle from the scabbard on the horse in front of him before he was killed. Judge Spicer ruled afterward that "if Thomas McLaury was one of a party who were thus armed and were making felonious resistance to an arrest, and in the melee that followed was shot, the fact of his being unarmed, if it be a fact, could not of itself criminate the defendants [Earps], if they were not otherwise criminated."
Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne
Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne both said they were unarmed when they fled the gunfight.
== Public reaction ==
The bodies of the three dead Cowboys were displayed in a window at Ritter and Reams undertakers with a sign: "Murdered in the Streets of Tombstone."
=== Sympathy for Cowboys ===
The funerals for Billy Clanton (age 19), Tom McLaury (age 28) and his older brother Frank (age 33) were well attended. About 300 people joined in the procession to Boot Hill and as many as two thousand watched from the sidewalks. Both McLaurys were buried in the same grave, and Billy Clanton was buried nearby. The story was widely printed in newspapers across the United States. Most versions favored the lawmen. The headline in the San Francisco Exchange was, "A Good Riddance".
Three days after the shootout, the ruling of the Coroner's Jury convened by Dr. Henry Matthews neither condemned nor exonerated the lawmen for shooting the Cowboys. "William Clanton, Frank and Thomas McLaury, came to their deaths in the town of Tombstone on October 26, 1881, from the effects of pistol and gunshot wounds inflicted by Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp, Wyatt Earp, and one—Holliday, commonly called 'Doc Holliday'."
=== Spicer hearings ===
Four days after the shootout, Ike Clanton filed murder charges against Doc Holliday and the Earps. Wyatt and Holliday were arrested and brought before Justice of the Peace Wells Spicer. Morgan and Virgil were still recovering at home. Only Wyatt and Holliday were required to post $10,000 bail (equivalent to $330,000 in 2025), which was paid by their attorney Thomas Fitch, local mine owner E.B. Gage, Wells Fargo undercover agent Fred Dodge, and other business owners appreciative of the Earps' efforts to maintain order. Virgil Earp was suspended as town marshal pending the outcome of the trial. Justice Spicer convened a preliminary hearing on October 31 to determine if there was enough evidence to go to trial.
The prosecution was led by Republican District Attorney Lyttleton Price, assisted by John M. Murphy, James Robinson, and Ben Goodrich. They were joined by William McLaury, Frank and Tom's older brother, he also being an able attorney, who played a key role on the prosecutor's team. The Earps' attorney Thomas Fitch was an experienced trial lawyer and had earned a reputation as the "silver-tongued orator of the Pacific."
Spicer took written and oral testimony from a number of witnesses over more than a month. Accounts by both participants and eye-witnesses were contradictory. Those loyal to one side or the other told conflicting stories and independent eyewitnesses who did not know the participants by sight were unable to say for certain who shot first.
Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan testified on the third day of the hearing. During two days on the stand, he gave strong testimony that the Cowboys had not resisted but either threw up their hands and turned out their coats to show they were not armed. Behan's views turned public opinion against the Earps, who were free on bail. He and other prosecution witnesses testified that Tom McLaury was unarmed, that Billy Clanton had his hands in the air, and that neither of the McLaurys were troublemakers. They portrayed Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury as being unjustly bullied and beaten by the vengeful Earps on the day of the gunfight. On the strength of the prosecution case, Spicer revoked the bail for Doc and Wyatt Earp and had them jailed on November 7. They spent the next 16 days in jail.
Defense accounts contradicted the testimony of Behan, Claiborne and Allen, who all said that a man had fired a nickel-plated pistol first. Claiborne and Allen both said it was Holliday. Virgil, Wyatt and other witnesses testified that Holliday was carrying a shotgun. (Morgan remained bedridden throughout the trial and did not testify.) The prosecution's scenario would have required Holliday to fire with his pistol first, switch to the shotgun to shoot Tom McLaury, then switch back again to his pistol to continue firing.
Three witnesses gave key evidence that swayed Justice Spicer to hold that Virgil had acted within his capacity as town marshal and that there was insufficient evidence to indict the Earps and Doc Holliday for murder.
H.F Sills was an AT&SF RR engineer who had just arrived in town and knew none of the parties involved. He testified that he saw "the marshal go up and speak to this other party. I ... saw them pull out their revolvers immediately. The marshal had a cane in his right hand at the time. He throwed up his hand and spoke. I did not hear the words though. By that time Billy Clanton and Wyatt Earp had fired their guns off." Grilled by the prosecution, he corroborated virtually all of the defense's testimony.
Addie Bourland was a dressmaker whose residence was across Fremont Street from Fly's Boarding House. She testified that she saw both sides facing each other, that none of the Cowboys had held their hands up, that the firing was general, and that she had not seen Billy Clanton fall immediately as the Cowboys had testified.
Judge J.H. Lucas of the Cochise County Probate Court had offices in the Mining Exchange Building about 200 feet (60 m) from the shootout. Lucas corroborated Addie Bourland's testimony that Billy Clanton was standing throughout the fight, which contradicted prosecution witnesses who maintained he went down immediately after being shot at close range in the belly. Spicer noted that no powder burns were found on his clothing.
These witnesses' testimony, especially that of H.F. Sills, a disinterested party, discredited much of the testimony given by Sheriff Johnny Behan, Ike Clanton and the other Cowboy witnesses.
After hearing all the evidence, Justice Spicer ruled on November 30 that Virgil, as the lawman in charge that day, had acted within his office and that there was not enough evidence to indict the men. He described Frank McLaury's insistence that he would not give up his weapons unless the marshal and his deputies also gave up their arms as a "proposition both monstrous and startling!" He noted that the prosecution claimed that the Cowboys' purpose was to leave town, yet Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne did not have their weapons with them.
Spicer noted that the doctor who examined the dead Cowboys established that the wounds they received could not have occurred if their hands and arms had been in the positions that prosecution witnesses described. Spicer did not condone all of the Earps' actions and criticized Virgil Earp's use of Wyatt and Holliday as deputies, but he concluded that no laws were broken. He said the evidence indicated that the Earps and Holliday acted within the law and that Holliday and Wyatt had been properly deputized by Virgil Earp.
== In popular culture ==
The public perception of the Earp brothers' actions at the time were widely divergent. Even today, the event and its participants are viewed differently by opinionated admirers and detractors. The controversy still stimulates ongoing interest in the gunfight and related events.
=== Gunfight sketch ===
A hand-drawn sketch of the gunfight was made by John Flood with Wyatt Earp's assistance on September 15, 1921; it was sold at auction in October 2010 for $380,000. The map describes the position of a number of witnesses and all of the participants with the exception of Ike Clanton, who fled from the gunfight.
=== Paintings ===
In 1952, Victor Clyde Forsythe, a popular painter of desert scenes and cowboy artist, painted Gunfight at O.K. Corral, a 43 by 60 inches (110 by 150 cm) oil painting. Forsythe's father William Bowen Forsyth and uncle Ira Chandler owned the store Chandler & Forsyth C.O.D. at 328 Fremont Street, west of the back entrance to the O.K. Corral and half a block from the site of the gunfight. They claimed that they had been present and witnessed the shootout. Newspaper accounts of the painting reported that Forsythe had interviewed Tombstone residents and examined many of the existing buildings before beginning to plan his painting. In May 1988, his studio printed and sold a limited edition of 390 copies of the painting.
John Gilchriese became friends with John Flood, who had been Wyatt Earp's secretary, confidante, and best friend for many years. When Earp died, Flood inherited many of his personal belongings. Flood in turn willed them to Gilchriese, who amassed over a number of years one of the largest collections of personal items belonging to Wyatt and Virgil Earp, along with many unpublished photos of them and their family. Gilchriese opened the Wyatt Earp Museum in Tombstone in 1966 and commissioned Western artist Don Perceval to paint the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
The oil on masonite painting titled The Street Fight is 6 feet 4 inches by 4 feet 0 inches (1.93 by 1.22 m). It was the largest work ever executed by Perceval. He referred to original documents in Gilchriese's collection, including Wyatt Earp's own diagram of the shootout, and unpublished notes made by John Flood, to create what is regarded as the most accurate depiction of the shootout. Gilchreise had 500 lithographic prints reproduced from the original, which Perceval signed. The prints were sold by the museum for $10 (equivalent to $99 in 2025).
After Gilchriese closed his museum, the painting and other contents of the museum were sold at auction by John's Western Gallery of San Francisco. The estimated auction price for the painting had been $200,000 to $300,000; the final sale price on June 25, 2004, was $40,250. It was put up for auction again on June 14, 2014, with an estimated selling price of $40,000–$60,000 but failed to sell.
=== Origin of the gunfight's name ===
Less than a month after the shootout it was described by a local newspaper as the "Gunfight at The O.K. Corral". William Breakenridge in his 1928 book Helldorado: Bringing Law to the Mesquite described it as "The Incident Near the O.K. Corral". Stuart Lake titled his chapter about the conflict "At the O.K. Corral" in his popular book Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal. But it was the popular movie Gunfight at the O.K. Corral that cemented the incident and its erroneous location in popular consciousness. The movie and accompanying mythologizing also altered the way that the public thought of the Earps and the outlaws. Prior to the movie, the media often criticized the Earps' actions in Tombstone. In the movies, they became the good guys, always ready to stand for what is right.
The incident has become a fixture in American history due to the personal nature of the feud between the Earps and the McLaury and Clanton brothers and the symbolism of the fight between lawmen and the Cowboys. The Cowboys maimed Virgil and murdered Morgan but escaped prosecution, and Wyatt's extra-legal campaign for revenge captured people's attention. The gunfight and its aftermath stand for the change overcoming America as the Western frontier ceased to exist, as a nation that was rapidly industrializing pushed out what had been a largely agrarian economy.
The town of Tombstone has capitalized on interest in the gunfight. A portion of the town is a historical district that has been designated a National Historic Landmark and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. National Park Service. A local company produces daily theatrical re-enactments of the gunfight.
=== Film and television ===
With the widespread sales of televisions after World War II, producers spun out a large number of western-oriented shows. At the height of their popularity in 1959, there were more than two dozen "cowboy" programs on each week. At least six of them were directly or indirectly connected with Wyatt Earp: The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Tombstone Territory, Broken Arrow, Johnny Ringo, and Gunsmoke. Hugh O'Brian portrayed Earp on the namesake show Wyatt Earp which ran for six seasons, and he was forever associated with that role.
A 2003 episode of Discovery Channel's Unsolved History used modern technology to attempt to re-enact the gunfight. They utilized a movie set to recreate a space similar to the lot where the original gun fight took place. They confirmed that the front-to-back wrist wound suffered by Billy Clanton could only have occurred if his arm was raised in the manner of one holding a pistol, and that the black powder may have obscured the shooters' view of each other. The episode concluded that the three eyewitnesses for the prosecution (Sheriff Behan, Ike Clanton, and Billy Claiborne) likely offered perjured testimony. They found that Tom McLaury may have been hit by the shotgun round under his armpit as he reached over his horse for a rifle in his scabbard, as the horse turned away from him at the same time.
The stories about the gunfight written in the 20th century affected American culture. Numerous dramatic, fictional, and documentary works have been produced about or in reference to the event, with widely varying degrees of accuracy. These works include:
Law and Order (1932) with Walter Huston, the first film to depict the gunfight
Frontier Marshal (1939) starring Randolph Scott and directed by Allan Dwan
Tombstone, the Town Too Tough to Die (1942) with Richard Dix
My Darling Clementine (1946) with Henry Fonda
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955–1961), TV series with Hugh O'Brian, season 6 episode 36
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas
The Gunfighters (1966), a Doctor Who serial
Hour of the Gun (1967) with James Garner
"Spectre of the Gun" (1968), an original Star Trek episode
Doc (1971) written by Pete Hamill
"Showdown at O.K. Corral" (1972), an Appointment with Destiny episode that was nominated for an Emmy Award
An episode of The Goodies, titled "Bunfight at the O.K. Tea Rooms" (1975) was a spoof of many Western tropes and its climax was the eponymous shootout, involving tomato sauce squirters as weapons.
In the Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?, 1st season episode; "The Good Old, Bad Old Days" (1994), Carmen stole some cowboy clothing during a reenactment of the gun fight.
"Ghost Fight at the OK Corral" (1987), The Real Ghostbusters season 2 episode 47
Tombstone (1993) with Kurt Russell
Wyatt Earp (1994) with Kevin Costner
"Shootout at Fly's Photographic Studio", a History Bites episode
"Rule of the Gun" (2004), an episode of Days That Shook the World
Tombstone Rashomon (2017), a film by Alex Cox
=== In print ===
Saint Johnson (1930), ISBN 978-2330051051 – A novel by W.R. Burnett. A thinly fictionalized depiction of the conflict between the outlaws and the law officers.
Who Rides with Wyatt (1955), ISBN 978-0843942927 – A novel by Will Henry.
Warlock (1958), ISBN 978-1590171615 – A novel by Oakley Hall.
Bloody Season (1987), ISBN 978-0515125313 – A novel by Loren D. Estleman, a carefully researched depiction of events leading up the shootout and gunfight itself.
Christ Versus Arizona (1988), ISBN 978-8432205828 – A novel by Spanish Nobel winner Camilo José Cela, it consists of a single sentence that is more than one hundred pages long.
Frontier Earth (1999), ISBN 978-0441005895 – a sci-fi/western novel by actor Bruce Boxleitner, about the events leading up to the gunfight.
The Return of Little Big Man (1999), ISBN 978-0316091176 – in which novelist Thomas Berger's wandering protagonist Jack Crabb becomes a witness to the event.
Gunman's Rhapsody (2001), ISBN 978-0425182895 – by Robert B. Parker
Telegraph Days (2006), ISBN 978-0739470169 – a novel by Larry McMurtry, includes a representation of the gunfight, told by a fictional journalist and eyewitness
Territory (2007), ISBN 978-0312857356 – a novel by Emma Bull offers a fantasy retelling of the events leading up to the fight.
The Buntline Special (2010), ISBN 978-1616142490 – by Mike Resnick, a Steampunk re-imagining of the gunfight.
The Last Kind Words Saloon (2014), ISBN 978-0393351194 – by Larry McMurtry, culminates with a version of the gunfight.
Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Corral (2015), ISBN 978-0062198778 – by Mary Doria Russell tells Wyatt Earp's story.
Tombstone: The Earp Brothers, Doc Holliday, and the Vendetta Ride from Hell (2020), ISBN 978-1250214591 by Tom Clavin
=== In mathematics ===
David Williams and Paul McIlroy introduced a mathematical model for the O.K. Corral gunfight, which they published in Bulletin of the London Mathematical Society (1998). Later this model was analyzed by Sir John Kingman (1999, 2002), and Kingman and Volkov (2003). They analyzed the probability of "survival of exactly S gunmen given an initially fair configuration." |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe | Edgar Allan Poe | Edgar Allan Poe (né Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as one of the central figures of Romanticism and Gothic fiction in the United States and of early American literature. Poe was one of the country's first successful practitioners of the short story, and is generally considered to be one of the pioneers of the detective fiction genre. In addition, he is credited with contributing significantly to the emergence of science fiction. He is the first well-known American writer to earn a living exclusively through writing, which resulted in a financially difficult life and career.
Poe was born in Boston. He was the second child of actors David and Elizabeth "Eliza" Poe. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and when Eliza died the following year, Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia. They never formally adopted him, but he lived with them well into young adulthood. Poe attended the University of Virginia but left after only a year due to a lack of money. He frequently quarreled with John Allan over the funds needed to continue his education as well as his gambling debts. In 1827, having enlisted in the United States Army under the assumed name of Edgar A. Perry, he published his first collection, Tamerlane and Other Poems, which was credited only to "a Bostonian". Poe and Allan reached a temporary rapprochement after the death of Allan's wife, Frances, in 1829. However, Poe later failed as an officer cadet at West Point, declared his intention to become a writer, primarily of poems, and parted ways with Allan.
Poe switched his focus to prose and spent the next several years working for literary journals and periodicals, becoming known for his own style of literary criticism. His work forced him to move between several cities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City. In 1836, when he was 27, he married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm. She died of tuberculosis in 1847.
In January 1845, he published his poem "The Raven" to instant success. He planned for years to produce his own journal, The Penn, later renamed The Stylus – but before it began publishing, Poe died in Baltimore in 1849, aged 40, under mysterious circumstances. The cause of his death remains unknown and has been attributed to many causes, including disease, alcoholism, substance abuse, and suicide.
Poe's works influenced the development of literature throughout the world and even impacted such specialized fields as cosmology and cryptography. Since his death, he and his writings have appeared throughout popular culture in such fields as art, photography, literary allusions, music, motion pictures, and television. Several of his homes are dedicated museums. In addition, The Mystery Writers of America presents an annual Edgar Award for distinguished work in the mystery genre.
== Early life, family and education ==
Edgar Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809, the second child of American actor David Poe Jr. and English-born actress Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe. He had an elder brother, Henry, and a younger sister, Rosalie. Their grandfather, David Poe, had emigrated from County Cavan, Ireland, around 1750.
His father abandoned the family in 1810, and his mother died a year later from pulmonary tuberculosis. The two-year-old Poe was then taken into the home of John Allan, a successful merchant in Richmond, Virginia, who dealt in a variety of goods, including cloth, wheat, tombstones, tobacco, and slaves. The Allans served as a foster family and gave him the name "Edgar Allan Poe", although they never formally adopted him.
The Allan family had Poe baptized into the Episcopal Church in 1812. John Allan alternately spoiled and aggressively disciplined his foster son. The family sailed to the United Kingdom in 1815. Poe attended the grammar school in Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland (where Allan had been born), before rejoining the family in London in 1816. There he studied at a boarding school in Chelsea until summer 1817. He was subsequently entered at the Reverend John Bransby's Manor House School in Stoke Newington, then a suburb 4 miles (6 km) north of London.
Poe moved with the Allans back to Richmond, Virginia, in 1820. In 1824, he served as the lieutenant of the Richmond youth honor guard as the city celebrated the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette. In March 1825, Allan's uncle and business benefactor William Galt died, who was said to be one of the wealthiest men in Richmond, leaving Allan several acres of real estate. The inheritance was estimated at $750,000 (equivalent to $21,000,000 in 2025). By summer 1825, Allan celebrated his expansive wealth by purchasing a two-story brick house called Moldavia.
Poe may have become engaged to Sarah Elmira Royster before he registered at the University of Virginia in February 1826 to study ancient and modern languages. The university was in its infancy, established on the ideals of its founder, Thomas Jefferson. It had strict rules against gambling, horses, guns, tobacco, and alcohol, but these rules were mostly ignored. Jefferson enacted a system of student self-government, allowing students to choose their own studies, make their own arrangements for boarding, and report all wrongdoing to the faculty.
The unique system was rather chaotic, and there was a high dropout rate. During his time there, Poe lost touch with Royster and also became estranged from his foster father over gambling debts. He claimed that Allan had not given him sufficient money to register for classes, purchase texts, or procure and furnish a dormitory. Allan did send additional money and clothes, but Poe's debts increased. Poe gave up on the university after a year, but did not feel welcome to return to Richmond, especially when he learned that his sweetheart, Royster, had married another man, Alexander Shelton. Instead, he traveled to Boston in April 1827, sustaining himself with odd jobs as a clerk and newspaper contributor. Poe started using the pseudonym Henri Le Rennet during this period.
== Military career ==
As Poe was unable to support himself, he decided to enlist in the United States Army as a private on May 27, 1827, using the name "Edgar A. Perry". Although he claimed that he was 22 years old, he was actually 18. He first served at Fort Independence in Boston Harbor for five dollars a month. That same year, his first book was published, a 40-page collection of poetry titled Tamerlane and Other Poems, attributed only to "A Bostonian". 50 copies were printed, and the book received virtually no attention. Poe's 1st Regiment of Artillery was posted to Fort Moultrie in Charleston, South Carolina, before embarking on the brig Waltham on November 8, 1827. Poe was promoted to "artificer", an enlisted tradesman tasked with preparing shells for artillery. His monthly pay doubled. Poe served for two years, attaining the rank of sergeant major for artillery, the highest rank that a non-commissioned officer could achieve. He then sought to end his five-year enlistment early.
Poe revealed his real name and his actual circumstances to his commanding officer, Lieutenant Howard, who promised to allow Poe to be honorably discharged if he reconciled with Allan. Poe then wrote a letter to Allan, who was unsympathetic and spent several months ignoring Poe's pleas. Allan may not have written to Poe to inform him of his foster mother's illness. Frances Allan died on February 28, 1829. Poe visited the day after her burial. Perhaps softened by his wife's death, Allan agreed to support Poe's desire to receive an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
Poe was finally discharged on April 15, 1829, after securing a replacement to finish his enlistment. Before entering West Point, he moved to Baltimore, where he stayed with his widowed aunt, Maria Clemm, her daughter Virginia Eliza Clemm (Poe's first cousin), his brother Henry, and his invalid grandmother Elizabeth Cairnes Poe. That September, Poe received "the very first words of encouragement I ever remember to have heard" in a review of his poetry by influential critic John Neal, which prompted Poe to dedicate one of the poems to Neal in his second book, Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems, published in Baltimore in 1829.
Poe traveled to West Point and matriculated as a cadet on July 1, 1830. In October 1830, Allan married his second wife Louisa Patterson. This marriage and the bitter quarrels with Poe over children born to Allan out of extramarital affairs led to the foster father finally disowning Poe. Poe then decided to leave West Point by intentionally getting court-martialed. On February 8, 1831, he was tried for gross neglect of duty and disobedience of orders for refusing to attend formations, classes, and church. Knowing he would be found guilty, Poe pleaded not guilty to the charges in order to induce dismissal.
Poe left for New York in February 1831 and then released a third volume of poems, simply titled, Poems. The book was financed with help from his fellow cadets at West Point, some of whom donated as much as 75 cents to the cause. The total raised was approximately $170. They may have been expecting verses similar to the satirical ones Poe had written about commanding officers in the past. The book was printed by Elam Bliss of New York, labeled as "Second Edition", and included a page saying, "To the U.S. Corps of Cadets this volume is respectfully dedicated". It once again reprinted the somewhat lengthy poems, "Tamerlane", and "Al Araaf", while also including six previously unpublished poems, conspicuous among which are, "To Helen", and "The City in the Sea". Poe returned to Baltimore and to his aunt, brother, and cousin in March 1831. His elder brother Henry had been seriously ill for some time, in part due to complications resulting from alcoholism, and he died on August 1, 1831.
== Publishing career ==
After his brother's death, Poe's earnest attempts to make a living as a writer were mostly unsuccessful. However, he eventually managed to earn a living by his pen alone, becoming one of the first American authors to do so. His efforts were initially hampered by the lack of an international copyright law. American publishers often chose to sell unauthorized copies of works by British authors rather than pay for new work written by Americans, regardless of merit. The initially anemic reception of Edgar Allan Poe's work may also have been influenced by the Panic of 1837.
There was a booming growth in American periodicals around this time, fueled in part by new technology, but many did not last beyond a few issues. Publishers often refused to pay their writers or paid them much later than they promised, and Poe repeatedly resorted to humiliating pleas for money and other assistance.After his early attempts at poetry, Poe turned his attention to prose, perhaps based on John Neal's critiques in The Yankee magazine. He placed a few stories with a Philadelphia publication and began work on his only drama, Politian. The Baltimore Saturday Visiter awarded him a prize in October 1833 for his often overlooked short story "MS. Found in a Bottle". The tale brought him to the attention of John P. Kennedy, a Baltimorean of considerable means who helped Poe place some of his other stories and introduced him to Thomas W. White, editor of the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond.
In 1835, Poe became assistant editor of the Southern Literary Messenger, but White discharged him within a few weeks, allegedly for being drunk on the job. Poe then returned to Baltimore, where he obtained a license to marry his cousin Virginia on September 22, 1835, though it is unknown if they were actually married at that time. He was 26 and she was 13.
Poe was reinstated by White after promising to improve his behavior, and he returned to Richmond with Virginia and her mother. He remained at the Messenger until January 1837. During this period, Poe claimed that its circulation increased from 700 to 3,500. He published several poems, and many book reviews, critiques, essays, and articles, as well as a few stories in the paper. On May 16, 1836, he and Virginia were officially married at a Presbyterian wedding ceremony performed by Amasa Converse at their Richmond boarding house, with a witness falsely attesting Clemm's age as 21.
=== Philadelphia ===
In 1838, Poe relocated to Philadelphia, where he lived at five different residences between 1838 and 1844, one of which at 532 N. 7th Street has been preserved as a National Historic Landmark.
That same year, Poe's only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket was published and widely reviewed. In the summer of 1839, he became assistant editor of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. He published numerous articles, stories, and reviews, enhancing the reputation he had established at the Messenger as one of America's foremost literary critics. Also in 1839, the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque was published in two volumes, though Poe received little remuneration from it and the volumes received generally mixed reviews.
In June 1840, Poe published a prospectus announcing his intentions to start his own journal called The Stylus, although he originally intended to call it The Penn, since it would have been based in Philadelphia. He bought advertising space for the prospectus in the June 6, 1840, issue of Philadelphia's Saturday Evening Post: "Prospectus of the Penn Magazine, a Monthly Literary journal to be edited and published in the city of Philadelphia by Edgar A. Poe." However, Poe died before the journal could be produced.
Poe left Burton's after a year and found a position as writer and co-editor at Graham's Magazine, which was a successful monthly publication. In the last number of Graham's for 1841, Poe was among the co-signatories to an editorial note of celebration concerning the tremendous success the magazine had achieved in the past year: "Perhaps the editors of no magazine, either in America or in Europe, ever sat down, at the close of a year, to contemplate the progress of their work with more satisfaction than we do now. Our success has been unexampled, almost incredible. We may assert without fear of contradiction that no periodical ever witnessed the same increase during so short a period."
Around this time, Poe attempted to secure a position in the administration of John Tyler, claiming that he was a member of the Whig Party. He hoped to be appointed to the United States Custom House in Philadelphia with help from President Tyler's son Robert, an acquaintance of Poe's friend Frederick Thomas. However, Poe failed to appear for a meeting with Thomas to discuss the appointment in mid-September 1842, claiming to have been sick, though Thomas believed that he had been drunk. Poe was promised an appointment, but all positions were eventually filled by others.
One evening in January 1842, Virginia showed the first signs of consumption, or tuberculosis, while singing and playing the piano, which Poe described as the breaking of a blood vessel in her throat. She only partially recovered, and Poe is alleged to have begun to drink heavily due to the stress he suffered as a result of her illness. He then left Graham's and attempted to find a new position, for a time again angling for a government post. He finally decided to return to New York where he worked briefly at the Evening Mirror before becoming editor of the Broadway Journal, and later its owner. There Poe alienated himself from other writers by, among other things, publicly accusing Henry Wadsworth Longfellow of plagiarism, though Longfellow never responded. On January 29, 1845, Poe's poem, "The Raven", appeared in the Evening Mirror and quickly became a popular sensation. It made Poe a household name almost instantly, though at the time, he was paid only $9 (equivalent to $311 in 2025) for its publication. It was concurrently published in The American Review: A Whig Journal under the pseudonym "Quarles".
=== The Bronx ===
The Broadway Journal failed in 1846, and Poe then moved to a cottage in Fordham, New York, in the Bronx. That home, now known as the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage, was relocated in later years to a park near the southeast corner of the Grand Concourse and Kingsbridge Road. Nearby, Poe befriended the Jesuits at St. John's College, now Fordham University. Virginia died at the cottage on January 30, 1847. Biographers and critics often suggest that Poe's frequent theme of the "death of a beautiful woman" stems from the repeated loss of women throughout his life, including his wife.
Poe was increasingly unstable after his wife's death. He attempted to court the poet Sarah Helen Whitman, who lived in Providence, Rhode Island. Their engagement failed, purportedly because of Poe's drinking and erratic behavior. There is also strong evidence that Whitman's mother intervened and did much to derail the relationship. Poe then returned to Richmond and resumed a relationship with his childhood sweetheart Sarah Elmira Royster.
== Death ==
On October 3, 1849, Poe was found semiconscious in Baltimore, "in great distress, and... in need of immediate assistance", according to Joseph W. Walker, who found him. He was taken to Washington Medical College, where he died on Sunday, October 7, 1849, at 5:00 in the morning.
Poe was not coherent long enough to explain how he came to be in his dire condition and why he was wearing clothes that were not his own. He is said to have repeatedly called out the name "Reynolds" on the night before his death, though it is unclear to whom he was referring. His attending physician said that Poe's final words were, "Lord help my poor soul". All of the relevant medical records have been lost, including Poe's death certificate.
Newspapers at the time reported Poe's death as "congestion of the brain" or "cerebral inflammation", common euphemisms for death from disreputable causes such as alcoholism. The actual cause of death remains a mystery. Speculation has included delirium tremens, heart disease, epilepsy, syphilis, meningeal inflammation, carbon monoxide poisoning, and rabies. One theory dating from 1872 suggests that Poe's death resulted from cooping, a form of electoral fraud in which citizens were forced to vote for a particular candidate, sometimes leading to violence and even murder.
=== Griswold's memoir ===
Immediately after Poe's death, his literary rival Rufus Wilmot Griswold, wrote a slanted, high-profile obituary under a pseudonym, filled with falsehoods that cast Poe as a lunatic, and which described him as a person who "walked the streets, in madness or melancholy, with lips moving in indistinct curses, or with eyes upturned in passionate prayers, (never for himself, for he felt, or professed to feel, that he was already damned)".
The long obituary appeared in the New York Tribune, signed, "Ludwig" on the day Poe was buried in Baltimore. It was further published throughout the country. The obituary began, "Edgar Allan Poe is dead. He died in Baltimore the day before yesterday. This announcement will startle many, but few will be grieved by it." "Ludwig" was soon identified as Griswold, an editor, critic, and anthologist who had borne a grudge against Poe since 1842. Griswold somehow became Poe's literary executor and attempted to destroy his enemy's reputation after his death.
Griswold wrote a biographical article of Poe called "Memoir of the Author", which he included in an 1850 volume of the collected works. There he depicted Poe as a depraved, drunken, drug-addled madman, including some of Poe's "letters" as evidence. Many of his claims were either outright lies or obvious distortions; for example, there is little to no evidence that Edgar Allan Poe was a drug addict. Griswold's book was denounced by those who knew Poe well, including John Neal, who published an article defending Poe and attacking Griswold as a "Rhadamanthus, who is not to be bilked of his fee, a thimble-full of newspaper notoriety". Griswold's book nevertheless became a popularly accepted biographical source. This was in part because it was the only full biography available and was widely reprinted, and in part because readers thrilled at the thought of reading works by an "evil" man. Letters that Griswold presented as proof were later revealed as forgeries.
== Literary style and themes ==
=== Genres ===
Poe's best-known fiction works have been labeled as Gothic horror, and adhere to that genre's general propensity to appeal to the public's taste for the terrifying or psychologically intimidating. His most recurrent themes seem to deal with death. The physical signs indicating death, the nature of decomposition, the popular concerns of Poe's day about premature burial, the reanimation of the dead, are all at length explored in his more notable works. Many of his writings are generally considered to be part of the dark romanticism genre, which is said to be a literary reaction to transcendentalism, which Poe strongly criticized. He referred to followers of the transcendental movement, including Emerson, as "Frog-Pondians", after the pond on Boston Common, and ridiculed their writings as "metaphor—run mad," lapsing into "obscurity for obscurity's sake" or "mysticism for mysticism's sake". However, Poe once wrote in a letter to Thomas Holley Chivers that he did not dislike transcendentalists, "only the pretenders and sophists among them".
Beyond the horror stories he is most famous for, Poe also wrote a number of satires, humor tales, and hoaxes. He was a master of sarcasm. For comic effect, he often used irony and ludicrous extravagance in a deliberate attempt to liberate the reader from cultural and literary conformity. "Metzengerstein" is the first story that Poe is known to have published, and his first foray into horror, but it was originally intended as a burlesque satirizing the popular genres of Poe's time. Poe was also one of the forerunners of American science fiction, responding in his voluminous writing to such emerging literary trends as the explorations into the possibilities of hot air balloons as featured in such works as, "The Balloon-Hoax".
Much of Poe's work coincided with themes that readers of his day found appealing, though he often professed to abhor the tastes of the majority of the people who read for pleasure in his time. In his critical works, Poe investigated and wrote about many of the pseudosciences that were then popular with the majority of his fellow Americans. They included, but were not limited to, the fields of astrology, cosmology, phrenology, and physiognomy.
=== Literary theory ===
Poe's writings often reflect the literary theories he introduced in his prolific critical works and expounded on in such essays as, "The Poetic Principle". He disliked didacticism and imitation masquerading as influence, believing originality to be the highest mark of genius. In Poe's conception of the artist's life, the attainment of the concretization of beauty should be the ultimate goal. That which is unique is alone of value. Works with obvious meanings, he wrote, cease to be art. He believed that any work worthy of being praised should have as its focus a single specific effect. That which does not tend towards the effect is extraneous. In his view, every serious writer must carefully calculate each sentiment and idea in his or her work to ensure that it strengthens the theme of the piece.
Poe describes the method he employed while composing his most famous poem, "The Raven", in an essay entitled "The Philosophy of Composition". However, many of Poe's critics have questioned whether the method enunciated in the essay was formulated before the poem was written, or afterward, or, as T. S. Eliot is quoted as saying, "It is difficult for us to read that essay without reflecting that if Poe plotted out his poem with such calculation, he might have taken a little more pains over it: the result hardly does credit to the method." Biographer Joseph Wood Krutch described the essay as "a rather highly ingenious exercise in the art of rationalization".
== Legacy ==
=== Influence ===
During his lifetime, Poe was mostly recognized as a literary critic. The vast majority of Edgar Allan Poe's writings are nonfictional. Contemporary critic James Russell Lowell called him, "the most discriminating, philosophical, and fearless critic upon imaginative works who has written in America," suggesting—rhetorically—that he occasionally used prussic acid instead of ink. Poe's often caustic reviews earned him the reputation of being a "tomahawk man". One target of Poe's criticism was Boston's acclaimed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who was defended by his friends, literary and otherwise, in what was later called, "The Longfellow War". Poe accused Longfellow of "the heresy of the didactic", writing poetry that was preachy, derivative, and thematically plagiarized. Poe correctly predicted that Longfellow's reputation and style of poetry would decline, concluding, "We grant him high qualities, but deny him the Future".
Poe became known as the creator of a type of fiction that was difficult to categorize and nearly impossible to imitate. He was one of the first American authors of the 19th century to become more popular in Europe than in the United States. Poe was particularly esteemed in France, in part due to early translations of his work by Charles Baudelaire. Baudelaire's translations became definitive renditions of Poe's work in Continental Europe.
Poe's early mystery tales featuring the detective, C. Auguste Dupin, though not numerous, laid the groundwork for similar characters that would eventually become famous throughout the world. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle said, "Each [of Poe's detective stories] is a root from which a whole literature has developed.... Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it?" The Mystery Writers of America have named their awards for excellence in the mystery genre "The Edgars". Poe's work also influenced writings that would eventually come to be called "science fiction", notably the works of Jules Verne, who wrote a sequel to Poe's novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket called An Antarctic Mystery, also known as The Sphinx of the Ice Fields. And as the author H. G. Wells noted, "Pym tells what a very intelligent mind could imagine about the south polar region a century ago". In 2013, The Guardian cited Pym as one of the greatest novels ever written in the English language, and noted its influence on later authors such as Doyle, Henry James, B. Traven, and David Morrell.
Horror author and historian H. P. Lovecraft was heavily influenced by Poe's horror tales, dedicating an entire section of his long essay, "Supernatural Horror in Literature", to his influence on the genre. In his letters, Lovecraft described Poe as his "God of Fiction". Lovecraft's earliest stories are clearly influenced by Poe. At the Mountains of Madness directly quotes him. Lovecraft made extensive use of Poe's concept of the "unity of effect" in his fiction. Alfred Hitchcock once said, "It's because I liked Edgar Allan Poe's stories so much that I began to make suspense films". Many references to Poe's works are present in Vladimir Nabokov's novels. The Japanese author Tarō Hirai derived his pen name, Edogawa Ranpo, from an altered phonetic rendering of Poe's name.
Poe's works have spawned many imitators. In 1863, a medium named Lizzie Doten published Poems of the Inner Life, which compiled several poems she claimed were written by the channeled spirits of dead authors. She claimed six were by Poe, though Poe scholar Christopher P. Semtner dismisses them as "merely pastiches".
Poe has also received criticism. This is partly because of the negative perception of his personal character and its influence upon his reputation. William Butler Yeats was occasionally critical of Poe and once called him "vulgar". Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson reacted to "The Raven" by saying, "I see nothing in it", and derisively referred to Poe as "the jingle man". Aldous Huxley wrote that Poe's writing "falls into vulgarity" by being "too poetical"—the equivalent of wearing a diamond ring on every finger.
It is believed that only twelve copies have survived of Poe's first book Tamerlane and Other Poems. In December 2009, one copy sold at Christie's auctioneers in New York City for $662,500, a record price paid for a work of American literature.
=== Physics and cosmology ===
Eureka: A Prose Poem, an essay written in 1848, included a cosmological theory that presaged the Big Bang theory by 80 years, as well as the first plausible solution to Olbers' paradox.
Poe eschewed the scientific method in Eureka and instead wrote from pure intuition. For this reason, he considered it a work of art, not science, but insisted that it was still true and considered it to be his career masterpiece. Even so, Eureka is full of scientific errors. In particular, Poe's suggestions ignored Newtonian principles regarding the density and rotation of planets.
=== Cryptography ===
Poe had a keen interest in cryptography. He had placed a notice of his abilities in the Philadelphia paper Alexander's Weekly (Express) Messenger, inviting submissions of ciphers which he proceeded to solve. In July 1841, Poe had published an essay called "A Few Words on Secret Writing" in Graham's Magazine. Capitalizing on public interest in the topic, he wrote "The Gold-Bug" incorporating ciphers as an essential part of the story. Poe's success with cryptography relied not so much on his deep knowledge of that field (his method was limited to the simple substitution cryptogram) as on his knowledge of the magazine and newspaper culture. His keen analytical abilities, which were so evident in his detective stories, allowed him to see that the general public was largely ignorant of the methods by which a simple substitution cryptogram can be solved, and he used this to his advantage. The sensation that Poe created with his cryptography stunts played a major role in popularizing cryptograms in newspapers and magazines.
Two ciphers he published in 1841 under the name "W. B. Tyler" were not solved until 1992 and 2000 respectively. One was a quote from Joseph Addison's play Cato; the other is probably based on a poem by Hester Thrale.
Poe had an influence on cryptography beyond increasing public interest during his lifetime. William Friedman, America's foremost cryptologist, was heavily influenced by Poe. Friedman's initial interest in cryptography came from reading "The Gold-Bug" as a child, an interest that he later put to use in deciphering Japan's PURPLE code during World War II.
=== Political stances ===
Poe was a news writer for a variety of presses including Southern Literary Messenger, Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, Graham's Magazine, and the Broadway Journal. In his news writing, Poe was critical of the American political system and was consequently labeled anti-American and "bitterly hostile." He often called the government a mobocracy. In the Southern Literary Messenger, he critiqued lynching by calling its proponents "A trained band of villains" and "unlawful and abandoned wretches".
In Graham's Magazine in 1846, he proposed separating the Appalachian South from the United States and naming it the "United States of Alleghania".
== Commemorations and namesake ==
=== Character ===
The historical Edgar Allan Poe has appeared as a fictionalized character, often in order to represent the "mad genius" or "tormented artist" and in order to exploit his personal struggles. Many such depictions also blend in with characters from his stories, suggesting that Poe and his characters share identities. Often, fictional depictions of Poe use his mystery-solving skills in such novels as The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl.
=== Preserved homes, landmarks, and museums ===
No childhood home of Poe is still standing, including the Allan family's Moldavia estate. The oldest standing home in Richmond, the Old Stone House, is in use as the Edgar Allan Poe Museum, though Poe never lived there. The collection includes many items that Poe used during his time with the Allan family, and also features several rare first printings of Poe works. 13 West Range is the dorm room that Poe is believed to have used while studying at the University of Virginia in 1826; it is preserved and available for visits. Its upkeep is overseen by a group of students and staff known as the Raven Society.
The earliest surviving home in which Poe lived is at 203 North Amity St. in Baltimore, which is preserved as the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum. Poe is believed to have lived in the home at the age of 23 when he first lived with Maria Clemm and Virginia and possibly his grandmother and possibly his brother William Henry Leonard Poe.
Between 1834 and 1844, Poe lived in at least four different Philadelphia residences, including the Indian Queen Hotel at 15 S. 4th Street, at a residence at 16th and Locust Streets, at 2502 Fairmount Street, and then in the Spring Garden section of the city at 532 N. 7th Street, a residence that has been preserved by the National Park Service as the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site. Poe's final home in Bronx, New York City, is preserved as the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage.
In Boston, a commemorative plaque on Boylston Street is several blocks away from the actual location of Poe's birth. The house which was his birthplace at 62 Carver Street no longer exists; also, the street has since been renamed "Charles Street South". A "square" at the intersection of Broadway, Fayette, and Carver Streets had once been named in his honor, but it disappeared when the streets were rearranged. In 2009, the intersection of Charles and Boylston streets (two blocks north of his birthplace) was designated "Edgar Allan Poe Square".
In March 2014, fundraising was completed for construction of a permanent memorial sculpture, known as Poe Returning to Boston, at this location. The winning design by Stefanie Rocknak depicts a life-sized Poe striding against the wind, accompanied by a flying raven; his suitcase lid has fallen open, leaving a "paper trail" of literary works embedded in the sidewalk behind him. The public unveiling on October 5, 2014, was attended by former U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky.
Other Poe landmarks include a building on the Upper West Side, where Poe temporarily lived when he first moved to New York City. A plaque suggests that Poe wrote "The Raven" here. On Sullivan's Island in Charleston County, South Carolina, the setting of Poe's tale "The Gold-Bug" and where Poe served in the Army in 1827 at Fort Moultrie, there is a restaurant called Poe's Tavern. In the Fells Point section of Baltimore, a bar still stands where legend says that Poe was last seen drinking before his death. Known as "The Horse You Came in On", local lore insists that a ghost whom they call "Edgar" haunts the rooms above.
=== Poe Toaster ===
Between 1949 and 2009, a bottle of cognac and three roses were left at Poe's original grave marker every January 19 by an unknown visitor affectionately referred to as the "Poe Toaster". Sam Porpora was a historian at the Westminster Church in Baltimore, where Poe is buried; he claimed on August 15, 2007, that he had started the tradition in 1949. Porpora said that the tradition began in order to raise money and enhance the profile of the church. His story has not been confirmed, and some details which he gave to the press are factually inaccurate. The Poe Toaster's last appearance was on January 19, 2009, the day of Poe's bicentennial.
== List of selected works ==
Short stories
Poetry
Other works
Politian (1835) – Poe's only play
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) – Poe's only complete novel
The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840) – Poe's second, unfinished novel
"The Balloon-Hoax" (1844) – A journalistic hoax printed as a true story
"The Philosophy of Composition" (1846) – Essay
Eureka: A Prose Poem (1848) – Essay
"The Poetic Principle" (1848) – Essay
"The Light-House" (1849) – Poe's last, incomplete work |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Stadium | Millennium Stadium | The Millennium Stadium (Welsh: Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium (Welsh: Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales in Cardiff. It has a retractable roof and a usual capacity of 73,931. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and has also held Wales national football team games. Initially built to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup and replacing the National Stadium on the site known as Cardiff Arms Park, it has hosted other events including the Tsunami Relief Cardiff concert, the Super Special Stage of Wales Rally Great Britain, the Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain and various concerts. It also hosted FA Cup, League Cup and Football League play-off finals while Wembley Stadium was being redeveloped between 2001 and 2006, as well as football matches during the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The stadium is owned by Millennium Stadium plc, a subsidiary company of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). The architects were Bligh Lobb Sports Architecture. The structural engineers were WS Atkins and the building contractor was Laing. The total construction cost of the stadium was £121million, of which the Millennium Commission funded £46 million.
The Millennium Stadium opened in June 1999 and its first major event was an international rugby union match on 26 June 1999, when Wales beat South Africa by 29–19 before a crowd of 29,000. With a total seating capacity of 73,931, it is the largest stadium in Wales and the fourth largest in the United Kingdom by capacity. It is also the second-largest stadium in the world with a fully retractable roof and was the second stadium in Europe to have this feature. Listed as a category four stadium by UEFA, the stadium was chosen as the venue for the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final, which took place on 3 June 2017 and was won by Real Madrid. In 2015, the Welsh Rugby Union announced a 10-year sponsorship deal with the Principality Building Society that saw the stadium renamed as the "Principality Stadium" from early 2016.
== History ==
=== Background ===
Until 1969, Cardiff RFC and Wales both played their home matches on the same pitch at Cardiff Arms Park, but all this changed in the 1969–70 season. As a result of an agreement between Cardiff Athletic Club and the WRU, the National Stadium project established that a new stadium for international matches and events was required, with Cardiff RFC moving to a new, purpose-built stadium on the original cricket ground at the site of the former Cardiff Arms Park stadium. By 7 April 1984 the National Stadium was officially opened. However, in 1994, a committee was set up to consider redeveloping the National Stadium, and by 1995 the WRU had been chosen to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
In 1995, the National Stadium, which was designed in 1962, only had a capacity of 53,000; other nations' stadia, such as Twickenham (England) with a capacity of 75,000, and Murrayfield Stadium (Scotland) with a capacity of 67,000, had overtaken it. France was also about to build the Stade de France, which would have a capacity of more than 80,000 for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The original capacity of the National Stadium was 65,000, but this had been reduced to 53,000, due to the Taylor Report. 11,000 of 53,000 capacity was on the East Terrace and the conversion to an all-seater stadium would have reduced the stadium capacity still further to just 47,500.
In addition to the problems of capacity, the National Stadium was also very well hidden by the neighbouring buildings to the south in Park Street, Wood Street and to the east in Westgate Street, and also by Cardiff Rugby Ground in the north. It was only fully visible from across the River Taff in the west. Access to the ground was also very restricted with the main entrance being a narrow opening in Westgate Street to the east which was shared by both vehicles and spectators alike.
The options for the new stadium included adding a third tier to the existing National Stadium, or moving to a new site. This last option was discounted because it would have required a vast car parking facility, and that would have put severe short-term pressures on the local transport infrastructure, creating traffic jams and pollution. The committee eventually chose a new stadium on the same site but with considerable increase in its capacity. It would also involve moving the alignment of the stadium from west–east to north–south. This was the option supported by the Millennium Commission. It would become the fourth redevelopment of the Cardiff Arms Park site. It was also decided that the new stadium should have a sliding roof to accommodate a multi-use venue, with a grass pitch for rugby and football. The only other sliding roofs in Europe at the time were at two Dutch stadia – the Amsterdam Arena, completed in 1996 with a capacity of 50,000; and Gelredome in Arnhem, a 30,000-capacity ground built from 1996 to 1998.
To remain on the Arms Park site, additional space had to be found to allow safe access and to provide room for the increased capacity and improved facilities. This was achieved by the purchase of adjacent buildings to the south and east and by the construction of a new £6 million River Walk by the River Taff on the western side of the stadium.
By 1999, the Millennium Stadium had replaced the National Stadium, Cardiff Arms Park, as the national stadium of Wales for rugby union and association football international matches. Cardiff RFC continued as before to play at Cardiff Arms Park rugby ground, which had replaced the cricket ground in 1969.
=== Construction ===
The stadium was designed by a team led by Rod Sheard at Lobb Sport Architecture, who later merged with HOK Sport to become Populous. The building contractor was Laing and the structural engineers were WS Atkins. Mike Otlet of WS Atkins designed the stadium's retractable roof, which was constructed by Kelsey Roofing Industries. Cimolai S.p.A. from Italy fabricated and erected the 72 steel plane frames for the stands and all the 4,500 components of the roof.
Construction involved the demolition of a number of buildings, primarily the existing National Stadium (Cardiff Arms Park), Wales Empire Pool (swimming pool) in Wood Street, Cardiff Empire Telephone Exchange building (owned by BT) in Park Street, the newly built Territorial Auxiliary & Volunteer Reserve building in Park Street, and the Social Security offices in Westgate Street.
The stadium was built by Laing in 1999 on the site of the National Stadium, with the head of construction being Steve Ager. It was built for the 1999 Rugby World Cup, for which Wales was the main host, with seven of the 41 matches, including the final, being played at the stadium.
The total construction cost of the stadium was £121 million, which was funded by private investment and £46 million of public funds from the Millennium Commission, the sale of debentures to supporters (which offered guaranteed tickets in exchange for an interest-free loan) and loans. The development left the WRU heavily in debt.
The Millennium Stadium was named as such in recognition of the Millennium Commission's contribution to the building.
The stadium was first used for a major event on 26 June 1999, when Wales played South Africa in a rugby union test match before a crowd of 29,000. Wales won 29–19: the first time they had ever beaten the Springboks.
=== 2016 renaming ===
On 8 September 2015 it was announced that the Millennium Stadium would be renamed Principality Stadium as the result of a 10-year naming rights deal with the Principality Building Society. Some fans expressed opposition on social media.
On 22 January 2016, the Millennium Stadium was officially renamed as the Principality Stadium. The new name, written bilingually ("Stadiwm Principality Stadium") and covering 114 square metres (1,230 sq ft) of the upper stadium, was lit up at a special evening ceremony, to be followed by a festival to encourage grassroots rugby. The change of name also meant a change of logo for the Millennium Stadium. There were three designs shortlisted, and a panel, which included the former Wales international captain Ryan Jones and staff and members of the WRU and Principality Building Society, chose the final design. A spokesperson for the WRU said: "The new stadium logo takes its inspiration from the venue's iconic architecture; four spires, curved frontage and fully retractable roof."
== Features ==
The all-seater stadium has the capacity for 74,500 supporters and features a retractable roof, only the second stadium of its type in Europe. When opened the stadium was the largest stadium with this feature in the world until the opening of the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas in the United States in 2009. It Remained the largest in Europe until the renovations of the Bernabéu in Madrid, Spain were completed in 2024.
Additional seating is sometimes added for special events such as a rugby Test against the New Zealand All Blacks, or for the FA Cup Final. The current record attendance is set at just over 78,000, recorded at the Anthony Joshua v Carlos Takam fight, on 28 October 2017, in which Joshua successfully retained his WBA, IBF and IBO titles.
The natural grass turf was made up of a modular system installed by GreenTech ITM. It features built in irrigation and drainage. The pitch itself was laid on top of some 7,412 pallets that could be moved so the stadium could be used for concerts, exhibitions and other events.
In May 2014, after much trouble with disease and stability, the surface was removed and replaced with a more resilient interwoven sand based Desso pitch.
The four ends of the ground are called the North Stand, the West Stand, the South Stand and the East Stand. The South Stand was previously known as the Hyder Stand, until Hyder was sold while the East stand was called the BT Stand until the stadium was renamed in 2016. The stadium has three tiers of seating with the exception of the North Stand, which has two tiers. The lower tier holds 23,154 spectators, the middle tier holding 15,626 and the upper tier holding 35,151 spectators.
The stadium was slightly restricted in size due to its proximity to Cardiff Rugby Club's home in the adjacent smaller stadium within Cardiff Arms Park. The WRU were unable to secure enough funding to include the North Stand in the new stadium and the Millennium Commission would not allow any of its funds to be used in any way for the construction of a new stadium for Cardiff RFC. The WRU held talks with Cardiff RFC to see if it would be possible for the club to either move or secure funding for the Cardiff Arms Park to be re-developed, but these were unsuccessful. The stadium thus had to be completed with a break in its bowl structure in the North Stand, known colloquially as Glanmor's Gap, after Glanmor Griffiths, then chairman of the WRU and now a former president.
The superstructure of the stadium is based around four 90.3-metre (296 ft) masts. The stadium was built from 56,000 tonnes of concrete and steel, and has 124 hospitality suites and 7 hospitality lounges, 22 bars, 7 restaurants, 17 first aid points, 12 escalators and 7 lifts. The stadium has 7 gates for access to the site; Gate 1 is from the River Walk via Castle Street (to the north), Gates 2 and 3 are via Westgate Street (to the east), Gate 4 which was renamed Gatland's Gate (Welsh: Gât Gatland) in honour of Warren Gatland in November 2019, is for team-coaches, celebrity limousines and other uses via Westgate Street, Gate 5 is via Park Street (to the south) and Gates 6 and 7 are via the Millennium Plaza (also to the south).
Any future renovation to the stadium will involve replacing the old North Stand of the former National Stadium with a new one similar to the three existing stands of the new Millennium Stadium. This will make the stadium bowl-shaped and will increase its capacity to around 80,000. It will resolve the existing problems of deteriorating concrete quality on the old structure in the north stand. However the WRU has been more resistant to the proposal in recent years, stating that the concrete has not been deteriorating in recent years meaning the cost of replacing Glanmor's Gap would not justify the limited increase in capacity it would provide.
In each of the stadium's bars, so-called "joy machines" can pour 12 pints in less than 20 seconds. During a Wales versus France match, 63,000 fans drank 77,184 pints of beer, almost double the 44,000 pints drunk by a similar number of fans at a game at Twickenham. The stadium has a resident hawk named "Dad", who is employed to drive seagulls and pigeons out of the stadium.
In 2005 the stadium installed an "Arena Partition Drape System" – a 1,100 kg (2,400 lb) black curtain made up of 12 drapes measuring 9 m × 35 m (30 ft × 115 ft) – to vary the audience from a capacity of over 73,000 down to between 12,000 and 46,000, depending on the four different positions that it can be hung. The curtains can be stored in the roof of the stadium when not in use. The £1 million cost of the curtain was funded by the stadium, the Millennium Commission, its caterers Letherby and Christopher (Compass Group) and by the then Wales Tourist Board. The curtain was supplied by Blackout.
In May 2015, the chairman of the WRU, Gareth Davies, announced that the stadium would be fitted with new seats, replacing the original seats from 1999 at a cost of £4 million to £5 million, which would be completed by 2018. In addition a new £3.1 million Desso hybrid pitch will be installed.
In February 2019, the stadium increased its disabled capacity from 168 to 214 at a cost of around £100,000. As a result, the overall capacity of the stadium was reduced from 74,500 to 73,931.
=== Statue of Sir Tasker Watkins ===
A statue of Sir Tasker Watkins, the former WRU president between 1993 and 2004, was commissioned to stand outside Gate 3 of the stadium. The bronze statue, 9 feet (2.7 m) tall, was sculpted by Llantwit Major based sculptor Roger Andrews. The Welsh Government contributed £50,000, as did Cardiff Council. It was officially unveiled on 15 November 2009 by his daughter, Lady Mair Griffith-Williams.
== Usage ==
As well as international rugby union and association football, the Millennium Stadium has hosted a variety of sports, including, rugby league (including the Challenge Cup Final on three occasions between 2003 and 2005, the opening ceremony of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup and Welsh Rugby League internationals), speedway, boxing, the Wales Rally Great Britain stage of the World Rally Championship, Monster Jam and indoor cricket. The indoor cricket match between The Brits and a Rest of the World team for the Pertemps Power Cricket Cup, which took place on 4 and 5 October 2002.
=== Rugby union ===
The stadium is the home of the Welsh rugby union team, who play all of their home fixtures at the venue. These games include those during the Six Nations, as well as the Autumn Internationals against nations from the Southern Hemisphere. Apart from the national team, the stadium has also hosted the European Rugby Champions Cup finals on six occasions. In total, the site, including the National Stadium, has hosted the final of the European Rugby Champions Cup on eight occasions.
The stadium has also been used for Celtic League games, and the semi-finals of the Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2006 and 2007. Since 2013, the Millennium Stadium has hosted Judgement Day, a double-header between the four Welsh United Rugby Championship teams. The 2016 edition had 68,262 spectators, the highest in the history of the league.
The stadium hosted the first match in the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand when they drew 25–25 against Argentina in a warm-up test match.
Welsh Varsity rugby matches
On 30 March 2011, the stadium hosted the Welsh Varsity rugby match for the first time in the history of the match between the senior teams of Cardiff University and Swansea University. The stadium is used alternating years with Liberty Stadium in Swansea. The Welsh Varsity event celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2016.
Rugby World Cup
The Welsh Rugby Union hosted the 1999 Rugby World Cup with the Final being played at the stadium. The stadium also hosted 3 pool matches and 1 quarter-final match (New Zealand 18–20 France) of the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
On 15 October 2011, the stadium was open to Welsh Rugby Union fans free of charge, providing that they wear red so that they could watch a live screening of the 2011 Rugby World Cup semi-final between Wales and France that was played at Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand. The match was screened on the stadium's existing large screens, on all of their television screens and on a screen that was brought in for the occasion. The same was done for the Bronze Final between Wales and Australia which saw Wales defeated and take fourth place.
The stadium hosted six pool matches, including two featuring Wales, and two quarter-final matches during the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
=== Rugby league ===
The stadium first hosted rugby league football during the 2000 World Cup: a double header featuring Cook Islands versus Lebanon and Wales versus New Zealand that attracted a crowd of 17,612. It was again used as Wales' home ground during the 2002 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain and France when they again hosted the Kiwis this time attracting 8,746 spectators.
The Stadium has hosted three Challenge Cup Finals, which are usually played at Wembley, from 2003 to 2005. In 2003 the Bradford Bulls defeated the Leeds Rhinos 22–20 in front of 71,212 fans. St. Helens defeated Wigan 36–16 in 2004 in front of 73,734 fans, while Hull F.C. defeated Leeds 25–24 in 2005 in front of 74,213 fans, the largest rugby league crowd at the stadium.
Also, in 2007 the stadium hosted the inaugural Millennium Magic weekend. This was a two-day event in May when an entire round of Super League matches were played, three games on the Saturday and three games on the Sunday. The event was deemed a success by the sport's governing body, the RFL, and second Millennium Magic event took place in May 2008, although the 2009 and 2010 events were held at Murrayfield Stadium and were renamed Magic Weekend. In 2011, Magic Weekend moved back to Cardiff with the opening round of Super League being played.
On 26 October 2013, the Millennium Stadium hosted the opening ceremony and the first two fixtures of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup: a double-header featuring Wales against Italy and England against title favourites and eventual tournament champions Australia. This double header produced an overall attendance of 45,052, which is an international rugby league record at the stadium.
=== Association football ===
From 2000 to 2009, the stadium was the almost-permanent home of Welsh football. The national team played the vast majority of home matches at the Millennium Stadium, with a handful of friendly matches once or twice a year at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham or Liberty Stadium, Swansea. The first Welsh football game at the stadium was played against Finland in 2000, and drew a then-record home crowd for Welsh football of over 66,000. This has since been beaten on several occasions. However, since 2010, the majority of home games have been played at the smaller Cardiff City Stadium, the home of Cardiff City. Wales have only played at the stadium twice since 2009; in 2011 against England and in 2018 against Spain.
While the Millennium Stadium was under construction, the original Wembley Stadium had hosted the Welsh rugby team during the building of the new ground. The favour was returned from 2001 while the new Wembley Stadium was being built, with the Millennium hosting:
FA Cup Final
League Cup Final
Football League Trophy Final
Football League play-off Finals
FA Community Shield
The stadium became notorious for an apparent "away team hoodoo"; the first 11 major cup finals were all won by the teams occupying the home dressing room. Stoke City beat Brentford 2–0 in 2002 to end the "hoodoo", after Paul Darby carried out a feng shui blessing.
Liverpool were the first team to win the FA Cup at the Millennium Stadium in 2001 after beating Arsenal 2–1. They were also the first team to win the League Cup at the Stadium, defeating Birmingham City in a penalty shoot-out earlier that year. In 2003, Liverpool won the League Cup for the seventh time in their history thanks to a 2–0 win over Manchester United in the final at the stadium. Liverpool also won the last FA Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium in 2006, beating West Ham United 3–1 in a penalty shoot-out that followed a 3–3 draw after extra time in what was billed as 'the best cup final of the modern era'.
The Football League Third Division play-offs in 2003 saw AFC Bournemouth beat Lincoln City 5–2. In this game, Bournemouth set a new record for the most goals scored by one team in a single match at the stadium. This record has since been matched but not beaten. The last domestic cup match played was when Doncaster Rovers beat Bristol Rovers 3–2 after extra time in the Football League Trophy Final on 1 April 2007.
When London was selected as the host city for the 2012 Summer Olympics, the Millennium Stadium was named as one of the six venues for the football competition. It had the distinction of hosting the opening event of the Games – a 1–0 win for the Great Britain women's team against New Zealand – as well as four other group games and a quarter-final in the women's tournament, and three group games, a quarter-final and the bronze medal match in the men's.
==== UEFA Champions League ====
In 2001, the Football Association of Wales (FAW) confirmed that they had bid to host the 2003 UEFA Champions League Final. The stadium had recently been rated as a five-star stadium by UEFA, making it one of the favorites to host the match, but the final was eventually awarded to Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United. On 30 June 2015, the Millennium Stadium was chosen as the venue for the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final. Due to UEFA regulations regarding the use of names of non-tournament sponsors, the stadium continued to use the name "Millennium Stadium" in official literature, while the name "National Stadium of Wales" was used for the final itself. UEFA rules also resulted in all titles and logos – as well as those of other non-UEFA sponsors – being covered or removed for the duration. The game was played on 3 June 2017 between Italian club Juventus and Spanish club Real Madrid, in a repeat of the 1998 final; Real Madrid won the match 4–1.
==== UEFA Euros ====
It was suggested that the stadium would have been one of the venues of a proposed UEFA Euro 2016 championship hosted jointly by Wales and Scotland. However, the bid did not reach the formal UEFA selection stage, having been abandoned by the Welsh and Scottish Football Associations for financial reasons.
In April 2014, the FAW did submit a formal bid to host three group matches and either a round of 16 match or a quarter-final at Euro 2020, which UEFA planned to host at 13 venues across Europe. When the host venues were voted on in September 2014, the Millennium Stadium lost out by a single vote behind Glasgow's Hampden Park, a decision that FAW chief executive Jonathan Ford put down to UEFA politics.
In November 2025 it was announced that the stadium would host 6 rounds of UEFA Euro 2028, Including the opening fixture, a Round of 16 match & a quarter final fixture. As with the 2017 Champions League Final, due to UEFA Rules the stadium will be referred to as the "National Stadium of Wales".
=== Boxing ===
There have been five nights of boxing at the stadium.
On 8 July 2006 when Matt Skelton beat Danny Williams for the Commonwealth heavyweight title.
On 7 April 2007, Joe Calzaghe beat Peter Manfredo to retain his WBO super middleweight belt.
On 3 November 2007, Calzaghe beat Mikkel Kessler to retain his WBO super middleweight belt and win the WBA and WBC super middleweight titles.
On 28 October 2017 Anthony Joshua successfully retained his WBA (Super), IBF and IBO heavyweight titles against mandatory challenger Carlos Takam with a 10th round stoppage.
On 31 March 2018, it hosted the World heavyweight unification fight between Anthony Joshua, holder of the WBA and IBF belts, and Joseph Parker, holder of the WBO belt. Joshua beat Parker on points.
=== Motorsports ===
In 2001, the stadium staged its first ever motorsport event, hosting the Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain, which continued annually, attracting a record crowd of 44,150 in 2010. The temporary motorcycle speedway track was 278 metres (304 yards) in length and with sections of the stadiums lower seating bowl covered, the capacity of the stadium for the Grand Prix was set at 62,500. The 2025 event was cancelled for commercial reasons.
In September 2005, the stadium was host to the first ever indoor stage of the World Rally Championship during the Wales Rally Great Britain. The lower tier of the stadium was removed to create a figure-of-eight course. In addition to this, the stadium has also hosted Supercross events. In October 2007, the stadium first hosted the UK leg of the Monster Jam trucks Europe tour, and returned in June 2008, again in 2009, 2010, 2016, 2018 and 2019.
=== Film ===
The stadium has been used on numerous occasions as a venue for shooting film and television productions. Scenes from the 2001 Hindi film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham were filmed there.
Between 2004 and 2011, the stadium was used several times as a filming location for episodes of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. The 2005 episode "Dalek" was shot primarily on location at the stadium, using its underground areas to represent a bunker in Utah, US, in the year 2012. The location shooting for the episode took place during October and November 2004. The underground areas of the stadium were used again in August 2005 to film Mission Control scenes for the Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Christmas Invasion", and again the following year to film scenes in the underground corridors of Torchwood in "The Runaway Bride" episode, broadcast on Christmas Day 2006. Shots of the Stormcage Facility in which River Song is incarcerated in series 5 and 6 of Doctor Who are also in the stadium, filmed between October 2010 and January 2011.
The stadium has also been used as a location for the filming of Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures. The 2010 story, "Death of the Doctor", included corridor scenes for the UNIT headquarters that were filmed underground at the Millennium Stadium.
The Wembley Stadium scene in the film 28 Weeks Later was actually filmed at the Millennium Stadium. Although the outside is footage of Wembley, the inside is all filmed in Cardiff. The visual effects team on the film edited the footage to make it look more like Wembley.
Sébastien Foucan jumped over the gap of the opening of the stadium roof in the parkour documentary "Jump Britain".
=== Eventing ===
The inaugural Express Eventing International Cup took place at the stadium on 30 November 2008. The three-event competition made up of dressage, cross-country and show jumping all took place over the one day. The event was won by Oliver Townend.
=== Concerts ===
The stadium has also been used for a variety of musical events, including the Manic Street Preachers concert held on Millennium Eve, and, on the following day, a recording of the BBC's Songs of Praise, which attracted an attendance of 60,000. Tina Turner performed a sold-out concert at the stadium during her highly successful Twenty Four Seven Tour in 2000. Welsh rockers Stereophonics have played two sold-out shows at the stadium: In July 2001 as part of their two-day "A Day at the Races" festival which would later be released to DVD and in 2003, shortly after the departure of the late Stuart Cable.
American rock band Bon Jovi played the venue during the One Wild Night Tour in 2001. At the end of January 2005, the stadium hosted a tsunami relief concert in aid of the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, with Eric Clapton headlining the event. The stadium has also been host to Madonna on two occasions, the first in July 2006 when she opened the UK leg of her Confessions Tour, and most recently in August 2008 when she kicked off her Sticky & Sweet Tour at the stadium. Other performers who have played at the stadium include Robbie Williams as part of his Weddings, Barmitzvahs & Stadiums Tour, U2 as part of their Vertigo Tour, Red Hot Chili Peppers as part of their By the Way tour, The Rolling Stones as part of their A Bigger Bang Tour, R.E.M. as part of their Monster tour and again for their Around the Sun tour.
Paul McCartney also played at the stadium as part of his Up and Coming Tour, and The Police performed there as part of their Reunion Tour. In late 2005, Oasis played at the stadium during their Don't Believe the Truth Tour and again on their Dig Out Your Soul Tour in 2009. In 2008, the stadium hosted Neil Diamond and Bruce Springsteen with the E Street Band as part of their Magic Tour, On 22 August 2009, U2 again played at the stadium, as part of their European leg of their U2 360° Tour, playing to a record-breaking concert attendance of 73,354. On May 17, 2023, Beyoncé performed at the stadium as part of her Renaissance World Tour. Taylor Swift played at the stadium on June 18, 2024 as part of The Eras Tour. In 2024, it was announced Oasis would play at the stadium in July 2025 as part of their Live '25 Tour. Lana Del Rey took the stage on June 23, 2025 as part of her UK and Ireland stadium tour.
=== Conferences ===
The stadium offers conferencing facilities via the foodservice organisation Compass Group. The facilities consist of six individually designed lounges and 124 pitch-facing executive box suites.
In addition to business events, the facilities are also available for dinners, banquets, balls, parties and weddings receptions.
=== Temporary hospital ===
On 28 March 2020, it was announced that the stadium was to be converted at a cost of £8 million into a temporary field hospital to accommodate up to 2000 patients of the COVID-19 pandemic, at the same time as the Excel Centre, London, NEC, Birmingham, and the Manchester Central Convention Complex. By the weekend of 11–12 April 2020, it had a capacity of 330 beds.
=== Professional wrestling ===
On 12 April 2022, American professional wrestling company WWE announced that it would hold a major event at Millennium Stadium on 3 September, and opened pre-registration for tickets. The event was announced as being WWE's largest show in the UK since SummerSlam at the original Wembley Stadium in 1992. On 29 April 2022, it was announced that the event would be titled Clash at the Castle, in reference to nearby Cardiff Castle. The event attracted over 59,000 ticket pre-sale registrations, a company record. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinness | Guinness | Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British multinational alcoholic beverage maker Diageo. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in over 120. Sales in 2011 amounted to 850,000,000 litres (190,000,000 imp gal; 220,000,000 U.S. gal). It is the highest-selling beer in both Ireland and the United Kingdom.
The Guinness Storehouse is a tourist attraction at St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. Since opening in 2000, it has received over 20 million visitors. Adopted in 1862 by the incumbent proprietor, Benjamin Lee Guinness, the Guinness harp motif is modelled on the Trinity College harp (which is the national symbol of Ireland), with the right-facing harp registered as a trademark for Guinness in 1876.
Guinness's flavour derives from malted barley and roasted unmalted barley. The unmalted barley is a relatively modern addition that became part of the grist in the mid-20th century. For many years, a portion of aged brew was blended with freshly brewed beer to give a sharp lactic acid flavour. Although Guinness's palate still features a characteristic "tang", the company has refused to confirm whether this type of blending still occurs. The draught beer's thick and creamy head comes from mixing the beer with nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
Guinness moved its headquarters to London at the beginning of the Anglo-Irish trade war in 1932. In 1997, Guinness plc merged with Grand Metropolitan to form the multinational alcoholic-drinks producer Diageo plc, based in London.
== History ==
Arthur Guinness started brewing ales in 1759 at the St. James's Gate Brewery, Dublin. On 31 December 1759, he signed a 9,000 year lease at £45 per annum for the unused brewery. Ten years later, on 19 May 1769, Guinness first exported his ale: he shipped six-and-a-half barrels to Great Britain.
Arthur Guinness started selling the dark beer porter in 1778. The first Guinness beers to use the term "stout" were Single Stout and Double Stout in the 1840s. Throughout the bulk of its history, Guinness produced only three variations of a single beer type: porter or stout (single, double or extra) and foreign stout for export. "Stout" originally referred to a beer's strength, but eventually shifted meaning toward body and colour. Porter was also referred to as "plain", as mentioned in the famous refrain of Flann O'Brien's poem "The Workman's Friend": "A pint of plain is your only man."
Already one of the top-three British and Irish brewers, Guinness's sales soared from 350,000 barrels in 1868 to 779,000 barrels in 1876. In October 1886, Guinness became a public company and was averaging sales of 1.138 million barrels a year. This was despite the brewery's refusal to either advertise or offer its beer at a discount. Even though Guinness owned no public houses, the company was valued at £6 million and shares were 20 times oversubscribed, with share prices rising to a 60 per cent premium on the first day of trading.
The breweries pioneered several quality control efforts. The brewery hired the statistician William Sealy Gosset in 1899, who achieved lasting fame under the pseudonym "Student" for techniques developed for Guinness, particularly Student's t-distribution and the even more commonly known Student's t-test.
By 1900 the brewery was operating unparalleled welfare schemes for its 5,000 employees. By 1907 the welfare schemes were costing the brewery £40,000 a year, which was one-fifth of the total wages bill. The improvements were suggested and supervised by Sir John Lumsden. By 1914, Guinness was producing 2.652 million barrels of beer a year, which was more than double that of its nearest competitor Bass, and was supplying more than 10 per cent of the total UK beer market.
When World War I broke out in 1914, employees at Guinness St. James Brewery were encouraged to join the British forces. Over 800 employees served in the war. This was made possible due to a number of measures put in place by Guinness: soldiers' families were paid half wages, and jobs were guaranteed upon their return. Of the 800 employees who fought, 103 did not return.
During World War II, the demand for Guinness among the British was one of the main reasons why the UK lifted commerce restrictions imposed in 1941 to force Ireland into supporting the Allied Powers.
Before 1939, if a Guinness brewer wished to marry a Catholic, his resignation was requested. According to Thomas Molloy, writing in the Irish Independent, "It had no qualms about selling drink to Catholics but it did everything it could to avoid employing them until the 1960s."
Guinness thought they brewed their last porter in 1973. In the 1970s, following declining sales, the decision was taken to make Guinness Extra Stout more "drinkable". The gravity was subsequently reduced, and the brand was relaunched in 1981. Pale malt was used for the first time, and isomerised hop extract began to be used. In 2014, two new porters were introduced: West Indies Porter and Dublin Porter.
Guinness acquired The Distillers Company in 1986. This led to a scandal and criminal trial concerning the artificial inflation of the Guinness share price during the takeover bid engineered by the chairman, Ernest Saunders. A subsequent £5.2 million success fee paid to an American lawyer and Guinness director, Tom Ward, was the subject of the case Guinness plc v Saunders, in which the House of Lords declared that the payment had been invalid.
In the 1980s, as the IRA's bombing campaign spread to London and the rest of Britain, Guinness considered scrapping the harp as its logo.
In 1997 the company merged with Grand Metropolitan to form Diageo. The company was maintained as a separate entity within Diageo and has retained the rights to the product and all associated trademarks of Guinness.
The Guinness brewery in Park Royal London, closed in 2005. The production of all Guinness sold in the UK and Ireland was moved to St. James's Gate Brewery, Dublin.
Guinness had a fleet of ships, barges and yachts.
The Irish Sunday Independent newspaper reported on 17 June 2007 that Diageo intended to close the historic St. James's Gate plant in Dublin and move to a greenfield site on the outskirts of the city.
Initially, Diageo dismissed talk of a move as a rumour, but as speculation mounted in the wake of the Sunday Independent article, the company confirmed it was undertaking a "significant review of its operations". This review was part of the company's ongoing drive to reduce the environmental impact of brewing at the St. James's Gate plant.
On 23 November 2007, an article appeared in the Evening Herald, a Dublin newspaper, stating that the Dublin City Council, in the best interests of the city of Dublin, had put forward a motion to prevent planning permission ever being granted for the development of the site, thus making it very difficult for Diageo to sell off the site for residential development.
On 9 May 2008, Diageo announced that the St. James's Gate brewery will remain open and undergo renovations, but that breweries in Kilkenny and Dundalk will be closed by 2013 when a new larger brewery is opened near Dublin. The result will be a loss of roughly 250 jobs across the entire Diageo and Guinness workforce in Ireland. Two days later, the Sunday Independent again reported that Diageo chiefs had met with Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, the deputy leader of the Government of Ireland, about moving operations to Ireland from the UK to benefit from its lower corporation tax rates. Several UK firms have made the move in order to pay Ireland's 12.5 per cent rate rather than the UK's 28 per cent rate. Diageo released a statement to the London Stock Exchange (LSE) denying the report. Despite the merger that created Diageo plc in 1997, Guinness has retained its right to the Guinness brand and associated trademarks and thus continues to trade under the traditional Guinness name despite trading under the corporate name Diageo for a brief period in 1997.
In 2017, Diageo made their beer suitable for consumption by vegetarians and vegans by introducing a new filtration process that avoided the use of isinglass from fish bladders to filter out yeast particles.
== Composition ==
Guinness stout is made from water, malted barley, roasted barley, hops, and brewer's yeast. A portion of the barley is roasted to give Guinness its dark colour and characteristic taste. It is pasteurised and filtered.
Until the late 1950s, Guinness was still racked into wooden casks. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Guinness ceased brewing cask-conditioned beers and developed a keg brewing system with aluminium kegs replacing the wooden casks; these were nicknamed "iron lungs".
Until 2016 the production of Guinness, as with many beers, involved the use of isinglass made from fish. Isinglass was used as a fining agent for settling out suspended matter in the vat. The isinglass was retained in the floor of the vat but it was possible that minute quantities might be carried over into the beer. Diageo announced in February 2018 that the use of isinglass
in draught Guinness was to be discontinued and an alternative clarification agent would be used instead, making the drink acceptable to vegans and vegetarians.
== Present day Guinness ==
Arguably its biggest change to date, in 1959 Guinness began using nitrogen, which changed the fundamental texture and flavour of the Guinness of the past as nitrogen bubbles are much smaller than CO2, giving a "creamier" and "smoother" consistency over a sharper and traditional CO2 taste. This step was taken after Michael Ash—a mathematician turned brewer—discovered the mechanism to make this possible.
Nitrogen is less soluble than carbon dioxide, which allows the beer to be put under high pressure without making it fizzy. High pressure of the dissolved gas is required to enable very small bubbles to be formed by forcing the draught beer through fine holes in a plate in the tap, which causes the characteristic "surge" (the widget in cans and bottles achieves the same effect). This "widget" is a small plastic ball containing the nitrogen. The perceived smoothness of draught Guinness is due to its low level of carbon dioxide and the creaminess of the head caused by the very fine bubbles that arise from the use of nitrogen and the dispensing method described above. Foreign Extra Stout contains more carbon dioxide, causing a more acidic taste.
Although Guinness is black, and is referred to as "the black stuff" in Diageo marketing, it is also "officially" referred to as a very dark shade of ruby.
The most recent change in alcohol content from the Import Stout to the Extra Stout was due to a change in distribution through North American market. Consumer complaints influenced subsequent distribution and bottle changes.
== Health ==
Guinness ran an advertising campaign in the 1920s which stemmed from market research – when people told the company that they felt good after their pint – the slogan, created by Dorothy L. Sayers, "Guinness is Good for You". Advertising for alcoholic drinks that implies improved physical performance or enhanced personal qualities is now prohibited in Ireland.
A 2003 study found that stouts such as Guinness could have a benefit of helping to reduce the deposit of harmful cholesterol on artery walls. This was attributed to the higher levels of antioxidants in stouts than in lagers, though the health benefits of antioxidants have been called into question, and Diageo, the company that now manufactures Guinness, said: "We never make any medical claims for our drinks."
== Varieties ==
Guinness stout is available in a number of variants and strengths, which include:
Guinness Draught, the standard draught beer sold in kegs (but exist also a texture-like version in widget cans and bottles): 4.1 to 4.3% alcohol by volume (ABV); the Extra Cold is served through a super cooler at 3.5 °C (38.3 °F).
Guinness Foreign Extra Stout: 7.5% ABV version sold in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, and the United States. The basis is an unfermented but hopped Guinness wort extract shipped from Dublin, which is added to local ingredients and fermented locally. The strength can vary, for example, it is sold at 5% ABV in China, 6.5% ABV in Jamaica and East Africa, 6.8% in Malaysia, 7.5% in the United States, and 8% ABV in Singapore. In Nigeria a proportion of sorghum is used. Foreign Extra Stout is blended with a small amount of intentionally soured beer. Formerly, it was blended with beer that soured naturally as a result of fermenting in ancient oak tuns with a Brettanomyces population; it is now made with pasteurised beer that has been soured bacterially. It was previously known as West Indies Porter, then Extra Stout and finally Foreign Extra Stout. It was first made available in the UK in 1990.
Guinness Special Export Stout, Commissioned by John Martin of Belgium in 1912. The first variety of Guinness to be pasteurised, in 1930. 8% ABV.
Guinness Bitter, an English-style bitter beer: 4.4% ABV.
Guinness Extra Smooth, a smoother stout sold in Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria: 5.5% ABV.
Malta Guinness, a non-alcoholic sweet drink, produced in Nigeria and exported to the UK, East Africa, and Malaysia.
Guinness Zero ABV, a non-alcoholic beverage sold in Indonesia.
Guinness Mid-Strength, a low-alcohol stout test-marketed in Limerick, Ireland in March 2006 and Dublin from May 2007: 2.8% ABV.
Guinness Red, brewed in exactly the same way as Guinness except that the barley is only lightly roasted so that it produces a lighter, slightly fruitier red ale; test-marketed in Britain in February 2007: 4% ABV.
250 Anniversary Stout, released in the U.S., Australia and Singapore on 24 April 2009; 5% ABV.
Guinness West Indies, a Porter which imitates the 1801 variety with notes of toffee and chocolate: 6% ABV.
In October 2005, Guinness announced the Brewhouse Series, a limited-edition collection of draught stouts available for roughly six months each. There were three beers in the series.
Brew 39 was sold in Dublin from late 2005 until early 2006. It had the same alcohol content (ABV) as Guinness Draught, used the same gas mix and settled in the same way, but had a slightly different taste. Many found it to be lighter in taste, somewhat closer to Beamish stout than standard Irish Guinness. The Beamish & Crawford Brewery was established in 1792 in the City of Cork, and was bought by Guinness in 1833.
Toucan Brew was introduced in May 2006. It was named after the cartoon toucan used in many Guinness advertisements. This beer had a crisper taste with a slightly sweet aftertaste due to its triple-hopped brewing process.
North Star was introduced in October 2006 and sold into late 2007. Three million pints of North Star were sold in the latter half of 2007.
Despite an announcement in June 2007 that the fourth Brewhouse stout would be launched in October that year, no new beer appeared and, at the end of 2007, the Brewhouse series appeared to have been quietly cancelled.
From early 2006, Guinness marketed a "surger" unit in Britain. This surger device, marketed for use with cans consumed at home, was "said to activate the gases in the canned beer" by sending an "ultra-sonic pulse through the pint glass" sitting upon the device.
Withdrawn Guinness variants include Guinness's Brite Lager, Guinness's Brite Ale, Guinness Light, Guinness XXX Extra Strong Stout, Guinness Cream Stout, Guinness Milk Stout, Guinness Irish Wheat, Guinness Gold, Guinness Pilsner, Guinness Breó (a slightly citrusy wheat beer), Guinness Shandy, and Guinness Special Light.
Breó (meaning 'glow' in Irish) was a wheat beer; it cost around IR£5 million to develop.
A brewing byproduct of Guinness, Guinness Yeast Extract (GYE), was produced until the 1950s. In the UK, a HP Guinness Sauce was manufactured by Heinz and available as of 2013.
In March 2010, Guinness began test marketing Guinness Black Lager, a new black lager, in Northern Ireland and Malaysia. As of September 2010, Guinness Black Lager is no longer readily available in Malaysia. In October 2010, Guinness began selling Foreign Extra Stout in 4 packs of bottles in the United States.
In 2014, Guinness released Guinness Blonde, a lager brewed in Latrobe, Pennsylvania using a combination of Guinness yeast and American ingredients. When Guinness opened their new brewery in Baltimore, Maryland in August 2018 they recreated "Blonde" to "Baltimore Blonde" by adjusting the grain mixture and adding Citra for a citrus flavour and removed the Mosaic hops.
Guinness released a lager in 2015 called Hop House 13. It was withdrawn from sale in the UK in May 2021, following poor sales, but remains on sale in Ireland.
In 2020, Guinness announced the introduction of a zero alcohol canned stout, Guinness 0.0. It was withdrawn from sale almost immediately after launch, due to contamination. It was relaunched in 2021 starting with pubs in mid July with cans following in late August.
In September 2021, Guinness Nitrosurge was released in pint sized cans which contain no widget. Similar to the Surger, nitrogen is activated using ultrasonic frequencies. Nitrosurge uses a special device attached to the top of the can which activates the nitrogen as it is being poured.
== Pouring and serving ==
Before the 1960s, when Guinness adopted a system of delivery using a nitrogen and carbon dioxide gas mixture, all beer leaving the brewery was cask-conditioned. Casks newly delivered to many small pubs were often nearly unmanageably frothy, but cellar space and rapid turnover demanded that they be put into use before they could sit for long enough to settle down. As a result, a glass would be part filled with the fresh, frothy beer, allowed to stand a minute, and then topped up with beer from a cask that had been pouring longer and had calmed down a bit. With the move to nitrogen gas dispensing in the 1960s, it was felt important to keep the two-stage pour ritual in order to bring better consumer acceptance of the change. As Guinness has not been cask-conditioned for decades, the two-stage pour has been labelled a marketing ploy that does not actually affect the beer's taste.
The manufacturer recommends a "double pour" serve, which according to Diageo should take two minutes. Guinness has promoted this wait with advertising campaigns such as "good things come to those who wait".
The brewer recommends that draught Guinness should be served at 6-7 °C (42.8 °F), while Extra Cold Guinness should be served at 3.5 °C (38.6 °F). Before the 21st century, it was popular to serve Guinness at cellar temperature (about 13 °C) and most drinkers preferred it at room temperature (about 20 °C).
According to Esquire magazine, a pint of Guinness should be served in a slightly tulip-shaped pint glass, rather than the taller European tulip or 'Nonic' glass, which contains a ridge approx 3/4 of the way up the glass. To begin the pour, the server holds the glass at a 45° angle below the tap and fills the glass 3/4 full. On the way out of the tap, the beer is forced at high speed through a five-hole disc restrictor plate at the end of the tap, creating friction and forcing the creation of small nitrogen bubbles which form a creamy head. The server brings the glass from 45° angle to a vertical position. After allowing the initial pour to settle, the server pushes the tap handle back and fills the remainder of the glass until the head forms a slight dome over the top of the glass (or "just proud of the rim"). Guinness recommends that, to avoid the bitter taste of the nitrogen foam head, gulps should be taken from the glass rather than sipping the drink.
In 2010, Guinness redesigned their pint glass for the first time in a decade. The new glass was taller and narrower than the previous one and featured a bevel design. The new glasses were planned to gradually replace the old ones.
A practice known as "splitting the G" has been an entry on the Urban Dictionary website since 2018. This drinking game sees the drinker attempt to bring the liquid level of the Guinness to sit at a certain level in relation to the glass' Guinness branding. Variants of the practice see the required liquid level as either: between the letter 'G', on the horizontal line of the 'G', or between the 'G' and the harp logo.
== Sinking bubbles ==
When Guinness is poured, the gas bubbles appear to travel downwards in the glass. The effect is attributed to drag; bubbles that touch the walls of a glass are slowed in their travel upwards. Bubbles in the centre of the glass are, however, free to rise to the surface, and thus form a rising column of bubbles. The rising bubbles create a current by the entrainment of the surrounding fluid. As beer rises in the centre, the beer near the outside of the glass falls. This downward flow pushes the bubbles near the glass towards the bottom. Although the effect occurs in any liquid, it is particularly noticeable in any dark nitrogen stout, as the drink combines dark-coloured liquid and light-coloured bubbles.
A study published in 2012 revealed that the effect is due to the particular shape of the glass coupled with the small bubble size found in stout beers. If the vessel widens with height, then bubbles will sink along the walls – this is the case for the standard pint glass. Conversely, in an anti-pint (i.e. if the vessel narrows with height) bubbles will rise along the walls.
== Advertising ==
The Guinness harp motif is modelled on the Trinity College harp. It was adopted in 1862 by the incumbent proprietor, Benjamin Lee Guinness. Harps have been a symbol of Ireland at least since the reign of Henry VIII. Guinness registered their harp as a trademark shortly after the passing of the Trade Marks Registration Act 1875. It faces right instead of left, and so can be distinguished from the Irish coat of arms.
Since the 1930s, in the face of falling sales, Guinness has had prominent marketing campaigns, from television advertisements to beer mats and posters. Before then, Guinness had almost no advertising, instead allowing word of mouth to sell the product.
The most notable and recognisable series of advertisements was created by S. H. Benson's advertising, primarily drawn by the artist John Gilroy, in the 1930s and 1940s. Benson created posters that included phrases such as "Guinness for Strength", "Lovely Day for a Guinness", "Guinness Makes You Strong", "My Goodness My Guinness" (or, alternatively, "My Goodness, My Christmas, It's Guinness!"), and most famously, "Guinness Is Good for You". While modern alcohol advertising regulations prohibit such claims, vintage artefacts with the slogans remain common in Irish pubs.
The posters featured Gilroy's distinctive artwork and more often than not featured animals such as a kangaroo, ostrich, seal, lion and notably a toucan, which has become as much a symbol of Guinness as the harp. (An advertisement from the 1940s ran with the following jingle: "Toucans in their nests agree/Guinness is good for you/Try some today and see/What one or toucan do.") Dorothy L. Sayers and R. A. Bevan copywriters at Benson's also worked on the campaign; a biography of Sayers notes that she created a sketch of the toucan and wrote several of the adverts in question. Guinness advertising paraphernalia, notably the pastiche booklets illustrated by Ronald Ferns, attract high prices on the collectable market.
Many of the best known Guinness television advertisements of the 1970s and 1980s were created by British director, Len Fulford. In 1983, a conscious marketing decision was made to turn Guinness into a "cult" beer in the UK, amidst declining sales. The move halted the sales decline.
The Guardian described the management of the brand: "They've spent years now building a brand that's in complete opposition to cheap lagers, session drinking and crowds of young men boozing in bars. They've worked very hard to help Guinness drinkers picture themselves as twinkly-eyed, Byronic bar-room intellectuals, sitting quietly with a pint and dreaming of poetry and impossibly lovely redheads running barefoot across the peat. You have a pint or two of Guinness with a slim volume of Yeats, not eight mates and a 19-pint bender which ends in tattoos, A&E [the ED] and herpes from a hen party."
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, in the UK, there was a series of "darkly" humorous adverts, featuring actor Rutger Hauer, with the theme "Pure Genius", extolling its qualities in brewing and target market.
The 1994–1995 Anticipation TV ad, featuring actor Joe McKinney dancing to "Guaglione" by Pérez Prado while his pint settled, led to the song being re-released and becoming a number one hit in Ireland and reaching number two in the UK. The length of time it takes to pour a proper pint of stout was also the focus of the "Good things come to those who wait" campaign in the UK in the later 1990s.
From 1999 to 2006, the Michael Power advertising character was the cornerstone of a major marketing campaign to promote Guinness products in Africa. The character, played by Cleveland Mitchell, was portrayed to have been born in Jamaica and raised in Great Britain. By 2003, it became one of the best-known alcohol advertising campaigns in Africa. Jo Foster of the BBC referred to Power as "Africa's very own 'James Bond'".
In 2000, Guinness's 1999 advertisement Surfer was named the best television commercial of all time, in a UK poll conducted by The Sunday Times and Channel 4. This advertisement is inspired by the famous 1980s Guinness TV and cinema ad, Big Wave, centred on a surfer riding a wave while a bikini-clad sunbather takes photographs. The 1980s advertisement not only remained a popular iconic image in its own right; it also entered the Irish cultural memory through inspiring a well-known line in Christy Moore's song "Delirium Tremens" (1985). Surfer was produced by the advertising agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO; the advertisement can be downloaded from their website.
Guinness won the 2001 Clio Award as the Advertiser of the Year, citing the work of five separate ad agencies around the world.
In 2002, Guinness applied the Michael Power formula to Asia with the character Adam King. The campaign featured such tag lines as: "Everyday someone, somewhere achieves something new. Sometimes on a grand, dramatic scale. Sometimes on a more personal scale." As of 2004, Guinness ranked among the top three beer labels in Singapore and Malaysia, with a 20 per cent market share across Southeast Asia. Malaysia was the brand's third-largest market in the region and the sixth largest market worldwide.
In 2003, the Guinness TV campaign featuring Tom Crean won the gold Shark Award at the International Advertising Festival of Ireland, while in 2005 their Irish Christmas campaign won a silver Shark. This TV ad has been run every Christmas since its debut in December 2004 and features pictures of snow falling in places around Ireland finishing at St. James's Gate Brewery with the line: "Even at the home of the black stuff they dream of a white one".
The UK commercial "noitulovE", first broadcast in October 2005, was one of the most-awarded commercials worldwide in 2006. In 2006, Diageo, owner of the Guinness brand, replaced the Michael Power campaign with the "Guinness Greatness" campaign, which they claim emphasises the "drop of greatness" in everyone, in contrast to the high-tension heroics of the Power character.
Guinness's 2007 advertisement, directed by Nicolai Fuglsig and filmed in Argentina, is entitled "Tipping Point". It involves a large-scale domino chain reaction and, with a budget of £10 million, was the most expensive advertisement by the company at that point.
The 2000s also saw a series of television advertisements, entitled Brilliant! in which two crudely animated Guinness brewmasters would discuss the beer, particularly the ability to drink it straight from the bottle. The two would almost always react to their discoveries with the catchphrase "Brilliant!", hence the campaign's title.
In 2009, the To Arthur advertisement, which started with two friends realising the company's long history, hail each other by lifting up their glasses and saying: "to Arthur!". The hailing slowing spread throughout the bar to the streets outside, and finally around the world. The advertisement ends with the voiceover: "Join the worldwide celebration, of a man named Arthur".
This gave rise to the event now known as Arthur's Day, described as "a series of events and celebrations taking place around the world to celebrate the life and legacy of Arthur Guinness and the much-loved Guinness beer which Arthur brought to the world."
Following the COVID-19 pandemic and pub closures, Guinness produced a "Looks Like Guinness" advert in anticipation of pubs reopening in 2021.
As of 2024, Guinness is the official beer of the Premier League.
== Worldwide sales ==
In 2006, sales of Guinness in Ireland and the United Kingdom declined 7 percent. Despite this, Guinness still accounts for more than a quarter of all beer sold in Ireland. By 2015, sales were on the rise in Ireland but flat globally. By 2023, Guinness had grown to become the most popular draught beer in the United Kingdom, with about 11% of all sales.
Guinness began retailing in India in 2007.
Guinness has a significant share of the African beer market, where it has been sold since 1827. About 40 percent of worldwide total Guinness volume is brewed and sold in Africa, with Foreign Extra Stout the most popular variant. Three of the five Guinness-owned breweries worldwide are located in Africa.
The beer is brewed under licence internationally in several countries, including Nigeria, the Bahamas, Canada, Cameroon, Kenya, Uganda, South Korea, Namibia, and Indonesia.
In 2017, Guinness teamed up with AB InBev to distribute Guinness in mainland China. China is the single biggest worldwide alcohol market, especially for imported craft beers like Guinness.
The United Kingdom is the only sovereign state to consume more Guinness than Ireland. In 2023, a pub in Worcester claimed to offer the cheapest pint of Guinness in the UK, at £2. The third-largest Guinness drinking nation is Nigeria, followed by the USA; the United States consumed more than 950 million hectoliters (2.1×1010 imp gal; 2.5×1010 U.S. gal) of Guinness in 2010.
== Merchandising ==
The Guinness Storehouse at St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin is the most popular tourist attraction in Ireland (attracting over 1.7 million visitors in 2019) where a self-guided tour includes an account of the ingredients used to make the stout and a description of how it is made. Visitors can sample the smells of each Guinness ingredient in the Tasting Rooms, which are coloured with a unique lighting design that emits Guinness's gold and black branding.
The Guinness Book of Records started as a Guinness marketing giveaway, based on an idea of its then Managing Director, Sir Hugh Beaver. Its holding company, Guinness World Records Ltd, was owned by Guinness plc, subsequently Diageo, until 2001.
The 2025 drama series House of Guinness deals with the growth of the business in 19th century Ireland. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Ann | Elizabeth Ann | Elizabeth Ann (born December 10, 2020) is a black-footed ferret, the first U.S. endangered species to be cloned. The animal was cloned using the frozen cells from Willa, a black-footed female ferret who died in the 1980s and had no living descendants. The cloning process was led by Revive & Restore, a biodiversity non-profit.
== Background ==
Black-footed ferrets are the only ferret species native to the United States. The black-footed ferret is one of the rarest and most endangered land mammals in North America; a small pack of them was found in Wyoming in 1981. The limited genetic diversity found among the pack put the species at risk. Scientists sent genetic material from Willa to San Diego Zoo’s Frozen Zoo in 1988. Willa's egg was implanted in a surrogate domestic ferret in November 2020, to avoid putting an endangered ferret at risk. Elizabeth Ann was delivered via c-section on December 10.
== Life ==
Elizabeth Ann will live in Colorado and be studied for scientific purposes; she will not be released into the wild. By February 2022, Elizabeth Ann had reached puberty and scientists were looking for a viable mate. A panel discussion, organized by the Draper Natural History Museum in October 2022, informed the public that Elizabeth Ann had a hysterectomy for unspecified reasons, but also that other clones were on their way. Elizabeth Ann remained healthy but was unable to breed due to hydrometra, a condition causing fluid retention within the uterus, alongside an underdeveloped uterine horn. As these conditions are common in black-footed ferrets, they are not believed to be linked to the cloning process.
== Other clones ==
In April 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the birth of two new black-footed ferret clones, Noreen and Antonia, who were cloned from the same genetic material as Elizabeth Ann. Noreen was born at the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado, while Antonia resides at the Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute near Front Royal, Virginia. Both were healthy and reaching expected developmental and behavioral milestones. The Service and its research partners planned to breed Noreen and Antonia once they reached reproductive maturity later in 2024. Antonia gave birth to a litter of three kits in June 2024, two of which (one female, one male) survived. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pharaohs | List of pharaohs | The pharaohs were the rulers of ancient Egypt from the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt c. 3100 BC, with several times of fragmentation and foreign rule. The specific title of "pharaoh" (pr-ꜥꜣ) was not used until the New Kingdom, c. 1400 BC, but it is retroactively applied to all Egyptian kings; the generic term for monarchs was "nesut" (nswt). In addition to these titles, pharaohs had a complex royal titulary that remained relatively constant during its 3000-year history, having up to five royal names.
Egypt was continually governed, at least in part, by native pharaohs for approximately 2500 years, until it was conquered by the Kingdom of Kush in the late 8th century BC, whose rulers adopted the pharaonic titulature and became the 25th Dynasty. Following 100 years of Kushite rule, Egypt experienced another century of independent native rule before being conquered by the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The last native pharaoh was Nectanebo II of the short-lived 30th Dynasty, which ended when the Persians conquered Egypt for a second time in 342 BC. The Persians were in turn conquered by the Macedonian Greeks of Alexander the Great in 332 BC, after which Egypt was ruled by the Hellenic pharaohs of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Their rule came to an end with the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC, and pharaonic Egypt cesased to be an independent monarchy. However, Roman emperors continued to be accorded pharaonic titles by the Egyptians until the reign of Maximinus Daza in 313 AD.
The dates provided for most of Egypt's early history are only approximate and may vary depending on the author, sometimes by centuries. The names and order of kings is mostly based on the Digital Egypt for Universities database developed by the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. For royal titles and hieroglyphs, see the handbook of Jürgen von Beckerath, as well as the website Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, which itself contains extensive bibliography.
Regnal numbers did not exist in ancient Egypt and is a modern way to distinguish pharaohs who shared the same personal name.
== Sources and chronology ==
Modern lists of pharaohs are based on historical records, including ancient Egyptian king lists and later histories, as well as archaeological evidence. Concerning ancient sources, Egyptologists and historians alike call for caution regarding their credibility, exactitude, and completeness, many of which were written long after the reigns they report. An additional problem is that ancient king lists are often damaged, inconsistent with one another, and/or selective.
Given the lack of sources, it's impossible to fix exact dates for the early dynasties. However, most authors give dates around 3000 BC. According to computations derived from the Turin King List (c. 1250 BC), the First Dynasty most likely began c. 3100 BC, ± 150 years. This appears to be supported by radiocarbon dating studies, which often show earlier dates.
Astronomical events, mainly the Sothic cycle, have also been used to try to fix "absolute dates", but these have their own set of problems. Richard Parker dated the accession of the 12th-dynasty pharaoh Senusret III to 1878 BC (with his 7th year falling in 1872 BC). However, other authors such as Rolf Krauss have refuted Parker's computations; Krauss instead dates Senusret's accession to 1837/36 BC (7th year in 1831/30 BC). Similarly, the accession Amenhotep I was dated c. 1550–1515 BC (9th year c. 1541–1506 BC). Scholars often use the Egyptian "high" chronology, which assumes these astronomical observations were made in a single place (at Memphis). While there is debate on its accuracy, the high chronology used by scholars such as Ian Shaw appears to be closer to the dates implied by radiocarbon dating.
Most pharaohs' reigns are not fully documented, leading to many discrepancies in reign lengths. A formal regnal dating system was not adopted until the Middle Kingdom, and the day following a coronation was automatically recorded as "Year 1", meaning that regnal years alone can't be used to calculate exact Julian years. Thus, it is impossible to determine exact dates even when some events can be securely dated. Dates with some certainty can only be given for the New Kingdom onwards, and only dates from the Late Period can be securely dated and synchronized with other ancient chronologies.
Compare the chronological lists in Beckerath 1997, pp. 187–192, Beckerath 1999, pp. 283–289, University College London 2000, Bunson 2002, pp. 105–108, Shaw 2003, pp. 481–488, Hornung, Krauss & Warburton 2006, pp. 490–495, Mladjov 2021a and Mladjov 2021b.
=== Ancient Egyptian king lists ===
Royal lists after the Fifth Dynasty give only the throne name of each pharaoh, which has often led to confusion in identifying particular kings. The most detailed king lists, the Abydos, Saqqara and Turin canons, date to the New Kingdom, also known as the Ramesside period. Unfortunately, most of these Ramesside lists are of little value for the early dynasties (from which they are separated by over 1000 years), as they feature corrupted names and often disagree with contemporary sources. Complete king lists were certainly made after the 20th dynasty, but they have been lost.
The following king list are known:
Den seal impressions (1st Dynasty, c. 3000 BC); found on a cylinder seal in Den's tomb. It lists all 1st Dynasty kings from Narmer to Den by their Horus names.
Qa'a seal impressions (1st Dynasty, c. 2900 BC); found in Qa'a's tomb. It lists all eight kings of the 1st Dynasty by their Horus names.
Tomb of Sekhemkare (5th Dynasty, c. 2500 BC); records five kings from Khafre to Sahure; the contemporary tomb of Netjerpunesut also includes Djedefre.
Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom (5th Dynasty, c. 2400 BC); carved on an stele. Recorded the individual years of about 30 kings from Menes to at least Kakai. Broken into small pieces, mostly known for the Palermo Stone.
Giza writing board (6th Dynasty, c. 2400 BC); painted on gypsum and cedar wood. Records 6 kings of various dynasties.
South Saqqara Stone (6th Dynasty, c. 2200 BC); carved on a black basalt slab. Recorded the reigns of the first 5 kings of the Sixth Dynasty; the stone was later reused and thus almost all of the original text is lost.
Wadi Hammamat king list (12th dynasty, c. 2000–1800 BC); records five kings of the Fourth Dynasty.
Karnak King List (18th Dynasty, c. 1450 BC); carved on limestone at the Festival Hall of Thutmose III. Lists 61 kings from Sneferu, but with no apparent order and omitting several names. 39 names have been lost.
Tomb of Amenmose (19th Dynasty, c. 1280 BC); lists Mentuhotep II and 11 kings from Ahmose I to Seti I.
Abydos King List (19th Dynasty, c. 1280 BC); carved at the Temple of Seti I. Very detailed, but omitting some kings from the First Intermediate Period and all from the Second. Records a total of 76 kings from Menes. A similar but damaged list is found in the Abydos temple of Ramesses II, Seti's son and successor.
Saqqara Tablet (19th Dynasty, c. 1250 BC), carved on limestone in a private tomb. Very detailed, lists 68 kings from Anedjib until Ramesses II.
Turin King List (19th Dynasty, c. 1250 BC); written on a papyrus dating to the reign of Ramesses II. Listed every known king with their exact reign length, and divided some of them into groups similar to Manetho's dynasties. The document itself is a sloppy copy of a much more detailed original, which is in turn based on much older sources. The document is today damaged and incomplete, with most of the last sections missing. The papyrus lists 223 kings, but only about 1⁄3 of the names have survived. The original likely included further kings until Ramesses II.
Table of Qenhirkhopshef (19th Dynasty, c. 1250 BC); found in the Karnak complex. Lists 17 kings from Senakhtenre Ahmose to Ramesses II.
Tomb of Khabekhnet (19th Dynasty, c. 1250 BC); lists Mentuhotep II and five kings from Senakhtenre Ahmose to Amenhotep I alongside other family members.
Ramesseum king list (19th Dynasty, c. 1250 BC); carved in the mortuary temple of Ramesses II, lists Menes, Mentuhotep II and most of the New Kingdom pharaohs.
Medinet Habu king list (20th Dynasty, c. 1150 BC); carved in the mortuary temple of Ramesses III, very similar to the Ramesseum king list.
Tomb of Inherkhau (20th Dynasty, c. 1150 BC); records seven kings of the New Kingdom until Ramesses IV alongside other family members.
Genealogy of Ankhefensekhmet (22nd Dynasty, c. 750 BC); carved on a limestone dating to the reign of Shoshenq V, today damaged. Not an actual king list; it mentions at least 18 kings from Mentuhotep II to Psusennes I.
=== Manetho ===
Before the decipherment of Egyptian scripts in the early 19th century, Manetho's Aegyptiaca, written in Greek in the early 3rd century BC, was the sole source for all ancient Egyptian history. Manetho, himself an Egyptian priest, recorded the entirety of his country's history from mythological times until the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 BC. He also created the dynastic framework still used by modern scholars, as well as coining the term "dynasty" itself. The original work is now lost and survives only through later epitomes and quotations, chiefly in the writings of Josephus (Contra Apionem, c. 100 AD), Julius Africanus (c. 230 AD), and Eusebius (c. 330 AD). These summaries transmit primarily chronological data in the form of regnal lists, though Josephus' quotations show that Manetho originally included detailed narratives, regnal lengths in years and months (rounded as years alone by Africanus and Eusebius), and even alternate royal names.
Africanus' epitome, which is preserved by George Syncellus (c. 810 AD), is generally regarded as the most reliable, while that of Eusebius is considered more problematic, having been derived from an incomplete and already corrupted source. All surviving transmissions suffer from errors, inconsistencies in regnal totals, variant name spellings, and a failure to account for contemporaneous dynasties—whether due to Manetho himself or to later copyists. Josephus, Africanus, and Eusebius all used independent, and sometimes contradictory, versions of the same work, each copy adding a new layer of typos and corruptions.
The content of the Aegyptiaca must be treated with caution. Manetho likely blended historical tradition with mythology, and later Christian authors are known to have altered Manetho's figures, especially for the Second Intermediate Period, to accommodate events into the Biblical narrative. Additional distortion arose from the transmission of Egyptian royal names into Greek and from repeated copying over centuries (Greek, like Latin, was written using scriptio continua, with no spaces or punctuation between words). Despite these limitations, Manetho remains a foundational source for Egyptian chronology, provided his data are critically evaluated and corroborated with archaeological and contemporary evidence.
Some fragments of Egyptian history are also covered by some Greek historians such a Herodotus (c. 450 BC) and Diodorus Siculus (c. 50 BC).
=== Number of kings ===
The Turin King List records 207 kings up to the end of Dynasty XVI. In addition, it preserves 16 damaged names that Kim Ryholt associates with the so-called Abydos Dynasty, totaling 223 kings in the preserved papyrus. The original document, however, likely extended until the reign of Ramesses II, just as the Saqqara and Ramesseum king lists. On this basis, the Turin King List probably listed at least 27 additional rulers: nine of Dynasty XVII, fifteen of Dynasty XVIII, and the first three kings of Dynasty XIX, yielding a minimum total of 250 kings.
The papyrus also contains several lacunae, explicit gaps marked by the Ramesside scribes when names in their sources were illegible. Ryholt estimates that these lacunae represent at least 12 missing kings: six for Dynasty XIII, and at least six for Dynasty XIV. In addition, there is a lacuna in Column 5.15 that very likely corresponds to Manetho's Dynasty VII, consisting of 10 additional kings recorded only in the Abydos King List. There are also two instances of fictitious kings, both in Dynasty IV (likely Manetho's Bikheris and Thamphthis). Taking this into account, the total rises to at least 227 kings up to the end of Dynasty XVI, 243 up to the end of the Abydos Dynasty, and 270 until Ramesses II. Even these figures likely remain conservative, since a small number of ephemeral or disputed rulers —such as Sneferka or Ba at the end of Dynasty I— were probably omitted altogether.
Including the subsequent periods of native and foreign rule, the total of kings reaches more than 300 before the first Persian conquest, which closely aligns with Herodotus' statement that, following Menes, Egypt was ruled by "three hundred and thirty kings, whose names the priests recited from a papyrus roll".:100 Manetho's own total of kings is roughly 360 kings in 5470 years, but the sum of individual reigns amounts to more than 500 kings in 5370 years. Diodorus Siculus writes that mortal kings have ruled Egypt for "a little less than five thousand years".
=== Royal names and titulature ===
The first Egyptian kings were known by their Horus name (serekh), with additional Nebty and Golden Horus honorifics. From the late First Dynasty onwards, kings began to use a throne name known in English as the prenomen (nswt-bjtj or nisut-bity, "Sedge and Bee"), which was the main name used during the Fourth Dynasty as well as the royal name found in most king-lists. The next dynasty introduced the nomen (Sa-Ra, "son of Ra"), which is often understood as a personal name. This is the name used by scholars after the Fifth Dynasty, as well as the name used by Manetho for most pharaohs. Given the confusing nature of royal names, only kings who are recorded with their two cartouche names (prenomen and nomen) can be securely identified. Throne names assigned to pre-Fifth Dynasty pharaohs are sometimes referred to as "personal names" by scholars, as there was probably no distinction between throne and personal names at the time. For a listing and description of all royal names, from Predynastic to Ptolemaic times, see Leprohon 2013.
== Protodynastic Period ==
The Protodynastic Period of Egypt spans from the formation of the first Egyptian states about 3300 BC to about 3000 BC, when Egypt was first unified as a single kingdom by the rulers of Upper Egypt. Before this, both Lower and Upper Egypt were divided into several small kingdoms. The terms "Lower Egypt" and "Upper Egypt" are based on the direction of the Nile's flow, which is north. Consequently, "Lower Egypt" is located north (downstream), while "Upper Egypt" is located south (upstream).
=== Lower Egypt ===
Lower Egypt geographically consists of the northern Nile and the Nile delta.
The Palermo Stone mentions 14 predynastic pharaohs by their Horus name from Lower Egypt. These may be mythical kings or semi-gods preserved through oral tradition, or posthumous names of earlier pharaohs. The original document likely contained rulers for Upper Egypt as well.
Other rulers include:
Other potential rulers, most of which have only placeholder names, have also been proposed by Günter Dreyer, but this is disputed.
=== Upper Egypt ===
Upper Egypt refers to the region up-river to the south of Lower Egypt. There were at least three policies by the Naqada II period (c. 3500 BC): Thinis (with its
cemetery at Abydos), Naqada and Hierakonpolis.
While the early dynasties were aware of their pre-dynastic history, this appears to have been all but forgotten by the Ramessid period. Later sources refer to the Menes/Narmer as the first "human king", succeeding the gods that ruled Egypt for times immemorial. Later tradition also identified him as the founder of Memphis, when in fact the city had existed since before the reign of Iry-Hor.
== Early Dynastic Period (c. 3100–2700 BC) ==
The sole "contemporary" source for early dynastic chronology is the Palermo Stone and its associated fragments. The Turin King List, is not considered reliable for this period, as it often contradicts contemporary sources. The annals are badly damaged, and only a few names are explicitly recorded, leading to several and divergent reconstructions over the decades. Unless otherwise noted, the reconstruction follows Hornung, Krauss & Warburton 2006. Lastly, it's worth noting that virtually all transliterations are just approximations (Egyptian is an extinct language); certain spellings may change depending on the author.
=== First Dynasty ===
Ancient sources, including Manetho, assign eight rulers to the First Dynasty, a fact confirmed by the records in the necropolis of Qa'a, the last pharaoh. The tombs of all pharaohs, including queen Merneith, are located in the necropolis of Umm El Qa'ab, Abydos. The first two dynasties originated from the lost city of Thinis, and ruled from Memphis according to later traditions.
Manetho correctly assigns eight kings to this dynasty, but his order and naming are troublesome. Ramesside king lists, made 1000 years later, identify all eight kings with throne names, but none of them match contemporary records. Throne names were introduced by the fifth king, so the first names must be later additions, possibly posthumous epithets. As noted before, the dynasty must have begun c. 3100 BC, ± 150 years.
Proposed dates: c. 3007–2828 (179 years), c. 2920–2770 (150 years), c. 3000–2750 (250 years), c. 3000–2890 (110 years), c. 2900–2730 (170 years)
Comparison of royal lists:
=== Second Dynasty ===
The following table follows the royal records of the Saqqara and Turin lists, which coincide with Manetho in recording nine kings. Following the reign of Nynetjer, the country was split and remained so until the reign of Khasekhemwy. The five Ramesside names between Nynetjer and Khasekhemwy cannot be securely correlated with contemporary rulers, leading to much confusion in the correct identification of rulers. The tombs of the first three pharaohs were found in Saqqara, while those of Seth-Peribsen and Khasekhemwy were found in Umm El Qa'ab.
Proposed dates: c. 2828–2682 (146 years), c. 2770–2649 BC (121 years), c. 2750–2650 BC (100 years), c. 2890–2686 (204 years), c. 2730–2590 BC (140 years)
Comparison of royal lists
== Old Kingdom (c. 2700–2200 BC) ==
The history of ancient Egypt is divided into three "golden ages" (Old, Middle, and New Kingdom), interspersed between three periods of fragmentation known as "intermediate periods". The capital during the period of the Old Kingdom was also Memphis. According to radiocarbon dating, the Old Kingdom began sometime around the mid-27th century BC, possibly between 2676 and 2643 BC, but with more certainty between 2691 and 2625 BC.
=== Third Dynasty ===
Ancient sources assign five rulers to the Third Dynasty, but there is uncertainty regarding their exact order and chronology. Both the Turin and Abydos king lists claim that the Third Dynasty was founded by Nebka, hence his position in some modern lists. However, archeological evidence has shown that the founder was in fact Djoser, who is correctly identified as its first king in the Saqqara Tablet. The dynasty ruled 74 years according to the Turin King List, but its numbers do not match with the earlier Palermo Stone; the actual duration may be as low as 50 years.
Proposed dates: c. 2682–2614 BC (68 years), c. 2649–2575 BC (74 years), c. 2686–2600 BC (86 years), c. 2686–2613 BC (73 years), c. 2592–2544 BC (48 years)
Comparison of royal lists:
=== Fourth Dynasty ===
The Fourth Dynasty is renowned for its colossal monuments and pyramids, most notably the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. While the first four kings are well attested, there is some uncertainty regarding the successors of Khafre in later sources. However, the tomb of Sekhemkare, vizier and son of Khafre, records the correct succession from Khafre Sahure. Sekhemkare supposedly lived under five pharaohs, which implies that the latter kings did not reign long. Some tales of this period were recorded by the Greek historian Herodotus, although he notably places it after the New Kingdom period.
The exact chronology of this dynasty is disputed, as scholars disagree whether cattle counts were made annually or biennially at this time. The following numbers assume most were annual.
Proposed dates: c. 2614–2479 BC (135 years), c. 2575–2465 BC (110 years), c. 2600–2450 BC (150 years), c. 2613–2494 BC (119 years), c. 2543–2436 BC (107 years)
Comparison of royal lists:
=== Fifth Dynasty ===
Starting with the reign of Neferirkare Kakai, pharaohs became mainly known by two names, a regnal (prenomen) and personal (nomen) name. The pharaohs of the Sixth Dynasty onwards are generally known by their nomen alone.
All variants of Manetho refer to the Fifth Dynasty as "kings from Elephantine". This is probably a misreading of "Sakhebu", a city near Heliopolis that was likely the hometown of Userkaf.
Proposed dates: c. 2479–2322 BC (157 years), c. 2465–2323 BC (142 years), c. 2450–2300 BC (150 years), c. 2494–2345 BC (149 years), c. 2435–2306 BC (129 years)
Comparison of royal lists
=== Sixth Dynasty ===
By the Fifth Dynasty, the religious institution had established itself as the dominant force in society; a trend of growth in the bureaucracy and the priesthood, and a decline in the pharaoh's power had been established during Neferirkare Kakai's reign. During Djedkare Isesi's rule, officials were endowed with greater authority—evidenced by the opulent private tombs they constructed—eventually leading to the creation of a feudal system in effect. These established trends—decentralization of authority, coupled with growth in bureaucracy—intensified during the three decades of Unas's rule, which also witnessed economic decline.
Proposed dates: c. 2322–2191 BC (131 years), c. 2323–2150 BC (173 years), c. 2300–2181 BC (150 years), c. 2345–2181 BC (164 years), c. 2305–2118 BC (187 years)
Comparison of royal lists
According to Africanus, the total sum for the kings of the First through Sixth dynasties amounts to 1497 years, but the actual sum of items gives 1478. Eusebius closely follows Africanus and records 1498 total years, but the actual sum of his numbers is 1504. This may imply that the summation figures are more accurate than the individual reigns.
The Turin King List records a total of 52 kings up to Neferirkare, that is, 45 kings from Menes to Merenre Nemtyemsaf II, although the list includes two fictitious kings in the Fourth Dynasty, thus totaling 43 kings. Africanus records a total of 48 kings, while Eusebius records about 70. This discrepancy is the result of a misunderstanding of the text, as later both Eusebius and Africanus record 192 kings before the Twelfth Dynasty.
== First Intermediate Period (c. 2200–2050 BC) ==
The Old Kingdom rapidly collapsed after the death of Pepi II Neferkare, who supposedly reigned up to 94 years, longer than any monarch in history. The latter years of his reign were probably marked by inefficiency because of his advanced age. This was further exacerbated by the 4.2-kiloyear event, a climate shift around 2200 BC which caused widespread desertification and famine.
The kings of the 7th and 8th Dynasties, who represented the successors of the 6th Dynasty, tried to hold onto some power in Memphis but owed much of it to powerful nomarchs. After a couple of decades, they were overthrown by a new line of pharaohs based in Heracleopolis Magna. Some time after these events, a rival line based at Thebes revolted against their Northern overlords and united Upper Egypt. The Theban pharaoh Mentuhotep II, the son and successor of Intef III, defeated the Herakleopolitan pharaohs and reunited the Two Lands, thereby starting the Middle Kingdom.
=== Seventh and Eighth Dynasties ===
Africanus and Eusebius record 70 kings in 70 days, which is clearly an embellishment. Some historians dismiss the existence of a Seventh Dynasty, while others argue it could correspond to the "lacuna of 6 years" recorded in the Turin King List. The following tables are based on Beckerath 1999, pp. 66–69 & 284, which is itself based on the Abydos King List. The Turin King List only records Netjerkare Siptah and the last 6 names. This line ruled from Memphis, and it is thought that it lasted only about one generation, or about 30 years. Manetho reports 27 kings for the Eighth Dynasty; the number may be a corruption of "17 kings", the total of kings for this line.
The Turin King List records the years from Teti until Neferirkare as 181 years, 6 months, 3 days, with a lacuna of 6 years, totaling 187 years. The total from Menes is given as 52 kings amounting to 955 years and 15 days, but the number of years is certainly inflated. Diodorus Siculus (c. 50 BC), most likely based on a similar tradition, writes that Menes was succeeded by 52 kings that ruled for 1040 years.:45 For the sum of the first eight dynasties, Manetho and Eusebius record 1639 and 1598 years, respectively, but these figures do not match the previous sums.
=== Ninth and Tenth Dynasties ===
Africanus records 19 kings for 409 years, but only lists one Achthoes, a tyrant who was killed by a crocodile. Meanwhile, Eusebius records 4 kings in 100 years. For the next dynasty, they both record 19 kings for 185 years, but list none. It is possible that the 9th and 10th dynasties were in fact a single dynasty that was duplicated by Manetho (or one of his scribes), resulting in two Heracleopolean dynasties of 19 kings. The Turin King List records an unbroken line of 18 kings, but almost all names, as well as the sum of regnal years, are damaged. A break between dynasties, while still possible, can't be pinpointed with any certainty.
=== Eleventh Dynasty (Thebes) ===
According to Hornung, the Theban monarchy began no more than 40 years after the fall of the Old Kingdom.
Manetho writes:
The Eleventh Dynasty consisted of sixteen kings of Diospolis, who reigned for 43 years. In succession to these, Ammenemes ruled for 16 years.Here ends the First Book of Manetho. Total for the reigns of 192 kings, 2300 years 70 days.
== Middle Kingdom (c. 2050–1800 BC) ==
The kings of the 11th Dynasty ruled from Thebes and the kings of the 12th Dynasty ruled from Itjtawy, near Lisht. The periodization of the Middle Kingdom is somewhat disputed; some authors include only the Eleventh and Twelfth Dynasties, while others include the Eleventh, Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dynasties.
Egyptian chronology becomes more reliable from this point onward, although dates still differ depending on the author. The reign of Senusret III can securely be dated to the middle of the 19th century BC (c. 1850, ± 25 years), thus dating the beginning of the 12th dynasty to the mid 20th century BC (c. 1950), and the 11th dynasty to the mid 21st century BC (c. 2050 BC). This is supported by radiocarbon dating, which shows that the Middle Kingdom likely began in the range of 2057–2040 BC, with more certainty between 2064 and 2019 BC. The accession of Senusret III is dated to 1884–1860 BC, with more certainty between 1889 and 1836 BC.
=== Eleventh Dynasty cont. ===
The Turin King List records the duration of the whole dynasty as 143 years, starting with Mentuhotep I, and 70 years starting with Mentuhotep II.
Proposed dates: c. 2046–1995 (51 years), c. 2061–1991 BC (70 years), c. 2046–1976 BC (70 years), c. 2055–1985 BC (70 years), c. 2009–1940 BC (69 years)
=== Twelfth Dynasty ===
Starting from the Twelfth Dynasty, pharaohs often appointed their heirs as co-rulers before their own death. This is one of the main obstacles when reconstructing the chronology of ancient Egypt. According to radiocarbon dating, the dynasty certainly began between the years 2000 and 1950 BC, perhaps around 1980 BC. The Turin King List gives the sum of years as 213, but does not take co-regencies into account.
Proposed dates: c. 1976–1794/3 BC (182/3 years), c. 1991–1783 (208 years), c. 1985–1773 (212 years), c. 1939–1760 BC (179 years)
Manethonian royal lists
== Second Intermediate Period (c. 1800–1550 BC) ==
Reconstructing the chronology of the Second Intermediate Period is even more difficult than the First, as there are very few and contradictory records. The Turin King List is the only one to include rulers of this period, but it is badly damaged after the Twelfth Dynasty. This period is best known for the rule of the Fifteenth Dynasty established by the Hyksos people of West Asia. It was a time of political rather than social upheavals.
At some point during the weak Thirteenth Dynasty, the provincial ruling family in Xois, located in the Nile Delta, broke away to form Fourteenth Dynasty. Around the same time, the Asiatic people known as the Hyksos established themselves around the Delta, and soon after took control of Avaris (modern Tell el-Dab'a), beginning Fifteenth Dynasty. The Hyksos took over most of Lower Egypt and ended the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dynasties. They were also known as the "Great Hyksos" because of their dominance. The power vacuum in Upper Egypt enabled the Sixteenth Dynasty to declare independence in Thebes, only to be overrun by the Hyksos shortly thereafter. Subsequently, as the Hyksos withdrew from Upper Egypt, a new native Egyptian house in Thebes set itself up as Seventeenth. This dynasty eventually drove the Hyksos back into Asia, starting the New Kingdom.
=== Thirteenth Dynasty ===
As opposed to the previous dynasty, there are little to no historical records regarding this dynasty, with only a few kings leaving archeological records. The dynasty possibly originates from Canaan, as some rulers (Sekhemkare, Hotepibre) are called "Asiatics". Merneferre Ay, while not the final pharaoh, was the last king attested in Lower and Upper Egypt, later pharaohs are only attested in the south. The earlier part of the dynasty until Ay is sometimes considered part of the Middle kingdom, but more often the whole dynasty is considered part of the Second Intermediate Period.
Manetho records "60 kings of Diospolis for 453 years". Notably, the number of kings appears to be somewhat correct, as the Turin King List records a minimum of 51 kings, which Ryholt rises to 57. However, only the first half of the names survives, and the reign lengths are also damaged. Manetho's total of 453 years is sometimes emended as 153, but there is no definitive proof of this. According to radiocarbon dating, the Thirteenth Dynasty began between the years 1800 and 1740 BC. According to Hornung, Ay's reign ended around 1650 BC, at least 100 years after the beginning of the dynasty.
The succession is based on the reconstruction of Kim Ryholt. Almost all kings reigned for a very short time, for about 1 to 3 years each. Ryholt also suggests that the division by Manetho is based not on a familiar break, but because of the rise of the Dynasty XIV. The exact succession of rulers is highly disputed.
Proposed dates: c. 1794/3–1648/5 (146/8 years), c. 1793/73–after 1650/40+ (120+ years), c. 1760–1630 BC (130 years), c. 1803–1649 BC (154 years)
Complete royal list of Dynasty XIII
=== Fourteenth Dynasty (Xois) ===
Manetho records "76 kings of Xois for 184 years". Ryholt argues that these kings ruled from Avaris, but there is no strong evidence for this. Almost nothing is known about the dynasty, and all its rulers appear to have had very short reigns. The following is the royal succession according to the Turin King List. The document records a minimum of 51 kings (Ryholt raises the number to 56), many of whom ruled alongside Dynasties XIII and XV. They were also of Near Eastern origin.
Only four rulers are contemporarily attested: Nehesy, Nebsenre, Merdjefare, and Sekheperenre. Beckerath, who mostly agrees with Ryholt, records 16 additional names of disputed identity. This dynasty notably includes some of the shortest recorded reigns; the shortest being that of Sekheperenre (61–65 days), which is also the shortest reign of a native pharaoh.
Proposed dates: unknown–c. 1645, c. 1773–1650 (123 years), c. 1805–1649 (156 years)
=== Fifteenth Dynasty (Hyksos) ===
The "Hyksos", literally meaning "rulers of foreign lands", were people who emerged from the Fertile Crescent and conquered much of Lower Egypt, as well as parts of Middle Egypt. They were excluded from contemporary Egyptian sources because they were perceived as foreign usurpers. The Turin King List records 6 rulers of foreign lands ruling for roughly 150 years, but the list is very damaged and much of the information is now lost. Manetho, as quoted by Josephus, reported six "shepherd kings from Phoenicia" ruling for 254 years (the term "shepherd kings" appears to be the result of pronunciation changes). The following is the tentative reconstruction of Kim Ryholt, based on attested names bearing the title of "Hyksos".
Proposed dates: c. 1648/5–1539/6 BC (109 years), c. 1650–1550 BC (100 years), c. 1649–1532 (117 years), unknown–c. 1530 BC, c. 1649–1540 (109 years),
Reconstructions of Dynasty XV
Manetho's Dynasties XV to XVII
The versions of Manetho differ significantly for this period. Eusebius notably places the rulers of Africanus' Dynasty XV to Dynasty XVII, likely to accommodate his Biblical chronology. According to Josephus, the Hyksos domination, that is, the period between Dynasties XV until the end of Dynasty XVII, lasted 511 years, while Africanus attributes 518 years to Dynasty XVI alone. This is likely the summation of all three dynasties, because Josephus' sum of reigns for the Hyksos dynasty is actually 253 years and 10 months. This figure must be a century off, as the Turin King List only notes about 150 years.
=== Sixteenth Dynasty (Thebes) ===
According to Beckerath, the rulers of Dynasty XVI were vassals of the Hyksos. According to Ryholt, the 16th dynasty, ruling from Thebes, consisted of 15 kings recorded in the Turin King List, although most names are lost. Ryholt reconstruction has been criticized and it is not universally accepted. Virtually nothing is known about these rulers.
Proposed dates: c. 1640–1532 BC (108 years), c. 1650–1580 BC (70 years), c. 1649–1582 BC (67 years)
Reconstructions for Dynasty XVI
Beckerath's Dynasty XVI
=== Abydos Dynasty ===
The Turin King List records sixteen names after the Dynasty XVI, but the names do not match those of Dynasty XVII and thus likely refer to a different line. This dynasty is hypothesized by Kim Ryholt to have been a short-lived local line contemporaneous with the other dynasties. This has not been accepted by all scholars.
The Turin King List ends here, recording a total of 223 kings. According to the reconstructions used here, the original Egyptian annals recorded roughly 243 kings until this point (and 270 up to Ramesses II). The whole section after Dynasty XVI is badly damaged, and thus Ryholt's reconstruction can't be proven with certainty. The total for Dynasty I–XVI thus amounts to 227 kings for a period of 1+1⁄2 millennia.
=== Seventeenth Dynasty (Thebes) ===
The succession of the last three kings of the Seventeenth Dynasty is attested in the Tomb of Khabekhnet and Table of Qenhirkhopshef, but the placement of the previous ruler is problematic. The Karnak King List includes the throne names of Sekhemre Wahkhau Rahotep, Sobekemsaf I, and Nubkheperre Intef, but they are not in order. These Theban kings ruled an area from Elephantine to Abydos. They likely began as minor vassals of the Hyksos, as their origins are very obscure. The last kings fought and defeated the Hyksos, and established the New Kingdom of Egypt.
Kyholt identified 9 kings of this line, although the exact order is uncertain. Beckerath included 6 additional names belonging to kings that Ryholt placed on the previous dynasties (Sekhemre Sementawy Djehuty, Seankhenre Mentuhotepi, Nebiryraw I, Nebiryraw II, Semenre, and Bebiankh). Hornung postulates that the rulers between Dynasties XIII and XVIII ruled for roughly a century.
Proposed dates: c. 1645–1550 BC (95 years), c. 1640–1550 BC (90 years), c. 1580–1550 BC (30 years)
== New Kingdom (c. 1550–1075 BC) ==
The New Kingdom is considered the greatest period in Egyptian history. It began with the expulsion of the Hyksos, and it saw Egypt's greatest territorial extent. The Egyptians expanded far into Nubia in the south, and held wide territories in the Near East. Three of the best-known pharaohs originate from this period. These are Akhenaten, whose exclusive worship of the Aten is often interpreted as the first instance of monotheism, Tutankhamun, known for the discovery of his nearly intact tomb, and Ramesses II the Great, who attempted to recover the territories in the Levant that had been held in the Eighteenth Dynasty. His reconquest led to the Battle of Kadesh, where he led the Egyptian armies against the Hittite king Muwatalli II. The ensuing Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty is the oldest of its kind.
The accession of Ahmose I and the beginning of the New Kingdom can be securely dated to c. 1550 BC (± 10 years), which is also the date adopted by most scholars. Radiocarbon studies have yielded two intervals for Ahmose's date of accession: 1570–1544 BC and 1564–1528 BC. While most scholars use Shaw's figure of c. 1550 BC, Hornung argues in favor of an slightly later date, c. 1540 BC. Many of the reign lengths given by Manetho, as preserved by Josephus, appear to be confirmed by contemporary sources. The years are mostly derived only from the highest known year of each pharaoh, meaning that there is still some uncertainty on their exactitude.
=== Eighteenth Dynasty ===
The Eighteenth dynasty lasted roughly 250 years and was the longest-reigning native Egyptian dynasty. It started as a continuation of the Seventeen dynasty, with Ahmose I being the brother of Kamose. However, the death of Amenhotep I without known children ended the male line, bringing the common-born Thutmose I to the throne. Thutmose probably married into the royal family by marrying two presumed daughters of Ahmose I, Ahmose and Mutnofret. If the identification of Mutnofret as a child of Ahmose is correct, that would mean that–via her issue–the family composed of members of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth dynasties ruled Egypt for nearly three centuries, until Tutankhamun's death.
Proposed dates: 1550–1307 BC (243 years), 1550–1295 BC (255 years), 1550–1292 BC (258 years), 1539–1292 BC (247 years). Regnal years may still be off by one or two years at most.
Comparison of Manethonian royal lists
Reconstructed regnal list of Manetho
Despite being the best-documented period in Egypt's history, almost all of Manetho's names and reign lengths were mixed. His sources were likely already corrupted due to the damnatio memoriae imposed ove the Amarna rulers, and co-regency may have caused additional confusion. The period c. 1540–1292 BC spans 248 years; the sum of estimates reigns amounts to a minimum of 245 years, which closely matches Josephus' sum of 246 years.
=== Nineteenth Dynasty (Ramesside) ===
The Nineteenth Dynasty ruled from approximately 1292 to 1190 BC and includes one of the most famous pharaohs: Ramesses the Great.
Manethonian royal lists
Here ends the Second Book of Manetho, which records 96 kings, ruling for 2121 years according to Africanus (92 kings in 1121 years according to Eusebius). However, the correct sum of Africanus' dynasties comes to a puzzling 246 kings for 2221 years. The reconstructed chronology for Dynasties XII to XIX shows that about 190 kings ruled for roughly 560 years.
=== Twentieth Dynasty (Ramesside) ===
The Twentieth Dynasty ruled from roughly 1190 to 1077 BC. Shaw dated the dynasty to 1186–1069 BC.
For the Twentieth Dynasty, Africanus records 12 kings ruling for 135 years. This actually coincides perfectly with the period between Merneptah (1213 BC) and Ramesses XI (1078 BC). The sum of reigns is roughly 110 years.
== Third Intermediate Period (c. 1075–664 BC) ==
Following the Late Bronze Age collapse, the Egyptian Empire collapsed and fragmented once more. The rulers of the Twenty-first Dynasty claimed to rule over all of Egypt, but in practice their influence was limited to Lower Egypt, with the High Priests of Amun ruling over Upper Egypt. The Twenty-second Dynasty maintained control over Egypt for a few decades, but their power soon deteriorated due to infighting. This led to the rise of several competing royal lines in Thebes, Heracleopolis, Hermopolis, Leontopolis, and Tanis, which are collectively known as the Twenty-third Dynasty. Another short-lived line, from Sais, is referred to as the Twenty-fourth Dynasty.
The fragmentation of Egypt came to an end with the arrival of the Nubian kings of Kush, who conquered Egypt c. 745 BC . This was the first time all of Egypt was ruled by foreigners (the Hyksos mostly ruled in Lower Upper), although the Nubians were highly Egyptianized and considered themselves legitimate pharaohs, even reviving the tradition of pyramid building (the last pyramid was built by Ahmose I nearly 800 years before).
While not as chaotic as the previous two intermediate periods, the lack of official king lists makes it difficult to reconstruct the exact succession of rulers. The only surviving king list is that of Manetho, which is likely based on a biased source dated to the Kushite period. Note that the sum of items does not match the stated total of years.
Manetho's Dynasties XXI to XXV
=== Twenty-first Dynasty (Tanis) ===
Most scholars date the 21st dynasty to c. 1070–945 BC; Ian Shaw dates it to c. 1069–945 BC. The native Egyptian names are given in small italics.
==== High Priests of Amun ====
The High Priests of Amun at Thebes were the de facto rulers of Upper Egypt during the Twenty-first dynasty, writing their names in cartouches, being buried in royal tombs, and passing their office to their sons. They likely did not consider themselves actual pharaohs, but their use of royal titles implied an equivalent level of authority. Dates are taken from Payraudeau (2020), which may not perfectly align with Hornung's. There is insufficient evidence to reconstruct a reliable chronology of these rulers.
=== Twenty-second Dynasty (Libyan) ===
The succession of kings of this dynasty is highly disputed; the following reconstruction is mostly based on Hornung, but dates follow Frédéric Payraudeau (2020). Other scholars date the dynasty c. 945–715 BC, after Shaw. Despite the political turmoil of this period, this dynasty managed to last for roughly 200 years, being exceeded only by the Eighteenth and the Ptolemaic dynasties.
The exact succession of rulers during the period of Dynasties 22 and 23 is highly disputed:
Comparison of modern regnal lists
Graphic list of the various rival dynasties (c. 880–650 BC)
=== Twenty-third Dynasty (Libyan) ===
The designation "Twenty-Third Dynasty" is applied variously by scholars to branches of the Twenty-Second Dynasty ruling in mostly Upper Egypt (at least intermittently at Thebes), to various local rulers based at Heracleopolis Magna, Hermopolis, Leontopolis, and to a line of kings who succeeded the Twenty-Second Dynasty at Tanis, all of Libyan origin. The following is the most recent reconstruction by Frédéric Payraudeau (2020). There are roughly 20 kings attested around this period, but this may vary significantly depending on the author (compare the lists given above). See also the discussion of David Aston and Karl Jansen-Winkeln.
Rulers of Thebes
Rulers of Heracleopolis
Rulers of Hermopolis
Rulers of Leontopolis
Rulers of Tanis
This is the line recognized by Manetho as the legitimate successors of the 22nd dynasty.
=== Twenty-fourth Dynasty (1st Saite) ===
This was a short-lived dynasty located in the western Delta, at Sais. It was actually a vassal of the 25th dynasty.
Proposed dates: c. 740–712 BC (28 years); c. 736–723 BC (13 years), c. 727–715 BC (12 years). c. 727–713 BC (14 years).
=== Twenty-fifth Dynasty (Nubian) ===
Following the collapse of the New Kingdom, the Nubians, a people located around Southern Egypt, founded the Kingdom of Kush. One of its rulers, Piye, invaded Lower Egypt and took the title of pharaoh, although the Nubians already controlled Upper Egypt in the early years of his reign. Kashta, Piye's father, is sometimes also listed as part of the dynasty. The capital during this dynasty was Memphis.
Manetho claims that the 25th Dynasty ruled for 40 years, but this is about half of its actual duration. This dynasty is also mentioned by Herodotus, who records "eighteen Ethiopian kings", and by Diodorus Siculus, who writes that "four Ethiopians held the throne, not consecutively but with intervals between, for a little less than thirty-six years in all.":100:44 The accession of Taharqa can be securely dated to 690 BC, marking the first certain year in Egyptian history according to Hornung. Dates follow Payraudeau.
Proposed dates: c. 753–655 BC (98 years), c. 747–656 BC (91 years), c. 746–655 BC (91 years);
=== Proto-Saite Dynasty ===
While modern scholars recognize Psamtik I as the founder of the 26th Dynasty, Manetho records four kings before him. They likely correspond to local rulers and Nubian/Assyrian vassals.
=== Unknown Dynasty ===
== Late period (664–332 BC) ==
The Twenty-fifth Dynasty ended after the Assyrian conquest of Egypt. In 671 BC, Memphis, the capital of the first dynasties, was plundered by Esarhaddon, and the sack of Thebes followed a few years later. Despite this, a new dynasty, the Twenty-sixth, managed to restore Egypt's influence in the region and repelled the Assyrians and Babylonians. Still, they all eventually fell to the Achaemenid Persians, who became the Twenty-seventh Dynasty in 525 BC. Persian rule was interrupted by three short-lived dynasties (the 28th, 29th, and 30th) ruling for six decades, between 404 and 342 BC. The first one was founded by Amyrtaeus, and the last one ended with Nectanebo II, the last native ruler of Egypt until the 20th century.
The chronology starting from Taharqa, the penultimate Nubian king, can be fixed thanks to the Canon of Kings of Ptolemy, which is itself based on ancient Babylonian sources and fits perfectly with Manetho's reign lengths. The only period with disputed chronology is the restored native Egyptian rule between the 27th and 31st Dynasties; all other dates are fixed.
=== Twenty-sixth Dynasty (Saite) ===
The 26th Dynasty was the last great native Egyptian dynasty and ruled from 664 to 525 BC. Many of these pharaohs are better known by their Hellenized names; native Egyptian names are given in small italics.
=== Twenty-seventh Dynasty (Achaemenid) ===
The first Persian domination lasted from 525 to 404 BC.
==== Native rebels ====
=== Twenty-eighth Dynasty ===
The Twenty-eighth Dynasty lasted roughly 6 years and consisted of a single pharaoh:
=== Twenty-ninth Dynasty ===
The Twenty-ninth Dynasty ruled from 399/8 to 380 BC:
=== Thirtieth Dynasty ===
The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native Egyptian dynasty and lasted from c. 380 to 342 BC.
=== Thirty-first Dynasty (2nd Achaemenid) ===
The second Persian domination lasted from 342 to 332 BC.
==== Native rebels ====
== Hellenistic period (332–30 BC) ==
The Macedonian Greeks under Alexander the Great ushered in the Hellenistic period with his conquest of Persia and Egypt in 332 BC, creating one of the largest empires in history. However, this empire quickly fragmented after his sudden death in 323 BC, which led to the chaotic Wars of the Diadochi. Ptolemy, one of Alexander's generals, claimed the pharaonic titles and established the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the last and longest-reigning dynasty of Egypt. The former Persian territories were absorbed into the Hellenic Seleucid Empire, which bordered Egypt to the East. Both states would eventually fall to the Roman Republic over the course of the 1st century BC.
=== Thirty-second Dynasty (Argead) ===
The Argeads ruled Egypt from 332 to 305 BC. Like their predecessors, the Hellenistic rulers used the Sa-Ra title (nomen) to display their Egyptized personal names.
=== Thirty-third Dynasty (Ptolemaic) ===
The second Hellenistic dynasty, the Ptolemaic, ruled Egypt for nearly 275 years, from 305/4 BC to 30 BC. It was the longest-reigning dynasty of Egypt, followed closely by the Eighteenth. The most famous member of this dynasty was Cleopatra VII, better known simply as Cleopatra, who was successively the lover of Julius Caesar and, after his death, of Mark Antony, having children with both of them. She strove to create a dynastic and political union with Rome, but the assassination of Caesar and the defeat of Antony doomed their plans. Egypt was ultimately conquered by the Romans under Octavian, who would become the Roman emperor Augustus.
All members of the Ptolemaic dynasty shared the same names, but adopted one or several Greek epithets on accession. Regnal numbers are only a modern convention.
==== Native rebels ====
== Roman Period ==
Egypt became a client kingdom of Rome in the reign of Ptolemy X Alexander I (r. 107–88 BC) but it was not until the death of Cleopatra (and defeat of Mark Antony) in 30 BC, that Egypt became a Roman province. The Roman emperors were accorded the title of pharaoh by the Egyptians, but the title was not acknowledged outside the province. The last Roman emperor known from a pharaonic titulary is Maximinus Daza (r. 310–313 AD). Royal cartouches are attested as late as 340 AD, but the pagan Egyptians chose to posthumously use cartouches of Diocletian (r. 284–305 AD) rather than acknowledging the later Christian emperors. This was around the same time that the knowledge and understanding of hieroglyphs began to be forgotten; the last known inscription of its kind, known as the Graffito of Esmet-Akhom, dates to the year 394.
Roman rule in Egypt continued almost uninterrupted until the 7th century, when the province fell to the Arab conquest, whereafter Egypt was ruled by the successive caliphates. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_(TV_series)#Season_2_(2019) | You (TV series)#Season 2 (2019) | You is an American psychological thriller television series based on the books by Caroline Kepnes, developed by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, and produced by Berlanti Productions, Alloy Entertainment, and A+E Studios in association with Warner Horizon Television, now Warner Bros. Television.
The first season, which is based on the novel You, premiered on Lifetime in September 2018, and follows Joe Goldberg, a bookstore manager and serial killer who falls in love and develops an extreme obsession. The season stars Penn Badgley, Elizabeth Lail, Luca Padovan, Zach Cherry, and Shay Mitchell. Lifetime announced in July 2018 that You had been renewed for a second season, based on Kepnes' follow-up novel Hidden Bodies. The series later moved to Netflix and the second season was released in December 2019. The season follows Joe as he moves to Los Angeles and falls in love with local heiress Love Quinn. For the second season, Ambyr Childers was upgraded to a series regular, joining newly cast Victoria Pedretti, James Scully, Jenna Ortega, and Carmela Zumbado.
In January 2020, the series was renewed for a third season by Netflix, which was released on October 15, 2021. In the third season, Saffron Burrows was upgraded to a series regular, joining newly cast Travis Van Winkle, Shalita Grant, Tati Gabrielle, and Dylan Arnold. In October 2021, ahead of the third-season premiere, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which was released over two parts on February 9 and March 9, 2023. The season also stars Charlotte Ritchie, Tilly Keeper, Amy-Leigh Hickman, Ed Speleers and Lukas Gage. In March 2023, the series was renewed for a fifth and final season, which was released on April 24, 2025. The season also stars Griffin Matthews, Anna Camp and Madeline Brewer.
== Premise ==
In the first season, Joe Goldberg, a bookstore manager in New York City, meets Guinevere Beck, an aspiring writer, becoming infatuated with her. He feeds his obsession using social media and other technology to track her presence and watch her in her house and remove obstacles to their romance including her friends and ex-boyfriend.
In the second season, Joe Goldberg moves from New York to Los Angeles to escape his past and starts over with a new identity to avoid his ex-girlfriend Candace who seeks revenge for burying her alive prior to being with Beck. When he meets avid chef Love Quinn, Joe begins falling into his old patterns of obsession and violence. As Joe attempts to forge a new love, he strives to make his relationship with Love succeed at all costs to avoid the fate of his past romantic endeavors. Unbeknownst to him, Love has dark secrets herself.
In the third season, Joe and Love are married and raising their newborn son, Henry, in the Californian suburb of Madre Linda. As their relationship dynamic takes a new turn, Joe continues to repeat the cycle of obsession with a burgeoning interest in Natalie, the next door neighbor, and local librarian Marienne. This time, Love ensures that her dream of having the perfect family will not be torn away so easily by Joe's compulsive actions.
In the fourth season, Joe poses as Jonathan Moore, living in London and working as an English professor at a respected university. He has also been following Marienne around Europe in an attempt to locate her. He begins to bond with a circle of wealthy socialites. They start to die off one by one as a serial murderer targets their elite group. Joe reverts to his old habits when he is framed for the deaths and blackmailed by the killer. While trying to keep his true identity hidden from the group and working to catch the killer, Joe develops feelings for another woman named Kate.
In the fifth and final season, Joe, after a long time, returns to New York City and is ready to live a good life at last, but his past and dark desires will collide with this new life, where he meets Bronté.
== Cast and characters ==
Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg, a charming but dangerous man who shows traits of narcissistic and antisocial personality disorders that primarily manifest as an obsessive romantic fixation. He is first introduced as the manager of Mooney's bookstore in New York, who stalks and dates Beck in the first season. In the second season, he transfers to Los Angeles and going by the name Will Bettelheim, gets himself employed as a bookstore clerk at Anavrin, where he falls into old patterns after meeting the store's manager, Love Quinn. In the third season, he is going by Joe once more, married to Love and raising their son, Henry in the suburbs. In the fourth season, Joe is in London masquerading as a university professor called Jonathan Moore, obsessing over Kate and has kidnapped Marienne. He begins disassociating and has a mental break. In the fifth season, he reverts back once more to his original name, and his new obsession is Bronte. Joe is portrayed as a teenager by Gianni Ciardiello in the first season, and as a child by Aidan Wallace and Jack Fisher in the second and third seasons, respectively.
Elizabeth Lail as Guinevere Beck (season 1; special guest seasons 2 & 4–5), a broke NYU graduate MFA student with daddy issues and an aspiring writer and poet who enters into a relationship with Joe, with secrets of her own
Luca Padovan as Paco (season 1, special appearance season 5), Joe's young neighbor who sees Joe as a source of support and a role model, who Joe helps when his abusive step-father is threatening
Zach Cherry as Ethan Russell (season 1, special appearance season 5), a bookstore clerk who works with Joe and dates Beck's friend Blythe
Shay Mitchell as Peach Salinger (season 1), a wealthy and influential socialite, with narcissistic, controlling and obsessive qualities and Beck's best friend whom she met at Brown University, who harbors a secret passion for her
Victoria Pedretti as Love Quinn (seasons 2–3, special guest season 4), an aspiring chef and health guru in Los Angeles who gets involved with Joe and has dark secrets herself, they later have a son, Henry
Carmela Zumbado as Delilah Alves (season 2), Ellie's older sister, an investigative reporter who leases Joe's flat to him and they have a brief romantic encounter
Jenna Ortega as Ellie Alves (season 2), Delilah's fifteen-year-old sister who lives in the same block of apartments as Joe/Will, with a passion for film
James Scully as Forty Quinn (season 2; special guest season 3), Love's beloved and troubled twin brother who relies on Love for support in most matters due to his addictions and mental health issues
Ambyr Childers as Candace Stone (season 2; recurring season 1), Joe's ex-girlfriend from before Beck, who follows him to Los Angeles seeking revenge
Saffron Burrows as Dottie Quinn (season 3; recurring season 2, special appearance season 5), Love and Forty's mother who is narcissistic and an alcoholic
Tati Gabrielle as Marienne Bellamy (seasons 3–4, special guest season 5), a librarian and keen observer of the neighborhood's denizens. Beneath her practical exterior, Marienne is hiding personal struggles with drugs and addiction that set her back, as she tries to create a better life for herself and her daughter. She moves with her daughter to Paris after the events of the third season. In season 4 she is kidnapped by Joe in London. In season 5 she returns to seek revenge.
Shalita Grant as Sherry Conrad (season 3, special appearance season 5), a locally famous "momfluencer", admired by her social media followers for her well crafted persona, she often insults people through veiled insults and sees herself as superior to everyone in Madre Linda. She is very fake and only seeks things that support her personal interests.
Travis Van Winkle as Cary Conrad (season 3, special appearance season 5), a wealthy, charismatic, and self-proclaimed founder who runs his own supplement company and is married to Sherry with whom they share twin girls
Dylan Arnold as Theo Engler (season 3), a troubled college student who has a strained relationship with his stepfather, Matthew Engler, and who has a crush on Love and brief romantic encounter
Charlotte Ritchie as Kate Galvin-Lockwood (seasons 4–5), a fearsomely intelligent art gallery director. Her partying boyfriend Malcolm will bring Joe into their lives.
Tilly Keeper as Lady Phoebe Borehall-Blaxworth (season 4, guest season 5), a wealthy social media influencer who is part of the royal family. She is romantically involved with Adam and has a dramatic yet bubbly personality.
Amy-Leigh Hickman as Nadia Farran/Fareedi (season 4, recurring season 5), one of Joe's students in London. She is outspoken and competitive, and a lover of genre fiction. He later frames her, and she returns in season 5, seeking revenge.
Ed Speleers as Rhys Montrose (season 4), an author and mayoral hopeful whose memoir about his experiences in prison lifted him out of poverty. He appears to quickly form a connection with Joe over their similar personal backgrounds.
Lukas Gage as Adam Pratt (season 4), an American playboy who hails from a wealthy family and owns Sundry House, an elite London social club. He is dating Lady Phoebe and has a strained relationship with his father, who he typically consults to bail him out of debt from his failed business ventures.
Madeline Brewer as Bronte / Louise Flannery (season 5), an enigmatic and free-spirited playwright who comes to work for Joe, who has a history with Beck, she is easy manipulated by Joe and falls for him
Anna Camp in a dual role as identical twins:
Raegan Lockwood (season 5), a cutthroat CFO of the Lockwood Corp who has her eyes on the throne and hates her sister Kate and frequently bullies her twin Maddie
Maddie Lockwood (season 5), a thrice-divorced socialite and master manipulator whose job is 'vaguely PR', she resents Raegan for making her be her surrogate
Griffin Matthews as Teddy Lockwood (season 5), a snarky yet loyal brother-in-law of Joe, who was the secret child of Kate's father's 'help' who was never fully accepted by the Lockwood family apart from Kate who brings him into the family business
== Episodes ==
=== Season 1 (2018) ===
=== Season 2 (2019) ===
=== Season 3 (2021) ===
=== Season 4 (2023) ===
=== Season 5 (2025) ===
== Production ==
=== Development ===
In February 2015, it was announced that Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble would develop a series based on Caroline Kepnes' book You with Berlanti and Gamble as the scriptwriters, and Berlanti as the pilot director. Initially, Berlanti and Gamble pitched the show to Showtime but were unsuccessful in their attempts. In addition, both creators had also originally pitched the series to Netflix but were declined twice, prior to Netflix's head of international non-English originals, Bela Bajaria joining the company in late 2016. Berlanti recounted his experience of pitching the show to Netflix in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, stating that You "felt like more of a binge show". He further added that his team "tried initially to sell it to Netflix at the very beginning and [Netflix's chief content officer] Ted Sarandos has said as much that they wish they'd gotten it the first time".
In January 2017, it was announced that the series had been purchased by Lifetime and put into fast-track development. In April 2017, Lifetime gave You a 10-episode straight-to-series order. On July 26, 2018, ahead of the series premiere, Lifetime announced that the series had been renewed for a second season.
In November 2018, Gamble confirmed that like Hidden Bodies, the sequel novel to You, the setting of the series would move to Los Angeles for the second season. On December 3, 2018, it was confirmed that Lifetime had rescinded its renewal of the series and that Netflix had picked up You ahead of the release of the second season. On January 14, 2020, Netflix renewed the series for a 10-episode third season. On October 13, 2021, ahead of the third-season premiere, Netflix renewed the series for a fourth season. On March 24, 2023, the series was renewed for a fifth and final season, initially set to release in 2024. However, journalists predicted delays, as the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes delayed the season's scripting and production schedules.
In March 2019, Berlanti discussed the challenges of finding the right platform for the series in a panel interview. Speaking at the INTV conference, he stated that "we pitched [You] and sold it to Showtime of all places, but…once they read the script, they were really cool about saying, 'You can take it somewhere else'...". After being turned down by the network, he later pitched the show to Lifetime, who "wanted to make it, and we shot it, and because of their launch cycle it sat in the can for a while for two-and-a-half years. Then they finally started to release it, and it didn't do very well." Although, Lifetime reneged on their initial renewal offer for a second season in late 2018, Berlanti recalled that he went to the offices of the network executives to plead them to change their mind, asking "I still think it's going to work, I still think it's going to work – maybe one more episode, maybe if people have a chance to see five more episodes." Later, he was relieved by the news of Netflix's guarantee of committing to a second season after Lifetime canceled the series.
Following Netflix's reportings on the considerable success that You obtained after it was made available to stream on their platform service, Penn Badgley wrote in an email response to The Washington Post that "We're grateful to Lifetime for being the gateway to getting the show made. We wouldn't have been able to make the show without them, as far as I can tell. There is no sense of bewilderment that the show had one reaction while it was on Lifetime and another when it went to Netflix. The difference in viewership is obvious, and it's indicative of so many different things, not the least of which is the way young people consume media."
=== Casting ===
Penn Badgley was cast as lead character Joe Goldberg in June 2017. Elizabeth Lail's casting as Guinevere Beck was announced in July 2017, as well as Luca Padovan as Joe's neighbor Paco, and Zach Cherry as Ethan, a bookstore clerk who works with Joe. Shay Mitchell was cast as Peach Salinger, Beck's wealthy best friend, in August 2017.
In September 2017, Hari Nef was cast in the recurring role as Blythe, a talented and competitive peer in Beck's MFA program. A few days later it was announced that Daniel Cosgrove had been cast in the recurring role of Ron, a correctional officer. In October 2017, Michael Maize and Ambyr Childers were cast in the recurring roles of Officer Nico and Candace, respectively. It was announced in November 2017 that John Stamos would recur as Dr. Nicky, Beck's therapist.
On January 30, 2019, it was announced that Victoria Pedretti had been cast in the main role of Love Quinn for the second season. Pedretti had originally auditioned for the role of Guinevere Beck prior to the filming of the first season in 2017. Though the part later went to Lail, Pedretti was cast in the following season after the showrunners saw the actress's performance in Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House and the casting directors liked her chemistry with Badgley. On January 31, 2019, James Scully was cast in a main role as Forty Quinn, Love's brother, and Jenna Ortega was also cast in a main role as Ellie Alves.
On February 1, 2019, Deadline Hollywood reported that Ambyr Childers had been promoted to a series regular role, ahead of the premiere of the second season. On February 6, 2019, Adwin Brown was cast in the recurring role of Calvin on the second season. On February 15, 2019, Robin Lord Taylor was cast in the recurring role of Will on the second season. On February 21, 2019, Carmela Zumbado was cast in the series regular role of Delilah Alves on the second season. On March 4, 2019, it was reported that Marielle Scott has been cast in the recurring role of Lucy on the second season. On March 5, 2019, Chris D'Elia was cast in the recurring role of Henderson on the second season. On March 26, 2019, Charlie Barnett was cast in the recurring role of Gabe on the second season. On April 4, 2019, Melanie Field and Magda Apanowicz were cast in recurring roles as Sunrise and Sandy, respectively. On June 4, 2019, Danny Vasquez had been cast in a recurring role. On June 24, 2019, it was confirmed that John Stamos would reprise his role as Dr. Nicky in the second season. On October 17, 2019, Elizabeth Lail confirmed in a Build Series interview that she would reprise her role as Guinevere Beck in a guest appearance on the second season.
In October 2020, Travis Van Winkle and Shalita Grant were cast as series regulars while Scott Speedman was cast in a recurring role for the third season. In November 2020, it was announced that Saffron Burrows was upped to regular status after recurring in the second season. Additionally, Tati Gabrielle and Dylan Arnold were also cast as series regulars for the third season, with Michaela McManus, Shannon Chan-Kent, Ben Mehl, Christopher O'Shea, Christopher Sean, Bryan Safi, Mackenzie Astin, Ayelet Zurer, Jack Fisher, and Mauricio Lara added as recurring cast members. On January 25, 2021, Scott Michael Foster joined the cast in a recurring role for the third season. On April 15, 2021, it was confirmed that John Stamos would not be returning in the third season.
In February 2022, Lukas Gage was cast as a series regular for the fourth season. In March 2022, Charlotte Ritchie was cast as a series regular for the fourth season. In April 2022, Tilly Keeper, Amy Leigh Hickman, and Ed Speleers were cast as new series regulars while Niccy Lin, Aidan Cheng, Stephen Hagan, Ben Wiggins, Eve Austin, Ozioma Whenu, Dario Coates, Sean Pertwee, Brad Alexander, Alison Pargeter, and Adam James joined the cast in recurring roles for the fourth season.
In March 2024, Madeline Brewer, Anna Camp and Griffin Matthews were cast as series regulars for the fifth season.
=== Filming ===
The first season of You was filmed in New York City and filming concluded on December 19, 2017. For the second season, the series relocated its production to California to take advantage of tax incentives provided by the California Film Commission under its "Program 2.0" initiative.
Filming for the second season took place on location in Los Angeles, California, from February 2019 to June 2019.
For the third season, the series was awarded $7.2 million in tax credits by the state of California. Filming for the third season began on November 2, 2020, and was originally scheduled to conclude in April 2021. On December 31, 2020, production of the third season was paused for two weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming resumed in February 2021 and ended in April 2021.
Filming on the fourth season officially began on March 21, 2022, in London, and ended on August 27, 2022. The London filming locations included Royal Holloway, South Kensington, Grant's Quay Wharf in Old Billingsgate, Lincoln's Inn Library, Knebworth House and St. Pancras Station. Badgley made his directorial debut with the ninth episode of the season.
Filming for the fifth season began in late March 2024, and ended in August 2024.
=== Technical aspects ===
Lee Toland Krieger and David Lanzenberg were both credited as the director and cinematographer for the first two episodes, respectively. Since then, the series has had a number of cinematographers and directors. Krieger and Lanzenberg were inspired by the works of cinematographer Darius Khondji in films such as David Fincher's Seven (1995) and Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris (2011).
As part of creating the striking look for the series, they executed various dolly shots and used anamorphic lenses to evoke a level of surrealistic voyeurism, demanding from the viewer their participation in the romantic manifestations of Joe's worldview. Krieger asserted that in order to sell Joe's character to the audience, he needed to craft You with a certain visual look and mood, slightly different, unconventional and accented than the standard color palette and tone for contemporary thrillers. He stated that "I wanted something that felt like a great New York love story, just with a very disturbed protagonist", adding that "The show opens with these luscious slow-motion shots. There's that amber glow. It doesn't feel like a thriller."
For the second season, the setting change from New York to Los Angeles, entailed a distinctive use of saturated hues and colorful warm lighting, in part to contrast and depict an alteration of Joe's perspective of a new city which he had never visited previously. It would also signal a period in which Joe could find an avenue for encountering newer opportunities for a fresh start. In a Variety interview with the lead showrunner, Gamble noted the change, stating that "If you went straight from Season 1 to Season 2, you'll notice the sun-drenched color palette. There's something creamier about the light in L.A. than Season 1."
== Release ==
The official trailer for You was released on April 10, 2018, by Lifetime. You premiered on Lifetime in the United States on September 9, 2018. In May 2018, it was announced that Netflix acquired the exclusive international broadcast rights to You, making it available as an original series on the platform. On December 3, 2018, it was announced that Lifetime had passed on the second season, and that the series would move to Netflix as a global Netflix Original series. The first season became available to stream instantly on Netflix worldwide on December 26, 2018. The first season was released on DVD as a manufacture-on-demand title by Warner Archive Collection on January 14, 2020. On December 5, 2019, a teaser trailer for the second season was released by Netflix. On December 16, 2019, the official trailer for the second season was released. The second season was released on December 26, 2019. The second season was released on DVD on January 26, 2021. As part of a video and letter to its shareholders in April 2021, Netflix's co-chief executive officer and chief content officer, Ted Sarandos confirmed that the third season of You is expected to premiere sometime in the fourth quarter of 2021. On August 30, 2021, Netflix announced that the third season will premiere on October 15, 2021. On September 17, 2021, the official trailer for the third season was released. The fourth season was slated to be split into two parts. The first part of the fourth season premiered on February 9, 2023, and the second part premiered on March 9. The fifth season premiered on Netflix on April 24, 2025.
=== Marketing ===
Teasing the original premiere on Lifetime on September 9, 2018, the main cast, Penn Badgley, Elizabeth Lail and Shay Mitchell, as well as the show creator, Sera Gamble, and author of the original book, Caroline Kepnes, sat down with Build Series, a YouTube talk show meant to promote new buzzworthy shows and movies.
Before the show's premiere, Badgley mentioned his disinterest in playing the character of Joe Goldberg in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying that "I didn't want to do it — it was too much. I was conflicted with the nature of the role. If this is a love story, what is it saying? It's not an average show; it's a social experiment." However, he was strongly convinced by the script and the social commentary around the series, adding that "what was key in me wanting to jump on board were my conversations with Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, the creators, and understanding Joe's humanity. I knew that I would be conflicted about the role from day one till the last day, and that is why they thought I would be good for it, is that I'm not psyched to play somebody of this nature."
Relaying similar thoughts in an interview with GQ, Badgley again raised his concerns of portraying Joe, noting that he was first apprehensive at the role but later, changed his mind, expressing that "no one in any position of authority could ever try to act as though we don't know that sex and murder sells, but how can it work in a different way we've not seen? That's where I think this show does something that none of us could have said for certain that we would nail. It could have been really irresponsible. It could have fallen flat and been like, whoa." In another interview at The Contenders Emmys 2019 panel, Badgley mentioned that his character was "the hero of his own story...every serial killer is" but added that Joe is "ultimately, the word that's coming to mind is un-saveable". The actor highlighted that though, there is an apparent affinity to Joe's character, it is somewhat of a "Rorschach test of a kind for us," adding that "we're failing. . ." In an interview with TheWrap, Badgley was asked about whether his approach to portraying Joe over the course of the second season had shifted from the previous season. Badgley stated in response that playing Joe was still an "isolating" experience, but admitted that he was surprised by "how deep of a metaphor we're working with this guy". Nonetheless, he stressed that the incredible range of responses from audiences that followed from portraying "such a damaged, traumatized person", who is "awful and blind and abusive", allowed for "more meaningful conversations about the themes that the show is working" to be discussed in the public sphere.
Various critics gave praise to the series, by complimenting its eerie tone and terrifying approach to the themes of violence and stalking, reminiscent of contemporary thriller films and series like Dexter, Gone Girl and American Psycho. Certain reviewers highlighted that You provides an alluring but disturbing insight into the mind and profile of a psychopath, who charmingly manipulates – through his anti-hero charisma, motives and warped sense of morality – the audience into "[sympathizing] with a stalker" and "serial killer".
The marketing for the series used the buzz around the #MeToo Movement to gain attention to the start of the show. You has been said to have been "tailor-made for the #MeToo Era." One of the show creators, Sera Gamble, commented on this era by highlighting that in contemporary culture, attention is almost unanimously given to the perspective of the male and his story, so naturally he is positioned through the lens of a hero. She states "We're focused on their story, their triumph, their downfall, their redemption arc ... So I doubt the show will single-handedly change the way we think about dudes and our culture, but I'm happy to be part of the conversation."
== Themes ==
=== Obsessive love and violence ===
You explores the psychodynamic view of erotomania and obsessive love between Joe and his romantic interests. In addition, the series further raises questions on the ethics and potential implications of manipulating circumstances and how the psychology of stalking, murder and violence is best exemplified by Joe's intrusive and insidious actions, to manufacture the constructs of an idealized love relationship.
Sera Gamble, the showrunner and co-creator of the series, stated in an interview with Collider, that when envisioning Joe, the main protagonist of the series, she wanted to delve deeply into the root cause of the pathology of his behavior that shaped his amoral position to justify and rationalize stalking, kidnapping and killing his victims. When she was writing the character, she stated that "I want to understand what coaxes behavior of this nature out of that very tiny percentage of men. I like to think it's a very tiny percentage of men who would cross a line like the line that Joe Goldberg crosses".
In an interview at The Contenders Emmys 2019 panel, Gamble highlighted the importance of casting the right person to play the role of Joe Goldberg. She stated that "it had to be a love story and a horror movie in every single scene", further adding that if they "cast someone who was sort of creepy, then the story wouldn't work; the idea is that it's a lead in a romantic comedy who works in a bookstore and a woman walks in, they have a cute meet and fall in love and live happily ever after. That's the show." Expanding on her commentary on the show's themes and origin, Gamble stated at The Hollywood Reporter's roundtable interview, that she was not surprised to hear an overwhelming reception to Joe's character amongst online fans and viewers, citing that "There's a very vocal contingent of fans of Caroline Kepnes' book [on which You is based] who were like, "I heart Joe." Essentially what she's done is taken the classic romantic hero and just peeled back the gloss and sheen and John Cusack with the boombox and she followed it to its logical conclusion. I mean, if you turn off the sappy music and turn on a David Fincher score, romantic comedies are stalker movies. The plot of pretty much every one I can think of — and we have watched all of them many times in the writers room — is contingent on the guy ... well, first of all, he has to do a certain amount of fucking up so she can forgive him. And he has to get over some of her shortcomings. I mean, that's love, right? But also, he's chasing her through a fucking airport, chasing her on a freeway, watching her sleep because he feels protective. Romantic comedy behavior in real life is criminal! And that was basically the starting place for the show."
After the series was acquired by Netflix, Gamble noted in several interviews on the changes that would occur in the following season. In an interview with New Musical Express, Gamble highlighted that an exploration of Joe's descent in future storylines will further necessitate a focus on underlying issues that inform his skewed worldview. She later added that "We're interested in exploring the character and we're well aware that what the character is doing is not ok – it's deeply, deeply problematic. So what's interesting to us is: what does he think he's done wrong, what does he think he has to do differently, and to really explore that while still keeping that clinical cold eye on the whole show. And that eye is on a show that's about a guy who kills people." Given the hands off approach that Netflix is known for, Gamble added in an interview with The New York Times that the second season will be different, explaining that "Certain things are changing in the way we are thinking about Season 2 of You. We have a little more flexibility around timing, since we don't have commercial ads, and also we can say the word [expletive] a lot more. As someone who swears a lot, that's a great thing. Netflix lets you give as many [expletive] as you want." In an interview with LadBible, Gamble declared that the team's approach to writing the second season would necessitate a change in the formula, noting that "We knew that it wouldn't be possible to repeat it as the audience is very much onto Joe now and will see through him". Furthermore, she highlighted that the second season will be "gorier and scarier than anything we had in season one."
The theme of obsession and violence is significantly expanded upon in the second season with the introduction of the character of Love Quinn. The examination and deconstruction of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl and Cool Girl tropes enabled the writers to express the idea that certain women such as Love harbor internalized misogyny through actions that either minimize or question the lived experiences of female victims in favor of men that they are romantically inclined to. The balance of such an approach in emotional conflict poses an interesting dilemma for the viewer, where sympathy is later garnered for Love's perspective due to her complicated history, underlying motives in manifesting the goal of attaining her idealized soulmate, and the tension between her perceived image against Joe's mental projection of a conceptualized fantasy girl.
The bottomless nature of Joe's obsession becomes very apparent in season three, when Joe—despite finally having found a partner who accepts and loves him exactly as he is—cannot help but fixate on women outside of his marriage.
Season three also presents a foil for Joe's approach to relationships: Love's married friends, Sherry and Cary, although introduced as performative and condescending, ultimately demonstrate healthy communication and teamwork. In an interview with Elle, showrunner Sera Gamble said, "It became important to us to have a married couple in the season who also went through a real crucible in their relationship, so that we could actually hold somebody up and say this is what it looks like when it's good. This is what it looks like when people listen to each other and they are truly putting each other's interests at the forefront of their consciousness."
=== Addiction ===
Addiction is featured prominently in the show, with a particular emphasis on the impact of addiction on loved ones. In season one, Joe shields a younger neighbor from the consequences of his mother's addiction and helps her through withdrawal. In season two, Love's brother Forty deals with recovery, and the show deepens its exploration by focusing on Love's co-dependent need to guide Forty through his issues. Season three's love interest, Marienne, is also recovering addict.
Joe often compares his own erotomania and psychopathy to substance abuse. He constantly attempts, seemingly genuinely, to stop stalking and killing, but almost always finds a way to justify his own actions.
=== Privacy ===
As the first season of You is situated in modern-day New York City, it explores the dangers of stalking and social media culture with an emphasis on a lack of digital privacy. The author of the novel, Caroline Kepnes, explained the darkness of You, which deconstructs the romantic-comedy tropes highlighted in many films and shows, by making the protagonist a violent stalker and serial killer, saying it was written in a dark period of her life, the year her father died of cancer, and in which she experienced several other personal challenges. She further stated that her inspiration for the novel grew out of her moving back to LA. She expressed that when she moved, she noticed that "suddenly everyone was following each other and being followed, and I always thought of that as such a negative thing," soon creating Joe in her mind as a very real possibility of what can happen with that type of access into people's lives. After the series premiered, Kepnes mentioned in an interview with Emily Baker from iNews, that she was initially hesitant on labeling Joe, as a few readers argued that his actions, classified him as a serial killer. The author then, clarified her position on the matter, citing that "I remember when I wrote You and someone first referred to Joe as a serial killer. I argued 'he's not a serial killer, he meets these terrible people and has these awful thoughts, but he's very sensitive. It's very strange to realize you have written a serial killer."
Due to narrative changes, the second season would necessitate a shift in setting to Los Angeles from the prior season. As a result, Gamble noted in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the season will have a different feeling, citing that "Los Angeles is full of people who are really trying to live their best life and self-actualize," and that "When you put somebody who needs a lot of healing into a city that advertises itself basically as this Mecca full of cutting-edge healers, the alchemy is a little unexpected for him." She further added, that there will be more deviations in the ongoing story compared to Kepnes' sequel novel Hidden Bodies but stressed that some plot elements will still be adapted in the second season. Speaking in an interview with Vogue, the showrunner explained that the second season, offered an opportunity for the writers to satirize and dig beneath the Hollywood scene, influencer lifestyle and wellness culture that permeates the surface of Los Angeles. Though, Gamble mentioned that it was imperative to balance the pokes at L.A. culture by representing a different side to the city, citing that "I think when you squint at it from far away, it seems like a city that's sprung up around the entertainment business which is technically true to a certain extent, but a lot of the portrayal of LA that people have seen in stuff like Entourage... and what you see in tabloids, where you think it's all famous people running around to their plastic surgeon and in BMWs, and that's actually a very small slice of a city that's this vast patchwork of neighbourhoods. We're all very lucky that Hollywood is here because it's paying our bills... the reach of Hollywood is vast... but people have much fuller, deeper more expansive lives than that, once you're here." In an interview with Boston Herald, Gamble stated that "Joe will always have biting thoughts about other people," further highlighting that "so it's fun to drop him into an environment that gives him a lot of fodder. He had judgments about the crowd in New York, and he also does about the crowd around him in L.A. And since we [the show's creative team] all live in Los Angeles, that's a lot of fun for us. We're really excited to do the other side of the coin."
=== Privilege ===
In each of the show's settings, privilege—especially class—plays a prominent role. Most of Joe's love interests have ties to the rich and powerful, and Joe regularly comments on this upper-class culture with disdain.
Season one primarily focuses on socialite and influencer culture in New York City, as well as the pressure of "old money". Season two hones in on influencer culture, but also explores celebrity and what critic Rebecca Nicholson described as LA's "hippy-adjacent ultracapitalist spiritualism".
Season three continues to explore class and influencer culture. The "crunchy" parenting in Madre Linda also serves as commentary on the anti-vax movement, a theme that proved especially timely when the show premiered after the COVID-19 pandemic (though the episode was actually written before the pandemic). The introduction of a Black love interest (Marienne) enabled the show to comment on the "missing white woman" trope and the disproportionate attention white victims get compared to women of color.
Season four's London setting involves a string of "eat-the-rich" killings targeting the wealthy social elite, including a member of the British royal family. Joe's love interest is his wealthiest yet—Kate is the heir to a billion-dollar military contracting company, and openly comments on the shame she feels for being connected to the military-industrial complex.
=== Mentorship and parenthood ===
In each season, Joe has a younger person he looks after and attempts to protect. In season one, Joe looks after a young neighbor (Paco) whose home life is very similar to his own experiences as a child—an absentee mother and a violent, drunk father figure. Joe's takes on a mentor role in Paco's life, reflecting the role of Mr. Mooney in his own childhood—a man who cared for him, but whose violent actions shaped Joe's moral views about violence.
The third season takes place in suburban California, as Joe and Love Quinn-Goldberg raise a newborn baby together. The season explores the toll of parenthood on both Joe and Love. Joe's experience with parenthood in season three builds upon his backstory, introduced in season one and developed in season two. His absentee mother, violent father, and abusive mentor contribute to the pressure he feels about fatherhood. He expresses deep concern that his son will end up like him
In an interview with Elle, Victoria Pedretti said, "She's allowing these relationships outside of herself to give her a sense of purpose. Including having a child. Instead of finding and being driven by a sense of security and purpose within herself, she gains value from these things instead of seeing herself as enough, just as is. I think she and Joe both struggle with this. (...) It’s like a product of the trauma they experience as children, and they've never learned to find value outside of themselves, and so will aspire and become greedy and try to fill this never ending void." In the same Elle interview, Pedretti discussed how the suburban California setting puts Love into positions where she is expected to perform perfection as a mother and as a wife: "She has this need to represent herself as secure because she knows that being too insecure does come off as unattractive."
== Reception and impact ==
=== Audience viewership ===
On January 17, 2019, Netflix announced that the series was on track to be streamed by over 40 million viewers within its first month of release on the streaming platform. On December 13, 2019, Netflix announced over 43 million viewers had completed watching the whole season since its release on the service. On December 30, 2019, Netflix issued a number of official lists, including the Most Popular TV Shows of 2019. The series was among the most viewed in the U.S. market, where You was ranked fifth among series. On January 21, 2020, Netflix announced that the second season had been viewed by over 54 million viewers on its service within its first month of release, referring to viewers who had watched at least 2 minutes of one episode. According to the year-end summary from Nielsen, You was in the group of top ten most-watched original series in the U.S. market between December 30, 2019, through December 27, 2020, where it ranked tenth based on minutes watched, with a 10.96 billion total minutes of streaming.
=== Critical response ===
==== Season 1 ====
On the review aggregator website, Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has a 93% approval rating with 60 reviews, with an average rating of 7.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "You pairs thrilling drama with trashy fun to create an addictive social media horror story that works its way under the skin – and stays there." Review aggregator Metacritic gave the first season a score of 74 out of 100 based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
==== Season 2 ====
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an 87% approval rating with an average rating of 8.01/10, based on 45 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Penn Badgley's perversely endearing serial stalker keeps looking for love in all the wrong places during a second season that maintains the subversive tension while adding some welcome variations on the series' formula." On Metacritic, the second season has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
==== Season 3 ====
On Rotten Tomatoes, the third season holds a 96% approval rating with an average rating of 8.00/10 based on 53 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "You takes its thrilling saga to the suburbs with superb results, made all the more delicious by Penn Badgley and Victoria Pedretti's committed performances." On Metacritic, the third season has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
==== Season 4 ====
The fourth season has an approval rating of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 53 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's critics consensus states, "The hunter becomes prey in You's London-set fourth season, which shows some wear as this premise begins to outlive its believability—but Penn Badgley's sardonic performance continues to paper over most lapses in logic." On Metacritic, the first part of the fourth season received a score of 73 based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. For the second part of season 4, Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 82 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
==== Season 5 ====
On Rotten Tomatoes, the fifth season has an 84% approval rating with an average rating of 6.8/10, based on 37 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "You wisely wraps things up just before Joe Goldberg's murderous machinations become stale, delivering a final season that ought to satisfy most viewers' morbid curiosity." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 53 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
=== Cultural influence ===
You gained a dedicated following soon after its release on Netflix. Once the first season became available to stream worldwide on Netflix, the series' popularity increased dramatically with an estimated 40 million people having viewed it, in its first month on the streaming platform, dwarfing its viewership from Lifetime. The series later became the subject of numerous online discussions and debates surrounding the romanticization of the serial killer and stalker protagonist in question. According to many reporters and critics, concerns were expressed regarding the viewers who have positively identified and connected with Penn Badgley's character on multiple social media platforms, despite the transgressive acts that the protagonist displayed and committed over the course of the season. Among the viewers who took an affinity to Joe was Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown. Brown took to social media, sharing her initial thoughts in a video by downplaying Joe's questionable acts, but subsequently, changed her position on the matter after watching the entirety of the first season.
After Badgley received tweets from various fans and viewers of the series about how the series seemingly glorified Joe's violent behaviors, the actor responded with tongue-in-cheek replies on Twitter and Instagram and noted the importance of not romanticizing the actions of a psychopathic murderer. In response to the growing concerns of viewers romanticizing Joe's vicious behaviors, Elizabeth Lail conveyed her thoughts surrounding the conversation in an interview with Image. Lail expressed she initially had concerns about the audience's reactions but explained that "I think we are programmed that way. Myself included. With all the rom-coms and fairy tales we've read, we're programmed to root for the hero at any cost, unfortunately. And so, my hope is that these women notice that inside themselves; and ask themselves, 'oh gosh, why do I love this terrible man?' I hope they recognize it as an unconscious bias (that's inside most of us), and actively work against it."
Victoria Pedretti, the lead actress of the second season, responded in a commentary to the audience's strong alignment to Joe's perspective. In an interview with Variety, Pedretti stated that, though she is aware of the phenomenon behind the reactions and concerns after the series gained a remarkable following, it is fueling the conversation, citing that it "talks about the kind of horrors of being a young person on the internet today. [. . .] I think it's a really smart way to discuss this trope that we've romanticized so much — this idea of this man that Penn plays. We know these people, and they're really hard to pluck out because they see themselves, and we see them, as the nice guys."
=== Accolades === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witney | Witney | Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is 12 miles (19 km) west of Oxford.
== History ==
The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest known record of it is as Wyttannige in a Saxon charter of 969. The Domesday Book of 1086 records it as Witenie, in the ancient hundred of Bampton.
The Church of England parish church of St Mary the Virgin was originally Norman. The north porch and north aisle were added in this style late in the 12th century, and survived a major rebuilding in about 1243. In this rebuilding the present chancel, transepts, tower and spire were added and the nave was remodelled, all in the Early English style. In the 14th century a number of side chapels and some of the present windows were added in the Decorated style. In the 15th century the south transept was extended and the present west window of the nave were added in the Perpendicular style. The tower has a peal of eight bells. The tower of the church is 69 feet (21 metres) high, topped by a tall and slender spire, which brings the total height of the church to 154 feet (47 metres).
Holy Trinity Church, Wood Green, was built in 1849 in a Gothic Revival rendition of Early English Gothic. St Mary the Virgin and Holy Trinity are now members of a single team parish.
The Friends Meeting House in Wood Green was built in the 18th century. Since 1997 Quakers in Witney have met at the Corn Exchange. The Methodist church in the High Street was built in 1850. It is now one of five Methodist churches and chapels in Witney. The Roman Catholic parish of Our Lady and Saint Hugh was founded in 1913. It originally used a chapel in West End built in 1881 but now has its own modern building. The old chapel in West End is now Elim Christian Fellowship. Witney High Street still has several older buildings, which are protected by the Witney and Cogges conservation area.
Witney Market began in the Middle Ages. Thursday is the traditional market day but there is also a market on Saturday. The buttercross in the market square is so called because people from neighbouring towns would gather there to buy butter and eggs. It was built in about 1600 and its clock was added in 1683. Witney Town Hall, which is arcaded on the ground floor and has an assembly room on the first floor, was completed in 1786. Witney has long been an important crossing over the River Windrush. The architect Thomas Wyatt rebuilt the bridge in Bridge Street in 1822.
Witney workhouse was on Razor Hill (now Tower Hill). It was designed by the architect George Wilkinson and built in 1835–36. It had four wings radiating from an octagonal central building, similar to the Chipping Norton workhouse, which also was built by Wilkinson. His younger brother William Wilkinson added a separate chapel to Witney Workhouse in 1860. In the First World War the workhouse held prisoners of war. In 1940 the workhouse was converted into Crawford Collets engineering factory under the direction of Leonard Frank Eve. The chapel was made the factory canteen. In 1979 Crawford Collets had the main buildings demolished and replaced with a modern factory, but preserved the entrance gate and former chapel. In 2004 the modern factory was demolished for redevelopment. The gate and chapel have again been preserved and the former chapel converted into offices.
== Governance ==
There are three tiers of local government covering Witney, at civil parish (town), district, and county level: Witney Town Council, West Oxfordshire District Council, and Oxfordshire County Council. The town council has its offices at Witney Town Hall and meets at the Corn Exchange. West Oxfordshire District Council is also based in the town, having its main offices on Woodgreen.
=== Constituency ===
The town forms part of the Witney constituency, represented by Charlie Maynard, a Liberal Democrat, since 2024. Former foreign secretary Douglas Hurd and former leader of the Conservatives and Prime Minister David Cameron were both MPs for Witney. In the 1997 General Election, Shaun Woodward stood and won the seat as a Conservative, after Hurd retired. Woodward switched to the Labour Party in 1999. In the 2001 General Election Woodward stood as the Labour candidate in the St Helens South constituency, and David Cameron retook Witney for the Conservatives. He became Prime Minister in coalition with the Liberal Democrats in May 2010 and continued after the 2015 election, in which the Conservative Party gained a majority, but retired to the backbenches after the referendum that rejected his government's recommendation to remain in the European Union. He stood down as an MP soon afterwards, triggering a by-election held on 20 October 2016, in which Robert Courts was elected for the Conservatives. Courts was re-elected in 2017 and 2019, before being defeated by Maynard in 2024.
=== Administrative history ===
Witney was an ancient parish in the Bampton hundred of Oxfordshire. The parish was divided into four townships, being Crawley, Curbridge, Hailey, and a Witney township covering the central part of the parish including the town itself. Such townships all became civil parishes in 1866.
The Witney township was made a local government district in 1863. Such local government districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894.
Witney Urban District was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. District-level functions passed to the new West Oxfordshire District Council. A successor parish called Witney was created covering the area of the abolished urban district, with its parish council taking the name Witney Town Council.
== Industry ==
Witney has been famous for its woollen blankets since the Middle Ages. The water for the production of these blankets is drawn from the River Windrush, which was believed to be the secret of Witney's high-quality blankets. The cloth industry dominated life in Witney where one 17th-century observer noted that "almost 3,000 people from 8 years old to old age worked" in the manufacture of blankets. Mops were also traditionally made by the blanket manufacturers; at one time every ship in the Royal Navy had Witney mops aboard. The Blanket Hall in High Street was built in 1721 for weighing and measuring blankets. At one time there were five blanket factories in the town but with the closure of the largest blanket maker Early's, in 2002, the town's blanket industry completely ceased production. Early's factory, once a vital and important part of the town's history, has now been demolished, and is the site of several new housing estates.
One of the oldest mill sites in the town, New Mill, where there has been a mill since the Domesday Book, now houses the head office of Audley Travel.
For many years Witney had its own brewery and maltings: J.W. Clinch and Co, which founded the Eagle Maltings in 1841. In 1961, Courage bought Clinch's for its pub estate and closed down the brewery. Paddy Glenny founded the Glenny Brewery at the former Clinch's site in 1983, but it was renamed to Wychwood Brewery in 1990. Wychwood brewed real ales, including Hobgoblin, its flagship brand. Refresh UK, a subsidiary of Marston's Brewery, took over the brewery in 2002, and Marston's bought Refresh UK and Wychwood Brewery outright in 2008. Marston's brewing operations, including Wychwood Brewery, were merged into Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company in 2020, and Wychwood Brewery was shut down in November 2023, its brands continuing to be brewed elsewhere in the CMBC network.
== Railways ==
The Witney Railway opened Witney's first station in 1861, linking the town to Yarnton where the line joined the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway. In 1873 the East Gloucestershire Railway opened from a new station, linking Witney with Lechlade and Fairford. The Great Western Railway operated services on both lines and eventually took them over. In 1962 British Railways closed the EGR completely and withdrew passenger services from the Witney Railway. In 1970 British Railways closed the Witney Railway completely and it was dismantled.
=== Reopening proposal ===
In 2015 Witney Oxford Transport Group (WOT) proposed the reopening of the railway, with a station at Witney, as an alternative to improvements to the A40 road proposed by Oxfordshire County Council. In 2016 WOT and West Oxfordshire Green Party cited chronic traffic congestion on roads linking Witney with Oxford as a reason to reopen the railway. In 2021 WOT Group submitted a bid to the Department for Transport's 'Restoring Your Railway' Ideas Fund for a grant to develop the case for a new railway in the A40 corridor 'Building a better-connected West Oxfordshire, transforming the wider Oxford economic region' as part of an Oxford Metro advocated by Railfuture.
== Museums ==
Witney has three museums. Cogges Manor Farm Museum, in the 13th-century manor house and farm of Cogges, represents farming and countryside history. Witney and District Museum has many artefacts and documents representing the history of the town. Witney Blanket Hall, built in the 18th century, showcases both the history of the Hall and of Witney's blanket industry and has Witney blankets for sale.
== Education ==
Witney has three county secondary schools: Henry Box School, Wood Green School and Springfield School. In 1660 Henry Box founded Witney Grammar School. In 1968 it became the comprehensive Henry Box School. In 1970 new school buildings were added to the original 17th-century premises beside Church Green. Wood Green School was founded in 1954 and is at the top of Woodstock Road. Springfield School was founded in 1967 and is a special-needs school for pupils with severe learning difficulties. Springfield School senior section is a self-contained unit, with some shared facilities, within the grounds of Wood Green School. Wood Green was substantially expanded from 2000 to 2004; an additional block with 15 teaching rooms was added, together with a purpose-built sixth form centre, school restaurant and new AstroTurf pitch. 2009 saw part of the old Lower School being remodelled to provide new changing and shower facilities for the AstroTurf pitch and its many users from local community sports clubs.
The King's School is independent of Oxfordshire Local Education Authority. It was founded by Oxfordshire Community Churches, an evangelical Christian organisation, in 1984. Cokethorpe School is an independent secondary school, founded in 1957. St. Mary's School beside Church Green was established in 1813. It was a Church of England primary school but in 1953 it became a Church of England controlled School for Infant children, and the Junior children transferred to the Batt School premises. Witney now has two Church of England primary schools: The Batt School in Corn Street and The Blake School in Cogges Hill Road. Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic school founded in 1958.
Witney has five community primary schools: Madley Park Community Primary School, Queen's Dyke Primary School, Tower Hill Community Primary School, West Witney Primary School and Witney Community Primary School.
It also has one SEN primary school, Springfield School, which is part of the same school as Springfield secondary School. Springfield school (Primary) shares a building with Madley Brook Primary, but aside from sharing a building, some resources and integration, the schools run independently of one another. The former Witney Technical College is now part of Abingdon and Witney College. A complete rebuilding of its premises began in September 2008.
== Sports ==
Witney United Football Club, formerly known as Witney Town and nicknamed the Blanketmen, played in the Hellenic League Premier Division, until they dissolved in the 2012–2013 season. Witney and District League is a local association football league with about 32 clubs in five divisions. Witney Rugby Football Club first XV plays in the RFU South West 1 East. Wychwood Ladies Hockey Club's first team play in the Trysport Hockey League Division 1; Witney Hockey Club men's first XI plays in the England Hockey Men's Conference East division and its ladies' first XI plays in South Clubs' Women's Hockey League Division 3A. Witney Swifts Cricket Club first XI plays in Oxfordshire Cricket Association Division Three. Witney Wolves Basketball Club plays in the Oxford and Chiltern Basketball League.
The Toleman Group Motorsport racing team was once based in Witney until it was rebranded Benetton Formula in 1986. The team itself stayed in Witney until 1992 when they moved to Enstone eventually being rebranded in 2002 as Renault F1 when the team was purchased by the French Renault car company. The team competed as Renault F1 until 2011, when it was again rebranded this time under the "Lotus Renault GP" name after forging a partnership with the British Lotus Cars company. The subsequent year the team became Lotus F1 after they dropped the Renault name. The team was later re-purchased by Renault in late 2015 to become the Renault Sport F1 Team for 2016.
== Twinning ==
Witney is twinned with:
Unterhaching, Germany
Le Touquet, France
== Floods ==
In July 2007 Witney saw its worst flooding in more than 50 years. Homes and businesses were evacuated and Bridge Street, a major road into the town and the only road across the Windrush, was closed. About 200 properties in central Witney were flooded, with areas around Bridge Street, Mill Street and West End the worst affected. The new and incomplete housing development Aquarius also suffered substantial flooding. In 2008 further flooding contributed to the death of a 17-year-old boy who drowned in a culvert.
== Climate ==
Witney has a maritime climate type typical to the British Isles, with evenly spread rainfall, a narrow temperature range, and comparatively low sunshine totals. The nearest official weather station is Brize Norton, about 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of Witney. The absolute maximum recorded was 35.4c(95.7f) in August 1990, although in a typical year the warmest day should only reach 29.5c(85.1f) with an average of 14.6 days reporting a maximum temperature of 25.1c(77.2f) or above. The absolute minimum is −20.7c(−5.3f), recorded in January 1982. In a more typical year the annual minimum temperature should be −8.1c(17.4f), although a total of 47.1 nights should report an air frost. Rainfall averages slightly under 644mm per year with more than 1mm of rain falling on just under 115 days of the year.
== Media ==
The town receives its television signals from the Oxford TV transmitter.
In May 2010, WitneyTV was launched as a non-profit online broadcaster with a weekly show that features local news and upcoming events within West Oxfordshire for the benefit of the community. An archive of videos featuring local attractions, clubs, organisations and previous shows is also available.
A small-scale music festival, Witney Music festival, is held annually on The Leys Recreation Ground. While mostly hosting smaller local artists and tribute bands, it has previously hosted acts such as EMF, The Farm and N-Trance. Witney has a number of recording studios.
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Oxford on 95.2 FM, Heart South on 102.6 FM, and Greatest Hits Radio South on 106.4 FM. On 30 November 2012 Witney Radio was launched, providing hyper-local news, music and current affairs to the people of Witney and West Oxfordshire. A licence to broadcast on FM radio was granted in April 2016 by the licensing authority Ofcom. On 14 July 2017 Witney Radio began to broadcast on 99.9fm to Witney and West Oxfordshire. The station broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with over 30 presenters from the local area. The station also broadcasts online for listeners online via TuneIn.
An Internet radio station, Windrush Radio, was established in 2018. It broadcasts mostly pop and electronic music in the daytime, but has a number of hosts that present specific genres, including a showcase of local artists. Windrush Radio has announced plans to broadcast over DAB radio, and a small-scale radio multiplex license has been submitted to Ofcom.
The local newspapers are the Oxford Times, Oxfordshire Guardian and Witney Gazette.
== Notable people ==
Notable people associated with Witney include:
Emma Appleton, actress
David Cameron, former MP for Witney and former Prime Minister of the UK and former Foreign Secretary
Jamie Cook, footballer
Alan Dapre, children's TV show writer
Lawson D'Ath, footballer
Jorge Grant, footballer
Darrell Griffin, rugby league footballer
Douglas Hurd, former MP for Witney and former Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary
Charlie Hutchison, British communist
Martin Jones, concert pianist
Simon King, footballer
Graham Leonard, 130th Bishop of London
Rhys Lewis, singer-songwriter
Andrew Logan, artist
Anthony Dod Mantle, Academy Award-winning cinematographer
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, TV and film actress
Maddie Moate, television presenter and YouTuber
David Moss, footballer
Robbie Mustoe, footballer
Lorraine Pascal, model and TV chef
Miss Read (Dora Saint), author
Larry Sanders, Green party councillor
William Smith, cricketer
James Allen Shuffrey, watercolour artist
Leonard Shuffrey, architect and architectural designer
Patrick Steptoe, pioneer of fertility treatment
Dan Tomlinson, Labour politician
Sammy Virji, DJ
Shaun Woodward, Conservative and then Labour MP for Witney, then Labour MP for St Helens South
== Arms == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matterhorn | Matterhorn | The Matterhorn is a mountain of the European Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, whose summit is 4,478 metres (14,692 ft) above sea level, making it one of the highest summits in the Alps and Europe. Sometimes referred to as the "Mountain of Mountains" (German: Berg der Berge), it has become an indelible emblem of the Alps and is claimed to be the most photographed mountain in the world. The Matterhorn has four faces, each roughly oriented toward one of the four cardinal points. Three of these (north, east, and west) are on the Swiss side of the border and watershed, while the south face lies on the Italian side. These four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, are separated by the Hörnli, Furggen, Zmutt, and Leone (Lion) ridges. The mountain overlooks the Swiss town of Zermatt, in the canton of Valais, to the northeast, and the Italian town of Breuil-Cervinia in the Aosta Valley to the south. Just east of the Matterhorn is Theodul Pass, the main passage between the two valleys on its north and south sides, which has been a trade route since the Roman era.
The Matterhorn was studied by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure in the late 18th century; this was followed by other renowned naturalists and artists, such as John Ruskin, in the 19th century. It remained unclimbed after most of the other great Alpine peaks had been attained and became the subject of an international competition for the summit. The first ascent of the Matterhorn was in 1865 from Zermatt by a party led by Edward Whymper, but during the descent, a sudden fall claimed the lives of four of the seven climbers. This disaster, later portrayed in several films, marked the end of the golden age of alpinism. The north face was not climbed until 1931 and is among the three biggest north faces of the Alps, known as "The Trilogy". The west face, the highest of the Matterhorn's four faces, was completely climbed only in 1962. It is estimated that over 500 alpinists have died on the Matterhorn, making it one of the deadliest peaks in the world.
The Matterhorn is mainly composed of gneisses (originally fragments of the African plate before the Alpine orogeny) from the Dent Blanche nappe, lying over ophiolites and sedimentary rocks of the Penninic nappes. The mountain's current shape is the result of cirque erosion due to multiple glaciers diverging from the peak, such as the Matterhorn Glacier at the base of the north face. Since the end of the 19th century, when railways were built in the area, the mountain has attracted increasing numbers of visitors and climbers. Each year, numerous mountaineers try to climb the Matterhorn from the Hörnli Hut via the northeast Hörnli ridge, the most popular route to the summit. Many trekkers also undertake the 10-day-long circuit around the mountain. The Matterhorn has been part of the Swiss Federal Inventory of Natural Monuments since 1983.
== Names ==
The name Matterhorn derives from the German words Matte ("meadow") and Horn ("horn"), and is often translated as "the peak of the meadows".
In the Schalbetter map, printed by Sebastian Münster in 1545, the valley is labelled Mattertal, but the mountain has the Latin name Mons Silvius as well as the German name Augstalberg, in concord with the Aosta Valley (German Augstal). The 1548 map by Johannes Stumpf gives only Mons Silvius.
The French name Cervin, from which the Italian term Cervino derives, stems from the Latin Mons Silvanus (or Mons Sylvanus), where silva means "forest"; this was corrupted to Selvin and then Servin. The change of the first letter "s" to "c" is attributed to Horace Bénédict de Saussure, who thought the word was related to "deer" (French: cerf and Italian: cervo).
Josias Simler hypothesized in De Alpibus Commentarius (1574) that the name Mons Silvius derived from a Roman leader, a hypothesis that was readopted by T. G. Farinetti: "Silvius was probably a Roman leader who sojourned with his legions in the land of the Salassi and the Seduni, and perhaps crossed the Theodul Pass between these two places. This Silvius may have been that same Servius Galba whom Caesar charged with the opening up of the Alpine passes, which from that time onward traders have been wanting to cross with great danger and grave difficulty. Servius Galba, in order to carry out Caesar's orders, came with his legions from Allobroges (Savoy) to Octodurum (Martigny) in the Valais, and pitched his camp there. The passes which he had orders to open from there could be no other than the St. Bernard, the Simplon, the Theodul, and the Moro; it therefore seems likely that the name of Servius, whence Silvius and later Servin, or Cervin, was given in his honour to the famous pyramid." It is unknown when the new name of Servin, or Cervin, replaced the old, from which it seems to be derived.
The Matterhorn is also named Gran Bècca ("big mountain") by the Valdôtains and Horu by the local Walliser German speaking people.
The German name "Matterhorn" first appears in the year 1682.
Because of its recognizable shape, many other similar mountains around the world were named or nicknamed "the Matterhorn of" their respective countries or mountain ranges.
== Height ==
The Matterhorn has two distinct summits, situated at either end of a 100-metre-long (330 ft) exposed rocky crest which forms the Italian/Swiss border. In August 1792, the Genevan geologist and explorer Horace Bénédict de Saussure made the first measurement of the Matterhorn's height, using a sextant and a 50-foot-long (15 m) chain spread out on the Theodul glacier. He calculated its height as 4,501.7 m (14,769 ft). In 1868 the Italian engineer Felice Giordano measured a height of 4,505 m (14,780 ft) by means of a mercury barometer, which he had taken to the summit. The Dufour map, which was afterwards followed by the Italian surveyors, gave 4,482 m (14,705 ft) as the height of the Swiss summit.
In 1999, the summit height was precisely determined to be at 4,477.54 m (14,690 ft) above sea level by using Global Positioning System technology as part of the TOWER Project (Top of the World Elevations Remeasurement) and to an accuracy of less than one centimetre, which allows future changes to be tracked.
The topographic prominence of the Matterhorn is 1,042 metres (3,419 ft) as the ridge connecting it with a higher summit (in this case the Weisshorn, which is the culminating point of the range west of the Mattertal valley) sinks to a height of 3,436 m (11,273 ft) at the Col Durand, a saddle between the Pointe de Zinal and the Mont Durand. The topographic isolation is 13.9 km (8.6 mi), as the nearest point of higher elevation is the one-metre (3 ft 3 in) higher Western Liskamm.
Considering mountains with a topographic prominence of at least 300 m (980 ft), the Matterhorn is the sixth-highest summit in the Alps and Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains. It is the fifth-highest summit of Valais and Switzerland and the third highest summit of the Aosta Valley and Italy. Locally, it is the third-highest summit in the municipality of Zermatt and the highest summit in the municipality of Valtournenche. On the official International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation list of Alpine four-thousanders, which also includes subsidiary summits of higher mountains such as the nearby Monte Rosa, the Matterhorn is the 12th highest summit in the Alps.
== Geography ==
The Matterhorn has a pyramidal shape with four faces nearly facing the four compass points. Three of them (north, east and west) are on the Swiss side of the border and watershed (Mattertal valley) and one of them (south) is on the Italian side of the border (Valtournenche valley). The north face overlooks the Ober Gabelhorn (7 km away) across the Zmutt Glacier and valley (above Zermatt), the east face overlooks the Gorner Glacier system between the Gornergrat and Monte Rosa (respectively 10 and 17 km away) across the Theodul Pass, the west face overlooks the upper basin of the Zmutt Glacier between the Dent Blanche and the Dent d'Hérens (respectively 7 and 4 km away) and the south face fronts the resort town of Breuil-Cervinia and overlooks a good portion of the Valtournenche. The Matterhorn does not form a perfect square pyramid, as the north and south faces are wider than the west and east faces. Moreover, the latter faces do not actually meet on the summit but are connected by a 100-metre (330 ft)-long horizontal west–east ridge between the north and south faces.
The Matterhorn's faces are steep, and only small patches of snow and ice cling to them; regular avalanches send the snow down to accumulate on the glaciers at the base of each face, the largest of which are the Tiefmattengletscher to the west, part of the Zmutt Glacier, and the Matterhorn Glacier to the north. Smaller glaciers lie at the base of the south face (the Lower Matterhorn Glacier) and the east face (unnamed). In this area, the border between Switzerland and Italy coincides with the main Alpine watershed, separating the drainage basin of the Rhone on the north (Mediterranean Sea) and that of the Po on the south (Adriatic Sea). The north side is drained by the Zmuttbach (west and north faces) and the Gornera through the Furggbach (east face), tributaries of the Rhone through the (Matter) Vispa. The south side and face is drained by the Marmore torrent, a tributary of the Po through the Dora Baltea (or Doire baltée). The Theodul Pass, located on the watershed between the Matterhorn and the Breithorn, at 3,295 metres, is the easiest passage between the two valleys and countries (the slightly lower Furggjoch not being used as a pass). The pass was used as a crossover and trade route for the Romans and the Romanised Celtic population Salassi between 100 BCE and 400 CE. The area is now heavily glaciated and covered on the north side by the Theodul Glacier.
Well-known faces are the east and north, visible from the area of Zermatt, although mostly hidden from the Mattertal by the chain of the Weisshorn. The east face is 1,000 metres high and, because it is "a long, monotonous slope of rotten rocks", presents a high risk of rockfall, making its ascent dangerous. The north face is 1,200 metres high and is one of the most dangerous north faces in the Alps, in particular for its risk of rockfall and storms. The south face, well visible from the Valtournenche, is 1,350 metres high and offers many different routes. The west face, the highest at 1,400 metres, has the fewest ascent routes and lies in a more remote area than the other faces.
The four main ridges separating the four faces are the main climbing routes. The least difficult technical climb and the usual climbing route, the Hörnli ridge (Hörnligrat), lies between the east and north faces and is aligned towards the Oberrothorn above Zermatt. To its west lies the Zmutt ridge (Zmuttgrat), between the north and west faces and aligned towards the Wandfluehorn; this is, according to Collomb, "the classic route up the mountain, its longest ridge, also the most disjointed." The Lion ridge (Cresta del Leone / Arête du lion), lying between the south and west faces and aligned towards the Dent d'Hérens is the Italian normal route and goes across Pic Tyndall; Collomb comments, "A superb rock ridge, the shortest on the mountain, now draped with many fixed ropes, but a far superior climb compared with the Hörnli." Finally the south side is separated from the east side by the Furggen ridge (Furggengrat), which is aligned towards the Klein Matterhorn. It is, according to Collomb, "the hardest of the ridges [...] the ridge still has an awesome reputation but is not too difficult in good conditions by the indirect finish".
While the Matterhorn is the culminating point of the Valtournenche on the south, it is only one of the many 4000 metres summits of the Mattertal valley on the north. Its height is exceeded by four major summits: the Weisshorn (4,505 m), the Dom (4,545 m), the Liskamm (4,527 m) and the second-highest in the Alps, Monte Rosa (4,634 m). This section of the Pennine Alps, including the Matterhorn, the Zinalrothorn, the Dent Blanche, the Dent d'Hérens, the Breithorn, the Strahlhorn, the Rimpfischhorn and the Alphubel, concentrates most of western Europe's highest mountains and forms a crown of peaks around Zermatt. The deeply glaciated region between the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa (named Dent Blanche-Matterhorn-Monte Rosa) is listed in the Federal Inventory of Landscapes and Natural Monuments since 1983.
== Weather ==
The Matterhorn is an isolated mountain. Because of its position on the main Alpine watershed and its great height, the Matterhorn is exposed to rapid weather changes. In addition, the steep faces of the mountain and its isolated location make it prone to banner clouds formation, with the air flowing around the mountain producing condensation of the air on the lee side and also creating vortices.
== Geology ==
The Matterhorn's pyramid is composed of Paleozoic rocks, which were thrust over the Matterhorn's Mesozoic base during the Cenozoic. Quaternary glaciation and weathering give the mountain its current shape.
Apart from the base of the mountain, the Matterhorn is composed of gneiss belonging to the Dent Blanche klippe, an isolated part of the Austroalpine nappes, lying over the Penninic nappes. The Austroalpine nappes are part of the Apulian plate, a small continent that broke up from Africa before the Alpine orogeny. For this reason, the Matterhorn has been popularized as an African mountain. The Austroalpine nappes are mostly common in the Eastern Alps.
The Swiss explorer and geologist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, inspired by the view of the Matterhorn, anticipated modern theories of geology:
What power must have been required to shatter and to sweep away the missing parts of this pyramid; for we do not see it surrounded by heaps of fragments; one only sees other peaks - themselves rooted to the ground - whose sides, equally rent, indicate an immense mass of débris, of which we do not see any trace in the neighbourhood. Doubtless, this is that débris which, in the form of pebbles, boulders, and sand, fills our valleys and our plains.
=== Formation ===
The formation of the Matterhorn (and the whole Alpine range) started with the break-up of the Pangaea continent 200 million years ago into Laurasia (containing Europe) and Gondwana (containing Africa). While the rocks constituting the nearby Monte Rosa remained in Laurasia, the rocks constituting the Matterhorn found themselves in Gondwana, separated by the newly formed Tethys Ocean.
100 million years ago the extension of the Tethys Ocean stopped and the Apulian plate broke from Gondwana and moved toward the European continent. This resulted in the closure of the western Tethys by subduction under the Apulian plate (with the Piemont-Liguria Ocean first and Valais Ocean later). The subduction of the oceanic crust left traces still visible today at the base of the Matterhorn (accretionary prism). The orogeny itself began after the end of the oceanic subduction when the European continental crust collided with the Apulian continent, resulting in the formation of nappes.
The Matterhorn acquired its characteristic pyramidal shape in much more recent times as it was caused by natural erosion over the past million years. At the beginning of alpine orogeny, the Matterhorn was only a rounded mountain like a hill. Because its height is above the snowline, its flanks are covered by ice, resulting from the accumulation and compaction of snow. During the warmer period of summer, part of the ice melts and seeps into the bedrock. When it freezes again, it fractures pieces of rock because of its dilatation (freeze-thaw), forming a cirque. Four cirques led to the shape of the mountain.
=== Rocks ===
Most of the base of the mountain lies in the Tsaté nappe, a remnant of the Piedmont-Liguria oceanic crust (ophiolites) and its sedimentary rocks. Up to 3,400 metres the mountain is composed of successive layers of ophiolites and sedimentary rocks. From 3,400 metres to the top, the rocks are gneisses from the Dent Blanche nappe (Austroalpine nappes). They are divided into the Arolla series (below 4,200 m) and the Valpelline zone (the summit). Other mountains in the region (Weisshorn, Zinalrothorn, Dent Blanche, Mont Collon) also belong to the Dent Blanche nappe.
== Tourism and trekking ==
Since the eighteenth century, the Alps have attracted more and more people and fascinated generations of explorers and climbers. The Matterhorn remained relatively little known until 1865, but the successful ascent followed by the tragic accident of the expedition led by Edward Whymper caused a rush on the mountains surrounding Zermatt.
The construction of the railway linking the village of Zermatt from the town of Visp started in 1888. The first train reached Zermatt on 18 July 1891 and the entire line was electrified in 1930. Since 1930 the village is directly connected to St. Moritz by the Glacier Express panoramic train. However, there was no connection with the village of Breuil-Cervinia on the Italian side until 2023. Travellers had to hire mountain guides to cross the 3,300-metre-high glaciated Theodul Pass, separating the two resorts. In 2023 the Matterhorn Alpine Crossing opened via Klein Matterhorn and Testa Grigia, thus connecting the two towns. The town of Zermatt remains almost completely free of internal combustion vehicles and can be reached by public transport only. (Apart from the local police service which uses a Volkswagen car, and the refuse collection lorry, only electric vehicles are used locally).
Rail and cable-car facilities have been built to make some of the summits in the area more accessible. The Gornergrat railway, reaching a record altitude of 3,100 metres, was inaugurated in 1898. Areas served by cable car are the Unterrothorn and the Klein Matterhorn (Little Matterhorn) (3,883 m, highest transportation system in Europe). The Hörnli Hut (3,260 m), which is the start of the normal route via the Hörnli ridge, is easily accessible from Schwarzsee (2,600 m) and is also frequented by hikers. The Zermatt and Breuil-Cervinia resorts function as separate ski resort all year round and are connected by skilifts over the Theodul Pass. In 2023, a cable car link between Testa Grigia (or Tête grise) and the Klein Matterhorn opened. It finally provided a direct link between the Swiss and Italian sides of the Matterhorn.
The Matterhorn Museum (Zermatt) relates the general history of the region from alpinism to tourism. In the museum, which is in the form of a reconstituted mountain village, the visitors can relive the first and tragic ascent of the Matterhorn and see the objects that belonged to the protagonists.
The Tour of the Matterhorn can be effected by trekkers in about 10 days. Considered by some as one of the most beautiful treks in the Alps, it follows many ancient trails that have linked the Swiss and Italian valleys for centuries. The circuit includes alpine meadows, balcony trails, larch forests and glacial crossings. It connects six valleys embracing three different cultures: the German-speaking high Valais, the French-speaking central Valais and the bilingual French/Italian-speaking Aosta Valley. Good conditions are necessary to circumnavigate the peak. After reaching Zinal from Zermatt by the Augstbord and Meiden passes, the trekker crosses the Col de Sorebois and the Col de Torrent before arriving at Arolla. Then the Arolla Glacier and the Col Collon must be crossed on the way to Prarayer, followed by the Col de Valcournera to Breuil-Cervinia. In the last and highest section, the Theodul Pass must be crossed before returning to Zermatt. In total, seven passes between 2,800 and 3,300 metres must be crossed on relatively difficult terrain.
As of 2015, almost two million visitors arrive at Zermatt annually. An average of around twelve people per year have died on Matterhorn in the ten years from 2005 to 2015.
== Climbing history ==
The Matterhorn was one of the last of the main Alpine mountains to be ascended, not because of its technical difficulty, but because of the fear it inspired in early mountaineers. The first serious attempts were all from the Italian side, although, despite appearances, the southern routes are technically more difficult. The main figures were Jean-Antoine Carrel and his uncle Jean-Jacques Carrel, from the Valtournenche area, who made the first attempts in 1857 and 1858, reaching 3,800 m (12,500 ft) on the latter occasion. In July 1860, three brothers from Liverpool attempted the mountain, Alfred, Charles and Sandbach Parker, but they turned back at about 3,500 m (11,500 ft). In August of the same year, Jean-Jacques Carrel returned to guide, with Johann Joseph Bennen, Vaughan Hawkins and John Tyndall to about 3,960 m (12,990 ft) before turning back. In 1861 the Carrels managed to reach the Crête du Coq at 4,032 m (13,228 ft). In July 1862, Jean-Antoine, together with César Carrel, accompanied as porters (sic) John Tyndall, Anton Walters and J.J. Bennen to Matterhorn's Shoulder at 4,248 m (13,937 ft), which was subsequently named Pic Tyndall in honor of the client.
Edward Whymper joined the efforts in August 1861, but in his first 7 attempts with a variety of companions could only reach a maximum height of 4,100 m (13,500 ft). However, on 14 July 1865, in what is considered the last ascent of the golden age of alpinism, he was able to reach the summit by an ascent of the Hörnli ridge in Switzerland, guided by the famed French mountaineer Michel Croz and the Swiss father and son Peter Taugwalder Sr. and Jr., and accompanied by the British gentlemen Charles Hudson, Lord Francis Douglas, Douglas Robert Hadow. Upon descent, Hadow, Croz, Hudson and Douglas fell to their deaths on the Matterhorn Glacier, and all but Douglas (whose body was never found) are buried in the Zermatt churchyard.
Just three days later, on 17 July 1865, Jean-Antoine Carrel and Jean-Baptiste Bich reached the summit from the Italian side.
=== Before the first ascent ===
In the summer of 1860, Edward Whymper came across the Matterhorn for the first time. He was an English artist and engraver who had been hired by a London publisher to make sketches of the mountains in the region of Zermatt. Although the unclimbed Matterhorn had a mixed reputation among British mountaineers, it fascinated Whymper. Whymper's first attempt was in August 1861, from the village of Breuil on the south side. In Châtillon he hired a Swiss guide, who remained anonymous in his accounts, and in Valtournanche he almost hired Jean-Antoine Carrel as well, but, disliking the looks of Carrel's uncle, he changed his mind. The Carrels decided to give Matterhorn a try by themselves again, and caught up with Whymper at nightfall. Whymper now had "a strong inclination to engage the pair; but, finally, decided against it" and the Carrels went alone to reach a new high on Matterhorn of 4,032 m (13,228 ft) the next day. Whymper and his guide camped one more night on the Col du lion (= Col Tournanche) 3,479 m (11,414 ft) and were forced to turn around only an hour above this pass the day after.
In 1862 Whymper made further attempts, still from the south side, on the Lion ridge (or Italian ridge), where the route seemed easier than the Hörnli ridge (the normal route today). On his own, he reached above 4,000 metres, but was injured on his way down to Breuil. In July John Tyndall with Johann Joseph Bennen and another guide overcame most of the difficulties of the ridge that seemed so formidable from below and successfully reached the main shoulder; but at a point not very far below the summit they were stopped by a deep cleft that defied their utmost efforts. The Matterhorn remained unclimbed.
Whymper returned to Breuil in 1863, persuading Carrel to join forces with him and try the mountain once more via the Italian ridge. On this attempt, however, a storm soon developed and they were stuck halfway to the summit. They remained there for 26 hours in their tent before giving up. Whymper did not make another attempt for two years.
In the decisive year 1865, Whymper returned with new plans, deciding to attack the Matterhorn via its south face instead of the Italian ridge. On 21 June, Whymper began his ascent with Swiss guides, but halfway up they experienced severe rockfall; although nobody was injured, they decided to give up the ascent. This was Whymper's seventh attempt.
During the following weeks, Whymper spent his time climbing other mountains in the area with his guides, before going back to Breuil on 7 July. Meanwhile, the Italian Alpine Club was founded and its leaders, Felice Giordano and Quintino Sella, established plans to conquer the Matterhorn before any non-Italian could succeed. Felice Giordano hired Carrel as a guide. He feared the arrival of Whymper, now a rival, and wrote to Quintino Sella:
I have tried to keep everything secret, but that fellow whose life seems to depend on the Matterhorn is here, suspiciously prying into everything. I have taken all the best men away from him; and yet he is so enamored of the mountain that he may go with others...He is here in the hotel and I try to avoid speaking to him.
Just as he did two years before, Whymper asked Carrel to be his guide, but Carrel declined; Whymper was also unsuccessful in hiring other local guides from Breuil. When Whymper discovered Giordano and Carrel's plan, he left Breuil and crossed the Theodul Pass to Zermatt to hire local guides. He encountered Lord Francis Douglas, a Scottish mountaineer, who also wanted to climb the Matterhorn. They arrived later in Zermatt in the Monte Rosa Hotel, where they met two other British climbers — the Reverend Charles Hudson and his young and inexperienced companion, Douglas Robert Hadow — who had hired the French guide Michel Croz to try to make the first ascent. These two groups decided to join forces and try the ascent of the Hörnli ridge. They hired another two local guides, a father and son, both named Peter Taugwalder.
=== First ascent ===
Whymper and party left Zermatt early in the morning of 13 July 1865, heading to the foot of the Hörnli ridge, which they reached 6 hours later (approximately where the Hörnli Hut is situated today). Meanwhile, Carrel and six other Italian guides also began their ascent of the Italian ridge.
Despite its appearance, Whymper wrote that the Hörnli ridge was much easier to climb than the Italian ridge:
We were now fairly upon the mountain, and were astonished to find that places which from the Riffel, or even from the Furggen Glacier, looked entirely impracticable, were so easy that we could run about.
After camping for the night, Whymper and party started on the ridge. According to Whymper:
The whole of this great slope was now revealed, rising for 3,000 feet like a huge natural staircase. Some parts were more, and others were less, easy; but we were not once brought to a halt by any serious impediment, for when an obstruction was met in front it could always be turned to the right or left. For the greater part of the way there was, indeed, no occasion for the rope, and sometimes Hudson led, sometimes myself. At 6.20 we had attained a height of 12,800 feet and halted for half an hour; we then continued the ascent without a break until 9.55, when we stopped for fifty minutes, at a height of 14,000 feet.
When the party came close to the summit, they had to leave the ridge for the north face because "[the ridge] was usually more rotten and steep, and always more difficult than the face". At this point of the ascent Whymper wrote that the less experienced Hadow "required continual assistance". Having overcome these difficulties the group finally arrived in the summit area, with Croz and Whymper reaching the top first.
The slope eased off, and Croz and I, dashing away, ran a neck-and-neck race, which ended in a dead heat. At 1.40 p.m. the world was at our feet, and the Matterhorn was conquered. Hurrah! Not a footstep could be seen.
Precisely at this moment, Carrel and party were approximatively 400 metres below, still dealing with the most difficult parts of the Italian ridge. When seeing his rival on the summit, Carrel and party gave up on their attempt and went back to Breuil.
After building a cairn, Whymper and party stayed an hour on the summit. Then they began their descent of the Hörnli ridge. Croz descended first, then Hadow, Hudson and Douglas, the elder Taugwalder, Whymper, with the younger Taugwalder coming last. They climbed down with great care, only one man moving at a time. Whymper wrote:
As far as I know, at the moment of the accident no one was actually moving. I cannot speak with certainty, neither can the Taugwalders, because the two leading men were partially hidden from our sight by an intervening mass of rock. Poor Croz had laid aside his axe, and in order to give Mr. Hadow greater security was absolutely taking hold of his legs and putting his feet, one by one, into their proper positions. From the movements of their shoulders it is my belief that Croz, having done as I have said, was in the act of turning round to go down a step or two himself; at this moment Mr. Hadow slipped, fell on him, and knocked him over.
The weight of the falling men pulled Hudson and Douglas from their holds and dragged them down the north face. The Taugwalders and Whymper were left alive when the rope linking Douglas to the elder Taugwalder broke. They were stunned by the accident and for a time could not move until the younger Taugwalder descended to enable them to advance. When they were together Whymper asked to see the broken rope and saw that it had been employed by mistake as it was the weakest and oldest of the three ropes they had brought. They frantically looked, but in vain, for traces of their fallen companions. They continued their descent, including an hour in the dark, until 9.30 p.m. when a resting place was found. The descent was resumed at daybreak and the group finally reached Zermatt, where a search of the victims was quickly organized. The bodies of Croz, Hadow and Hudson were found on the Matterhorn Glacier, but the body of Douglas was never found. Although the elder Taugwalder was accused of cutting the rope to save himself and his son, the official inquest found no proof of this.
=== Second ascent ===
On 16 July, two days after the first ascent and the catastrophe, Jean-Antoine Carrel set out to crown Whymper's victory by proving that the Italian side was not unconquerable. He was accompanied by Amé Gorret, a priest who had shared with him the first attempt on the mountain back in 1857. Jean-Baptiste Bich and Jean-Augustin Meynet completed the party. Giordano would have joined them, but Carrel refused absolutely to take him with them; he said he would not have the strength to guide a traveller, and could neither answer for the result nor for any one's life. After hearing Sunday mass at the chapel of Breuil, the party started. Amé Gorret has described this ascent with enthusiasm: "At last we crossed the Col du Lion and set foot upon the pyramid of the Matterhorn!" On the following day, the 17th, they continued the ascent and reached Tyndall's flagstaff. "We were about to enter unknown country," wrote Gorret, "for no man had gone beyond this point." Here opinions were divided; Gorret suggested ascending by the ridge and scaling the last tower straight up. Carrel was inclined to traverse to the west of the peak, and thence go up on the Zmutt side. Naturally the wish of Carrel prevailed, for he was the leader and had not lost the habit of command, notwithstanding his recent defeat.
They made the passage of the enjambée, and traversed the west face to reach the Zmutt ridge. A false step made by one of the party and a fall of icicles from above warned them to return to the direct line of ascent, and the traverse back to the Lion ridge was one of the greatest difficulty. A falling stone injured Gorret in the arm.
At last they reached the base of the final tower. "We stood," wrote Gorret, "in a place that was almost comfortable. Although it was not more than two yards wide, and the slope was one of 75 percent, we gave it all kinds of pleasant names : the corridor, the gallery, the railroad, &c., &c." They imagined all difficulties were at an end; but a rock couloir, which they had hitherto not observed, lay between them and the final bit of ridge, where progress would be perfectly easy. It would have been unwise for all four to descend into the couloir, because they did not know where to fix the rope that would be needed on their return. Time pressed: it was necessary to reduce the numbers of the party; Gorret sacrificed himself, and Meynet stopped with him. Very soon afterwards Carrel and Bich were finally on the top. Meanwhile, Giordano at Breuil was writing in his diary as follows: "Splendid weather; at 9.30 saw Carrel and his men on the Shoulder, after that saw nothing more of them. Then much mist about the summit. Lifted a bit about 3.30, and we saw our flag on the western summit of the Matterhorn."
=== Other ascents ===
On 22 August 1871, while wearing a white print dress, Lucy Walker became the first woman to reach the summit of the Matterhorn, followed a few weeks later by her rival Meta Brevoort.
In 1876, a party of three English mountaineers made the first ascent without guides. The trio, A. H. Cawood, J. B. Colgrove and the schoolmaster A. Cust, were experienced mountaineers from Lancashire. They chose a day with particularly favourable weather and reached the summit on 23 July.
==== Ridges ====
The first direct ascent of the Italian (south-west) ridge as it is climbed today was by J. J. and J. P. Maquignaz on 13 September 1867.
Julius Elliott made the second ascent via the Hörnli (north-east) ridge in 1868, and later that year the party of John Tyndall, J. J. and J. P. Maquignaz was the first to traverse the summit by way of the Hörnli and Italian ridges. The first winter ascent of the Hörnli ridge was by Vittorio Sella with guides J. A. Carrel, J. B. Carrel and L. Carrel on 17 March 1882, and its first solo ascent was made by W. Paulcke in 1898. The first winter solo ascent of the Hörnli ridge was by G. Gervasutti in 1936.
The Zmutt (north-west) ridge was first climbed by Albert F. Mummery, Alexander Burgener, J. Petrus and A. Gentinetta on 3 September 1879. Its first solo ascent was made by Hans Pfann in 1906, and the first winter ascent was made by H. Masson and E. Petrig on 25 March 1948.
The last of the Matterhorn's four ridges to be ascended was the Furggen (south-east) ridge. M. Piacenza with guides J. J. Carrel and J. Gaspard on 9 September 1911, climbed most of the ridge but bypassed the overhangs near the top to the south. Not until 23 September 1941, during the Second World War, did Alfredo Perino, along with guides Louis Carrel (nicknamed "The Little Carrel") and Giacomo Chiara, climb the complete ridge and the overhangs directly.
In 1966, René Arnold and Joseph Graven made the first solo enchainement of the four Matterhorn ridges in 19.5 hours. Beginning at the 3,300m Bossi Bivouac hut, the pair followed the normal route up the Furggen Ridge and then descended the Hornli Ridge. After crossing the Matterhorn Glacier at the base of the north face, they ascended the Zmutt Ridge and then descended the Italian (Lion) Ridge to the village of Breuil. In 1985, Marco Barmasse repeated their achievement, but this time his route included the first solo ascent of the Furggen overhangs. He completed the enchainement, reaching the Abruzzi Hut after 15 hours.
On 20 August 1992, Italian alpinist Hans Kammerlander and Swiss alpine guide Diego Wellig climbed the Matterhorn four times in just 23 hours and 26 minutes. The route they followed was: Zmutt ridge–summit–Hörnli ridge (descent)–Furggen ridge–summit–Lion ridge (descent)–Lion ridge–summit–Hörnli ridge (descent)–Hörnli ridge–summit–Hörnli Hut (descent). However the Italian route (Lion Ridge), was not climbed from Duca degli Abruzzi Refuge at 2802 m, but from Carrel Hut, at 3830 m, both uphill and downhill.
In 1995, Bruno Brunod climbed Matterhorn from the village Breuil-Cervinia in 2 h 10 min. and from Breuil-Cervinia to Matterhorn and back, in 3:14:44
On 21 August 2013, the Spanish mountain runner Kilian Jornet broke Brunod's record as it took him 1 hour, 56 min to the top from Breuil-Cervinia - a round-trip time of 2 hours 52 minutes to return to his starting point.
==== Faces ====
William Penhall and guides made the first (partial) ascent of the west face, the Matterhorn's most hidden and unknown, one hour after Mummery and party's first ascent of the Zmutt ridge on 3 September 1879. It was not until 1962 that the west face was completely climbed. The ascent was made on 13 August by Renato Daguin and Giovanni Ottin. In January 1978 seven Italian alpine guides made a successful winter climb of Daguin and Ottin's highly direct, and previously unrepeated, 1962 route. But a storm came during their ascent, bringing two metres of snow to Breuil-Cervinia and Zermatt, and their accomplishment turned bitter when one of the climbers died during the descent.
The north face, before it was climbed in 1931, was one of the last great big wall problems in the Alps. To succeed on the north face, good climbing and ice-climbing technique and route-finding ability were required. Unexpectedly it was first climbed by the brothers Franz and Toni Schmid on 31 July – 1 August 1931. They reached the summit at the end of the second day, after a night of bivouac. Because they had kept their plans secret, their ascent was a complete surprise. In addition, the two brothers had travelled by bicycle from Munich and after their successful ascent they cycled back home again. The first winter ascent of the north face was made by Hilti von Allmen and Paul Etter on 3-4 February 1962. Its first solo ascent was made in five hours by Dieter Marchart on 22 July 1959. Walter Bonatti climbed the "North Face Direct" solo on 18-22 February 1965. The same year, Yvette Vaucher became the first woman to climb the north face. Bonatti's direct route was not repeated solo until 29 years later, in winter 1994 by Catherine Destivelle.
Ueli Steck set the record time in climbing the north face (Schmid route) of Matterhorn in 2009 with a time of 1 hour 56 minutes.
After Bonatti's climb, the best alpinists were still preoccupied with one last great problem: the "Zmutt Nose", an overhang lying on the right-hand side of the north face. In July 1969 two Italians, Alessandro Gogna and Leo Cerruti, attempted to solve the problem. It took them four days to figure out the unusual overhangs, avoiding however its steepest part. In July 1981 the Swiss Michel Piola and Pierre-Alain Steiner surmounted the Zmutt Nose by following a direct route, the Piola-Steiner.
The first ascent of the south face was made by Enzo Benedetti with guides Louis Carrel and Maurice Bich on 15 October 1931, and the first complete ascent of the east face was made by Enzo Benedetti and G. Mazzotti with guides Louis and Lucien Carrel, Maurice Bich and Antoine Gaspard on 18-19 September 1932.
=== Casualties on the Matterhorn ===
Several climbers die each year due to a number of factors including the scale of the climb and its inherent dangers, inexperience, falling rocks, and overcrowded routes. The Matterhorn is thus amongst the deadliest mountains in the world. By the late 1980s, it was estimated that over 500 people have died whilst attempting its summit since the 1865 ascent, with an average of about 12 deaths each year.
In the 2000s, there was a trend of fewer people dying each year on the mountain. This has been attributed partly to a greater awareness of the risks, and also due to the fact that a majority of climbers now use local guides. However, in the summer of 2018, at least ten people died on the mountain.
Here is a list of people who died on the mountain whose bodies were not recovered until later:
1954 French skier Henri le Masne went missing on the Matterhorn. In 2005 remains were found, identified as le Masne in 2018
1970 Two Japanese climbers missing; remains found after 45 years in 2015
1979 British climber missing; remains found after 34 years in 2014
2014 Japanese hiker missing; remains found 2018
2016 Two British climbers missing; remains found 2016
=== Legacy: beginning of mountain culture ===
The first ascent of the Matterhorn changed mountain culture. Whymper's book about his first ascent, Scrambles Amongst the Alps, published in 1871, was a worldwide bestseller. Tourists began to visit Switzerland in the summer to see the Alps and often hired locals as guides. With the beginning of alpine skiing in the early 20th century, tourists began traveling to Switzerland in winter also. Mountaineering, in part, helped transform Switzerland's mountain regions from poor rural areas to tourist destinations. This combination of mountain climbing, skiing and tourism, was used in the western United States, creating Sun Valley, Vail, Jackson Hole, and other mountain towns around the world.
== Climbing routes ==
Today, all ridges and faces of the Matterhorn have been ascended in all seasons, and mountain guides take a large number of people up the northeast Hörnli route each summer. In total, up to 150 climbers attempt the Matterhorn each day during summer. By modern standards, the climb is fairly difficult (AD Difficulty rating), but not hard for skilled mountaineers according to French climbing grades. There are fixed ropes on parts of the route to help.
The usual pattern of ascent is to take the Schwarzsee cable car up from Zermatt, hike up to the Hörnli Hut elev. 3,260 m (10,700 ft), a large stone building at the base of the main ridge, and spend the night. The next day, climbers rise at 3:30 am so as to reach the summit and descend before the regular afternoon clouds and storms come in. The Solvay Hut located on the ridge at 4,003 m (13,133 ft) can be used only in a case of emergency.
Other popular routes on the mountain include the Italian (Lion) ridge (AD+ Difficulty rating) and the Zmutt ridge (D Difficulty rating). The four faces, as well as the Furggen ridge, constitute the most challenging routes to the summit. The north face is amongst the six most difficult faces of the Alps, as well as 'The Trilogy', the three hardest of the six, along with the north faces of the Eiger and the Grandes Jorasses (TD+ Difficulty rating).
Overcrowding on the several routes have become an issue and guides and local authorities have struggled with how to regulate the numbers. In 2015 the Hörnli hut became the first mountain shelter in Europe to limit beds.
== History ==
Aegidius Tschudi, one of the earliest Alpine topographers and historians, was the first to mention the region around the Matterhorn in his work, De Prisca ac Vera Alpina Raethi, published in Basel in 1538. He approached the Matterhorn as a student when in his Alpine travels he reached the summit of the Theodul Pass but he does not seem to have paid any particular attention to the mountain itself.
The Matterhorn remained unstudied for more than two centuries, until a geologist from Geneva, Horace Benedict de Saussure, travelled to the mountain, which filled him with admiration. However, de Saussure was not moved to climb the mountain, and had no hope of measuring its altitude by taking a barometer to its summit. "Its precipitous sides," he wrote, "which give no hold to the very snows, are such as to afford no means of access." Yet his scientific interest was kindled by "the proud peak which rises to so vast an altitude, like a triangular obelisk, that seems to be carved by a chisel." His mind intuitively grasped the causes which gave the peak its present precipitous form: the Matterhorn was not like a perfected crystal; the centuries had laboured to destroy a great part of an ancient and much larger mountain. On his first journey de Saussure had come from Ayas to the Col des Cimes Blanches, from where the Matterhorn first comes into view; descending to Breuil, he ascended to the Theodul Pass. On his second journey, in 1792, he came to the Valtournanche, studying and describing it; he ascended to the Theodul Pass, where he spent three days, analysing the structure of the Matterhorn, whose height he was the first to measure, and collecting stones, plants and insects. He made careful observations, from the sparse lichen that clung to the rocks to the tiny but vigorous glacier fly that fluttered over the snows and whose existence at such heights was mysterious. At night he took refuge under the tent erected near the ruins of an old fort at the top of the pass. During these days he climbed the Klein Matterhorn (3,883 metres), which he named the Cime Brune du Breithorn.
The first inquirers began to come to the Matterhorn. There is a record of a party of Englishmen who in the summer of 1800 crossed the Great St. Bernard Pass, a few months after the passage of Bonaparte; they came to Aosta and thence to Valtournenche, slept at the chalets of Breuil, and traversed the Theodul Pass, which they called Monte Rosa. The Matterhorn was to them an object of the most intense and continuous admiration.
The Matterhorn is mentioned in a guide-book to Switzerland by Johann Gottfried Ebel, which was published in Zürich towards the end of the eighteenth century, and translated into English in 1818. The mountain appeared in it under the three names of Silvius, Matterhorn, and Mont Cervin, and was briefly described as one of the most splendid and wonderful obelisks in the Alps. On Zermatt there was a note: "A place which may, perhaps, interest the tourist is the valley of Praborgne (Zermatt); it is bounded by huge glaciers which come right down into the valley; the village of Praborgne is fairly high, and stands at a great height above the glaciers; its climate is almost as warm as that of Italy, and plants belonging to hot countries are to be found there at considerable altitudes, above the ice."
William Brockedon, who came to the region in 1825, considered the crossing of the Theodul Pass from Breuil to Zermatt a difficult undertaking. He gave, however, expression to his enthusiasm on the summit. When he arrived exhausted on the top of the pass, he gazed "on the beautiful pyramid of the Cervin, more wonderful than aught else in sight, rising from its bed of ice to a height of 5,000 feet, a spectacle of indescribable grandeur." In this "immense natural amphitheatre, enclosed from time immemorial by snow-clad mountains and glaciers ever white, in the presence of these grand walls the mind is overwhelmed, not indeed that it is unable to contemplate the scene, but it staggers under the immensity of those objects which it contemplates."
Those who made their way up through the Valtournanche to the foot of the mountain were few in number. W. A. B. Coolidge, a diligent collector of old and new stories of the Alps, mentions that during those years, besides Brockedon, only Hirzel-Escher of Zürich, who crossed the Theodul Pass in 1822, starting from Breuil, accompanied by a local guide. The greater number came from the Valais up the Visp valley to Zermatt. In 1813, a Frenchman, Henri Maynard, climbed to the Theodul Pass and made the first ascent of the Breithorn; he was accompanied by numerous guides, among them J. M. Couttet of Chamonix, the same man who had gone with de Saussure to the top of the Klein Matterhorn in 1792. The writings of these pioneers make much mention of the Matterhorn; the bare and inert rock is gradually quickened into life by men's enthusiasm. "Stronger minds," remarked Edward Whymper, "felt the influence of the wonderful form, and men who ordinarily spoke or wrote like rational beings, when they came under its power seemed to quit their senses, and ranted and rhapsodised, losing for a time all common forms of speech."
Among the poets of the Matterhorn during these years (1834 to 1840) were Elie de Beaumont, a famous French geologist; Pierre Jean Édouard Desor, a naturalist of Neuchâtel, who went up there with a party of friends, two of whom were Louis Agassiz and Bernhard Studer. Christian Moritz Engelhardt, who was so filled with admiration for Zermatt and its neighbourhood that he returned there at least ten times (from 1835 to 1855), described these places in two valuable volumes, drew panoramas and maps, and collected the most minute notes on the mineralogy and botany of the region. Zermatt was at that time a quiet little village, and travellers found hospitality at the parish priest's, or at the village doctor's.
In 1841 James David Forbes, professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, came to see the Matterhorn. A philosopher and geologist, and an observant traveller, he continued the work of De Saussure in his journeys and his writings. He was full of admiration for the Matterhorn, calling it the most wonderful peak in the Alps, unsealed and unscalable. These words, pronounced by a man noted among all his contemporaries for his thorough knowledge of mountains, show what men's feelings then were towards the Matterhorn, and how at a time when the idea of Alpine exploration was gaining ground in their minds, the Matterhorn stood by itself as a mountain apart, of whose conquest it was vain even to dream. And such it remained till long after this; as such it was described by John Ball twenty years later in his celebrated guide-book. Forbes ascended the Theodul Pass in 1842, climbed the Breithorn, and came down to Breuil; as he descended from the savage scenery of the Matterhorn, the Italian landscapes of the Valtournanche seemed to him like paradise. Meanwhile, Gottlieb Samuel Studer, the geographer, together with Melchior Ulrich, was describing and mapping the topographical features of the Zermatt peaks.
Rodolphe Töpffer, who first accompanied and guided youth to the Alps for purposes of education and amusement, began his journeys in 1832, but it is only in 1840 that he mentions the Matterhorn. Two years later Töpffer and his pupils came to Zermatt. He has described this journey of his in a chapter entitled Voyage autour du Mont Blanc jusqu'à Zermatt, here he sings a hymn of praise to the Matterhorn, comparing its form with a "huge crystal of a hundred facets, flashing varied hues, that softly reflects the light, unshaded, from the uttermost depths of the heavens". Töpffer's book was illustrated by Alexandre Calame, his master and friend, with drawings of the Matterhorn, executed in the romantic style of the period. It is an artificial mountain, a picture corresponding rather with the exaggerated effect it produces on the astonished mind of the artist, than with the real form of the mountain.
About this time there came a man who studied the Matterhorn in its structure and form, and who sketched it and described it in all its parts with the curiosity of the artist and the insight of the scientist. This was John Ruskin, a new and original type of philosopher and geologist, painter and poet, whom England was enabled to create during that period of radical intellectual reforms, which led the way for the highest development of her civilisation. Ruskin was the Matterhorn's poet par excellence. He went to Zermatt in 1844, and it is to be noticed as a curious fact, that the first time he saw the Matterhorn it did not please him. The mountain on its lofty pedestal in the very heart of the Alps was, perhaps, too far removed from the ideal he had formed of the mountains; but he returned, studied and dreamt for long at its feet, and at length he pronounced it "the most noble cliff in Europe." Ruskin was no mountaineer, nor a great friend to mountaineering; he drew sketches of the mountains merely as an illustration of his teaching of the beauty of natural forms, which was the object of his whole life. In his work on Modern Painters he makes continual use of the mountains as an example of beauty and an incentive to morality. The publication of Ruskin's work certainly produced a great impression at the time on educated people in England, and a widespread desire to see the mountains.
It is a fragment of some size; a group of broken walls, one of them overhanging; crowned with a cornice, nodding some hundred and fifty feet over its massive flank, three thousand above its glacier base, and fourteen thousand above the sea, — a wall truly of some majesty, at once the most precipitous and the strongest mass in the whole chain of the Alps, the Mont Cervin.
Other men of high attainments followed, but in the years 1850 scientists and artists were about to be succeeded by real climbers and the passes and peaks around Zermatt were explored little by little. In the preface to the first volume of the Alpine Journal, which appeared in 1863, the editor Hereford Brooke George wrote that: "While even if all other objects of interest in Switzerland should be exhausted, the Matterhorn remains (who shall say for how long?) unconquered and apparently invincible." Whymper successfully reached the summit in 1865, but four men perished on the descent. The English papers discussed it with bitter words of blame; a German newspaper published an article in which Whymper was accused of cutting the rope between Douglas and Taugwalder, at the critical moment, to save his own life.
In 1890 the Federal Government was asked simultaneously by the same contractor for a concession for the Zermatt-Gornergrat railway, and for a Zermatt-Matterhorn one. The Gornergrat railway was constructed in 1896-1898 and has been working since August 1898, but there has been no more talk of the other. The project essentially consisted of a line which went up to the Hörnli, and continued thence in a rectilinear tunnel about two kilometres long, built under the ridge, and issuing near the summit on the Zmutt side. Sixty years later in 1950, Italian engineer Count Dino Lora Totino planned a cable car on the Italian side from Breuil-Cervinia to the summit. But the Alpine Museum of Zermatt sent a protest letter with 90,000 signatures to the Italian government. The latter declared the Matterhorn a natural wonder worthy of protection and refused the concession to the engineer.
2015 marked the 150th anniversary of the first ascent. Events and festivities were held throughout the year. A completely renewed Hörnli Hut opened the same year in the month of July.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, light artist Gerry Hofstetter started projecting country flags and messages of endurance onto the mountain peak as part of a nightly series designed to show support and spread hope for everyone suffering and those fighting the pandemic.
== Other mountains ==
Hundreds of other mountains have been compared to the Matterhorn, either for their resemblance to it or because of their apparent inaccessibility.
=== Mountains named after the Matterhorn ===
Little Matterhorn (1,480 m), Australia
Matterhorn (1,600 m), in Antarctica
Matterhorn (3,305 m), in Nevada
Matterhorn Peak (3,744 m), in California
Matterhorn Peak (4,144 m), in Colorado
Matterhorn Peak (2,636 m), in British Columbia
Neny Matterhorn (1,125 m), Antarctica
== In culture ==
During the 20th century, the Matterhorn and the story of the first ascent in particular, inspired various artists and film producers such as Luis Trenker and Walt Disney. Large-scale replicas can be found at Disneyland and Window of the World. In 2021, a Matterhorn-related attraction opened in the Swiss Museum of Transport, enabling visitors to climb it virtually from the Solvay Hut to the summit.
Designed in 1908 by Emil Cardinaux, a leading poster artist of the time, the Matterhorn poster for the Zermatt tourist office is often considered the first modern poster. It has been described as a striking example of a marriage of tourism, patriotism and popular art. It served as decoration in many Swiss military hospices during the war in addition to be found in countless middle-class living rooms. Another affiche depicting the Matterhorn was created by Cardinaux for the chocolate brand Toblerone in the 1920s. The image of the Matterhorn first appeared on Toblerone chocolate bars in 1960. Since then, the Matterhorn has become a reference that still inspires graphic artists today and has been used extensively for all sort of publicity and advertising.
=== Paintings ===
The Matterhorn (1849), John Ruskin
The Matterhorn (1867), Albert Bierstadt
Matterhorn (1879), Edward Theodore Compton
Le Cervin (1892), Félix Vallotton
=== Coins ===
=== Music ===
The Matterhorn is depicted in the background of the cover for Depeche Mode's third album Construction Time Again (1983), that reached the Top Ten of the album charts in the UK and Germany.
The song Matterhorn was recorded in 1966 by The Country Gentlemen, a popular Washington DC bluegrass band.
=== Filmography ===
Struggle for the Matterhorn (1928)
The Mountain Calls (1938)
The Challenge (1938)
High Conquest (1947)
Climbing the Matterhorn (1947)
Third Man on the Mountain (1959)
Im Banne des Berges (2015)
Soarin' Around the World/Soaring Over the Horizon (2016)
The Horn (2016) - Documentary series following the mountain rescue teams in the Swiss Alps. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naoko_Takeuchi | Naoko Takeuchi | Naoko Takeuchi (Japanese: 武内 直子, Hepburn: Takeuchi Naoko; born March 15, 1967) is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known as the author of Sailor Moon, one of the most popular manga series of all time. She has won several awards, including the 1993 Kodansha Manga Award for Sailor Moon.
Takeuchi is married to Yoshihiro Togashi, the author of YuYu Hakusho and Hunter × Hunter.
== Early life ==
Takeuchi was born in Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan to Kenji and Ikuko Takeuchi. She has a younger brother, Shingo. She gave the names of her relatives to the characters she created for Sailor Moon, and mentions this in interviews and in several comic strips she produced, in place of author notes.
Takeuchi attended Kofu Ichi High School, where she wore a sailor uniform and joined the astronomy and manga clubs. These experiences influenced her work for Sailor Moon, in addition to her other pieces, such as Love Call and Rain Kiss. Her formative high school experiences influenced her trajectory to become a manga artist. Takeuchi's father encouraged her to pursue other career paths, in case she wouldn't find success as a professional artist, which is why she attended university to study chemistry.
Takeuchi graduated from the Kyoritsu College of Pharmacy, where she received a degree in chemistry and became a licensed pharmacist. Her senior thesis was called "Heightened Effects of Thrombolytic Actions Due to Ultrasound".
== Career ==
=== 1986–1997: Early work and success ===
After graduating from the Kyoritsu College of Pharmacy, at the age of 19, Takeuchi entered the manga industry by submitting her work Love Call to Kodansha; Takeuchi received Nakayoshi's New Artist award for Love Call. She worked steadily on one-shot pieces until writing Maria, which was published in Nakayoshi from early to mid-1990. This work, Takeuchi's first serial comic, was loosely based on Jean Webster's 1912 novel Daddy-Long-Legs and on her friend Marie Koizumi, who helped write it.
After completing Maria, Takeuchi worked on the ice-skating series The Cherry Project, which was serialized in Nakayoshi from late 1990 to 1991. While working on The Cherry Project, Takeuchi wanted to do a manga on outer space and girl fighters. Her editor, Fumio Osano, asked her to put the fighters in sailor suits. This concept would later become a one-shot called Codename: Sailor V, which would later begin serialization in RunRun. When Toei Animation planned to adapt her manga into an anime series, she reworked Sailor V and added four other superheroines.
In December 1991, Nakayoshi began serializing Sailor Moon, which became an instant hit. The success encouraged Takeuchi to work on both Sailor Moon and Sailor V from 1991 to 1997. However, RunRun was canceled with the November 1997 issue, and the planned Sailor V anime adaptation was canceled along with it. During that six-year period, she produced 60 chapters, which were collected in 18 volumes. The success of the manga led to a 200-episode anime adaptation, three animated films, numerous video games, and wide-ranging merchandising.
She had an interview with Silent Möbius creator, Kia Asamiya.
At the series' end, Takeuchi worked on PQ Angels for Nakayoshi. This gained a fair amount of popularity, but was canceled due to Kodansha losing seven pages of her manuscript. Takeuchi said that Toei Animation had the manuscript, therefore it would have been possible to create an anime adaptation of the series.
Takeuchi's own studio is called "Princess Naoko Planning" (PNP). Takeuchi established PNP to manage her properties, mainly Sailor Moon. The studio later encompassed Yoshihiro Togashi's work as well and appeared in the credits for such anime as Level E and Hunter × Hunter. Its name also appears on the musical credits for Shin Kaguya Shima Densetsu and other projects.
=== 1998–2009 ===
Following the loss of seven pages of Takeuchi's PQ Angels manuscript, Osano departed Kodansha and the plans for the Materials Collection were canceled. Takeuchi departed Kodansha for Shueisha.
On August 13, 1998, Takeuchi made her first appearance in the United States at San Diego Comic-Con for three days. That same year, she published the first Sailor Moon artbook since her departure from Kodansha, Sailor Moon Infinity Collection Art Book with limited releases.
While working on her short comic strip Princess Naoko Takeuchi Back-to-Work Punch!!, Takeuchi met Yoshihiro Togashi at a Weekly Shōnen Jump meeting hosted by Kazushi Hagiwara, and had a meeting arranged between them by voice actress Megumi Ogata. She collaborated with Togashi as an assistant (doing screentone) and as a manager on volume 1 of Hunter × Hunter. However, the work and the demands proved more than she had expected, and as a result, Takeuchi left Shueisha.
Around this time, Takeuchi conceived the idea for a one-shot called Toki☆Meka, which eventually turned into Toki☆Meca. Togashi had a similar idea at the same time as her, but never fully brought it to fruition. He helped somewhat with Toki☆Meka at this point in developing the idea by drawing some concept sketches, which Takeuchi showed in Toki☆Meca volume 1.
Togashi and Takeuchi married in 1999. From this marriage, the couple have two children: a son, born in January 2001, and a daughter, born in 2009.
After Kodansha's rights to Sailor Moon expired, Takeuchi returned to the publisher in 1999 to develop and publish the Materials Collection. She also began serializing Love Witch, but it was cancelled. Takeuchi started to work on the reprints of Sailor Moon and Sailor V, and published Toki☆Meca in Nakayoshi.
In 2003, Takeuchi became heavily involved in producing Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, a tokusatsu television series based on Sailor Moon, as she had an interest in learning more about the anime industry. This culminated in the creation of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. The series displays a plot that is heavily reliant on the manga and also explores many themes that the manga was unable to explore. She showed up at the official conference with a fist up, meaning "good luck", in Act Zero.
After the production of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon ended in 2004, Takeuchi continued to work on Toki☆Meca. During the manga's serialization, Osano returned as her editor. Takeuchi also worked more closely with managing PNP and gave talks to college students. At the same time, she wrote a children's book titled Oboo-nu- to Chiboo-nu- as a birthday present to her son. (Togashi provided illustrations for the book; Takeuchi made mention of this in the back of the first volume of Toki☆Meca.) She still works on the website, updating it about once a month with new flash animations or profiles.
=== 2010–2019 ===
In 2012, it was announced that a new Sailor Moon anime adaptation was in development. With it, Takeuchi started a Kanzenban version of the manga, which was announced by Osano, and will include fixed past mistakes and new covers for the manga. Color pages are also included for the title pages. There was also an artbook announced, and she has been working on merchandise, which was announced by Osano on his Twitter feed.
The new reboot anime, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal, debuted in July 2014. It streamed on Niconico bi-weekly, and ended in July 2015, spanning a total of 26 episodes, which cover the Dark Kingdom and Black Moon arc of the manga. Takeuchi wrote the ending theme song, "Moonbow" (月虹, Gekkō), under her penname, "Sumire Shirobara" (白薔薇sumire, Shirobara Sumire). The series eventually gained its 13-episode third season, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal Season III, covering the Infinity arc of the manga (known as Death Busters in Japan), and aired weekly on Japanese television from April to June 2016.
=== 2020–present ===
In 2020, the two volumes of official "All Colored Eternal Edition" (オールカラー完全版, Ōrukarā Kanzenban) of the Sailor Moon manga was released on June 29, with Takeuchi providing new illustrations for both covers.
In 2021, Takeuchi chief supervised the production of the two-part anime film, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie, which adapted the Dream arc of the manga (known as Dead Moon in Japan), and acted as a "fourth season" for the Sailor Moon Crystal series. Both films were released in 2021 in Japanese theaters, with the first film on January 8, and the second film on February 11. Takeuchi also provided the lyrics for the theme song, "Moon Color Chainon" (月色Chainon, Tsukiiro Chainon), under the name of "Sumire Shirobara".
In 2022, Takeuchi chief supervised the production of the sequel to Sailor Moon Eternal, titled Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos The Movie. The two-part film covered the Stars arc of the manga (known as Shadow Galactica in Japan), and acted as a "fifth and final season" for the Sailor Moon Crystal series. Both films were released in June 2023, with the first film on the 9th, and the second film on the 30th.
== Works ==
=== Manga ===
=== Anime ===
==== Sailor Moon (1990s series) ====
==== Sailor Moon Crystal (2014 reboot series) ====
=== Illustrations ===
Maria (ま·り·あ, Ma-ri-a) (novelization of Takeuchi's manga, with prose by Marie Koizumi), 1994
Mermaid Panic (マーメイド・ぱにっく) Volumes 1–4 (written by Marie Koizumi), 1996-1997
Atashi no Wagamama wo Kiite... (あたしのわがままを聞いて...) (written by Marie Koizumi), 1998
Zettai, Kare w Ubatte Miseru! (絶対、彼を奪ってみせる!) (written by Marie Koizumi), 1998
=== Written books ===
Oboo-nu- to Chiboo-nu- (illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi)
A children's book written for her son's birthday.
=== Song lyrics ===
Takeuchi wrote the lyrics for a number of songs featured in the Sailor Moon anime and live-action series. Though mainly character-based image songs, they include a few theme songs.
These include:
== Awards ==
Takeuchi has won several awards, including the 2nd Nakayoshi Comic Prize for Newcomers for Yume ja Nai no Ne in 1985. She also won for "Love Call", which won Nakayoshi's New Artist award which debuted in the Nakayoshi Deluxe September 1986 issue. In 1993 she won the 17th Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo for Sailor Moon. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Quertier | Jill Quertier | Jill Quertier (born 1936) is an English set decorator. She won an Academy Award in the category Best Production Design for the film Shakespeare in Love and was nominated for another for Quills.
== Selected filmography ==
Shakespeare in Love (1998; won with Martin Childs)
Quills (2000; nominated with Martin Childs) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Joplin_tornado | 2011 Joplin tornado | |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Planck | Max Planck | Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (; German: [ˈmaks ˈplaŋk] ; 23 April 1858 – 4 October 1947) was a German theoretical physicist. He won the 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the services he rendered to the advancement of physics by his discovery of energy quanta".
Planck made many substantial contributions to theoretical physics, but his fame primarily on his role as the originator of quantum theory and one of the founders of modern physics, which revolutionized understanding of atomic and subatomic processes. He is known for the Planck constant,
h
{\displaystyle h}
, which is of foundational importance for quantum physics, and which he used to derive a set of units, now called Planck units, expressed only in terms of physical constants. The Planck relation, E=
h
{\displaystyle h}
ν, states that the energy of a photon is proportional to its frequency.
Planck was twice President of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society. In 1948 it was renamed the Max Planck Society, and today includes 83 institutions representing a wide range of scientific disciplines.
== Early life and education ==
Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck was born on 23 April 1858 in Kiel, then Duchy of Holstein, the son of Johann Julius Wilhelm Planck and his second wife, Emma Patzig. He was baptized with the name of Karl Ernst Ludwig Marx Planck; of his given names, Marx was indicated as the "appellation name". However, by the age of ten he signed with the name Max and used this for the rest of his life.
Planck came from a traditional, intellectual family. His paternal great-grandfather and grandfather were both theology professors in Göttingen; his father was a law professor at the University of Kiel and Munich. One of his uncles was also a judge.
Planck was the sixth child in the family, though two of his siblings were from his father's first marriage. War was common during Planck's early years and among his earliest memories was the marching of Prussian and Austrian troops into Kiel during the Second Schleswig War in 1864.
In 1867, the family moved to Munich, where Planck enrolled at Maximiliansgymnasium. There, his mathematical talents emerged early and he later came under the tutelage of Hermann Müller, a mathematician who took an interest in the youth, and taught him astronomy and mechanics as well as mathematics. It was from Müller that Planck first learned the law of conservation of energy. This is how Planck first came in contact with the field of physics. Planck graduated early, at age 17.
Planck was gifted in music; he took singing lessons and played piano, organ and cello, and composed songs and operas. Per Britannica, "He possessed the gift of absolute pitch and was an excellent pianist who daily found serenity and delight at the keyboard, enjoying especially the works of Schubert and Brahms."
In 1874, Planck enrolled at the University of Munich. Under professor Philipp von Jolly's supervision, Planck performed the only experiments of his scientific career, studying the diffusion of hydrogen through heated platinum, but transferred to theoretical physics. Jolly advised Planck against going into theoretical physics; Planck recalls that in 1878, Jolly argued that physics was almost complete, being a "highly developed, nearly fully matured science, that through the crowning achievement of the discovery of the principle of conservation of energy will arguably soon take its final stable form".
In 1877, Planck went to the University of Berlin for a year of study with physicists Hermann von Helmholtz and Gustav Kirchhoff and mathematician Karl Weierstrass. He wrote that Helmholtz was never quite prepared, spoke slowly, miscalculated endlessly, and bored his listeners, while Kirchhoff spoke in carefully prepared lectures which were dry and monotonous. He soon became a close friend with Helmholtz. While there he undertook a program of mostly self-study of Rudolf Clausius' writings, which led him to choose thermodynamics as his field.
In October 1878, Planck passed his qualifying exams and in February 1879 defended his thesis Über den zweiten Hauptsatz der mechanischen Wärmetheorie (On the second law of mechanical heat theory). He briefly taught mathematics and physics at his former school in Munich.
By the year 1880, Planck had obtained the two highest academic degrees offered in Europe. The first was a doctorate degree after he completed his paper detailing his research and theory of thermodynamics. He then presented his venia legendi (habilitation) thesis entitled Gleichgewichtszustände isotroper Körper in verschiedenen Temperaturen (Equilibrium states of isotropic bodies at different temperatures).
== Career and research ==
In 1880, Planck became a Privatdozent (unsalaried lecturer) at Munich, waiting until he was offered an academic position. Although he was initially ignored by the academic community, he furthered his work on the field of heat theory and discovered one after another the same thermodynamical formalism as Gibbs without realizing it. Clausius' ideas on entropy occupied a central role in his work.
In April 1885, Planck was appointed associate professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Kiel. Further work on entropy and its treatment, especially as applied in physical chemistry, followed. He published his Treatise on Thermodynamics in 1897. He proposed a thermodynamic basis for Svante Arrhenius's theory of electrolytic dissociation.
In 1889, Planck was named the successor to Kirchhoff's position at the University of Berlin – presumably thanks to Helmholtz's intercession – and by 1892 became Full Professor. In 1907, he was offered Ludwig Boltzmann's position in Vienna, but turned it down to stay in Berlin. During 1909, as a University of Berlin professor, he was invited to become the Ernest Kempton Adams Lecturer in Theoretical Physics at Columbia University in New York City. A series of his lectures were translated and co-published by Columbia University professor A. P. Wills. He retired from Berlin on 10 January 1926, and was succeeded by Erwin Schrödinger.
=== Professor at Berlin University ===
As a professor at the University of Berlin, Planck joined the local Physical Society. He later wrote about this time: "In those days I was essentially the only theoretical physicist there, whence things were not so easy for me, because I started mentioning entropy, but this was not quite fashionable, since it was regarded as a mathematical spook". Thanks to his initiative, the various local Physical Societies of Germany merged in 1898 to form the German Physical Society (Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft, DPG); from 1905 to 1909 Planck was the president.
Planck started a six-semester course of lectures on theoretical physics, "dry, somewhat impersonal" according to Lise Meitner, "using no notes, never making mistakes, never faltering; the best lecturer I ever heard" according to an English participant, James R. Partington, who continues: "There were always many standing around the room. As the lecture-room was well heated and rather close, some of the listeners would from time to time drop to the floor, but this did not disturb the lecture." Planck did not establish an actual "school"; the number of his graduate students was only about 20, among them:
1897 Max Abraham (1875–1922)
1903 Max von Laue (1879–1960)
1904 Moritz Schlick (1882–1936)
1906 Walther Meissner (1882–1974)
1907 Fritz Reiche (1883–1960)
1912 Walter Schottky (1886–1976)
1914 Walther Bothe (1891–1957)
=== Entropy ===
Thermodynamics, also known as the "mechanical theory of heat" at the end of the 19th century, had emerged at the beginning of this century from an attempt to understand the functioning of steam engines and to improve their efficiency. In the 1840s, several researchers independently discovered and formulated the law of conservation of energy, which is now also known as the first law of thermodynamics. In 1850, Rudolf Clausius formulated the so-called second law of thermodynamics, which states that a voluntary (or spontaneous) transfer of energy is only possible from a warmer to a colder body, but not vice versa. In England at this time William Thomson came to the same conclusion.
Clausius generalized his formulation further and further and came up with a new formulation in 1865. To this end, he introduced the concept of entropy, which he defined as a measure of the reversible supply of heat in relation to the absolute temperature.
The new formulation of the second law, which is still valid today, was: "Entropy can be created, but never destroyed". Clausius, whose work Planck read as a young student during his stay in Berlin, successfully applied this new law of nature to mechanical, thermoelectric and chemical processes.
In his thesis in 1879, Planck summarized Clausius' writings, pointing out contradictions and inaccuracies in their formulation and then clarifying them. In addition, he generalized the validity of the second law to all processes in nature; Clausius had limited its application to reversible processes and thermal processes. Furthermore, Planck dealt intensively with the new concept of entropy and emphasized that entropy is not only a property of a physical system, but at the same time a measure of the irreversibility of a process: If entropy is generated in a process, it is irreversible, since entropy cannot be destroyed according to the second law. In reversible processes, the entropy remains constant. He presented this fact in detail in 1887 in a series of treatises entitled "On the Principle of the Increase of Entropy".
In his study of the concept of entropy, Planck did not follow the molecular, probabilistic interpretation that prevailed at the time, as these do not provide absolute proof of universality. Instead, he pursued a phenomenological approach and was also skeptical of atomism. Even though he later abandoned this attitude in the course of his work on the law of radiation, his early work impressively shows the possibilities of thermodynamics in solving concrete physicochemical problems.
Planck's understanding of entropy included the realization that the maximum of entropy corresponds to the equilibrium state. The accompanying conclusion that knowledge of the Entropy allows all laws of thermodynamic equilibrium states to be derived corresponds to the modern understanding of such states. Planck therefore chose equilibrium processes as his research focus and, based on his habilitation thesis, researched the coexistence of aggregate states and the equilibrium of gas reactions, for example. This work on the frontier of chemical thermodynamics also received great attention due to the rapidly expanding chemical work at that time.
Independently of Planck, Josiah Willard Gibbs had also discovered almost all the knowledge Planck gained about the properties of physicochemical equilibria and published them from 1876 onwards. Planck was unaware of these essays, and they did not appear in German until 1892. However, both scientists approached the topic in different ways, while Planck dealt with irreversible processes, Gibbs looked at equilibria. This approach was finally able to prevail because of its simplicity, but Planck's approach is attributed the greater universality.
=== Electrolytes and Solutions ===
In addition to his research on entropy, Planck dedicated the first decade of his scientific career to the study of electrical processes in solutions. During this period, he succeeded in theoretically deriving the relationship between the conductivity and dilution of a solution, thereby establishing the foundations of modern electrolyte theory. He was also able to provide a theoretical derivation for the conditions governing the changes in freezing and boiling points of dilute solutions, phenomena which had been empirically discovered by François-Marie Raoult and Jacobus Henricus van ’t Hoff in 1886.
=== Black-body radiation ===
In 1894, Planck turned his attention to the problem of black-body radiation. The problem had been stated by Kirchhoff in 1859: "how does the intensity of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by a black body (a perfect absorber, also known as a cavity radiator) depend on the frequency of the radiation (i.e., the color of the light) and the temperature of the body?". The question had been explored experimentally, but no theoretical treatment had agreed with the experimentally observed evidence. Wilhelm Wien proposed Wien's law, which correctly predicted the behaviour at high frequencies, but failed at low frequencies. The Rayleigh–Jeans law, another approach to the problem, agreed with experimental results at low frequencies, but created what was later known as the "ultraviolet catastrophe" at high frequencies, as predicted by classical physics. However, contrary to many textbooks, this was not a motivation for Planck.
Planck's first proposed solution to the problem in 1899 followed from what he called the "principle of elementary disorder", which allowed him to derive Wien's law from a number of assumptions about the entropy of an ideal oscillator, creating what was referred to as the Wien–Planck law. Soon, however, it was found that experimental evidence did not confirm the new law at all, to Planck's frustration. He revised his approach and now derived the first version of the famous Planck black-body radiation law, which described clearly the experimentally observed black-body spectrum. It was first proposed in a meeting of the DPG on 19 October 1900 and published in 1901. (This first derivation did not include energy quantisation, and did not use statistical mechanics, to which he held an aversion.) In November 1900 Planck revised this first version, now relying on Boltzmann's statistical interpretation of the second law of thermodynamics as a way of gaining a more fundamental understanding of the principles behind his radiation law. Planck was deeply suspicious of the philosophical and physical implications of such an interpretation of Boltzmann's approach; thus his recourse to them was, as he later put it, "an act of despair ... I was ready to sacrifice any of my previous convictions about physics".
The central assumption behind his new derivation, presented to the DPG on 14 December 1900, was the supposition, now known as the Planck postulate, that electromagnetic energy could be emitted only in quantized form, in other words, the energy could only be a multiple of an elementary unit:
E
=
h
ν
{\displaystyle E=h\nu }
where h is the Planck constant, also known as Planck's action quantum (introduced already in 1899), and ν is the frequency of the radiation. Note that the elementary units of energy discussed here are represented by hν and not simply by ν. Physicists now call these quanta photons, and a photon of frequency ν will have its own specific and unique energy. The total energy at that frequency is then equal to hν multiplied by the number of photons at that frequency. He explained: "Radiant heat is not a continuous flow and indefinitely divisible. ... It must be defined as a discontinuous mass, made up of units all of which are similar to one another." He called quanta "the pennies of the atomic world."
At first Planck considered that quantisation was only "a purely formal assumption ... actually I did not think much about it ..."; nowadays this assumption, incompatible with classical physics, is regarded as the birth of quantum physics and the greatest intellectual accomplishment of Planck's career. (Boltzmann had been discussing in a theoretical paper in 1877 the possibility that the energy states of a physical system could be discrete). The discovery of the Planck constant enabled him to define a new universal set of physical units (such as the Planck length and the Planck mass), all based on fundamental physical constants, upon which much of quantum theory is based. In a discussion with his son in December 1918 Planck described his discovery as 'a discovery of the first rank, comparable perhaps only to the discoveries of Newton'. In recognition of Planck's fundamental contribution to a new branch of physics, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1918; (he received the award in 1919).
Subsequently, Planck tried to grasp the meaning of energy quanta, but to no avail. "My unavailing attempts to somehow reintegrate the action quantum into classical theory extended over several years and caused me much trouble." Even several years later, other physicists such as Rayleigh, Jeans, and Lorentz set the Planck constant to zero in order to align with classical physics, but Planck knew well that this constant had a precise nonzero value. "I am unable to understand Jeans' stubbornness – he is an example of a theoretician as should never be existing, the same as Hegel was for philosophy. So much the worse for the facts if they don't fit."
Max Born wrote about Planck: "He was, by nature, a conservative mind; he had nothing of the revolutionary and was thoroughly skeptical about speculations. Yet his belief in the compelling force of logical reasoning from facts was so strong that he did not flinch from announcing the most revolutionary idea which ever has shaken physics."
=== Einstein and the theory of relativity ===
In 1905, Albert Einstein published three papers in the journal Annalen der Physik. Planck was among the few who immediately recognized the significance of the special theory of relativity. Thanks to his influence, this theory was soon widely accepted in Germany. Planck also contributed considerably to extend the special theory of relativity. For example, he recast the theory in terms of classical action.
Einstein's hypothesis of light quanta (photons), based on Heinrich Hertz's 1887 discovery (and further investigation by Philipp Lenard) of the photoelectric effect, was initially rejected by Planck. He was unwilling to discard completely Maxwell's theory of electrodynamics. "The theory of light would be thrown back not by decades, but by centuries, into the age when Christiaan Huygens dared to fight against the mighty emission theory of Isaac Newton ..."
In 1910, Einstein pointed out the anomalous behavior of specific heat at low temperatures as another example of a phenomenon which defies explanation by classical physics. Planck and Walther Nernst, seeking to clarify the increasing number of contradictions, organized the First Solvay Conference (Brussels 1911). At this meeting Einstein was able to convince Planck.
Meanwhile, Planck had been appointed dean of Berlin University, whereby it was possible for him to call Einstein to Berlin and establish a new professorship for him (1914). Soon the two scientists became close friends and met frequently to play music together.
=== First World War ===
At the onset of the First World War Planck endorsed the general excitement of the public, writing that, "Besides much that is horrible, there is also much that is unexpectedly great and beautiful: the smooth solution of the most difficult domestic political problems by the unification of all parties (and) ... the extolling of everything good and noble." Planck also signed the infamous "Manifesto of the 93 intellectuals", a pamphlet of polemic war propaganda (while Einstein retained a strictly pacifistic attitude which almost led to his imprisonment, only being spared thanks to his Swiss citizenship).
In 1915, when Italy was still a neutral power, Planck voted successfully for a scientific paper from Italy, which received a prize from the Prussian Academy of Sciences, where Planck was one of four permanent presidents.
=== Post-war and the Weimar Republic ===
In the turbulent post-war years, Planck, now the highest authority of German physics, issued the slogan "persevere and continue working" to his colleagues.
In October 1920, he and Fritz Haber established the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft, aimed at providing financial support for scientific research. A considerable portion of the money the organization would distribute was raised abroad.
Planck held leading positions at Berlin University, the Prussian Academy of Sciences, the German Physical Society, and the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (which became the Max Planck Society in 1948). During this time economic conditions in Germany were such that he was hardly able to conduct research.
During the interwar period, Planck became a member of the German People's Party, the party of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Gustav Stresemann, which aspired to liberal aims for domestic policy and rather revisionistic aims for politics around the world.
Planck disagreed with the introduction of universal suffrage and later expressed the view that the Nazi dictatorship resulted from "the ascent of the rule of the crowds."
=== Quantum mechanics ===
At the end of the 1920s, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, and Wolfgang Pauli had worked out the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, but it was rejected by Planck, and by Schrödinger, Laue, and Einstein as well. Planck expected that wave mechanics would soon render quantum theory – his own child – unnecessary. This was not to be the case, however. Further work only served to underscore the enduring central importance of quantum theory, even against his and Einstein's philosophical revulsions. Here Planck experienced the truth of his own earlier observation from his struggle with the older views during his younger years: "A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." The quote, while often cited, had multiple counter examples by Planck's own time. It took only 10 years for 75% of British scientists to generally accept Charles Darwin's ideas from On the Origin of Species and science historian I. Bernard Cohen noted that, to the contrary, Planck's own ideas were generally accepted by his peers. Plate tectonics also took only a decade to be adopted by geologists evidenced by its use in textbooks. K. Brad Wray's research into the history of scientific ideas showed that older scientists are only marginally less inclined to accept new conceptualizations.
=== Nazi dictatorship and the Second World War ===
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Planck was 74 years old. He witnessed many Jewish friends and colleagues expelled from their positions and humiliated, and hundreds of scientists emigrate from Nazi Germany. He again tried to "persevere and continue working" and asked scientists who were considering emigration to remain in Germany. Nevertheless, he helped his nephew, the economist Hermann Kranold, to emigrate to London after his arrest. He hoped the crisis would abate soon and the political situation would improve.
Otto Hahn asked Planck to gather well-known German professors in order to issue a public proclamation against the treatment of Jewish professors, but Planck replied, "If you are able to gather today 30 such gentlemen, then tomorrow 150 others will come and speak against it, because they are eager to take over the positions of the others." Under Planck's leadership, the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (KWG) avoided open conflict with the Nazi regime, except concerning the Jewish Fritz Haber. In May 1933, Planck requested and received an interview with the recently appointed Chancellor of Germany Adolf Hitler to discuss the issue, telling him that the "forced emigration of Jews would kill German science and Jews could be good Germans", to which the chancellor replied "but we don't have anything against the Jews, only against communists". Planck was therefore unsuccessful, since this reply "took from him every basis for further negotiation", as to Hitler "the Jews are all Communists, and these are my enemies." In the following year, 1934, Haber died in exile.
One year later, Planck, having been the president of the KWG since 1930, organized in a somewhat provocative style an official commemorative meeting for Haber. He also succeeded in secretly enabling a number of Jewish scientists to continue working in institutes of the KWG for several years. In 1936, his term as president of the KWG ended, and the Nazi government pressured him to refrain from seeking another term.
As the political climate in Germany gradually became more hostile, Johannes Stark, prominent exponent of the Deutsche Physik ("German Physics", also called "Aryan Physics") attacked Planck, Arnold Sommerfeld, and Heisenberg for continuing to teach the theories of Einstein, calling them "white Jews". The "Hauptamt Wissenschaft" (Nazi government office for science) started an investigation of Planck's ancestry, claiming that he was "1/16 Jewish", but Planck denied it.
In 1938, Planck celebrated his 80th birthday. The DPG held a celebration, during which the Max-Planck medal (founded as the highest medal by the DPG in 1928) was awarded to French physicist Louis de Broglie. At the end of 1938, the Prussian Academy lost its remaining independence and was taken over by Nazis, as part of their process of Gleichschaltung. Planck protested by resigning his presidency. He continued to travel frequently, giving numerous public talks, such as his talk on Religion and Science and, five years later, he was sufficiently fit to climb 3,000-metre peaks in the Alps.
During the Second World War, the increasing number of Allied bombing missions against Berlin forced Planck and his wife to temporarily leave the city and live in the countryside. In 1942, he wrote: "In me an ardent desire has grown to persevere this crisis and live long enough to be able to witness the turning point, the beginning of a new rise." In February 1944, his home in Berlin was completely destroyed by an air raid, annihilating all his scientific records and correspondence. His rural retreat was threatened by the rapid advance of the Allied armies from both sides.
In 1944, Planck's son Erwin was arrested by the Gestapo following the attempted assassination of Hitler in the 20 July plot. He was tried and sentenced to death by the People's Court in October 1944. Erwin was hanged at Berlin's Plötzensee Prison in January 1945. The death of his son destroyed much of Planck's will to live.
== Personal life and death ==
In March 1887, Planck married Marie Merck (1861–1909), sister of a school fellow, and moved with her into a sublet apartment in Kiel. They had four children: Karl (1888–1916), the twins Emma (1889–1919) and Grete (1889–1917), and Erwin (1893–1945).
After living in the apartment in Berlin, the Planck family lived in a villa in Berlin-Grunewald, Wangenheimstrasse 21. Several other professors from University of Berlin lived nearby, among them theologian Adolf von Harnack, who became a close friend of Planck. Soon the Planck home became a social and cultural center. Numerous well-known scientists, such as Albert Einstein, Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner were frequent visitors. The tradition of jointly performing music had already been established in the home of Helmholtz.
After several happy years, in July 1909 Marie Planck died, possibly of tuberculosis.
In March 1911 Planck married his second wife, Marga von Hoesslin (1882–1948); in December his fifth child, Hermann, was born.
During the First World War, Planck's second son, Erwin, was taken prisoner by the French in 1914, while his oldest son, Karl, was killed in action at Verdun. Grete died in 1917 while giving birth to her first child. Her sister died the same way two years later, after having married Grete's widower. Both granddaughters survived and were named after their mothers. Planck endured these losses stoically.
In January 1945, Erwin Planck, to whom he had been particularly close, was sentenced to death by the People's Court because of his participation in the failed attempt to assassinate Hitler in July 1944. Erwin was executed on 23 January 1945.
After World War II ended, Planck, his second wife, and their son were brought to a relative in Göttingen, where Planck died on 4 October 1947. He is buried in the Stadtfriedhof in Göttingen.
Contra Bohr, Planck believed the “outside world is something independent from man, something absolute, and the quest for the laws which apply to this absolute appeared…as the most sublime scientific pursuit in life.”
Einstein, in the introduction to Planck's Where Is Science Going?, called him "One of those few worshipers in the Temple of Science who would still remain should an angel of God descend and drive out of the temple all those lesser scientists, who under different circumstances might become politicians or captains of industry."
== Religious views ==
Planck was a member of the Lutheran Church in Germany. He was very tolerant toward alternative views and religions. In a lecture in 1937 entitled "Religion und Naturwissenschaft" ("Religion and Natural Science") he suggested the importance of these symbols and rituals related directly with a believer's ability to worship God, but that one must be mindful that the symbols provide an imperfect illustration of divinity. He criticized atheism for being focused on the derision of such symbols, while at the same time warned of the over-estimation of the importance of such symbols by believers.
Planck said in 1944, "As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about atoms this much: There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent spirit [orig. Geist]. This spirit is the matrix of all matter."
Planck argued that the concept of God is important to both religion and science, but in different ways: "Both religion and science require a belief in God. For believers, God is in the beginning, and for physicists He is at the end of all considerations … To the former He is the foundation, to the latter, the crown of the edifice of every generalized world view".
Furthermore, Planck wrote, ..."to believe" means "to recognize as a truth", and the knowledge of nature, continually advancing on incontestably safe tracks, has made it utterly impossible for a person possessing some training in natural science to recognize as founded on truth the many reports of extraordinary occurrences contradicting the laws of nature, of miracles which are still commonly regarded as essential supports and confirmations of religious doctrines, and which formerly used to be accepted as facts pure and simple, without doubt or criticism. The belief in miracles must retreat step by step before relentlessly and reliably progressing science and we cannot doubt that sooner or later it must vanish completely.
Noted historian of science John L. Heilbron characterized Planck's views on God as deistic. Heilbron further relates that when asked about his religious affiliation, Planck replied that although he had always been deeply religious, he did not believe "in a personal God, let alone a Christian God".
=== Philosophical shift to scientific realism ===
While Planck began his career as a proponent of Ernst Mach's positivism, his discovery of the quantum of action led him to embrace scientific realism. He argued that the "world-picture" of physics must be based on objective realities that exist independently of human observation.
This philosophical stance led to a famous public rift with Mach in 1908. Planck's belief in an objective, causal universe defined by "absolutes" was a major factor in his early and unwavering support for Einstein's theory of relativity. However, this same realism later made him a prominent critic of the probabilistic nature of the Copenhagen interpretation championed by Niels Bohr.
=== Musical life and absolute pitch ===
Planck was a highly accomplished musician who possessed absolute pitch. He was a gifted pianist, organist, and cellist, and even composed an opera entitled Die Liebe im Walde during his university years.
Throughout his life, his home in Berlin became a cultural hub where he hosted weekly musical soirées. These gatherings frequently included Albert Einstein on the violin and the renowned violinist Joseph Joachim. Planck once noted that the laws of physics and the laws of harmony both represented different paths to understanding universal absolutes.
== Recognition ==
=== Memberships ===
=== Orders ===
=== Awards ===
== Commemoration ==
In 1953, the German Post Office Berlin honored Max Planck with a 30-pfennig stamp in the series "Men from Berlin's History."
From 1957 to 1971, the Federal Republic's 2-DM coins featured Max Planck's portrait.
In 1958, a commemorative plaque was unveiled in the forecourt of the Humboldt University of Berlin.
In 1958, the Max Planck Society presented a bust of Planck, created in 1939, to the Physical Society of the GDR. The bust has been on display in the exhibition room of the Magnushaus since 1991.
In 1970, the lunar crater Planck and the adjacent valley Vallis Planck were named after Planck.
In 1983, the GDR issued a 5-mark commemorative coin to mark his 125th birthday. This was not a circulating coin, but was primarily sold for foreign currency.
In 1989, a Berlin commemorative plaque was unveiled at Planck's former residence in Berlin-Grunewald.
In 2008, a special postage stamp and a 10-Euro silver commemorative coin were issued to mark his 150th birthday.
In 2013, The Max Planck Florida Institute For Neuroscience opened in Jupiter, Florida.
In 2014, Google celebrated Planck's 156th birthday with a Google Doodle on April 23.
In 2022, his bust was placed in Walhalla.
== Publications ==
Planck, M. (1900a). "Über eine Verbesserung der Wienschen Spektralgleichung". Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft. 2: 202–204. Translated in ter Haar, D. (1967). "On an Improvement of Wien's Equation for the Spectrum" (PDF). The Old Quantum Theory (PDF). Pergamon Press. pp. 79–81. LCCN 66029628. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
Planck, M. (1900b). "Zur Theorie des Gesetzes der Energieverteilung im Normalspectrum". Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft. 2: 237. Translated in ter Haar, D. (1967). "On the Theory of the Energy Distribution Law of the Normal Spectrum" (PDF). The Old Quantum Theory. Pergamon Press. p. 82. LCCN 66029628. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
Planck, M. (1900c). "Entropie und Temperatur strahlender Wärme" [Entropy and Temperature of Radiant Heat]. Annalen der Physik. 306 (4): 719–737. Bibcode:1900AnP...306..719P. doi:10.1002/andp.19003060410.
Planck, M. (1900d). "Über irreversible Strahlungsvorgänge" [On Irreversible Radiation Processes]. Annalen der Physik. 306 (1): 69–122. Bibcode:1900AnP...306...69P. doi:10.1002/andp.19003060105.
Planck, M. (1901). "Ueber das Gesetz der Energieverteilung im Normalspektrum". Annalen der Physik. 309 (3): 553–563. Bibcode:1901AnP...309..553P. doi:10.1002/andp.19013090310. Translated in Ando, K. "On the Law of Distribution of Energy in the Normal Spectrum" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
Planck, M. (1903). Treatise on Thermodynamics. Ogg, A. (transl.). London: Longmans, Green & Co. OL 7246691M.
Planck, M. (1906). Vorlesungen über die Theorie der Wärmestrahlung. Leipzig: J.A. Barth. LCCN 07004527.
Planck, M. (1914). The Theory of Heat Radiation. Masius, M. (transl.) (2nd ed.). P. Blakiston's Son & Co. OL 7154661M.
Planck, M. (1915). Eight Lectures on Theoretical Physics. Translated by Albert Potter Wills.
Planck, M. (1908). Prinzip der Erhaltung der Energie.
Planck, M. (1943). "Zur Geschichte der Auffindung des physikalischen Wirkungsquantums". Naturwissenschaften. 31 (14–15): 153–159. Bibcode:1943NW.....31..153P. doi:10.1007/BF01475738. S2CID 44899488. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Germany_by_population | List of cities in Germany by population | As defined by the German Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development, a Großstadt (large city) is a city with more than 100,000 inhabitants. As of today, 80 cities in Germany fulfill this criterion and are listed here. This list refers only to the population of individual municipalities within their defined limits, which does not include other municipalities or suburban areas within urban agglomerations or metropolitan areas.
== List ==
The following table lists the 80 cities in Germany with a population of at least 100,000 each on 31 December 2021, as estimated by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany. A city is displayed in bold if it is a state or federal capital, and in italics if it is the most populous city in the state. The table below contains the following information:
The city rank by population as of 31 December 2021, as estimated by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany
The city name
The name of the state in which the city lies
The city population as of 31 December 2021, as estimated by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany
The city population as of 31 December 2015, as estimated by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany
The city percentage population change from 31 December 2015 to 31 December 2021
The change in city rank by population from 31 December 2015 to 31 December 2021
The city land area as of 31 December 2021
The city population density as of 31 December 2021 (residents per unit of land area)
The city latitude and longitude coordinates.
Schwerin is the only state capital not listed. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_and_Honey_(poetry_collection) | Milk and Honey (poetry collection) | Milk and Honey (stylized in all lowercase as "milk and honey") is a collection of both abstract fiction and non-fiction poetry and prose by Indian-Canadian poet Rupi Kaur. The collection's themes feature aspects of survival, feminism and relationships, and is divided into four sections, with each section serving a different purpose and relevance to Kaur's personal experiences. The sections further explore the themes of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity, accompanied by simple line art illustrations. These sections are titled "the hurting", "the loving", "the breaking" and "the healing". Kaur has cited her cultural background as an inspiration for the book's style, as well as an attempt to make the book more accessible to a wide demographic or readers. The book's simplistic style and themes have drawn forth some negative criticism and alleged rumours about Kaur herself. Critics have sometimes referred to Kaur's work as "Instapoetry" due to Kaur's usage of social media platform Instagram to market her poems and illustrations.
== Background ==
Kaur was born in India and later moved to Canada at the age of four. Her household continued to center the values of the Punjabi-Sikhs people as they spoke only the Punjabi language at home. After arriving in Canada, at the age of 5, Kaur began reading, drawing, writing poetry, and painting because she could not speak English and struggled to make friends. Kaur eventually learned English by the fourth grade and credited her love for spoken word poetry to community open microphone nights. As she got older, she continued reciting her poems at open mic events and gathered a group of followers who showed interest in Kaur expanding her poems in the book.
== Contents ==
Milk and Honey is divided into 4 themed chapters: "the hurting," (30 poems), "the loving," (32 poems), "the breaking," (60 poems), and "the healing," (57 poems). Some of the singular poems, which follow the theme of the overall section, have drawings by Kaur. This collection uses sexual terminology, accessible language, and discusses personal trauma. The book itself is recommended for ages 18+. Kaur jumps between first and second-person pronouns, and breaks the conventional rules of traditional poetry to honor Punjabi, the language of her birthplace. She writes with lowercase letters and uses little punctuation similar to the writing features in Punjabi.
The first chapter, "the hurting," is about the author's experience with sexual assault, abuse, and family issues. The next chapter, "the loving," has a lighter tone as the topic overall is about positive experiences. The poems have been described by critics as sweet, and being filled with the emotions of falling in love with love and life. "The breaking" brings the reader back to a dark place in the author's life. These poems relate to Kaur's sad feeling after a breakup. While speaking about the effects after love is gone, Kaur discusses a break-up to-do list. The last chapter, "the healing," is an attempt to comfort and show women that they should embrace who they are and that they are valuable, no matter what they had to endure. This section also speaks to embracing one's emotions as they are important to improving one's internal strength and abilities.
== Publication ==
Milk and Honey was published on November 4, 2014. The poetry collection has sold over 3 million times. As of June 7, 2020, it has been listed on The New York Times Best Seller list for 165 weeks, and has helped Kaur to amass a large following on social media. Kaur was not able to find a publisher, so, having learned how to design and edit in college, she decided to self-publish Milk and Honey. The book was later re-released under Andrews McMeel Publishing. It has also been translated into 25 languages.
== Reception ==
Kaur's poetry has been described as easy and simple to read, not intellectually demanding, 'pablum' and it is credited with changing people's views of poetry, because "she tells it how it is", according to Rob Walker of The Guardian. The book received criticism regarding its reliance on the style of "InstaPoetry", with Bustle stating that Kaur and the book have "by far borne the brunt of these critiques. For every positive review of Kaur's work, there is at least one scathing critique, ranging from actual engagement with her writing to cheap shots claiming she had 'commodified [sic] her South Asian heritage'". Critic John Maher of Publishers Weekly has described Kaur as a "polarizing figure" for literacy, publishing, and media, who might be able to make poems sell again. Maher stated that while a 2015 survey reported a drop in poetry reading between 1992 and 2012, poetry sales figures doubled in 2017, two years after Kaur published Milk and Honey.
Chiara Giovanni critiqued Kaur's ability to be a representative for female empowerment, stating, "'there is something deeply uncomfortable about the self-appointed spokesperson of South Asian womanhood being a privileged young woman from the West'". The book also received criticism over claims that Kaur's work plagiarized that of Nayyirah Waheed. Critics cited similarities between the two poets' writing style of short poems with jagged punctuation and line breaks, and for the same imagery.
=== Censorship in the United States ===
In February 2022, Milk and Honey was listed as #47 on a list of 50 books that "conservative" parents wanted banned from public schools in the state of Texas. Kaur called the ban "disturbing" during an interview with CTV News. The book was banned in multiple school districts in Missouri in 2023 and was ordered removed from public school libraries in Utah in 2024. PEN America listed the book as one of the 11 most banned books in the 2022–2023 school year because it explores issues of sexual assault and violence. About the bans, Kaur wrote on Instagram, "I remember sitting in my school library in high school, turning to books about sexual assault because I didn't have anyone else to turn to. this is the reality for many students." |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_Island_Historic_District | Seal Island Historic District | The Seal Island Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District located on the islands of St. George and St. Paul in the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea of Alaska. These islands are home to northern fur seal herds which were actively hunted by indigenous populations and later by many nationalities. These islands of the Pribilofs are also the southern end of the range of the polar bear, (Ursus maritimus). The North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911 signed by the United Kingdom, Japan, Russia and the United States limited hunting of the seals on these islands; this international treaty was one of the first conservation treaties, and set the stage for subsequent treaties.
== History ==
The Pribilof Islands were discovered by Russian fur hunters in 1786, and in the following years a number of small villages for hunting and processing seals were established, including ones at the sites of the present-day St. George and St. Paul. After the Russian American Company was granted an exclusive monopoly on fur in the area, these villages were largely consolidated. The Company continued to exploit the seal population until the area was sold to the United States in 1867. The area was then administered by the United States government, with leases authorizing private companies to exploit the herd. By the early 20th century, the seal population had fallen dramatically, from an estimated millions to under 300,000. Due to the lucrative nature of the industry, the Kingdoms of Russia, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States agreed to a moratorium on seal fishing in the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911.
The seal population had significantly recovered by the 1920s, and was around 1.5 million in 1952. The Convention expired in 1985, bringing an effective end to the seal hunting industry. The area is now part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, and the herd is generally subject only to subsistence hunting by the native Aleut population. Although no longer commercially hunted, the seal population has been decreasing recently, possibly due to huge amounts of debris that has washed up on the islands.
== Landmark areas ==
Three areas of Saint Paul and Saint George were designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1962, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. On Saint George, the district includes a strip of land on the north shore, encompassing historic elements of the city of St. George, and extending east to a rookery and historic kill site area. On Saint Paul, the historic portion of the main city is included in the district, as is most of the northeastern triangular peninsula ending at North Point, where major rookeries are located. About 10% of the land area of Saint Paul Island is included in the district. In both cities, historic structures include industrial processing facilities as well as worker housing. The Russian Orthodox churches in the two communities, Sts. Peter and Paul Church in St. Paul and St. George the Great Martyr Orthodox Church in St. George, also contribute to the area's historic significance and are separately listed on the National Register. The rookery area on St. George includes the remains of one of the early Russian-built villages, Staraya Atil. On Saint Paul the district includes nine separate rookery areas and five historic village sites. |
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wimbledon_Championships | Wimbledon Championships | The Wimbledon Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, is a tennis tournament organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. It is chronologically the third of the four Grand Slam tennis events each year, held after the Australian Open and the French Open and before the US Open. It is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious.
Wimbledon has been held since 1877 and is played on outdoor grass courts; it is the only tennis major still played on grass, the traditional surface. It is also the only major that retains a night-time curfew for logistical reasons, with matches continuing until 23:00 BST under floodlighting since 2009.
The tournament traditionally takes place over two weeks in late June and early July, starting either on the last Monday in June or the first Monday in July and culminating with the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Singles Finals, scheduled for the Saturday and Sunday at the end of the second week. Five major events are held each year, with additional junior and invitational competitions also taking place. The tournament was not held during World War II, and was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID–19 pandemic. Line judges were replaced by electronic calling systems in 2025.
Wimbledon traditions include a strict all-white dress code for competitors, and royal patronage. Strawberries and cream are traditionally consumed at the tournament, in latter years accompanied by champagne. Unlike other tournaments, advertising is minimal and low-key from official suppliers such as Slazenger and Rolex. The relationship with Slazenger is the world's longest-running sporting sponsorship, providing balls for the tournament since 1902.
The 2026 Wimbledon Championships will run from 29 June to 12 July.
== History ==
=== Beginning ===
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is a private club founded on 23 July 1868, originally as "The All England Croquet Club". Its first ground was at Nursery Road off Worple Road, Wimbledon.
In 1876, lawn tennis, a game devised by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield a year or so earlier as an outdoor version of real tennis and originally given the name Sphairistikè, was added to the activities of the club. In spring 1877, the club was renamed "The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club" and signalled its change of name by instituting the first Lawn Tennis Championship. A new code of laws, replacing the code administered by the Marylebone Cricket Club, was drawn up for the event. Today's rules are similar except for details such as the height of the net and posts and the distance of the service line from the net.
The inaugural 1877 Wimbledon Championship started on 9 July 1877 and the Gentlemen's Singles was the only event held. 22 men paid a guinea to enter the tournament, which was to be held over five days. The rain delayed it four more days and thus, on 19 July 1877, the final was played. Spencer Gore, an Old Harrovian rackets player, defeated William Marshall 6–1, 6–2 and 6–4 in 48 minutes. Gore was presented with the silver challenge cup, valued at 25 guineas and donated by the sports magazine The Field, as well as a prize money of 12 guineas. About 200 spectators paid one shilling each to watch the final.
The lawns at the ground were arranged so that the principal court was in the middle with the others arranged around it, hence the title "Centre Court". The name was retained when the Club moved in 1922 to the present site in Church Road, although no longer a true description of its location. However, in 1980 four new courts were brought into commission on the north side of the ground, which meant the Centre Court was once more correctly described. The opening of the new No. 1 Court in 1997 emphasised the description.
By 1882, activity at the club was almost exclusively confined to lawn tennis and that year the word "croquet" was dropped from the title. However, for sentimental reasons it was restored in 1899.
In 1884, the club added the Ladies' Singles competition and the Gentlemen's Doubles was transferred from the Oxford University Lawn Tennis Club. Ladies' doubles and mixed doubles events were added in 1913. The first black player to compete at Wimbledon was Bertrand Milbourne Clark, an amateur from Jamaica, in 1924.
Until 1922, the reigning champion had to play only in the final, against whoever had won through to challenge them. As with the other three Major or Grand Slam events, Wimbledon was contested by top-ranked amateur players; professional players were prohibited from participating. This changed with the advent of the open era in 1968. No British man won the singles event at Wimbledon between Fred Perry in 1936 and Andy Murray in 2013, while no British woman has won since Virginia Wade in 1977, although Annabel Croft and Laura Robson won the Girls' Championship in 1984 and 2008 respectively. The Championship was first televised in 1937.
Though formally called "The Championships, Wimbledon", depending on sources the event is also known as "The All England Lawn Tennis Championships", the "Wimbledon Championships" or usually just "Wimbledon". From 1912 to 1924, the tournament was recognised by the International Lawn Tennis Federation as the "World Grass Court Championships".
In the period of 1915–1918, no tournament was organised due to World War I. During World War II, the tournament was not held in the period 1940–1945. On 11 October 1940 one bomb hit a corner of the competitors' stand of the Centre Court. The championships did go ahead in 1946 even though the damage meant that 1,200 seats were lost. The organisers were unable to repair the damaged section until 1947 and the Centre Court was fully restored and renovated for the 1949 edition.
In 1946 and 1947 Wimbledon was held before the French Championships. It was thus the second Grand Slam tennis event of the year.
=== 21st century ===
Wimbledon is widely considered the world's premier tennis tournament and the priority of the club is to maintain its leadership. To that end a long-term plan was unveiled in 1993, intended to improve the quality of the event for spectators, players, officials and neighbours. Stage one (1994–1997) of the plan was completed for the 1997 championships and involved building the new No. 1 Court in Aorangi Park, a broadcast centre, two extra grass courts and a tunnel under the hill linking Church Road and Somerset Road. Stage two (1997–2009) involved the removal of the old No. 1 Court complex to make way for the new Millennium Building, providing extensive facilities for players, press, officials and members, and the extension of the West Stand of the Centre Court with 728 extra seats. Stage three (2000–2011) was completed with the construction of an entrance building, club staff housing, museum, bank and ticket office.
A new retractable roof was built in time for the 2009 championships, marking the first time that rain did not stop play for a lengthy time on Centre Court. The Club tested the new roof at an event called A Centre Court Celebration on Sunday, 17 May 2009, which featured exhibition matches involving Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters, and Tim Henman. The first Championship match to take place under the roof was the completion of the fourth round women's singles match between Dinara Safina and Amélie Mauresmo. The first match to be played in its entirety under the new roof took place between Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka on 29 June 2009. Murray was also involved in the match completed latest in the day at Wimbledon, which ended at 11:02 pm in a victory over Marcos Baghdatis at Centre Court in the third round of the 2012 Championships. The 2012 Gentlemen's Singles Final on 8 July 2012, between Roger Federer and Murray, was the first singles final to be partially played under the roof, which was activated during the third set.
A new 4,000-seat No. 2 Court was built on the site of the old No. 13 Court in time for the 2009 Championships. A new 2,000-seat No. 3 Court was built on the site of the old No. 2 and No. 3 Courts.
On 1 August 2011, the All England Club transferred all of its assets relating to The Championships to a separate though wholly owned subsidiary, The All England Lawn Tennis Club (Championships) Limited, also known as AELTC. Since that time, the club's activities have been formally conducted separately from those of The Championships.
In 2012, the All England Club hosted the Summer Olympic Games and became the first Olympic grass court tournament since tennis was reintroduced as an Olympic sport and the first to be held at a Grand Slam venue in the Open era.
In April 2013, Wimbledon unveiled its 'Master Plan' a vision in which to improve the championships over the next 10–15 years. This was in large part due to other Grand Slam tournaments such as the French Open and Australian Open also announcing expansion and re-development plans. Aspects of the master plan included new player and media facilities, expansion of the No.1 court including a new retractable roof, new catering and hospitality areas, additional floor to the museum building, construction of an underground car park and new indoor courts and also a total reconfiguration of the site including the relocation of a number of practice, clay and championship courts.
Part of the plan also includes acquiring the land of the adjacent Wimbledon Park Golf club for £65 million, so that the tournament qualifying matches can be played on site.
On 19 October 2018, it was announced that a tie-break will be played if the score reaches 12–12 in the final set of any match; this will apply to all competitions including in qualifying, singles, and doubles.
In a related statement, it was announced that starting at the 2019 Championships, quad wheelchair competitions would become a permanent event.
As a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the All England Club announced on 1 April 2020 that the entire grass-court season was to be cancelled as a public safety precaution until June 2021, marking the first time a Wimbledon tournament would not be played since World War II. Club officials considered playing the tournament behind closed doors, but this was ruled out in part because at least 5,000 people–including ballboys, officials, coaches, maintenance, and security–would have still needed to be on site to hold a functioning tournament. Former player and current All England Club board member Tim Henman told the Tennis Channel of the US that the board had carefully considered holding a closed-door Wimbledon. However, the sheer number of people who still would have needed to be on site led the board to realise "that wasn't going to be a workable option". Prior to the start of the 2003 tournament, the club began paying an annual insurance premium of £1.61m ($2 million) to cover losses from cancellation of Wimbledon in the event of a worldwide pandemic as a result of the SARS outbreak; it would receive an insurance payment of £114 million ($141 million) for the 2020 cancellation on expected losses of around £250 million ($312 million).
In April 2022, due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the All England Club announced that Russian and Belarusian players would be prohibited from competing in the tournament. Unlike the ATP and WTA, participation as neutral athletes is also prohibited. On 20 May 2022, the ATP, ITF, and WTA announced that they will not award ranking points for the tournament, as they considered the prohibition unilateral, and constituted discrimination against players based on nationality. On 31 March 2023, the ban on Russian and Belarusian players was lifted by the All England Club.
On 9 October 2024, it was announced that line judges would be replaced by electronic line calling technology on all courts starting at the 2025 tournament.
== Events ==
Wimbledon consists of five main events, four junior events and seven invitation events.
=== Main events ===
The five main events, and the number of players (or teams, in the case of doubles) are:
Gentlemen's Singles (128)
Ladies' Singles (128)
Gentlemen's Doubles (64)
Ladies' Doubles (64)
Mixed Doubles (32)
=== Junior events ===
The four junior events and the number of players or teams are:
Boys' Singles (64)
Girls' Singles (64)
Boys' Doubles (32)
Girls' Doubles (32)
No mixed doubles event is held at this level
=== Invitation events ===
The seven invitational events and the number of pairs are:
Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles (8 pairs Round Robin)
Ladies' Invitation Doubles (8 pairs Round Robin)
Senior Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles (8 pairs Round Robin)
Gentlemen's Wheelchair Singles
Ladies' Wheelchair Singles
Gentlemen's Wheelchair Doubles (4 pairs)
Ladies' Wheelchair Doubles (4 pairs)
=== Match formats ===
Matches in the Gentlemen's Singles are best-of-five sets. In 2023 it was decided that Gentlemen's Doubles match formats will be changed from best-of-five sets to best-of-three sets due to complaints from partaking players; all other events are best-of-three sets. Up to and including the 2018 tournament, a tiebreak game was played if the score reached 6–all in any set except the fifth (in a five-set match) or the third (in a three-set match), in which case a two-game lead was needed. Since 2019, a final set tiebreak game is played if the score in the final set reaches 12–all. In 2022 it was decided all matches would have a final set tiebreak once the match reached 6–6, with a champions tiebreak taking place meaning the winner needs to get to 10 points and win by two points. If the score is 9–9 play continues until one player wins by two points.
All events are single-elimination tournaments, except for the Gentlemen's, Senior Gentlemen's and the Ladies' Invitation Doubles, which are round-robin tournaments.
Up to 1921, the winners of the previous year's competition (except in the Ladies' Doubles and Mixed Doubles) were automatically granted byes into the final round (then known as the challenge round). This led to many winners retaining their titles in successive years, as they were able to rest while their opponent competed from the start of the competition. Since 1922, the prior year's champions were required to play all the rounds, like other tournament competitors.
== Schedule ==
Each year the tournament begins on the last Monday in June or first Monday in July, two weeks after the Queen's Club Championships, which is one of the men's major warm-up tournaments, together with the Halle Open, which is held in Halle, Germany, during the same week. Other grass-court tournaments before Wimbledon are Eastbourne, Great Britain, and Rosmalen in the Netherlands, both combining mixed events. The other women's warm-up tournament for Wimbledon is Birmingham, also in Great Britain. The men's event which is outside Europe before Wimbledon is the Antalya open in Turkey. The only grass-court tournament scheduled after the Championships is the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships at Newport, Rhode Island, USA, which takes place the week after Wimbledon.
Since 2015, the championships have begun one week later than in previous years, extending the gap between the tournament and the French Open from two to three weeks. Additionally the Stuttgart Open men's tournament converted to a grass surface and was rescheduled from July to June, extending the grass court season.
Wimbledon is scheduled for 14 days, beginning on a Monday and ending on a Sunday. Before 1982 it ended a day earlier, with the women's singles final on the Friday and the men's singles final on the Saturday. The five main events span both weeks, but the junior and invitational events are held mainly during the second week.
Traditionally, unlike the other three tennis Grand Slams, there was no play on the "Middle Sunday", which was considered a rest day. However, rain had forced play on the Middle Sunday four times, in 1991, 1997, 2004 and 2016. On the first of these four occasions, Wimbledon staged a "People's Sunday", with unreserved seating and readily available, inexpensive tickets, allowing those with more limited means to sit on the show courts.
In 2022, on the centenary of the tournament's move to its current site, routine scheduled play began on the "Middle Sunday". This was attributed to advances in grass technology and maintenance meaning the courts no longer required a day of recovery mid-tournament.
Before 2022, the second Monday at Wimbledon was often called "Manic Monday", because it was the busiest day with the last-16 matches for both men's and women's singles. Fans had a pick of watching on a single day any of the best 32 players left, which was also unique in a Grand Slam singles competition.
From 2025, Wimbledon is the only remaining Grand Slam championship starting on a traditional Monday schedule.
== Curfew ==
Unlike the other three majors, all matches have to finish before 11:00pm since 2009 to avoid an overtime late night finish. Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam that retains a night-time curfew. The curfew is in place to protect local residents from late-night disturbances. When the roof was built on Centre Court—something that allowed matches to continue at night under the lights—the local Merton Council put the time limit into place when granting planning permission for the roof.
A statement from Wimbledon in 2018 read: "The 11pm curfew is a Planning Condition applied to balance the consideration of the local residents with the scale of an international tennis event that takes place in a residential area. The challenge of transport connectivity and getting visitors home safely is also a key consideration."
== Players and seeding ==
Both the men's and ladies' singles consist of 128 players. Players and doubles pairs are admitted to the main events on the basis of their international rankings, with 104 direct entries into the men's and 108 into the ladies' competitions. Both tournaments have 8 wild card entrants, with the remainder in each made up of qualifiers. Since the 2001 tournament, 32 players have been given seedings in the Gentlemen's and Ladies' singles, 16 teams in the doubles events. The system of seeding was introduced during the 1924 Wimbledon Championships. This was a simplified version allowing countries to nominate four players who were placed in different quarters of the draw. This system was replaced for the 1927 Wimbledon Championships and from then on players were seeded on merit. The first players to be seeded as no. 1 were René Lacoste and Helen Wills.
The Committee of Management decide which players receive wildcards. Usually, wild cards are players who have performed well during previous tournaments or would stimulate public interest in Wimbledon by participating. The only wild card to win the Gentlemen's Singles Championship was Goran Ivanišević in 2001. Players and pairs who neither have high enough rankings nor receive wild cards may participate in a qualifying tournament held one week before Wimbledon at the Bank of England Sports Ground in Roehampton. The singles qualifying competitions are three-round events. From 2019 singles qualification will increase to 128 players and no doubles qualification will occur. Previously the same-sex doubles competitions lasted for only two rounds. There is no qualifying tournament for Mixed Doubles. The furthest that any qualifier has progressed in a Singles tournament is the semi-final round: John McEnroe in 1977 (Gentlemen's Singles), Vladimir Voltchkov in 2000 (Gentlemen's Singles), and Alexandra Stevenson in 1999 (Ladies' Singles).
Players are admitted to the junior tournaments upon the recommendations of their national tennis associations, on their International Tennis Federation world rankings and, in the case of the singles events, on the basis of a qualifying competition. The Committee of Management determines which players may enter the four invitational events.
The Committee seeds the top players and pairs on the basis of their rankings, but it could change the seedings based on a player's previous grass court performance. Since 2002 a seeding committee has not been required for the Gentlemen's Singles following an agreement with the ATP, and since the 2021 tournament, the seeding has followed the same process as the ATP rankings. From 2002 to 2019, the top 32 players (according to the ATP rankings) were seeded according to a formula that more heavily weighted previous grass-court tournaments: ATP Entry System Position points + 100% points earned for all grass court tournaments in the past 12 months + 75% points earned for the best grass court tournament in the 12 months before that.
A majority of the entrants are unseeded. Only two unseeded players have won the Gentlemen's Singles: Boris Becker in 1985 and Goran Ivanišević in 2001. In 1985 there were only 16 seeds and Becker was ranked 20th; Ivanišević was ranked 125th when he won as a Wild Card entrant, although he had previously been a finalist three times, and been ranked no. 2 in the world; his low ranking was due to having been hampered by a persistent shoulder injury for three years, which had only just cleared up. In 1996, the title was won by Richard Krajicek, who was originally unseeded (ranked 17th, and only 16 players were seeded) but was promoted to a seeded position (still with the number 17) when Thomas Muster withdrew before the tournament. In 2023, the Ladies' Singles title was captured for the first time by an unseeded player, Markéta Vondroušová, who ranked 42 in the world. Previously, the lowest seeded female champion was Venus Williams, who won in 2007 as the 23rd seed; Williams was returning from an injury that had prevented her playing in previous tournaments, giving her a lower ranking than she would normally have had. Unseeded pairs have won the doubles titles on numerous occasions; the 2005 Gentlemen's Doubles champions were not only unseeded, but also (for the first time ever) qualifiers.
== Grounds ==
Since 2001, the courts used for Wimbledon have been sown with 100% perennial ryegrass. Prior to 2001 a combination of 70% ryegrass and 30% Creeping Red Fescue was used. The change was made to improve durability and strengthen the sward to better withstand the increasing wear of the modern game.
The main show courts, Centre Court and No. 1 Court, are normally used for only two weeks a year, during the Championships, but play can extend into a third week in exceptional circumstances. The remaining 17 courts are regularly used for other events hosted by the club. The show courts were in action for the second time in three months in 2012 as Wimbledon hosted the tennis events of the 2012 Olympic Games. One of the show courts is also used for home ties for the Great Britain teams in the Davis Cup on occasions.
Wimbledon is the only remaining Grand Slam event played on natural grass courts. At one time, all the Majors, except the French Open, were played on grass. The US Open abandoned grass in 1975 for green clay and the Australian Open did so in 1988 for hard courts; the US Open eventually adopted hard courts as well.
From 1877 until 1921, the club's grounds were situated on four acres of meadowland in central Wimbledon between Worple Road and the railway line. In 1908, this venue hosted the tennis events for the 1908 Summer Olympic Games. As the attendance at the Championships grew, it became obvious before the First World War that the 8,000 ground capacity at Worple Road was inadequate, and so the Club started looking for a new site. It eventually settled on an area of land off Church Road, to the north of Wimbledon town centre, and moved to its new home in 1922. At the time the relocation was regarded as something of a financial gamble, costing as it did approximately £140,000. After the Club moved to the current site in Church Road, the old Worple Road ground then became the Wimbledon High School playing field, which it remains today.
The principal court at Church Road, Centre Court, was inaugurated in 1922. The new venue was substantially larger and was needed to meet the ever-growing public demand.
Due to the possibility of rain during Wimbledon, a retractable roof was installed prior to the 2009 Championship. It is designed to close/open fully in 20 minutes and will be closed primarily to protect play from inclement (and, if necessary, extremely hot) weather during The Championships. Whilst the roof is being opened or closed, play is suspended. The first time the roof was closed during a Wimbledon Championship match was on Monday 29 June 2009, involving Amélie Mauresmo and Dinara Safina. The first full match played and completed under the roof featured Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, played on the same date.
The court has a capacity of 14,979. At its south end is the Royal Box, from which members of the Royal Family and other dignitaries watch matches. Centre Court usually hosts the finals and semifinals of the main events, as well as many matches in the earlier rounds involving top-seeded players or local favourites.
The second most important court is No. 1 Court. The court was constructed in 1997 to replace the old No.1 Court, which was adjacent to Centre Court. The old No.1 Court was demolished because its capacity for spectators was too low. The court was said to have had a unique, more intimate atmosphere and was a favourite of many players. Construction of a new retractable roof on the No.1 Court began after the 2017 Championships and was completed in time for the 2019 championships. The capacity of the stadium also rose by 900 to 12,345.
Since 2009, a new No. 2 Court has been used at Wimbledon with a capacity for 4,000 people. To obtain planning permission, the playing surface is around 3.5m below ground level, ensuring that the single-storey structure is only about 3.5m above ground level, and thus not affecting local views. Plans to build on the current site of Court 13 were dismissed due to the high capacity of games played at the 2012 Olympic Games. The old No.2 Court has been renamed as No.3 Court. The old No.2 Court was known as the "Graveyard of Champions" because many highly seeded players were eliminated there during early rounds over the years, including Ilie Năstase, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. The court has a capacity of 2,192 + 770 standing. In 2011 a new No.3 Court and a new Court 4 were unveiled on the sites of the old No.2 and 3 courts.
Because of the summer climate in southern England, Wimbledon employs 'Court Attendants' each year, who work to maintain court conditions. Their principal responsibility is to ensure that the courts are quickly covered when it begins to rain, so that play can resume as quickly as possible once the referees decide to uncover the courts. The outer court attendants are mainly university students working to make summer money. Centre Court is covered by full-time groundstaff, however.
At the northern end of the grounds is a giant television screen on which important matches are broadcast to fans inside the grounds without tickets to the relevant court. Fans watch from a gently inclined area of grass officially known as the Aorangi Terrace. When British players do well at Wimbledon, this area attracts fans for them, and is often renamed after them by the press: Greg Rusedski's followers convened at "Rusedski Ridge", and Tim Henman has had the hill nicknamed Henman Hill. As both of them have now retired and Andy Murray is the most successful current British player, the hill is occasionally referred to as "Murray Mound" or "Murrayfield", as a reference to his Scottish heritage and the Scottish rugby ground of the same name, but this has largely failed to catch on – the area is still often referred to as Henman Hill. None of these nicknames are the official name.
=== 1913 suffragette terror attack ===
An attempt was made to destroy the grounds in 1913, during the suffragette bombing and arson campaign. The suffragettes, as part of their campaign for women's votes before the First World War, had begun carrying out politically motivated arson and bombings across the country. On the night of 27 February 1913, a suffragette woman "between the ages of 30–35" was arrested within the grounds, after being spotted by a groundsman climbing over a hedge at around midnight. She was found to have with her some paraffin and wood shavings, for the purpose of setting fires in the grounds. The woman refused to give her name or any information to the police and was later sentenced to two months' imprisonment.
=== Bank of England Sports Centre ===
The qualifying matches, prior to the main draw, take place at the Bank of England Sports Ground, in Roehampton, 3.6 miles (5.8 km) from the All England Club.
== Traditions ==
Social commentator Ellis Cashmore describes Wimbledon as having "a David Niven-ish propriety", in trying to conform to the standards of behaviour regarded as common in the 1950s. Writer Peter York sees the event as representing a particular white, upper middle class, affluent type of Britishness, describing the area of Wimbledon as "a southern, well off, late-Victorian suburb with a particular social character". Cashmore has criticised the event for being "remote and insulated" from the changing multicultural character of modern Britain, describing it as "nobody's idea of all-things-British".
=== Ball boys and ball girls ===
In the championship games, ball boys and girls, known as BBGs, have a brief that a good BBG "should not be seen. They should blend into the background and get on with their jobs quietly."
From 1947 ball boys were recruited from Goldings, the only Barnardos school to provide them. Prior to this, from the 1920s onwards, the ball boys came from The Shaftesbury Children's Home.
Since 1969, BBGs have been drawn from local schools. Traditionally, Wandsworth Boys School in Sutherland Grove, Southfields and Mayfield Girls School on West Hill in Wandsworth (only Southfields remains extant), were the schools of choice for selection of BBGs. This was possibly owing to their proximity to the club. Since 2008 they have been drawn from schools in the London boroughs of Merton, Sutton, Kingston, and Wandsworth, as well as from Surrey. BBGs have an average age of 15, being drawn from the school years nine and ten. They serve for one, or if re-selected, for up to five tournaments, up to year thirteen.
Starting in 2005, BBGs work in teams of six, two at the net, four at the corners, and teams rotate one hour on court, one hour off, (two hours depending on the court) for the day's play. Teams are not told which court they will be working on the day, to ensure the same standards across all courts. With the expansion of the number of courts, and lengthening the tennis day, as of 2008, the number of BBGs required is around 250. Starting on the second Wednesday, the number of BBGs is reduced due to the decrease in the number of matches per day, leaving around 80 on the final Sunday. Each BBG receives a certificate, a can of used balls, a group photograph and a programme when leaving. BBG service is paid, with a total of £160-£250 being paid to each ball boy or girl after the 13-day period, depending on the number of days served, around £17 per day. Every BBG keeps their kit. BBG places are split 50:50 between boys and girls, with girls having been included since 1977, appearing on centre court since 1985.
Prospective BBGs are first nominated by their school representative, to be considered for selection. To be selected, a candidate must pass written tests on the rules of tennis, and pass fitness, mobility and other suitability tests, against initial preliminary instruction material. Successful candidates then commence a training phase, starting in February, in which the final BBGs are chosen through continual assessment. As of 2008, this training intake was 300. The training includes weekly sessions of physical, procedural and theoretical instruction, to ensure that the BBGs are fast, alert, self-confident and adaptable to situations. As of 2011, early training occurs at the Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis Club Community Centre, before moving to the Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis Club Covered Courts, to the side of the Grounds, and then to outside courts (8, 9, 10) the week before the Championships to ensure that BBGs gain a feel of the grass court.
=== Umpires ===
At The Championships at Wimbledon, forty-two chair umpires are assigned each day and usually work two matches a day. They use tablet computers to score each match and these scores are displayed on the scoreboards and on wimbledon.com. Line umpires worked in teams of nine or seven. Teams of nine umpires worked the Centre Court and Court numbers 1, 2, 3, 12, and 18 with the remaining teams of seven working the other courts. These teams rotated, working sixty minutes on the court and then sixty minutes off.
In 2007 a new technology called Hawk-Eye was introduced. This technology showed whether the ball bounced in bounds or out. Wimbledon started using this technology but continued to use line umpires as well. However the players were only allowed to ask to see this 3 times during one set.
Line umpires and the ability to challenge calls made during a match were axed, starting from the 2025 Championships, due to the professional tennis tours adopting the Hawk-Eye Live technology from the 2025 season for any tournament capable of supporting it, bringing an end to the 147 years of traditional scenes of line umpires walking to and from the courts during matches. The only umpire on the court will now be the chair umpire, although the new role of match assistants will be created to escort players to the bathroom or take their racquets to the stringer.
=== Colours and uniforms ===
Dark green and purple are the traditional Wimbledon colours. However, all tennis players participating in the tournament are required to wear all-white or at least almost all-white clothing, a long-time tradition at Wimbledon. This rule was put in place in 1963, when the tournament's first dress code was enforced. Wearing white clothing with some colour accents is also acceptable, provided the colour scheme is not that of an identifiable commercial brand logo (the outfitter's brand logo being the sole exception). Controversy followed Martina Navratilova's wearing branding for "Kim" cigarettes in 1982. In 2023 rules first allowed all female players, included but not limited to in the girls' singles junior event, to wear non-white underwear; the new rule allows "solid, mid/dark-coloured undershorts, provided they are no longer than their shorts or skirt". Green clothing was worn by the chair umpire, linesmen, ball boys and ball girls until the 2005 Championships; however, beginning with the 2006 Championships, officials, ball boys and ball girls were dressed in new navy blue- and cream-coloured uniforms from American designer Ralph Lauren.
=== Referring to players ===
By tradition, the "Men's" and "Women's" competitions are referred to as "Gentlemen's" and "Ladies'" competitions at Wimbledon. The junior competitions are referred to as the "Boys'" and "Girls'" competitions.
Prior to 2009, female players were referred to by the title "Miss" or "Mrs" on scoreboards. On the Wimbledon's Champions Board, married female players were referred to by their husband's name up until 2019. For the first time during the 2009 tournament, players were referred to on scoreboards by both their first and last names.
The title "Mr" is not used for male players who are professionals on scoreboards but is retained for amateurs, although chair umpires refer to players as "Mr" when they use the replay challenge. The chair umpire will say "Mr <surname> is challenging the call..." and "Mr. <surname> has X challenges remaining." Up until 2018, the chair umpire said "Miss"/"Mrs" <surname> when announcing the score of the Ladies' matches. However, the chair umpire no longer calls "Miss"/"Mrs" <surname> when announcing the score, since 2019. As of the 2022 edition of the tournament, the use of Mr, Miss and Mrs was eliminated: players are now referred to by their names, as written on the scoreboard by the umpire at all points in a match.
If a match is being played with two competitors of the same surname (e.g. Venus and Serena Williams, Bob and Mike Bryan), the chair umpire will specify to whom they are referring by stating the player's first name and surname during announcements (e.g. "Game, Venus Williams", "Advantage, Mike Bryan").
=== Royal family ===
Previously, players bowed or curtsied to members of the royal family seated in the Royal Box upon entering or leaving Centre Court. However, in 2003, All England Club president Prince Edward, Duke of Kent decided to discontinue the tradition. Now, players are required to bow or curtsy only if the Prince of Wales or the King is present, as was in practice during the 2010 Championships when Elizabeth II was in attendance at Wimbledon on 24 June.
On 27 June 2012, Roger Federer said in his post-match interview that he and his opponent had been asked to bow towards the Royal Box as Prince Charles and his wife were present, saying that it was not a problem for him.
=== Services stewards ===
Prior to the Second World War, members of the Brigade of Guards and retired members of the Royal Artillery performed the role of stewards. In 1946 the AELTC offered employment to wartime servicemen returning to civilian life during their demobilisation leave. Initially, this scheme extended only to the Royal Navy, followed by the British Army in 1947 and the Royal Air Force in 1949. In 1965 London Fire Brigade members joined the ranks of stewards. The service stewards, wearing uniform, are present in Centre Court and No.'s 1, 2, 3, 12 and 18 courts. In 2015, 595 Service and London Fire Brigade stewards attended. Only enlisted members of the Armed Forces may apply for the role, which must be taken as leave, and half of each year's recruits must have stewarded at Wimbledon before. The AELTC pays a subsistence allowance to servicemen and women working as stewards to defray their accommodation costs for the period of the Championships. The Service Stewards are not to be confused with the 185 Honorary Stewards.
=== Tickets ===
The majority of centre and show court tickets sold to the general public have since 1924 been made available by a public ballot that the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club holds at the start of the year. The ballot has always been substantially oversubscribed. Successful applicants are selected at random by a computer. The most recent figures from 2011 suggested there were four applicants to every ballot ticket. Applications must be posted to arrive at the AELTC by the last day of December in the year prior to the tournament. Seats and days are allocated randomly and ballot tickets are not transferable.
The All England Club, through its subsidiary The All England Lawn Tennis Ground plc, issues debentures to tennis fans every five years to raise funds for capital expenditure. Fans who invest thus in the club receive a pair of tickets for every day of the Wimbledon Championships for the five years the investment lasts. Only debenture holders are permitted to sell on their tickets to third parties and demand for debentures has increased in recent years, to such an extent that they are even traded on the London Stock Exchange.
Wimbledon and the French Open are the only Grand Slam tournaments where fans without tickets for play can queue up and still get seats on the three show courts on the day of the match. Sequentially numbered queue cards were introduced in 2003. From 2008, there is a single queue, allotted about 500 seats for each court. When they join the queue, fans are handed queue cards. Anyone who then wishes to leave the queue temporarily, even if in possession of a queue card, must agree their position with the others nearby in the queue or a steward.
To get access to the show courts, fans normally have to queue overnight. This is done by fans from all over the world and, although considered vagrancy, is part of the Wimbledon experience in itself. The All-England Club allows overnight queuing and provides toilet and water facilities for campers. Early in the morning when the line moves towards the Grounds, stewards walk along the line and hand out wristbands that are colour-coded to the specific court. The wrist band (and payment) is exchanged at the ticket office for the ticket when the grounds open. General admission to the grounds gives access to the outer courts and is possible without queuing overnight. Tickets returned by people leaving early go on sale at 2:30 pm and the money goes to charity. Queuing for the show courts ends after the quarter finals have been completed.
At 2.40pm on Day Seven (Monday 28 June) of the 2010 Championships, the one-millionth numbered Wimbledon queue card was handed out to Rose Stanley from South Africa.
=== Sponsorship ===
Unlike other tournaments, advertising from major brands is minimal and low key, from suppliers such as IBM, Rolex and Slazenger. Wimbledon is notable for the longest running sponsorship in sports history due to its association with Slazenger who have supplied all tennis balls for the tournament since 1902. Between 1935 and 2021, Wimbledon had a sponsorship deal with Robinsons fruit squash – one of the longest sponsorships in sport.
Starting in 2024, Emirates started sponsoring Wimbledon for the first time alongside the Australian Open, French Open and the US Open tennis championships.
=== Strawberries and cream ===
Strawberries and cream are traditionally eaten by spectators at Wimbledon and have become culturally synonymous with the tournament. The origin of this tradition has been said to derive from a visit King Henry VIII paid to his Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, whose home was at Hampton Court, about six miles from Wimbledon, when the chancellor's cook is rumoured to have served wild strawberries and cream as a dessert. Since the King ate it, the dessert gained popularity. In 2017, fans consumed 34,000 kg (33 imperial tons) of British strawberries and 10,000 litres (2,200 imperial gallons) of cream. In 2019, 191,930 portions of strawberries and cream were served at The Championships at Wimbledon.
=== The Wimbledon champions' dinner and ball ===
The Wimbledon Champions' Dinner, formerly known as the Champions' Ball, is an event organised after the end of each edition of the Wimbledon Championships and it is consisted of a dinner and a dance between the Men's and Women's singles winners. A picture of them with their respective trophies is also taken at this event.
In later years, the dance tradition became not mandatory and sporadically returned in some editions of the tournament, notably, in 2015, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams danced together to the Bee Gees' "Night Fever" at the dinner, evoking the spirit of the original Champions' Ball. In 2018, Djokovic invited Angelique Kerber to dance at the dinner.
In 2024, the champions Carlos Alcaraz and Barbora Krejčíková also danced together.
In 1977, the dinner was rescheduled to the middle Saturday of the tournament, which resulted in the end of the formal champions' dance tradition.
In recent years, the Champions' Dinner has been hosted at The Lawn, a hospitality venue located on the grounds of The Wimbledon Club, across from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. It gathers players, their families, and distinguished guests to celebrate the tournament's champions.
In 2021, the Champions' Dinner was canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions, marking a rare interruption in the tradition.
=== Balls ===
Since 1902, the Wimbledon Championships have used tennis balls manufactured by Slazenger and the company has been the official supplier for the tournament ever since, making this the longest-running sponsorship deal in sport.
== Media coverage and attendance ==
=== Radio Wimbledon ===
Until 2011, when its contract ended, Radio Wimbledon could be heard within a five-mile radius on 87.7 FM, and also online. It operated under a Restricted Service Licence. Presenters included Sam Lloyd and Ali Barton. Typically, they worked alternate four-hour shifts until the end of the last match of the day. Reporters and commentators included Gigi Salmon, Nick Lestor, Rupert Bell, Nigel Bidmead, Guy Swindells, Lucie Ahl, Nadine Towell and Helen Whitaker. Often, they reported from the "Crow's Nest", an elevated building housing the Court 3 and 4 scoreboards which affords views of most of the outside courts. Regular guests included Sue Mappin. In later years, Radio Wimbledon acquired a second low-power FM frequency (within the grounds only) of 96.3 FM for uninterrupted Centre Court commentary, and, from 2006, a third for coverage from No. 1 Court on 97.8 FM. Hourly news bulletins and travel (using RDS) were also broadcast.
Radio Wimbledon's theme tune is called "Purple and Green" and has been used since 1996, when it was composed by British composer Tony Cox.
=== Television coverage ===
Beginning with the 2018 tournament, an in-house operation known as Wimbledon Broadcasting Services (WBS) has served as the official host broadcaster of the tournament, replacing BBC Sport.
==== United Kingdom ====
Since 1937 the BBC has broadcast the tournament on television in the United Kingdom. Between 1956 and 1968, the Championships were also covered by ITV, but since 1969 the BBC has had a monopoly. The matches covered are primarily split between its two main terrestrial channels, BBC One and BBC Two, and their Red Button service. This can result in live matches being moved across all 3 channels. The BBC holds the broadcast rights for Wimbledon until 2027. During the days of British Satellite Broadcasting, its sports channel carried extra coverage of Wimbledon for subscribers. One of the most notable British commentators was Dan Maskell, who was known as the BBC's "voice of tennis" until his retirement in 1991. John Barrett succeeded him in that role until he retired in 2006. Current commentators working for the BBC at Wimbledon include British ex-players Andrew Castle, John Lloyd, Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski, Samantha Smith and Mark Petchey; tennis legends such as John McEnroe, Tracy Austin, Boris Becker and Lindsay Davenport; and general sports commentators including David Mercer, Barry Davies, Andrew Cotter and Nick Mullins. The coverage is presented by Sue Barker (live) and Clare Balding (highlights). Previous BBC presenters include Des Lynam, David Vine, John Inverdale and Harry Carpenter.
The Wimbledon Finals are obliged to be shown live and in full on terrestrial television (BBC, ITV, Channel 4, or Channel 5) by government mandate. Highlights of the rest of the tournament must be provided by terrestrial stations; live coverage (excepting the finals) may be sought by satellite or cable TV.
The BBC was forced to apologise after many viewers complained about "over-talking" by its commentary team during the TV coverage of the event in 2011. It said in a statement that views on commentary were subjective but that they "do appreciate that over-talking can irritate our audience". The BBC added that it hoped it had achieved "the right balance" across its coverage and was "of course sorry if on occasion you have not been satisfied". Tim Henman and John McEnroe were among the ex-players commentating.
Wimbledon was also involved in a piece of television history, when on 1 July 1967 the first official colour television broadcast took place in the UK. Four hours live coverage of the 1967 Championships was shown on BBC Two, which was the first television channel in Europe to regularly broadcast in colour. Footage of that historic match no longer survives, however, the Gentlemen's Final of that year is still held in the BBC archives because it was the first Gentlemen's Final transmitted in colour. The tennis balls used were traditionally white, but were switched to yellow in 1986 to make them stand out for colour television. Since 2007, Wimbledon matches have been transmitted in high-definition, originally on the BBC's free-to-air channel BBC HD, with continual live coverage during the tournament of Centre Court and Court No. 1 as well as an evening highlights show Today at Wimbledon. Coverage is now shown on BBC One and Two's HD feeds. Beginning 2018, all centre court matches are televised in 4K ultra-high-definition.
The BBC's opening theme music for Wimbledon since 1972 was composed by Keith Mansfield and is titled "Light and Tuneful". A piece titled "A Sporting Occasion" is the traditional closing theme. The finally notes of this theme are regularly used to end BBC One and BBC Two Wimbledon transmissions. For the end of broadcast at the conclusion of the tournament a montage set to popular music is traditionally used instead. Mansfield also composed the piece "World Champion", used by NBC during intervals (change-overs, set breaks, etc.) and at the close of broadcasts throughout the tournament.
==== Ireland ====
In Ireland, RTÉ broadcast the tournament during the 1980s and 1990s on their second channel RTÉ Two, they also provided highlights of the games in the evening. The commentary provided was given by Matt Doyle a former Irish-American professional tennis player and Jim Sherwin a former RTÉ newsreader. Caroline Murphy was the presenter of the programme. RTÉ made the decision in 1998 to discontinue broadcasting the tournament due to falling viewing figures and the large number of viewers watching on the BBC. From 2005 until 2014 TG4 Ireland's Irish-language broadcaster provided coverage of the tournament. Live coverage was provided in the Irish language while they broadcast highlights in English at night.
In 2015 Wimbledon moved to pay TV broadcaster Setanta Sports under a 3-year agreement. Its successor, Eir Sport, took over broadcasting rights in Ireland until its demise in 2021.
==== Americas ====
In the United States, ABC began showing taped highlights of the Wimbledon Gentlemen's Singles Final in the 1960s on its Wide World of Sports series. NBC began a 43-year run of covering Wimbledon in 1969, with same-day taped (and often edited) coverage of the Gentlemen's Singles Final. In 1979, the network began carrying the Gentlemen's Singles Final live, and in 1982, the Ladies' Singles Final. For the next few decades, NBC aired "Breakfast at Wimbledon" specials on weekends. Live coverage started early in the morning (the US being a minimum of 5 hours behind the UK) and continued well into the afternoon, interspersed with commentary and interviews from Bud Collins. Collins was sacked by NBC in 2007, but was promptly hired by ESPN, the cable home for The Championships in the States. For many years NBC's primary Wimbledon host was veteran broadcaster Dick Enberg.
From 1975 to 1999, premium channel HBO carried weekday coverage of Wimbledon. Hosts included Jim Lampley, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, John Lloyd and Barry MacKay among others. ESPN took over as the cable-television partner in 2003.
The AELTC grew frustrated with NBC's policy of waiting to begin its quarterfinal and semifinal coverage until after the conclusion of Today at 10 a.m. local, as well as broadcasting live only to the Eastern Time Zone and using tape-delay in all others. NBC also held over high-profile matches for delayed broadcast in its window, regardless of any ongoing matches. In one notorious incident in 2009, ESPN2's coverage of the Tommy Haas–Novak Djokovic quarterfinal was forced off the air nationwide when it ran past 10 a.m. Eastern, after which NBC showed the conclusion of the match on tape only after presenting the previous Ivo Karlović–Roger Federer quarterfinal in full. Beginning with the 2012 tournament, coverage moved to ESPN and ESPN2, marking the second major tennis championship (after the Australian Open) where live coverage is exclusively on pay television, while ESPN Deportes provides coverage in Spanish. The Finals are also broadcast tape-delayed on ABC. On 9 July 2021, ESPN and the AELTC reached an agreement to extend ESPN's coverage for 12 years, beginning 2024 until 2035. This agreement included live coverage of the middle weekend on ABC starting in 2022, following the announcement that play would occur on the middle Sunday, historically a rest day.
Taped coverage using the world feed is aired in primetime and overnights on Tennis Channel and is branded Wimbledon Primetime.
In Canada, coverage of Wimbledon is exclusively carried by TSN and RDS, which are co-owned by Bell Media and ESPN. Prior to 2012, CBC Television and SRC were the primary broadcaster of Wimbledon for Canada, and its live coverage of the tournament predated "Breakfast at Wimbledon" by over a decade, Canada being at least four hours from its fellow Commonwealth realm.
In Mexico, the Televisa family of networks has aired Wimbledon since the early 1960s. Presently, most weekend matches are broadcast through Canal 5 with the weekday matches broadcast on the Televisa Deportes Network. As Mexico is six hours behind the U.K., some Canal 5 affiliates air the weekend matches as the first program of the day after sign-on. Although Mexico had begun broadcasting in colour in 1962, Wimbledon continued to air in black and white in Mexico until colour television came to the United Kingdom in 1967.
In most of the remainder of Latin America, Wimbledon airs on ESPN, as do the other Grand Slam tournaments. In Brazil, SporTV had exclusive rights to the broadcast, but now it only airs on ESPN and Disney+.
==== Other countries ====
In several European countries, Wimbledon is shown live on Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2 and the Eurosport Player. Although there are some exceptions, as in Denmark, where the Danish TV2 holds the right to show matches until 2022 and in Italy where Sky Sport and SuperTennis holds the rights to show live matches until 2022. In the Netherlands Center Court is shown live on Eurosport 1 and all other courts are shown live on the Eurosport Player. But Court One is covered live on Ziggo Sport/Ziggo Sport Select. Wimbledon has been exclusively broadcast on Sky Sport in Germany since 2007. In December 2018, Sky extended its contract for Austria, Germany and Switzerland until 2022.
In Australia, the free-to-air Nine Network covered Wimbledon for almost 40 years but decided to drop their broadcast following the 2010 tournament, citing declining ratings and desire to use money saved to bid on other sports coverage. In April 2011, it was announced that the Seven Network, the then-host broadcaster of the Australian Open, along with its sister channel 7Two would broadcast the event from 2011. Pay television network Fox Sports Australia also covered the event. Free-to-air coverage returned to Nine Network in 2021. In India and its Subcontinental region, it is broadcast on Star Sports. In Pakistan it is broadcast on PTV Sports.
Coverage is free-to-air in New Zealand through TVNZ One, beginning each night at 11 pm (midday in London). In 2017 their new channel, TVNZ Duke (also free-to-air), carried an alternative to the main feed, including (for example) matches on outside courts involving New Zealand players.
Fox Sports Asia held broadcasting rights across Southeast Asia from 1992 until network's shutdown in 2021. SPOTV currently holds broadcasting rights across Southeast Asia.
Most matches are also available for viewing through internet betting websites and other live streaming services, as television cameras are set up to provide continuous coverage on nearly all the courts.
== Trophies, prize money and ranking points ==
=== Trophies ===
The Gentlemen's Singles champion is presented with a silver gilt cup 18.5 inches (about 47 cm) in height and 7.5 inches (about 19 cm) in diameter. The trophy is decorated with a variety of symbols, including a miniature gold pineapple. The trophy has been awarded since 1887 and bears the inscription: "All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Championship of the World". The actual trophy remains the property of the All England Club in their museum, so the champion receives a three-quarter size replica of the Cup bearing the names of all past Champions (height 13.5 inches, 34 cm).
The Ladies' Singles champion is presented with a sterling silver salver commonly known as the "Venus Rosewater Dish", or simply the "Rosewater Dish". The salver, which is 18.75 inches (about 48 cm) in diameter, is decorated with figures from mythology. The actual dish remains the property of the All England Club in their museum, so the champion receives a miniature replica bearing the names of all past Champions. From 1949 to 2006 the replica was 8 inches in diameter, and since 2007 it has been a three-quarter size replica with a diameter of 13.5 inches.
The winner of the Gentlemen's Doubles, Ladies' Doubles, and Mixed Doubles events receive silver cups. A trophy is awarded to each player in the Doubles pair, unlike the other Grand Slam tournaments where the winning Doubles duo shares a single trophy. The Gentlemen's Doubles silver challenge cup was originally from the Oxford University Lawn Tennis Club and donated to the All England Club in 1884. The Ladies' Doubles Trophy, a silver cup and cover known as The Duchess of Kent Challenge Cup, was presented to the All England Club in 1949 by The Duchess of Kent. The Mixed Doubles Trophy is a silver challenge cup and cover presented to the All England Club by the family of two-time Wimbledon doubles winner Sydney Smith.
The runner-up in each event receives an inscribed silver plate. The trophies are usually presented by the Patron of the All England Club, The Princess of Wales.
=== Prize money ===
Prize money was first awarded in 1968, the year that professional players were allowed to compete in the Championships for the first time. Total prize money was £26,150; the winner of the men's title earned £2,000 (equivalent to £29,300 in 2023) while the women's singles champion received £750 (equivalent to £11,000 in 2023). In 2007, Wimbledon and the French Open became the last grand slam tournaments to award unequal prize money to women and men.
The bulk of the increases in 2012 were given to players losing in earlier rounds. This move was in response to the growing angst among lower-ranked players concerning the inadequacy of their pay. Sergiy Stakhovsky, a member of the ATP Player Council and who was at the time ranked 68th, was among the most vocal in the push for higher pay for players who bow out in the earlier rounds. In an interview Stakhovsky intimated that it is not uncommon for lower-ranked players to be in financial debt after playing certain tour events, if they had a poor result. In 2013 the losers in the earlier singles rounds of the tournament saw a highest 62% increase in their pay while the total prize money of the doubles increased by 22%.The prize money for participants of the qualifying matches saw an increase of 41%.
Doubles prize money is per team.
=== Ranking points ===
Ranking points for the ATP and WTA have varied at Wimbledon through the years but at present,
individual players receive the following points:
== Champions ==
=== Past champions ===
Gentlemen's singles
Ladies' singles
Gentlemen's doubles
Ladies' doubles
Mixed doubles
All champions
=== Current champions ===
=== Most recent finals ===
== Records ==
=== Gentlemen since 1877 ===
=== Ladies since 1884 ===
=== Miscellaneous === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Mays# | Willie Mays# | Willie Howard Mays Jr. (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Mays was a five-tool player who began his career in the Negro leagues, playing for the Birmingham Black Barons, and spent the rest of his career in the National League (NL), playing for the New York / San Francisco Giants and New York Mets.
Born in Westfield, Alabama, Mays was an all-around athlete. He joined the Black Barons of the Negro American League in 1948, playing with them until the Giants signed him upon his graduation from high school in 1950. He debuted in MLB with the Giants and won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1951 after hitting 20 home runs to help the Giants win their first pennant in 14 years. In 1954, he won the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, leading the Giants to their last World Series title before their move to the West Coast. His over-the-shoulder catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series is one of the most famous baseball plays of all time. After the Giants moved to San Francisco, Mays went on to win another MVP Award in 1965 and also led the Giants to the 1962 World Series, this time losing to the New York Yankees. He ended his career with a return to New York after an early season trade to the New York Mets in 1972, retiring after the team's trip to the 1973 World Series. He served as a coach for the Mets for the rest of the decade before rejoining the Giants as a special assistant to the president and general manager.
Mays was an All-Star 24 times, tying for the second-most appearances in history. He led the NL in home runs four times and in slugging percentage five times while batting over .300 and posting 100 runs batted in (RBI) ten times each. Mays was also at the forefront of a resurgence of speed as an offensive weapon in the 1950s, leading the league in stolen bases four times, triples three times, and runs twice; his 179 steals during the decade topped the major leagues. He was the first NL player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season, the first player in history to reach both 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases, and the second player and the first right-handed hitter to hit 600 home runs. Mays also set standards for defensive brilliance, winning 12 consecutive Gold Glove Awards after their creation in 1957, still a record for outfielders; he led NL center fielders in double plays five times and assists three times.
A classic example of a five-tool player, Mays finished his career with a .301 batting average. At the time of his retirement, he held the NL record for career runs scored (2,062), and ranked second in league history behind Stan Musial in games played (2,992), third in home runs (660), at bats (10,881), runs batted in (1,903), total bases (6,066), extra-base hits (1,323) and walks (1,464), fourth in hits (3,293), fifth in slugging percentage (.557), and eighth in doubles (523); his 140 triples ranked fourth among players active after 1945. He holds major league records for games as a center fielder (2,829), putouts as an outfielder (7,095), and ended his career behind only Ty Cobb in total games as an outfielder (2,842), ranking seventh in assists (188) and third in double plays (59) in center field. Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979 in his first year of eligibility, and was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999. Mays was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2015.
== Early life ==
Willie Howard Mays Jr. was born on May 6, 1931, in Westfield, Alabama, a primarily black company town near Fairfield. His father, Cat Mays, was a talented baseball player with the black team at the local iron plant. Annie Satterwhite, his mother, was a gifted high school basketball and track star. To his family and close friends, and later to his teammates, Mays was affectionately referred to as "Buck". His parents never married and separated when Mays was three. His father and two aunts, Sarah and Ernestine raised him. Sarah took young Willie to an African Methodist Episcopal Church every Sunday. Cat Mays worked as a railway porter and later at the steel mills in Westfield.
Cat exposed Willie to baseball at an early age, playing catch with him at five and allowing him to sit on the bench with his Birmingham Industrial League team at ten. His favorite baseball player growing up was Joe DiMaggio; other favorites were Ted Williams and Stan Musial. Mays played several sports at Fairfield Industrial High School. On the basketball team, he led players at all-black high schools in Jefferson County in scoring. Mays played quarterback, fullback and punter for the football team. Though he turned 18 in 1949, Mays did not graduate from Fairfield until 1950, which journalist Allen Barra calls "a minor mystery in Willie's life".
== Professional career ==
=== Negro and minor leagues ===
Mays's professional baseball career began in 1948 when he played briefly during the summer with the Chattanooga Choo-Choos, a Negro minor league team. Later that year, Mays joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League, where he was known as "Buck". The Black Barons were managed by Piper Davis, a teammate of Mays's father on the industrial team. When Fairfield Industrial principal E. T. Oliver threatened to suspend Mays for playing professional ball, Davis and Mays's father worked out an agreement. Mays would only play home games for the Black Barons. In return, he could still play high school football. Mays helped Birmingham advance to the 1948 Negro World Series, which they lost 4–1 to the Homestead Grays. He hit .262 for the season and stood out because of his excellent fielding and base running. On May 28, 2024, Major League Baseball announced that it had integrated Negro league statistics into its records.
Several major league teams were interested in signing Mays, but they had to wait until he graduated from high school to offer him a contract. The Boston Braves and the Brooklyn Dodgers both scouted him, but New York Giants scout Eddie Montague signed him to a $4,000 contract. Mays spent the rest of 1950 with the Class B Trenton Giants of the Interstate League, batting .353 with 20 doubles, eight triples, four home runs and 55 RBI in 81 games. Promoted to the Triple-A Minneapolis Millers of the American Association in 1951, he batted .477 with 18 doubles, eight home runs and 30 RBI in 35 games.
=== New York / San Francisco Giants (1951–1952, 1954–1972) ===
==== NL Rookie of the Year ====
Playing excellent defense, Mays was called up by the Giants on May 24, 1951. Initially, Mays was reluctant to accept the promotion because he did not believe he was ready to face major league pitchers. Stunned, Giants manager Leo Durocher called Mays directly and said, "Quit costing the ball club money with long-distance phone calls and join the team." It was also around this time that Mays was given his famous moniker: "The Say Hey Kid".
The Giants hoped Mays would help them defensively in center field, as well as offensively. The Polo Grounds featured an unusual horseshoe shape, with relatively short left field (280 feet; 85 m) and right field (258 feet; 79 m) lines but the deepest center field in baseball (483 feet; 147 m). Mays appeared in his first major league game on May 25 against the Philadelphia Phillies at Shibe Park, batting third. He had no hits in his first 12 at bats in the major leagues, but in his 13th on May 28, he hit a home run off Warren Spahn over the left-field roof of the Polo Grounds. Mays went hitless in his next 12 at bats, and Durocher dropped him to eighth in the batting order on June 2, suggesting that Mays stop trying to pull the ball and just make contact. Mays responded with four hits over his next two games on June 2 and 3. By the end of the month, he had pushed his batting average to over .300. He would bat close to .290 for the rest of the season. Although his .274 average, 68 RBIs, and 20 home runs (in 121 games) would rank among the lowest totals of his career, he still won the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award.
On August 11, the Giants found themselves 13+1⁄2 games back of the Dodgers in the NL pennant race; Brooklyn manager Charlie Dressen triumphantly predicted, "The Giants is dead." However, the Giants went 40–18 in the season's final 58 games, winning their last seven of the year to finish the regular season tied with the Dodgers. During the pennant race, Mays's fielding and strong throwing arm were instrumental in several important Giants' victories. Mays was in the on-deck circle on October 3 when Bobby Thomson hit a three-run homer to win the three-game NL tie-breaker series 2–1.
The Giants met the New York Yankees in the 1951 World Series. In Game 1, Mays, Hank Thompson, and Monte Irvin composed the first all-black outfield in major league history. For the series, Mays hit poorly as the Giants lost the series in six games. In Game 5, he hit a consequential fly ball, which DiMaggio and Yankee rookie Mickey Mantle pursued. DiMaggio called Mantle off at the last second; as he stopped, Mantle got his cleat stuck in an open drainpipe, suffering a knee injury that would affect him the rest of his career.
==== U.S. Army ====
Soon after the 1951 season ended, Mays learned the United States Army had drafted him to serve in the Korean War. Before he left to join the Army, Mays played the first few weeks of the 1952 season with the Giants. He batted .236 with four home runs and 23 RBI in 34 games. He surprised sportswriters like Red Smith when he drew cheers from fans of the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Giants' archrivals, in his last game before reporting.
After his induction into the Army on May 29, Mays reported to Fort Eustis in Virginia, where he spent much of his time playing for the Fort Eustis Wheels military baseball team with (and against) other major and minor leaguers, as well as serving as an athletic instructor in the Physical Training Department. It was at Fort Eustis that Mays learned the basket catch from fellow Fort Eustis outfielder Al Fortunato. Mays, by his own estimation, played 180 games for the Wheels, and missed about 275 games for the Giants because of his military service. Mays' time playing for the Wheels ended on July 28, 1953, after he chipped a bone in his left foot while sliding into third base, necessitating a six-week stint in a cast. Discharged on March 1, 1954, he reported to Giants' spring training camp the following day.
==== World Series champion and NL MVP ====
Mays began the 1954 season on Opening Day with a home run of over 414 feet (126 m) against Carl Erskine. After he batted .250 in his first 20 games, Durocher moved him from third to fifth in the batting order and again encouraged him to stop attempting to pull the ball and try to get hits to right field. Mays changed his batting stance and stood straighter at the plate, keeping his feet closer together. He credited these adjustments with improving his batting average, as he batted .450 with 25 RBI in his next 20 games. On June 25, he hit an inside-the-park home run in a 6–2 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Mays was selected for the NL All-Star team; he would be part of 24 straight NL All-Star teams over 20 seasons. Mays became the first player in history to hit 30 home runs before the All-Star Game. He had 36 home runs through July 28. Around that time, Durocher asked him to stop trying to hit them, explaining the team wanted him to reach base more often. Mays hit only five home runs after July 28 but upped his batting average from .326 to .345 to win the team's first batting title since Bill Terry's in 1930. Hitting 41 home runs, Mays won the NL Most Valuable Player Award and the Hickok Belt.
The Giants won the NL pennant and the 1954 World Series, sweeping the Cleveland Indians in four games. The 1954 series is perhaps best remembered for "The Catch", an over-the-shoulder running grab by Mays of a long drive off the bat of Vic Wertz about 425 feet (130 m) from home plate at the Polo Grounds during the eighth inning of Game 1. The catch prevented two Indians runners from scoring, preserving a tie game. "The Catch transcended baseball", Barra wrote, and Larry Schwartz of ESPN said that of all the catches that Mays made, "it is regarded as his greatest". Mays did not even look at the ball for the last twenty feet as he ran, saying later he realized he had to keep running if he was going to get the ball. The Giants won the game in the 10th inning on a three-run home run by Dusty Rhodes, with Mays scoring the winning run.
Mays added base stealing to his talents, upping his total from eight in 1954 to 24 in 1955. In the middle of May, Durocher asked him to try for more home runs. Mays led the league with 51 but finished fourth in NL MVP voting. Leading the league with a .659 slugging percentage, Mays batted .319 as the Giants finished in third. During the last game of the season, Durocher, who had supported Mays since his career had begun, told him he would not be returning as the Giants manager. When Mays responded, "But Mr. Leo, it's going to be different with you gone. You won't be here to help me," Durocher told his star, "Willie Mays doesn't need help from anyone."
==== New manager ====
In 1956, Mays struggled at first to get along with new manager Bill Rigney, who publicly criticized him. The center fielder grew particularly annoyed after Rigney fined him $100 for not running to first base on a pop fly that was caught by the catcher. He hit 36 homers and stole a career-high 40 bases, becoming only the second player to join the 30–30 club. Though his RBI (84) and batting average (.296) were his lowest for nearly a decade, Barra observed that "Willie Mays was still the best all-around player in the National League."
The relationship between Mays and Rigney improved in 1957. Rigney stopped giving Mays as much direction, trusting his star player's ability and instinct. In his 2010 authorized biography of Mays, James S. Hirsch wrote Mays had "one of his most exhilarating excursions" on April 21. In the game against the Phillies, Mays reached second base on an error, stole third, and scored the winning run on a Hank Sauer single, all on plays close enough that he had to slide to make each one. He stole home in a 4–3 loss to the Cubs on May 21. The 1957 season was the first in which the Gold Glove Awards were presented. Mays won the first of 12 consecutive Gold Gloves for his play in center field. He finished in the NL's top-five in a variety of offensive categories: runs scored (112, third) batting average (.333, second), and home runs (35, fourth). In 1957, Mays became the fourth player in major league history to join the 20–20–20 club (doubles, triples, homers). He stole 38 bases that year, making him the second 20–20–20 club member (after Frank Schulte in 1911) to steal at least 20 bases. This gave him his second straight 30–30 club season.
Dwindling attendance and the desire for a new ballpark prompted the Giants to move to San Francisco following the 1957 season. In the final Giants' home game at the Polo Grounds on September 29, 1957, fans gave Mays a standing ovation in the middle of his final at bat, after Pirates' pitcher Bob Friend had already thrown a pitch to him.
==== Move to San Francisco ====
In 1958, Rigney wanted Mays to challenge Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in a season. Consequently, Rigney did not play Mays much in spring training hoping to use his best hitter every day of the regular season. As he had in 1954, Mays vied for the NL batting title until the final game of the season. Moved to the leadoff slot the last day to increase his at bats, Mays collected three hits in the game to finish with a career-high .347, but Philadelphia's Richie Ashburn batted .350. Mays shared the inaugural NL Player of the Month award with Stan Musial in May, batting .405 with 12 home runs and 29 runs batted in; he won a second award in September (.434, four home runs, 18 RBI). He played in 152 games, batting .347 with 29 home runs and 96 RBI.
Horace Stoneham, the Giants' owner, made Mays the highest-paid player in baseball with a $75,000 contract for 1959. Mays had his first serious injury in 1959, a collision with Sammy White in spring training that resulted in 35 stitches in his leg, but he was ready by the start of the season. Against the Reds in August, Mays broke a finger but kept it a secret to prevent opposing pitchers from targeting it. In September 1959, the Giants led the NL pennant race by two games with only eight games to play, but a sweep by the Dodgers began a stretch of six losses in those final games, dooming them to a third-place finish. Mays had hits in three out of 10 at bats in the Dodger series but some San Francisco fans still booed him. In 1959, Mays batted .313 with 34 home runs and 104 RBI in 151 games, leading the league in stolen bases (27) for the fourth year in a row.
After spending their first two years in San Francisco at Seals Stadium, the Giants moved into the new Candlestick Park in 1960. Initially, the stadium was expected to be conducive to home runs, but unpredictable winds affected Mays's power, and he hit only 12 at home in 1960. He found the stadium tricky to field but figured out how to play it as the season progressed. When a fly ball was hit, he would count to five before giving pursuit, enabling him to judge the wind's effect. He hit two home runs on June 24 and stole home in a 5–3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. On September 15, he tied an NL record with three triples in an 11-inning, 8–6 win over the Phillies. "I don't like to talk about 1960," Mays said after the final game of a season in which the Giants, pre-season favorites for the pennant, finished fifth out of eight NL teams. For the second time in three years, he hit 29 home runs while leading the NL with 190 hits. He also drove in 103 runs, batting .319 with 25 stolen bases.
Alvin Dark was hired to manage the Giants before the start of the 1961 season, and the improving Giants finished in third place. Mays had one of his best games on April 30, 1961, hitting four home runs and driving in eight runs against the Milwaukee Braves at County Stadium. According to Mays, he had been unsure if he would even play because of food poisoning. Each of his home runs traveled over 400 feet (120 m). While Mantle and Roger Maris pursued Babe Ruth's single-season home run record in the AL, Mays and Orlando Cepeda battled for the home run lead in the NL. Mays trailed Cepeda by two home runs at the end of August (34 as opposed to 36), but Cepeda outhit him 10–6 in September to finish with 46, while Mays finished with 40. Mays led the league with 129 runs scored and batted .308 with 123 RBI in 154 games.
==== 1962 pennant race ====
Though he had continued to play at a high level since coming to San Francisco, Mays endured booing from the San Francisco fans during his first four seasons in California. Barra speculates this may have been because San Francisco fans were comparing Mays unfavorably with Joe DiMaggio, the most famous center fielder ever to come from San Francisco. Hal Wood mentioned the DiMaggio theory, as well as two other explanations: 1) the fans had heard so many wonderful things about Mays's play in New York that they expected him to be a better player than he actually was, and 2) Mays tended to keep to himself. Mays said in 1959 that he did not mind the booing, but he admitted in a 1961 article that the catcalls were bothering him. Whatever the reason, the boos, which had begun to subside after Mays's four–home-run game in 1961, grew even quieter in 1962, as the Giants enjoyed their best season since moving to San Francisco.
Mays led the team in eight offensive categories in 1962: runs (130), doubles (36), home runs (49), RBI (141), stolen bases (18), walks (78), on-base percentage (.384), and slugging percentage (.613). He finished second in NL MVP voting to Maury Wills, who had broken Ty Cobb's record for stolen bases in a season. On September 30, Mays hit a game-winning home run in the Giants' final regularly scheduled game of the year, forcing the team into a tie for first place with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Giants faced the Dodgers in a three-game playoff series. With the Giants trailing 4–2 in the top of the ninth inning of Game 3, Mays hit an RBI single, eventually scoring as the Giants took a 6–4 lead. With two outs in the bottom of the inning, Lee Walls hit a fly ball to center field, which Mays caught for the final out as the Giants advanced to the World Series against the Yankees.
In Game 1 of the World Series, a 6–2 loss to New York, Mays recorded three hits. He would bat merely .250 in the series overall. The Series went all the way to a Game 7, which the Yankees led 1–0 in the bottom of the ninth inning. Matty Alou led off the inning with a bunt single but was still at first two outs later when Mays came up with the Giants one out from elimination. Batting against Ralph Terry, he hit a ball into the right-field corner that might have been deep enough to score Alou, but Giants third base coach Whitey Lockman opted to hold Alou at third. The next batter, McCovey, hit a line drive that was caught by Bobby Richardson, and the Yankees won the deciding game 1–0. It was Mays's last World Series appearance as a Giant. Mays reveled in the fact that he had finally won the support of San Francisco fans; "It only took them five years," he later said.
==== Record-setting contract ====
Before the 1963 season, Mays signed a contract worth a record-setting $105,000 per season (equivalent to $1,100,000 in 2025). On July 2, when Spahn and Juan Marichal each threw 15 scoreless innings, Mays hit a 16th-inning home run off Spahn, giving the Giants a 1–0 victory. He considered the home run one of his most important, along with his first and the four-home-run game. In August, he won his third NL Player of the Month Award after batting .387 with eight home runs and 27 RBI. He hit his 400th home run on August 27 against the St. Louis Cardinals, the tenth player to reach that mark. Mays finished the 1963 season batting .314 with 38 home runs and 103 RBI, stealing only eight bases, his fewest since 1954.
Normally the third batter in the lineup, Mays was moved to fourth in 1964 before returning to third in subsequent years. On May 21, Dark named Mays the Giants' captain, making Mays the first African-American captain of an MLB team. "You deserve it," Dark told Mays. "You should have had it long before this." Against the Phillies on September 4, Mays made what Hirsch called "one of the most acrobatic catches of his career". Rubén Amaro Sr. hit a ball to the scoreboard at Philadelphia's Connie Mack Stadium. Mays, who had been playing closer to home plate than normal, ran at top speed after the ball. He caught it in midair and had to kick his legs forward to keep his head from hitting the ballpark's fence, but he held on to the ball. While he batted under .300 (.296) for the first time since 1956, he led the NL with 47 home runs and ranked second with 121 runs scored and 111 RBI in 157 games.
==== Second NL MVP ====
A torn shoulder muscle sustained in a 1965 game against the Atlanta Braves impaired Mays's ability to throw. He kept the injury a secret from opposing players, making two or three practice throws before games to discourage them from running on him. On August 22, Mays acted as a peacemaker during a 14-minute brawl between the Giants and Dodgers after Marichal had bloodied Dodgers catcher John Roseboro with a bat. Mays grabbed Roseboro by the waist and helped him off the field, then tackled Lou Johnson to keep him from attacking an umpire. Johnson kicked him in the head and nearly knocked him out. After the brawl, Mays hit a game-winning three-run home run against Sandy Koufax, but he did not finish the game, feeling dizzy after the home run.
Mays won his fourth and final NL Player of the Month award in August 1965 (.363, 17 home runs, 29 RBI). On September 13, he hit his 500th career home run off Don Nottebart, becoming the fifth player to reach the mark. Warren Spahn, off whom Mays hit his first career home run, was now his teammate. After the home run, Spahn asked him, "Was it anything like the same feeling?" Mays replied, "It was exactly the same feeling. Same pitch, too." The next night, Mays hit one that he considered his most dramatic. With the Giants trailing the Houston Astros by two runs with two outs in the ninth, Mays swung and missed at Claude Raymond's first two pitches, took three balls to load the count, and fouled off three pitches before homering on the ninth pitch. The Giants won 6–5 in 10 innings. Mays won his second MVP award in 1965 behind a career-high 52 home runs, in what Barra said "may very well have [been] his best year". He batted .317, leading the NL in on-base percentage (.400) and slugging percentage (.645). The span of 11 years between his MVP awards was the longest gap of any major leaguer who attained the distinction more than once, as were the 10 years between his 50 home run seasons. He scored 118 runs, the 12th year in a row he had scored at least 100 runs in a season.
Mays tied Mel Ott's NL record of 511 home runs on April 24, 1966, against the Astros. After that, he went for nine days without a home run. "I started thinking home run every time I got up," Mays explained the slump. He finally set the record May 4. Despite nursing an injured thigh muscle on September 7, Mays reached base in the 11th inning of a game against the Dodgers with two outs, then attempted to score from first base on a Frank Johnson single. On a close play, umpire Tony Venzon initially ruled him out, then changed the call when he saw Roseboro had dropped the ball after Mays collided with him. San Francisco won 3–2. Mays finished third in the NL MVP voting, the ninth and final time he finished in the top five in the voting for the award. He batted .288 with 99 runs scored, 37 home runs, and 103 RBI in 152 games; by season's end, only Babe Ruth had hit more home runs (714 to 542).
==== Player of the Decade ====
Mays had 13 home runs and 44 RBI through his first 75 games of 1967 but then went into a slump. On June 7, Gary Nolan of the Cincinnati Reds struck him out four times; this was the first time in his career this had happened, though the Giants still won the game 4–3. Afflicted by a fever on July 14, Mays left that day's game after the sixth inning because of fatigue and spent five days in a hospital. "After I got back into the lineup, I never felt strong again for the rest of the season," he recalled. In 141 games, Mays hit .263 with 83 runs scored, 128 hits, and 22 home runs. He only drove in 70 runs for the year, the first time since 1958 he had failed to reach 100.
Before a game in Houston on May 6, 1968, Astros owner Roy Hofheinz presented Mays with a 569-pound birthday cake for his 37th birthday—the pounds represented every home run Mays had hit in his career. After sharing some of it with his teammates, Mays sent the rest to the Texas Children's Hospital. He played 148 games and upped his batting average to .289, accumulating 84 runs scored, 144 hits, 23 home runs, and 79 runs batted in. In 1969, new Giants' manager Clyde King moved Mays to the leadoff position in the batting lineup because Mays was hitting fewer home runs. Mays privately chafed at the move, later comparing it to "O. J. Simpson blocking for the fullback". He injured his knee in a collision with catcher Randy Hundley on July 29, forcing him to miss several games. On September 22, he hit his 600th home run, saying later, "Winning the game was more important to me than any individual achievements." In 117 games, he batted .283 with 13 home runs and 58 RBI.
The Sporting News named Mays the 1960s "Player of the Decade" in January 1970. In an April game, Mays collided with Bobby Bonds while reaching his glove over the wall but made a catch to rob Bobby Tolan of a home run. Mays picked up his 3,000th hit against the Montreal Expos on July 18. "I don't feel excitement about this now," he told reporters afterwards. "The main thing I wanted to do was help Gaylord Perry win a game." In 139 games, Mays batted .291 with 94 runs scored, 28 home runs, and 83 RBI. He scheduled his off days that season to avoid facing strikeout pitchers such as Bob Gibson or Tom Seaver.
==== Later years with the Giants ====
Though center field remained his primary position in 1971, Mays played 48 games at first base. He got off to a fast start in 1971, the year he turned 40. Against the Mets on May 31, he hit a game-tying eighth-inning home run, saved multiple runs with his defense at first base, and performed a strategic base-running maneuver with one out in the 11th inning, running slowly from second to third base to draw a throw from Tim Foli and allow Al Gallagher to reach first safely. Evading Foli's tag on the return throw to third, Mays scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly. He had 15 home runs and a .290 average at the All-Star break but faded down the stretch, only hitting three home runs and batting .241 for the rest of the year. One reason he hit so few home runs was that Mays walked 112 times, 30 more times than he had at any point in his career. This was partly because Willie McCovey, who often batted behind Mays in the lineup, missed several games with injuries, causing pitchers to pitch carefully to Mays so they could concentrate on getting less-skilled hitters out. Subsequently, Mays led the league in on-base percentage (.425) for only the second time, though his 123 strikeouts were a career-high. He finished the season batting .271 with 18 home runs, 61 RBI, and 23 stolen bases in 136 games.
The Giants won the NL West in 1971, returning Mays to the playoffs for the first time since 1962. In the NL Championship Series (NLCS) against the Pirates, Mays had a home run and three RBI in the first two games. In Game 3, Mays attempted an unsuccessful sacrifice bunt in a 1–1 tie in the sixth with no outs and Tito Fuentes on second base, a move that surprised reporters covering the game. The Giants lost 2–1. "I was thinking of the best way to get the run in," Mays explained the bunt, pointing out that McCovey and Bonds were due up next. The Giants lost the series in four games. After the season, Mays was honored as the winner of the inaugural Roberto Clemente Award, known at that time as the Commissioner's Award.
Mays got off to a tortuous start to the 1972 season, batting .184 with 3 RBI through his first 19 games. Before the season began, he had asked Stoneham for a 10-year contract with the Giants organization, intending to serve in an off-the-field capacity with them once his playing career was over. The Giants organization was having financial troubles, and Mays had to settle for a two-year, $330,000 contract. Mays quibbled with manager Charlie Fox, leaving the stadium before the start of a doubleheader on April 30 without telling him.
=== New York Mets (1972–1973) ===
On May 11, 1972, Mays was traded to the New York Mets for pitcher Charlie Williams and an undisclosed amount rumored to be $100,000. The Mets agreed to keep his salary at $165,000 a year for 1972 and 1973, promising to pay Mays $50,000 a year for 10 years after he retired.
Mays had remained popular in New York, and owner Joan Payson had long wanted to bring him back to his major league roots. In his Mets debut against the Giants on May 14, Mays put New York ahead to stay with a fifth-inning home run, receiving ecstatic applause from the fans at Shea Stadium. Mays appeared in 69 games for the Mets in 1972, batting .267 with eight home runs and 19 RBI.
In 1973, Mays showed up a day late to spring training, then left in the middle of it without notifying manager Yogi Berra beforehand. He was fined $1,000 upon returning; a sportswriter joked half the fine was for leaving, half was for returning. Things did not improve as the season began; Mays spent time on the disabled list early in the year and left the park before a game when he found out Berra had not put his name in the starting lineup. His speed and powerful arm in the outfield, assets throughout his career, were diminished in 1973, and he only made the All-Star team because of a special intervention by NL President Chub Feeney. However, the Mets won the NL East.
On August 17, 1973, Mays hit his final (660th) home run against the Reds' Don Gullett. Having considered retirement all year, Mays finally told the Mets officially on September 9 that 1973 would be his last season. He made the announcement to the public on September 20. "I thought I'd be crying by now," he told reporters and Mets' executives at a press conference that day, "but I see so many people here who are my friends, I can't...Baseball and me, we had what you might call a love affair." Five days later, the Mets honored him on Willie Mays Night, proclaimed by New York City mayor John Lindsay, where he thanked the New York fans and said goodbye to baseball. In 66 games, Mays batted a career-low .211 with six home runs and 25 RBI.
Against the Reds in the NLCS, Mays helped restore order in Game 3 after Mets fans began throwing trash at Pete Rose following a brawl Rose had started with Bud Harrelson. Game 5 was the only one Mays played; he had a pinch-hit RBI single as the Mets won 7–2, clinching a trip to the 1973 World Series against the Oakland Athletics, October 13–21. A shoulder injury to Rusty Staub prompted the Mets to shift Don Hahn to right field and start Mays in center at the start of the Series. He stumbled four times in the first two games, including a fielding error in Game 2 that allowed the Athletics to tie the game and force extra innings. Mays's last hit came later in the same game, an RBI single against Rollie Fingers that snapped a 7–7 tie in the 12th inning of a 10–7 victory. The final game of his career was Game 3, on October 16, 1973, in which he pinch-hit for Tug McGraw in the 10th inning of a tied game and grounded into a force play in his final major league at-bat. The Mets went on to lose the game in 11 innings and ultimately lost the series in seven games.
=== All-Star Games ===
Mays's 24 appearances on an All-Star Game roster are tied with Musial for second all-time, behind only Hank Aaron's 25. He "strove for All-Star glory" according to Hirsch, taking the game seriously in his desire to support his NL teammates. In the first All-Star Game of 1959, Mays hit a game-winning triple against Whitey Ford; Bob Stevens of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that "Harvey Kuenn gave it honest pursuit, but the only center fielder in baseball who could have caught it hit it."
Mays scored the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning of the first All-Star Game of 1961 on a Clemente single in a 5–4 win for the NL. At Cleveland Stadium in the 1963 All-Star Game, he made the finest catch, snagging his foot under a wire fence in center field as he grasped a long fly ball hit by Joe Pepitone that might have given the AL the lead. The NL won 5–3, and Mays was named the All-Star Game MVP.
With a leadoff home run against Milt Pappas in the 1965 All-Star Game, Mays set a record for most hits in his All-Star Games (21). Mays led off the 1968 All-Star Game with a single, moved to second on an error, advanced to third base on a wild pitch, and scored the only run of the game when McCovey hit into a double play; for his contributions, Mays won the All-Star Game MVP Award for the second time.
Mays individually holds the records for most at bats (75), hits (23), runs scored (20), and stolen bases (six) by an All-Star; additionally, he is tied with Musial for the most extra-base hits (eight) and total bases (40), and he is tied with Brooks Robinson for the most triples (three) in All-Star Game history. In appreciation of his All-Star records, Ted Williams said, "They invented the All-Star Game for Willie Mays."
== Career overall ==
Note: Includes statistics for the 1948 Birmingham Black Barons season.
=== Statistics and achievements ===
Source:
In 33 postseason games, including the 1948 Negro World Series, 4 World Series (1951, '54, '62, and '73) and the 1971 and 1973 NLCS, Mays batted .248 (29-for-117) with 17 runs scored, six doubles, one home run, 15 RBI, three stolen bases, and 17 walks.
=== Barnstorming ===
During the first part of his career, Mays often participated in barnstorming tours after his regular season with the Giants ended. Teams of star players would travel from city to city playing exhibition games for local fans. Following his rookie year, Mays went on a barnstorming tour with an All-Star team assembled by Campanella, playing in Negro League stadiums around the southern United States. From 1955 through 1958, Mays led Willie Mays' All-Stars, a team composed of such stars as Irvin, Thompson, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Junior Gilliam, Brooks Lawrence, Sam Jones, and Joe Black. The team traveled around the southern United States the first two years, attaining crowds of about 5,000 in 1955 but drawing less than 1,000 in 1956, partly because of the advent of television. In 1957, the team went to Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, drawing 117,766 fans in 15 games, 14 of which were won by Mays's team. They played 20 games in Mexico in 1958.
Mays did not lead a team in 1959; Stoneham wanted him to rest because he was suffering from a broken finger. In 1960, Mays also did not barnstorm, but he and the Giants did go to Tokyo, playing an exhibition series of 16 games against the Yomiuri Giants. Though teams of black All-Stars assembled those two seasons, they drew fewer fans and opted not to assemble in 1961, when Mays again decided not to barnstorm. The tradition soon died out, as the expansion of the major leagues, the increased televising of major league games, and the emergence of professional football had siphoned interest away from the offseason exhibition games.
== Player profile ==
The batting stance Mays employed showed the influence of one of his childhood favorites, Joe DiMaggio. Like his hero, Mays would stand with his legs spread apart, placing the same amount of weight on both while holding the bat high. His right thumb would stick out in the air as he waited for pitches, but he wrapped it around the bat as he swung. Mays believed this late motion added power when he swung. Mays channeled his energies into the swing by abstaining from extra motion and opening his hips. "If there was a machine to measure each swing of a bat," Branch Rickey suggested, "it would be proven that Mays swings with more power and bat speed, pitch for pitch, than any other player." His focus extended to his antics, or lack thereof, at the plate; Mays did not rub dirt on his hands or stroll around the batter's box like some hitters did. Naturally more of a pull hitter, Mays adjusted his style in 1954 to hit more to right and center field in a quest for a higher batting average at his manager's request, but the change was not permanent. When the Giants moved to Candlestick Park, Mays found that pulling the ball worked better at home but hitting to right and center worked better on the road; he tried to adjust his style depending on where he was playing.
Defensively, Mays was one of the best outfielders of all time, as evidenced by his record 12 Gold Gloves as an outfielder. His signature play was his "basket catch," the technique that displayed Mays's stylistic flash as opposed to the pure raw skill that was on display when he made "The Catch" in the 1954 World Series. Holding his glove around his belly, he would keep his palm turned up, enabling the ball to fall right into his glove. Sportswriters have argued about whether the technique made him a better fielder or just made him more exciting to watch, but the basket catch did not prevent Mays from setting a record with 7,095 outfield putouts. Koppett observes, "His range was limitless, and his arm so strong that he could make effective throws from the most unlikely locations and from the most unlikely body positions." That range allowed him to play a shallow center and prevent shallow singles, while still being able to get back and not let extra-base hits get over his head.
Mays's flashy style of play stemmed partly from his days in the Negro leagues. "We were all entertainers," he said, "and my job was to give the fans something to talk about each game." Sometimes he would deliberately slip to the ground for catches to make them look tougher than they really were. Though he was a powerful hitter, he had a knack for stealing bases. He ran the bases daringly, becoming the only modern player to score from first base on a single to left field, and another time scoring from first base on a McCovey bunt (without an error).
== Assessment and legacy ==
On January 23, 1979, Mays was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in his first year of eligibility. He garnered 409 of the 432 ballots cast (94.68%). Referring to the other 23 voters, New York Daily News columnist Dick Young wrote, "If Jesus Christ were to show up with his old baseball glove, some guys wouldn't vote for him. He dropped the cross three times, didn't he?" In his induction speech, Mays said:
What can I say? This country is made up of a great many things. You can grow up to be what you want. I chose baseball, and I loved every minute of it. I give you one word—love. It means dedication. You have to sacrifice many things to play baseball. I sacrificed a bad marriage and I sacrificed a good marriage. But I'm here today because baseball is my number one love.
In 1999, Mays placed second on The Sporting News's "List of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players", trailing only Babe Ruth. Later that year, fans elected him to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 2020, The Athletic ranked Mays at number 1 on its "Baseball 100" list, compiled by sportswriter Joe Posnanski. In 2022, MLB.com writers voted Mays as being the greatest player in Giants franchise history.
Fellow players and coaches recognized his talent. Roberto Clemente said of Mays: "To me, Willie Mays is the greatest who ever played." Willie Stargell learned the hard way how good Mays's arm was when the center fielder threw him out in a game in 1965. "I couldn't believe Mays could throw that far. I figured there had to be a relay. Then I found out there wasn't. He's too good for this world." "If somebody came up and hit .450, stole 100 bases and performed a miracle in the field every day, I'd still look you in the eye and say Willie was better," Durocher said. "All I can say is that he is the greatest player I ever saw, bar none," was Rigney's assessment. When Mays was the only player elected to the Hall of Fame in 1979, Duke Snider, who finished second in voting that year, said, "Willie really more or less deserves to be in by himself." Don Zimmer remarked, "In the National League in the 1950s, there were two opposing players who stood out over all the others — Stan Musial and Willie Mays. ... I've always said that Willie Mays was the best player I ever saw. ... [H]e could have been an All-Star at any position." Teammate Felipe Alou said, "[Mays] is number one, without a doubt. ... [A]nyone who played with him or against him would agree that he is the best." Al Rosen remembered "...you had the feeling you were playing against someone who was going to be the greatest of all time."
Throughout his career, Mays maintained he did not specifically try to set records, but he ranks among baseball's leaders in many categories. Third in home runs with 660 when he retired, he still ranks sixth as of December 2024. His 2,068 runs scored rank seventh, and his 1,909 runs batted in rank 12th as of December 2024.
Mays batted .301 in his career and his 3,293 hits are the 12th-most of any player as of December 2024. His 2,992 games played are the ninth-highest total of any major leaguer as of June 2021. He stole 338 bases in his career. By the end of his career, Mays had won a Gold Glove Award 12 times, a record for outfielders today (shared by Roberto Clemente). He is baseball's all-time leader in outfield putouts (7,095), and he played 2,842 games as an outfielder, a total exceeded only by Cobb (2,934) and Barry Bonds (2,874). Mays's 24 appearances on an All-Star Game roster are tied with Musial for second all-time, behind only Aaron's 25. He holds individually the All-Star Game records for most at bats (75), hits (23), runs scored (20), and stolen bases (six); additionally, he is tied with Musial for the most extra-base hits (eight) and total bases (40), and he is tied with Brooks Robinson for the most triples (three) in All-Star Game history.
Mays's 156.2 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) ranks fifth all-time, and third among position players (trailing Barry Bonds' 162.8 and Ruth's 162.1). He led NL position players in WAR for 10 seasons, and led the league in on-base plus slugging (OPS) five times, ranking 26th all time with a .941 mark. Sabermetrician Bill James thinks Mays was the best centerfielder of all time, naming him the best in the major leagues in the 1950s and the 1960s. David Schoenfield of ESPN, James and Barra all think he should have won the NL MVP Award at least seven times. "He was one of the best fielders of all time," Schoenfield wrote, noting Mays has the eighth-most fielding runs saved (a sabermetric stat) of all time. Barra claimed in 2004, "Most modern fans would pick Willie Mays as the best all-around player in the second half of the twentieth century." Sportscaster Curt Gowdy said of Mays, "Willie Mays was the best player I ever saw. He did everything well."
Sudden collapses plagued Mays sporadically throughout his career, which occasionally led to hospital stays. He attributed them to his style of play. "My style was always to go all out, whether I played four innings or nine. That's how I played all my life, and I think that's the reason I would suddenly collapse from exhaustion or nervous energy or whatever it was called."
At the Pittsburgh drug trials in 1985, former Mets teammate John Milner testified Mays kept a bottle of liquid amphetamine in his locker at Shea Stadium. Milner had never seen Mays use amphetamines, and Mays denied having taken drugs during his career. "I really didn't need anything," Mays said. "My problem was if I could stay on the field. I would go to the doctor and would say to the doctor, 'Hey, I need something to keep me going. Could you give me some sort of vitamin?' I don't know what they put in there, and I never asked him a question about anything." Hirsch wrote "It would be naïve to think Mays never took amphetamines" but admits that Mays's amphetamine use has never been proven, calling Mays "the most famous player who supposedly took amphetamines".
== Cultural effect ==
Along with Mantle (of the Yankees) and Snider (of the Dodgers), Mays was part of a triumvirate of center fielders from the New York teams of the 1950s who would be elected to the Hall of Fame. The three were often the subject of debates among the New York fans as to who was the best center fielder in the city.
Mays was a popular figure in Harlem, New York's predominantly black neighborhood and the home of the Polo Grounds. Magazine photographers were fond of chronicling his participation in local stickball games with kids, which he played two to three nights a week during homestands until his first marriage in 1956. In the urban game of hitting a rubber ball with an adapted broomstick handle, Mays could hit a shot that measured "five sewers" (the distance of six consecutive New York City manhole covers), nearly 450 feet (140 m).
Unlike other black athletes such as Jackie Robinson, Mays tended to remain silent on racial issues, refraining from public complaints about discriminatory practices that affected him. Robinson once accused him and some of his teammates of not doing enough for the civil rights movement. Hank Aaron wished Mays had spoken out more on racial issues. Mays believed his job was to play baseball, not talk about social issues. "I'm a ballplayer. I am not a politician or a writer or a historian. I can do best for my people by doing what I do best."
== Post-playing career ==
After Mays retired as a player, he remained in the New York Mets organization as their hitting instructor until the end of the 1979 season. Mays missed several appointments during these years and was often absent from Mets games. Joe McDonald became the new Mets' general manager in 1975, and at the start of 1976, he terminated the 10-year contract stating the contract with Mays was vague. Mays had six years to go at $50,000 a year for various duties that had recently led to friction and the threat of a lawsuit. Mays irritated by the notification, he then hired a lawyer and appealed to Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn to arbitrate the situation. Kuhn and Mays's lawyer reviewed, and the Mets agreed to keep him, as long as he stayed at home games for at least four innings. During his time with the Mets, Lee Mazzilli learned the basket catch from him.
In October 1979, Mays took a job at the Bally's Park Place casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. While there, he served as a special assistant to the casino's president and as a greeter. After being told by Kuhn that he could not be part of both baseball and a casino, Mays terminated his contract with the Mets, and he was banned from baseball. Kuhn was concerned about gambling infiltrating baseball, but Hirsch points out that Mays's role was merely as a greeter, he was not allowed to place bets at the casino as part of his contract, and the casino did not engage in sports betting. In 1985, less than a year after replacing Kuhn as commissioner, Peter Ueberroth decided to allow Mays to return to baseball. At a press conference with Mays and Mickey Mantle (reinstated from a similar suspension), Ueberroth said, "I am bringing back two players who are more a part of baseball than perhaps anyone else."
Mays was named special assistant to the president and general manager of the Giants in 1986. He signed a lifetime contract with the team in 1993 and helped to muster public enthusiasm for building Pac Bell Park, which opened in 2000. Mays founded a charity, the Say Hey Foundation, which promotes youth baseball. The Giants retired Mays's number 24 in May 1972. Oracle Park, their stadium, is at 24 Willie Mays Plaza. In front of the main entrance is a nine-foot-tall (2.74 m) statue of Mays, who had a private box at the stadium. When the Giants dedicated a Wall of Fame to their greatest players in 2008, Mays became part of its inaugural class.
At a special ceremony during the Mets' 60th anniversary Old-Timer's Game on August 27, 2022, the team announced that, pursuant to a promise Mets' owner Joan Payson had made to Mays when she traded for him in 1972, they were following the Giants in retiring Mays's number 24. Mays became the 14th person (player or manager) to have their number retired by two teams.
== Special honors, media appearances ==
Mays met with several United States presidents. During Gerald Ford's administration in 1976, he was invited to the White House state dinner honoring Queen Elizabeth II. He was the Tee Ball Commissioner at the 2006 White House Tee Ball Initiative on July 30, 2006, during George W. Bush's presidency. On July 14, 2009, he accompanied Barack Obama to St. Louis aboard Air Force One for that year's All-Star Game. Six years later, Obama honored Mays with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In September 2017, Major League Baseball renamed the World Series MVP Award the Willie Mays World Series MVP Award. Though Mays never went to college, he was awarded honorary degrees by Yale University, Dartmouth College, and San Francisco State University.
Mays made many appearances on film and television. He made multiple appearances as the mystery guest on the long-running game show What's My Line? Through a friendship with Tony Owen and Donna Reed, he was able to appear in three episodes of The Donna Reed Show. During the 1960s, he appeared on shows including The Dating Game and Bewitched. NBC-TV aired an hour-long documentary titled A Man Named Mays in 1963, telling the story of the ballplayer's life. In 1972, Mays voiced himself in the animated fictional special Willie Mays and the Say-Hey Kid, produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts mentioned Mays numerous times. The plot of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "In the Cards" (aired 1997, story set in 2373) centers on the son of Captain Sisko (a noted baseball aficionado) attempting to obtain as a gift for his father a vintage 1951 Willie Mays rookie card.
Many popular songs reference Mays. In 1954, The Treniers recorded their famous song "Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song)" in whose recording Mays himself participated. "Centerfield" by John Fogerty, which is often played at major and minor league stadiums, mentions Mays, Cobb, and DiMaggio. Another well-known song which mentions Mays is "Talkin' Baseball (Willie, Mickey & The Duke)" by Terry Cashman (1981), which refers to the three great New York City center fielders of the 1950s. Furthermore, Mays is mentioned in “I Shall Be Free” by Bob Dylan, released on The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan in 1963.
== Personal life ==
Mays became the third husband of Marghuerite Wendell Chapman (1926–2010) in 1956. The couple adopted a five-day-old baby named Michael in 1959. They separated in 1962 and divorced in 1963, with Marghuerite taking Michael for the majority of the time.
Eight years later, Mays married Mae Louise Allen, a child-welfare worker in San Francisco. Wilt Chamberlain had given Mays her phone number in 1961, and they dated off and on the next several years. In 1997, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease; Mays cared for her until her death on April 19, 2013.
Mays was the godfather of Barry Bonds, whose father, Bobby Bonds, was a friend of his when they were Giants teammates.
Glaucoma forced Mays to stop driving a car and playing golf after 2005. In 2018, blind sportswriter Ed Lucas wrote that Mays had told him a "few years ago" that he had actually gone blind. However, James S. Hirsch wrote in The New York Times in 2021, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, that his vision was merely "compromised" by glaucoma and that he was still able to watch games on television, albeit with difficulty.
In 1957, when the New York Giants moved to San Francisco, Mays placed an offer on a home in the exclusive Sherwood Forest neighborhood. The seller refused his offer after neighbors complained about a Black family moving to the area.
Near the end of his life, Mays resided in Atherton, California, with his personal assistant and a caretaker.
== Death ==
Mays died of heart failure at a care home in Palo Alto, California, on June 18, 2024, at the age of 93. The day before, he had released his final public statement when he said he chose to stay in California and not attend the MLB at Rickwood Field game between the Giants and Cardinals later that week on June 20.
Several politicians and professional athletes paid tribute to Mays, including President Joe Biden and former president Barack Obama, as well as San Francisco mayor London Breed, and California governor Gavin Newsom. Fans also left tributes and paid their respects at Mays' statue outside Oracle Park.
On June 20, 2024, during the game at Rickwood Field, the San Francisco Giants wore a patch with "24" on it in Mays' honor and his Hall of Fame plaque was brought over to the place where Mays began his career. Michael Mays, his son, spoke before the game and tribute video was played on the video board before the first pitch by Bill Greason, Mays' former teammate in the Negro leagues. The Mets wore a patch for the remainder of the season honoring Mays.
A public memorial ceremony, led by Giants broadcaster Jon Miller, was held on July 8 at Oracle Park. A number of Mays' former teammates attended the ceremony, and among the speakers were baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown. In addition to the tributes, Mays was given final military honors for his service during the Korean War, with two service members playing "Taps" before presenting his son, Michael, with an American flag. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_Portland_Trail_Blazers_season#Playoffs | 2013–14 Portland Trail Blazers season#Playoffs | The 2013–14 Portland Trail Blazers season was the franchise's 44th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Prior to this season, the Rose Garden was renamed as the Moda Center. The season saw the Blazers improve on their mediocre 2012–13 output, finishing with a 54–28 record, and finishing 5th in the West. After a three-year hiatus, the Blazers returned to the playoffs, facing the Houston Rockets, in the first round, their first meeting since 2009. The Blazers defeated the Rockets in six games, thanks to Damian Lillard's series-clinching three pointer in Game 6 at home, winning their first playoff series since 2000. However, their season ended in the next round with a defeat to the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in five games.
== Key dates ==
June 27: The 2013 NBA draft took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
July 1: 2013 NBA free agency began.
== Draft picks ==
== Future draft picks ==
=== Credits ===
2016 second-round draft pick from New York
New York's 2016 second-round pick is protected for selections 31–37 (if this pick falls within its protected range and is therefore not conveyed, then New York's obligation to Portland will be extinguished) [July 15, 2012]
=== Debits ===
2014 first-round draft pick to Charlotte
Portland's first-round pick is protected for selections 1–12 in 2014 or 1–12 in 2015 or unprotected in 2016 (Charlotte-Portland, February 24, 2011).
2014 second-round draft pick to Denver
Portland's 2014 second-round pick was traded to Denver (June 24, 2011).
2015 second-round draft pick to Cleveland
Portland's 2015 second-round pick to Cleveland [June 27, 2013]
2016 second-round draft pick to Cleveland
Portland's 2016 second-round pick to Cleveland [June 27, 2013]
2017 second-round draft pick to Houston
Portland's 2017 second-round pick to Houston [July 10, 2013]
== Roster ==
== Pre-season ==
== Regular season ==
=== Season standings ===
=== Game log ===
== Playoffs ==
=== Game log ===
== Player statistics ==
=== Regular season ===
=== Playoffs ===
== Transactions == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Cleveland_Indians_season | 2016 Cleveland Indians season | The 2016 Cleveland Indians season was the 116th season for the franchise and the 23rd season at Progressive Field. The Indians won the American League Central for the first time since 2007 and also beat the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS for their first playoff win in nine years. They defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in five games in the ALCS before losing to the Chicago Cubs in seven games in the World Series, despite holding a 3–1 series lead. This was their first appearance in the World Series since 1997.
== Regular season ==
=== Opening day starting lineup ===
Tuesday, April 5, 2016, vs Boston Red Sox
Starting Pitcher: Corey Kluber
=== April ===
The Cleveland Indians opened up their 2016 season with a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Progressive Field. Opening Day was scheduled for April 4, but was postponed due to a mixture of rain and snow until April 5. The Indians lost the opener 6–2. They would get their first win a day later, as newly acquired 1B Mike Napoli hit the go-ahead home run in a 7–6 victory over his former team.
The Indians struggled during the month of April, going just 10-11 during the month. On April 24, SP Carlos Carrasco left a game with a hamstring injury. He would miss the next six weeks. Trevor Bauer, who started the year in the bullpen, would take Carrasco's spot in the rotation. SP Josh Tomlin was a bright spot for April, as he went 3-0 throughout the month.
=== May ===
Outfielder Michael Brantley came back from a shoulder injury he suffered late in 2015. He would only play 11 games before re-aggravating his shoulder. He would not return the rest of the season. The Indians won 12 of 17 games between May 2–20, to close to within two games of the division leading Chicago White Sox. The Indians would take three of four in Chicago later in the month to take the division lead. The team finished the month 16–3.
=== June ===
The Indians continued their success into June, as they would win their first six games of the month. Later in the month, the Indians would win a franchise record 14 straight games from June 17 through July 1. The Indians were a perfect 11–0 at home in June. They spent the month battling with the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and fading Chicago White Sox atop the AL Central. The Indians finished the month two games ahead of Kansas City.
SP Danny Salazar, who went 5–0 with a 1.91 ERA and a .177 opponent's batting average, was named the American League Pitcher of the Month for June. OF Tyler Naquin was named the AL Rookie of the Month after batting .338 with an AL-best 1.219 OPS.
=== July ===
The Indians won their game on July 1, 2–1 over the Toronto Blue Jays, in 19 innings - the longest game of the 2016 season - to extend their winning streak to 14 games, but it would end the next day with a 9–6 loss to the Blue Jays. The Indians would maintain a 5–7 game lead over the Detroit Tigers throughout much of July. However the team struggled near the end of the month and the lead slipped down to 4 games. Adding to the struggle was an injury to C Yan Gomes, who would not return until the final game of the season.
On July 5, SP Danny Salazar and SS Francisco Lindor were named to the All Star team. On July 8, SP Corey Kluber was also named to the team as an injury replacement. OF Tyler Naquin was named the AL Rookie of the Month for the second straight month.
The Indians were active at the trade deadline. On July 31, they acquired RP Andrew Miller from the New York Yankees for four prospects including OF Clint Frazier and P Justus Sheffield, widely considered two of the top four prospects in the Indians' farm system. The Indians also had a deal on the table for Milwaukee Brewers C Jonathan Lucroy, but Lucroy exercised his no-trade clause and vetoed the trade to Cleveland. He would later be traded to the Texas Rangers.
=== August ===
The Indians struggled in early August, going just 3–6 in their first nine games. Their lead over the Tigers decreased to just 2 games. However, On August 11, the team opened an 11-game home stand - its longest of the season - that would put them on the winning track. The Indians swept a four-game series from the Anaheim Angels to open up the home stand and took two out of three games from the Toronto Blue Jays to end the home stand. The Blue Jays series, which was believed to be a potential playoff preview, featured three one-run games including a walk-off inside-the-park home run by OF Tyler Naquin. The Indians' lead over Detroit was back to 71⁄2 games by August 22.
The Indians would then go on a west-coast trip that saw them go 2–5, and score one run or less in six of the seven games. However, the team returned home to sweep the Minnesota Twins to end the month. On August 31, the team acquired OF Coco Crisp from the Oakland Athletics for cash considerations. The acquisition of Crisp added outfield depth for the pennant race and postseason run.
=== September/October ===
The Indians won six of their first eight games in September to maintain a sizable lead over the Detroit Tigers. However, the team's rotation, widely believed to be their biggest strength, suffered two major injuries during the month. All-Star SP Danny Salazar left the game on September 9 with a strained elbow, resulting in a 3-4 week recovery time. On September 17, SP Carlos Carrasco left the game with a broken hand as the result of a line-drive. This injury ended Carrasco's season. The Indians would put the Tigers away in September by winning two of three September 16–18. On September 26, the Indians clinched the division title - the team's first since 2007 - with a win over the Tigers.
The Indians would end the season with a record of 94–67, earning the No. 2 seed in the American League.
== Roster ==
=== Season standings ===
==== American League Central ====
==== American League Wild Card ====
==== Record against opponents ====
=== Game log ===
== Player stats ==
=== Batting ===
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average
Source:[1]
=== Pitching ===
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts
Source:[2]
== Postseason ==
=== American League Division Series ===
By virtue of winning the AL Central, the Indians were placed in the American League Division Series against the AL East champion Boston Red Sox. Because the Indians had the better regular season record, they had home field advantage in the best-of-five series.
The Indians won Game 1, 5–4, thanks in part to a three-run 3rd inning that featured home runs by Roberto Perez, Jason Kipnis, and Francisco Lindor, the first postseason home run in each of their careers. The Indians' pitching was led by starter Trevor Bauer and relievers Andrew Miller and Cody Allen, who each threw over 40 pitches, to clinch the victory. Indians' ace Corey Kluber went seven shutout innings in Game 2, a 6-0 Indians' win. The big blow for the Indians was a Lonnie Chisenhall 3-run home run.
The Indians and Red Sox then had two days off - a regularly scheduled travel day and rainout as the remnants of Hurricane Matthew affected Boston. When the teams got back to baseball on October 10, Josh Tomlin and the Indians' bullpen would lead the team to a 4–3 victory and a sweep of the division series. The Red Sox mounted a rally in the bottom of the 9th, but Cody Allen was able to close out the game. The Indians would advance to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2007.
=== American League Championship Series ===
The Indians would face the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series, again having home-field advantage. The Indians would win a pair of pitchers' duels in Games 1 and 2, 2-0 and 2–1. In Game 1, the Indians scored their only runs on a Francisco Lindor home run in the sixth inning. Indians' starter Corey Kluber went six shutout innings and relievers Andrew Miller and Cody Allen completed the shutout. In Game 2, Carlos Santana's leadoff home run in the second off of Toronto pitcher J. A. Happ gave the Indians a 1−0 lead, but the Blue Jays tied it in the third with a Josh Donaldson RBI double. Cleveland responded with a Lindor RBI single in the third. Starter Josh Tomlin, along with Bryan Shaw, Miller, and Allen, would make that 2–1 lead stand up the rest of the game.
The series shifted to Toronto for Game 3. Indians' starter Trevor Bauer left the game in the bottom of the inning due to a bloody finger as a result of being cut from a drone before the series started. The bullpen answered the call and gave up two runs in more than 8 innings of work. Led by Mike Napoli and Jason Kipnis home runs, the Indians won this game 4–2, to take a 3–0 series lead.
=== World Series ===
=== Postseason game log ===
=== Postseason rosters ===
== Farm system ==
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Akron |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanee_Butler | Lanee Butler | Lanee "Carrie" Butler-Beashel (born June 3, 1970, in Manhasset, New York) is an American windsurfer. She competed at four Olympics from 1992 to 2004. Her best position was fourth in 2000.
She is married to America's Cup sailor Adam Beashel. Her brother in law is six-time Olympian Colin Beashel. She and Adam have two sons, born in 2005 and 2008. |
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/66th_Academy_Awards | 66th Academy Awards | The 66th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1993 and took place on March 21, 1994, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 23 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Jeff Margolis. Actor Whoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the first time. Nearly a month earlier in a ceremony held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on February 26, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Laura Dern.
Schindler's List won seven awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included Jurassic Park and The Piano with three awards, Philadelphia with two, and The Age of Innocence, Belle Époque, Defending Our Lives, The Fugitive, I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School, Mrs. Doubtfire, Schwarzfahrer, and The Wrong Trousers with one. The telecast was watched by more than 46 million viewers in the United States.
== Winners and nominees ==
The nominees for the 66th Academy Awards were announced on February 9, 1994, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by Academy president Arthur Hiller and actress Christine Lahti. Schindler's List led all nominees with twelve nominations; The Piano and The Remains of the Day tied for second with eight.
The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 21, 1994. Best Director nominee Jane Campion became the second woman to be nominated in that category. Holly Hunter and Emma Thompson's nominations in both lead and supporting acting categories marked the first, and so far, only occurrence that two performers earned double acting nominations in the same year. Best Supporting Actress winner Anna Paquin became the first Millennial member to win an Academy Award and, at age 11, the second youngest winner of a competitive acting Oscar, behind Tatum O'Neal, who won at age 10 for Paper Moon (1973).
=== Awards ===
Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double-dagger (‡).
=== Honorary Award ===
To Deborah Kerr, in appreciation for a full career's worth of elegant and beautifully crafted performances.
=== Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award ===
Paul Newman
=== Films with multiple nominations and awards ===
== Presenters and performers ==
The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers:
=== Presenters ===
=== Performers ===
== Ceremony information ==
Due to the negative reception received from the preceding year's ceremony, actor Billy Crystal announced that after overseeing four consecutive Oscar ceremonies, he would not be hosting the 1994 telecast. In a statement released by his publicist, he stated, "After three Grammys, four Oscars and six Comic Reliefs, I'm going to take a break from my hosting duties. I always felt honored to host the show and did my best to carry on the tradition of Bob Hope and Johnny Carson. I hope the new host has as good a time as I did." With Crystal absent to host the Oscars, many media outlets wondered whom producer Gil Cates would hire to emcee the program. Film columnist Jack Matthews suggested that actor Tom Hanks, who would eventually win Best Actor for Philadelphia, should host the show writing that he "has charm, dignity, wit, intelligence and, it's worth mentioning, he's a movie star!" Cates also offered the role to performers Steve Martin, Bette Midler, and Johnny Carson, but they all turned down the opportunity.
After several days of speculation, Cates announced that he hired Oscar-winning actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg to host the festivities for the first time. By virtue of her selection, Goldberg became both the first African American to host as well as the first woman to host the telecast solo. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Cates explained the decision to hire her saying, "She is a highly recognizable star who has millions of fans." He also addressed the media's concerns regarding Goldberg's raunchy and outspoken humor stating, "Some people may think she's potentially dangerous, and she says things that come to her mind. It's going to be exciting for me. The main thing is she wants to do it and she's smart. Whatever she says will be appropriate." Goldberg expressed that she was thrilled to be selected to emcee the 1994 ceremony commenting, "To go from watching to winning to hosting in one lifetime is major."
As with previous ceremonies he produced, Cates centered the show around a theme. This year, he christened the show with the theme "People Behind the Camera" commenting that "It will be a salute to those unseen men and women who make what we see on the screen, the artist and craftspeople responsible for the magic of the movies." In tandem with the theme, the ceremony's opening number featured a montage produced by Chuck Workman saluting the many individuals such as directors, editors, and composers who are involved in moviemaking. During that segment, singer Bernadette Peters performing a modified version of Stephen Sondheim's song "Putting It Together" from his musical Sunday in the Park with George. Filmmaker and editor Carol A. Streit assembled another montage featuring a salute to the work of cinematographers and their contributions to film.
Several other people and elements were also involved with the production of the ceremony. Production designer Roy Christopher designed a new stage for the ceremony which prominently featured five giant Oscar statues each flanked inside metal cones that were illuminated recurrently throughout the show. Film composer and musician Bill Conti served as musical director of the ceremony. Dancer Debbie Allen choreographed a dancer number showcasing the Best Original Score nominees featuring eight prestigious ballet and dance troupes from around the world.
=== Box office performance of nominees ===
At the time of the nominations announcement on February 9, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees at the US box office was $261 million, with an average of $52.2 million per film. The Fugitive was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $179 million in domestic box office receipts. The film was followed by Schindler's List ($29.6 million), The Piano ($25.7 million), The Remains of the Day ($19.5 million), and finally In the Name of the Father ($6.5 million).
Of the top 50 grossing movies of the year, 36 nominations went to 14 films on the list. Only The Fugitive (3rd), The Firm (4th), Sleepless in Seattle (6th), In the Line of Fire (7th), Dave (13th), Philadelphia (29th), What's Love Got to Do With It (38th), and The Age of Innocence (49th) were nominated for directing, acting, screenwriting, or Best Picture. The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations were Jurassic Park (1st), Mrs. Doubtfire (2nd), Cliffhanger (9th), The Nightmare Before Christmas (24th), Addams Family Values (25th), and Beethoven's 2nd (27th).
=== Critical reviews ===
The show received a positive reception from most media publications. The New York Times film critic Janet Maslin raved that the telecast had "less silliness and less small talk, with more emphasis on cleverly chosen film clips and the bona fide Hollywood magic being celebrated." She also praised host Goldberg saying that she "sustained a tone of levity, which became particularly important as the sweep by Schindler's List threatened to bring out great ponderousness in some quarters." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette television critic Robert Bianco commended Goldberg's performance writing that "She never acted like she was too smart or to hip for the show she was hosting; she never smirked like there was a joke she alone was cool enough to get." He also extolled producer Cates by commenting, "In place of the extraneous jokes and terrible production numbers, he gave us a theme that worked and a generous selection of clips to back it up." Anne Thompson of Entertainment Weekly lauded Goldberg by stating, "Her elegant appearance (at least during the first half), her uncharacteristic restraint (she didn't cuss), and her ability to make it funny (despite the very somber speeches) made the ho-hum telecast worth watching."
Some media outlets were more critical of the show. Television critic Howard Rosenberg of the Los Angeles Times lamented that Goldberg's humor "wilted in a blessedly brief 3-hour-and-18-minute telecast." He also wrote that compared with Billy Crystal, her hosting skills were "balmy". Orlando Sentinel film critic Jay Boyar bemoaned that "this year's Oscarcast was only a little more exciting than a wine snob droning on about his favorite vintages." Harold Schindler of The Salt Lake City Tribune remarked that Whoopi's preference for "insider" jokes "left the audience murmuring and most viewers probably scratching their heads." He also added the biggest letdown of the telecast was "Goldberg's seeming ineptness at understanding the moment"
=== Ratings and reception ===
The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 46.26 million people over its length, which was a 1% increase from the previous year's ceremony. However, the show drew lower Nielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony with 31.86% of households watching over a 49.28 share. It also drew a lower 18–49 demographic rating with a 19.73 rating over a 40.53 share among viewers in that demographic.
In July 1994, the ceremony presentation received seven nominations at the 46th Primetime Emmys. Two months later, the ceremony won one of those nominations for Outstanding Technical Direction/Camera/Video for a Miniseries or Special (Averill Perry, Jim Ralston, Kenneth R. Shapiro, Bill Pope, Hector Ramirez, Larry Heider, Dave Levisohn, Blair White, Bill Philben, Ralph Alcocer, Larry Stenman, Bud Holland, David Irete, Tom Geren, Dale Carlson, David Plakos, Ted Ashton, Jeff Mydoc, Chuck Pharis, Jean M. Mason).
== "In Memoriam" ==
The first annual "In Memoriam" tribute was presented by actress Glenn Close. The montage featured an excerpt of the main title of Terms of Endearment composed by Michael Gore. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Streak_(professional_wrestling) | The Streak (professional wrestling) | The Streak was a series of 21 consecutive victories for professional wrestler The Undertaker (Mark Calaway) at WWE's annual flagship marquee event, WrestleMania. It began at WrestleMania VII in 1991 when he beat Jimmy Snuka, with the final win coming against CM Punk at WrestleMania 29 in 2013; the Undertaker was absent from WrestleMania X in 1994 and WrestleMania 2000, owing to injury. Overall, he defeated 18 men during the Streak, which included three bouts with Triple H and two each opposite Kane and Shawn Michaels, as well as a handicap match against A-Train and Big Show at WrestleMania XIX.
The Streak became the cornerstone of WrestleMania, with a potential win over The Undertaker at the event being described as a greater honor than winning the WWE Championship. For years, debate had revolved around who, if anybody, should break the Streak, with prominent wrestlers giving comment. At WrestleMania XXX in 2014, The Undertaker lost by pinfall to Brock Lesnar, thus ending the Streak.
== Background ==
=== WrestleMania ===
WrestleMania is the premier annual event of the largest professional wrestling promotion in the United States, WWE. Formed as a counter to Jim Crockett Promotions' successful Starrcade event, WrestleMania I was broadcast to one million nationwide via closed-circuit television and pay-per-view. WrestleMania's widespread success helped transform professional wrestling and made WWE the most successful wrestling promotion in the world, prompting WWE to promote the event as the "Super Bowl of sports entertainment".
=== The Undertaker ===
Born Mark William Calaway on March 24, 1965, in Houston, The Undertaker is a former American professional wrestler. He is currently retired from the WWE, where he had worked since 1990, making him the company's longest-tenured in-ring performer. Holding the streak for most wins at WrestleMania, Calaway began his wrestling career with World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in 1987. After wrestling for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as "Mean" Mark Callous from 1989 to 1990, he signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) in 1990. In WWE, The Undertaker is a seven-time world champion, having won the WWF/E Championship four times and the World Heavyweight Championship three times, as well as the winner of the 2007 Royal Rumble. He is recognized as the fourth youngest WWF/E Champion in history, having won the championship aged 26 years, 8 months, and 3 days.
== Match statistics ==
== The Streak ==
=== The beginning of the Streak (1–0) ===
Early into The Undertaker's career, he would defeat various jobbers and other established stars in squash matches, leading to a match with Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. The match at WrestleMania VII ended when Snuka's attempted springboard maneuver was countered as The Undertaker caught him, and he then hit the Tombstone Piledriver before pinning Snuka. The match has been described retrospectively as "incredibly important" for a match seen at the time as a throwaway match.
In mid-1991, The Undertaker aligned himself with Jake "The Snake" Roberts in his feud with The Ultimate Warrior. However, during an episode of Saturday Night's Main Event in February 1992, The Undertaker turned face and defended Randy Savage's manager and wife, Miss Elizabeth, from Roberts's attack. Two weeks later during a "Funeral Parlor" segment, when berated by Roberts regarding whose side he was on, The Undertaker responded, "Not yours". The feud culminated in a match at WrestleMania VIII, where, after delivering his finishing move, the DDT, for the second time, Roberts went to the outside to attack The Undertaker's manager Paul Bearer. The Undertaker then recovered and delivered a Tombstone Piledriver to Roberts on the floor, before rolling him inside the ring and pinning him. Wrestler Bret Hart was critical of the finish, in particular Roberts' role, describing him as "sneaky" for receiving The Undertaker's finishing move outside the ring, preventing a clean victory for the younger wrestler. Calaway credits Roberts for providing him with advice and insight in his early career, while Roberts said he knew from the very beginning Calaway would become a superstar as The Undertaker.
In late 1992 and into early 1993, The Undertaker had been feuding with Harvey Wippleman and engaged in matches with the various wrestlers managed by Wippleman. During the 1993 Royal Rumble, Wippleman introduced Giant Gonzáles. Gonzáles then illegally entered the Royal Rumble match and eliminated The Undertaker. This set up a match between the two at WrestleMania IX, in which Giant Gonzáles was disqualified when he covered The Undertaker's face with a cloth covered in chloroform. This was the only disqualification victory in The Undertaker's streak, as all other wins were obtained by pinfall, submission, or casket. Calaway has described it as the most physically and mentally straining match he ever wrestled, and is rated as amongst the worst matches in his career.
Throughout 1994, The Undertaker was sidelined through legitimate injury and missed WrestleMania X as a consequence. In the months that followed, Ted DiBiase, leader of The Million Dollar Corporation, introduced his own Undertaker, prompting a long-running feud between The Undertaker and the Corporation. King Kong Bundy would represent the Million Dollar Corporation when he faced The Undertaker at WrestleMania XI in 1995. The match, refereed by baseball umpire Larry Young, finished when The Undertaker first bodyslammed and then delivered a flying clothesline to King Kong Bundy before pinning him. The Undertaker never losing at WrestleMania was acknowledged for the first time on commentary during Undertaker's entrance in this match.
=== Major feuds (5–0) ===
At the 1996 Royal Rumble, The Undertaker faced Bret Hart for the WWF Championship, but Diesel cost him the match due to interference. As revenge, The Undertaker cost Diesel his WWF Championship match at In Your House: Rage in the Cage the following month. The two settled their feud at WrestleMania XII, which would be Diesel's final match at the annual event before leaving the company and moving to WCW a couple of months later. Diesel lost via pinfall after The Undertaker delivered the Tombstone Piledriver.
In February 1997, Shawn Michaels vacated the WWF Championship 3 days before the In Your House 13: Final Four event, leaving the championship to be decided at the event in a four corners elimination match between The Undertaker, Bret Hart, Vader and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Hart won the match and the championship, but lost it to Sycho Sid in a match the following night on Raw. While Hart and Austin continued their feud, The Undertaker challenged Sid for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania 13. Hart interfered in the match at WrestleMania 13 by hitting Sid with a steel chair. The Undertaker followed up the chair shot by Hart with a Tombstone Piledriver to Sid before pinning him to claim the WWF Championship for the second time, his first reign in five years.
At SummerSlam 1997, The Undertaker lost the WWF Championship to Bret Hart after an accidental attack by special guest referee Shawn Michaels, setting up a Hell in a Cell match between the two at Badd Blood: In Your House. During the match, Kane was introduced by Paul Bearer to cost The Undertaker the match. After being defeated by Michaels at the 1998 Royal Rumble in a casket match thanks to Kane, Kane locked The Undertaker in the casket and set it on fire, leaving people to presume The Undertaker had met his demise. However, The Undertaker would return a month later and challenged Kane to a match at WrestleMania XIV. After Kane had kicked out of two Tombstone Piledrivers (the first man ever to do so), The Undertaker delivered a third to pick up the win over his (storyline) brother.
Late-1998 saw the creation of The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness, and in turn, reignited his pursuit for the WWF Championship. Along the way, he opted to switch targets, and aimed to take control of the entire World Wrestling Federation. In feuding with The Corporation, The Undertaker faced the stable's enforcer, Big Boss Man at WrestleMania XV inside Hell in a Cell. The first WrestleMania match to take place inside Hell in a Cell ended when The Undertaker executed a Tombstone Piledriver to Big Boss Man, who was then hanged from a noose with the help of The Brood and Paul Bearer. The match is regarded as one of the worst and most controversial Hell in a Cell matches of all time.
=== The American Bad-Ass years (9–0) ===
In early 2001, The Undertaker found Triple H's statement of having "already beaten everyone in the business" as arrogant and untrue as the two had never met in a one-on-one match before (in fact, they had met several times on RAW is WAR in 1999). Following various brawls between their respective allies, The Undertaker and Kane held Stephanie McMahon hostage until then-commissioner, William Regal, gave them matches against Triple H and the Big Show at WrestleMania X-Seven, respectively. Following a match involving a brawl through the crowd, The Undertaker finally pinned Triple H after using the Last Ride. This bout marked his first WrestleMania appearance under his "American Badass" biker persona.
At the No Way Out 2002 PPV, The Undertaker faced The Rock amidst a rivalry between the two, but would lose the match when Ric Flair interfered, sparking a feud between the two which led to a match at WrestleMania X8. Fought under No Disqualification rules, The Undertaker beat Flair after delivering a Tombstone Piledriver, despite interference from Arn Anderson. After the match, The Undertaker gestured his number of WrestleMania wins. In 2020, Calaway revealed in an interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin that he had chosen to face Flair over Rob Van Dam after receiving the two options from Vince McMahon, citing Flair's legendary wrestling status. Also, according to Ric Flair, he mentioned that prior to the storyline feud between the two, Triple H told him that the Undertaker wanted to wrestle him.
In late-2002, Big Show kayfabe injured The Undertaker, who would make his return at the 2003 Royal Rumble. Although The Undertaker defeated Big Show at No Way Out, A-Train would attack The Undertaker, while newcomer Nathan Jones would aid The Undertaker. Just prior to their match at WrestleMania XIX, however, Jones would be attacked by The Full Blooded Italians on Heat, turning the tag team match into a two-on-one handicap match instead. Jones helped The Undertaker win by delivering kicks to both Big Show and A-Train, and allowing The Undertaker to hit a Tombstone Piledriver on A-Train to get the pinfall win. This bout at WrestleMania XIX would be the final match The Undertaker would have under the "American Badass" persona.
=== Defending the Streak (12–0) ===
Survivor Series 2003 marked the end of The Undertaker's Big Evil persona, when he lost a Buried Alive Match against Vince McMahon due to interference from Kane. Reverting to his former Deadman persona, The Undertaker would haunt Kane throughout various matches in vignettes in the build up to the match, before his eventual return at WrestleMania XX. The Undertaker defeated Kane for the second time at WrestleMania by executing a Tombstone Piledriver.
As part of his "Legend Killer" gimmick, Randy Orton began seeking out The Undertaker, hoping to be the one to finally end the Streak at WrestleMania 21. Orton would go as far as attacking his on-screen girlfriend, Stacy Keibler, and WWE Legend Jake "The Snake" Roberts turning heel in the process, before The Undertaker accepted the challenge. The finish to the match came when Randy Orton attempted to execute a Tombstone Piledriver, only for it to be reversed by The Undertaker into one of his own. Speaking to Yahoo Sports in 2015, Orton reflected on the success of the match, saying: "We killed it. I reversed the chokeslam into the RKO, everybody bought it, he beat my ass and that was it. He picked up another win at 'Mania, and rightfully so, because I think the WrestleMania brand and Undertaker go hand in hand". This match marked the first time "The Streak" had been properly acknowledged since WrestleMania XI and 6 years later at WrestleMania X-Seven.
During the start of 2006, The Undertaker began his pursuit for the World Heavyweight Championship, held by Kurt Angle at the time. On an episode of SmackDown! that aired on March 3, Mark Henry cost The Undertaker the match, as well as the World Heavyweight Championship. As a result, Undertaker then challenged Henry to a casket match at WrestleMania 22. The Undertaker won the match when he put Henry inside the casket. In 2019, former WWE producer Bruce Prichard claimed that the initial plan set out by Vince McMahon was for Henry to win the match, with The Undertaker and other producers unreceptive to the idea. Kurt Angle claimed that Undertaker wanted to wrestle with him for a "5-star match" and let Angle break the Streak, but this plan wasn't accepted by McMahon. The match was instead held at No Way Out.
=== Challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship (15–0) ===
Having won the 2007 Royal Rumble, The Undertaker earned the opportunity to select his opponent for WrestleMania 23. With the option to wrestle Raw's WWE Champion John Cena, ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley, or SmackDown!'s World Heavyweight Champion Batista; The Undertaker chose Batista, thus staying on SmackDown!.
The Undertaker used his signature moves Snake Eyes, Old School, and a flying clothesline early on, before executing a suicide dive to Batista, who then retaliated by performing a running powerslam through the ECW broadcast table. Batista put The Undertaker back in the ring and attempted a pin to no avail as he kicked out. The Undertaker recovered with a Last Ride and a chokeslam, but was unable to score a pin from either move. Batista then hit a spear and his finishing move the Batista Bomb, but The Undertaker stunned everybody by kicking out. Batista tried another, but was countered and The Undertaker hit a Tombstone Piledriver to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
The genesis of the feud between The Undertaker and Edge began on the May 11, 2007, episode of SmackDown!, which saw The Undertaker successfully defend his World Heavyweight Championship in a draw against Batista in a steel cage match, after which The Undertaker was attacked by a returning Mark Henry; Edge capitalized by cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase to win the championship from The Undertaker. When The Undertaker returned later that year, he restarted his feud with Batista, leading to championship matches between the pair at October's Cyber Sunday, followed by a Hell in a Cell match at Survivor Series in November, with Batista emerging victorious in both, the latter due to interference from a returning Edge. The trio would have a Triple Threat match at December's Armageddon PPV for the championship, which saw Edge become champion. In February 2008, The Undertaker would prevail in the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out to become the number one contender for Edge's championship at WrestleMania XXIV. Although The Undertaker entered the event undefeated to much acclaim, Edge had also never lost a singles match at WrestleMania. Edge described the match as "the biggest match of my career, bar none. The main event, against The Undertaker for the world championship, it doesn't get any better".
The match was full of reversals by Edge, including The Undertaker's signature moves Old School, the big boot, the Last Ride, and the Tombstone Piledriver, while hitting big moves of his own such as the Impaler DDT and the Edge-o-matic. The end of the match came when, despite Edge using a camera as a weapon, and interference from La Familia members The Edgeheads (Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder), The Undertaker performed his Hell's Gate submission hold after being hit with Edge's finisher, the spear. Edge would submit, and for the second year in a row, The Undertaker won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. Meanwhile, Edge later revealed in a podcast, that the original plan for the match was to be "Streak vs. Streak", as he was originally slated to win WrestleMania 23's Money in the Bank Ladder Match, but booking eventually shifted the win to Mr. Kennedy instead. Calaway's wife, Michelle McCool, revealed in 2020 that Edge refused the opportunity to break the Streak.
=== Shawn Michaels challenges the Streak (17–0) ===
After defeating Vladimir Kozlov on the March 2, 2009, episode of Raw, Shawn Michaels earned the right to challenge The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25. The feud revolved around a "good vs evil" story, with Michaels being a born again Christian, and Undertaker a Lucifer-type figure.
During the match, The Undertaker attempted his signature suicide dive, but Michaels pulled a cameraman in the way, leaving The Undertaker to land awkwardly on his neck; the spot was said to have "added more drama and emotion to the match, and gave it an element of realism". The cameraman was portrayed by Jimmy Snuka's son Sim Snuka, as a nod to The Undertaker's first WrestleMania match. The finish, described as "emotionally charged", involved The Undertaker using all four of his recognized finishers (Tombstone Piledriver, Last Ride, Chokeslam, Hell's Gate) without managing to finish the match on any occasion; The Undertaker's "wide-eyed look of sadness and desperation on his face" after Michaels kicked out of the Tombstone Piledriver was described as a "snapshot of the heart and passion that was on display at the spectacle". Michaels made a comeback, and eventually hit Sweet Chin Music, but The Undertaker kicked out. Soon after, Michaels attempted a top-rope moonsault, but was caught, and The Undertaker quickly executed a second Tombstone Piledriver to finally win the match. The match was described as "show-stealing" and an "instant classic", and was eventually hailed by many as the greatest bout in WrestleMania history.
The Undertaker initially rejected a rematch with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXVI, saying "a rematch at this year's WrestleMania will only result in more bitter disappointment for yourself", before Michaels retaliated by saying "I'll see you at WrestleMania. Your streak, your title, your soul will be mine". At the Elimination Chamber PPV, Michaels cost The Undertaker his World Heavyweight Championship, coming out from under the ring and connecting with Sweet Chin Music and allowing Chris Jericho to pin him.
Towards the end, Michaels hit Sweet Chin Music on the outside, leaving The Undertaker lay on the broadcast table, before performing a top-rope moonsault, breaking the table. At the end of a 24-minute match, after kicking out of a Tombstone Piledriver, Michaels slapped The Undertaker, leading to The Undertaker executing a jumping Tombstone Piledriver on Michaels. As a result of the loss per the pre-match stipulations, Michaels retired from professional wrestling, a moment described as "the end of an era".
=== Final wins (21–0) ===
In the lead-up to WrestleMania XXVII, Triple H vowed to do what his best friend Michaels could not: end the Streak. After a near-30 minute bout, in a match contested under No Holds Barred rules, and after The Undertaker kicked out of a Tombstone Piledriver by Triple H, The Undertaker was triumphant when he locked in the Hell's Gate on Triple H; Triple H attempted to use a sledgehammer while in the hold, but was unable to do so before tapping out. Although victorious, Calaway legitimately could not walk out of the arena, and had to be stretchered to the back by paramedics.
The Undertaker made the challenge, as he wanted to redeem himself against Triple H from the previous year, where he had to be stretchered out of the arena. Triple H initially rejected before accepting for WrestleMania XXVIII. Contested inside Hell in a Cell, and refereed by Shawn Michaels, the match, billed as the "End of an Era" began with both men brawling in and around the ring. Shortly afterwards, with the steel steps inside the ring, Triple H hit a spinebuster on The Undertaker, who then managed to lock in the Hell's Gate, which was countered when Triple H lifted him up and slammed him on the steel steps. The match was littered with weapon shots, including 16 consecutive chair shots by Triple H, followed by a sledgehammer shot to the skull, all the while The Undertaker instructed Michaels not to stop the match.
When being checked on by Michaels, The Undertaker locked him in the Hell's Gate, leaving him out cold. Replacement referee Charles Robinson ran down to the ring after The Undertaker hit a chokeslam on Triple H, but could only make a two-count, and was then on the receiving end of a chokeslam himself. Michaels recovered and hit The Undertaker with Sweet Chin Music followed by a Pedigree by Triple H, but this wasn't enough for the three count. Both men traded finishing moves for near-falls, before The Undertaker delivered his own series of chair shots for another two count. The Undertaker won shortly afterwards with a Tombstone Piledriver. It was praised as one of the greatest Hell in a Cell matches of all time, while Triple H thought it was one of his favorite matches of his career.
In a controversial angle the week before WrestleMania 29, CM Punk's manager Paul Heyman, dressed as, and using the mannerisms of, the recently deceased Paul Bearer, came out to confront The Undertaker whilst flanked by The Undertaker's signature druids. As The Undertaker attempted to assault them, Punk, in disguise as a druid, assaulted him before pouring the ashes of an urn, purporting to be those of Bearer's, over The Undertaker. In a 2020 interview, Calaway said that he was initially conflicted about the angle, but realized that Bearer "would have loved it", with storyline brother Kane stating it was "the biggest compliment and that's the biggest tribute". Heyman has described it as intentionally offensive and controversial. Punk has spoken of his frustrations with the build of the match, saying that he was disappointed not to be presented on television as a legitimate threat to the Streak, feeling he was "just another guy".
During the 22 minute match, Punk delivered a Macho Man elbow drop from the top rope onto The Undertaker, who was lay on the Spanish broadcast table. The Undertaker survived this, and, after Punk hit The Undertaker with the urn containing the alleged ashes of Paul Bearer, he still kicked out. The Undertaker reversed Punk's attempt to use his Go To Sleep (GTS) finishing move, and hit a Tombstone Piledriver to mark the final victory in the Streak.
== End of the Streak and aftermath ==
=== WrestleMania XXX (21–1) ===
On October 23, 2010, after losing his UFC Heavyweight Championship to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121, Brock Lesnar was confronted by The Undertaker, who asked, "you wanna do it?" The incident led to speculation about a WrestleMania match between the two, and was described by Fox Sports as the "genesis" of their feud. In a 2020 interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin following his retirement, Calaway said that the interaction with Lesnar at UFC 121 was to "start a buzz." At the time, he said he did not know if Lesnar was going to return to WWE, but he wanted to position himself for a match with him just in case and that came later than expected.
On the February 24, 2014, episode of Raw, The Undertaker appeared for the first time since The Shield performed a powerbomb on him through a broadcast table ten months earlier, to answer Lesnar's challenge for a match at WrestleMania XXX, scheduled for April 6 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. The Undertaker went into the match as the massive odds-on favorite, but after three F-5s, Lesnar pinned The Undertaker in 25 minutes and 12 seconds to end the undefeated WrestleMania streak, silencing and shocking the entire crowd in the process. Calaway was legitimately hospitalized afterwards with a severe concussion suffered early in the match. Lesnar's music was not played for a few minutes while WWE cameramen continued to highlight the reaction of a stunned crowd, and his manager Paul Heyman would compare the crowds' reaction to when Ivan Koloff defeated Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Championship in Madison Square Garden in 1971. Heyman thereafter began using the victory to further promote his on-screen client and referred to himself as "the one behind the one in 21 and 1". Heyman later described himself as "giddy" at the prospect.
The match has been described as having the most shocking result since the Montreal Screwjob. A great number of fans objected to the outcome; Justin Henry of WrestleCrap made an impassioned defense of the decision, arguing that it elicited an emotional response that reduced him and other viewers "to the most base-ishness of our fanhood". Questioned by Austin about his decision to end the Streak, Vince McMahon said it was done to make a big deal of Lesnar and that there were no other viable candidates for the role. He added that Calaway was shocked by the decision, but willingly participated since he wanted to give back to the business. According to wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, McMahon made the decision to end the Streak on the day of the show, believing it doubtful that he would have any more matches. During an interview on the Broken Skull Sessions with Stone Cold in November 2020 following his retirement, Calaway confirmed that the decision to end the Streak was made the day of the show, stating that he was still going over as of that morning. He also confirmed McMahon's opinion of there being no other viable candidate, but Calaway felt that Lesnar did not need the win as he was already a huge star. Jim Ross believes the Streak should not have been broken, as it was a unique selling point of WrestleMania.
=== After the streak (25–2) ===
Taking exception to Lesnar's boasting about ending The Streak, The Undertaker cost him a WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory at Battleground in July 2015, instigating a rematch between the two at the next month's SummerSlam. At SummerSlam on August 23, after a distraction and a low blow, The Undertaker gained his first televised singles victory over Lesnar when Lesnar passed out to Hell's Gate. A Hell in a Cell match between the pair at October's Hell in a Cell, billed as their final meeting, was won by Lesnar after a low blow and an F-5.
Following The Undertaker's WrestleMania XXX loss to Lesnar, he had five more matches at the annual event against:
Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 31
Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 32 in a Hell in a Cell match
Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 33 in a No Holds Barred match
John Cena at WrestleMania 34
AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36 in a Boneyard match
He won all but the match with Reigns, making his overall WrestleMania record 25–2. In a 2020 interview following his retirement, Calaway said losing the Streak to Reigns would have made "a lot more sense" for the impact on their respective careers.
== Reaction, discussion, and legacy ==
Shawn Michaels described the Streak as "phenomenal", and Stone Cold Steve Austin said it was "special".
== Media ==
WWE has released various DVDs covering the Streak, including one for the 15–0 milestone in 2008, and a four-disc set to mark the 20–0 milestone in 2012. An updated version including the final victory over CM Punk, as well as the loss to Brock Lesnar, was issued in 2015.
Video game WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 features a Road to WrestleMania storyline in which the player can attempt to break the Undertaker's streak. WWE 2K14 features a more detailed the Streak mode, in which players can attempt to defend the Streak as The Undertaker. Alternatively, they can try to break it as any other wrestler in the game. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_and_structures | List of tallest buildings and structures | |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa#Refuge,_theft,_and_vandalism | Mona Lisa#Refuge, theft, and vandalism | The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, [and] the most parodied work of art in the world." The painting's novel qualities include the subject's enigmatic expression, monumentality of the composition, the subtle modelling of forms, and the atmospheric illusionism.
The painting has been traditionally considered to depict the Italian noblewoman Lisa del Giocondo. It is painted in oil on a white poplar panel. Leonardo never gave the painting to the Giocondo family. It was believed to have been painted between 1503 and 1506; however, Leonardo may have continued working on it as late as 1517. King Francis I of France acquired the Mona Lisa after Leonardo's death in 1519, and it became the property of the French Republic. It has normally been on display at the Louvre in Paris since 1797.
The painting's global fame and popularity partly stem from its 1911 theft by Vincenzo Peruggia, who attributed his actions to Italian patriotism—a belief it should belong to Italy. The theft and subsequent recovery in 1914 generated unprecedented publicity for an art theft, and led to the publication of many cultural depictions such as the 1915 opera Mona Lisa, two early 1930s films (The Theft of the Mona Lisa and Arsène Lupin), and the song "Mona Lisa" recorded by Nat King Cole—one of the most successful songs of the 1950s.
The Mona Lisa is one of the most valuable paintings in the world. It holds the Guinness World Record for the highest known painting insurance valuation in history at US$100 million in 1962, equivalent to $1 billion as of 2023.
== Title and subject ==
The title of the painting, which is known in English as Mona Lisa, is based on the presumption that it depicts Lisa del Giocondo, although her likeness is uncertain. Renaissance art historian Giorgio Vasari wrote that "Leonardo undertook to paint, for Francesco del Giocondo, the portrait of Mona Lisa, his wife." Monna in Italian is a polite form of address originating as ma donna—similar to Ma'am, Madam, or my lady in English. This became madonna, and its contraction monna. The title of the painting is spelled in Italian as Monna Lisa (mona being a vulgarity in Italian), which is rare in English, where it is traditionally spelled Mona.
Lisa del Giocondo was a member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany, and the wife of wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. The painting is thought to have been commissioned for their new home, and to celebrate the birth of their second son, Andrea. The Italian name for the painting, La Gioconda, means "jocund" ("happy" or "jovial"), or literally "the jocund one", a pun on the feminine form of Lisa's married name, Giocondo. In French, the title La Joconde has the same meaning. Vasari's account of the Mona Lisa comes from his biography of Leonardo published in 1550, 31 years after the artist's death. It has long been the best-known source of information on the provenance of the work and identity of the sitter. Leonardo's assistant Salaì, at his death in 1524, owned a portrait which in his personal papers was named la Gioconda, a painting bequeathed to him by Leonardo.
That Leonardo painted such a work, and its date, were confirmed in 2005 when a scholar at Heidelberg University discovered a marginal note in a 1477 printing of a volume by ancient Roman philosopher Cicero. Dated October 1503, the note was written by Leonardo's contemporary Agostino Vespucci. This note likens Leonardo to renowned Greek painter Apelles, who is mentioned in the text, and states that Leonardo was at that time working on a painting of Lisa del Giocondo. In response to the announcement of the discovery of this document, Vincent Delieuvin, the Louvre representative, stated "Leonardo da Vinci was painting, in 1503, the portrait of a Florentine lady by the name of Lisa del Giocondo. About this we are now certain. Unfortunately, we cannot be absolutely certain that this portrait of Lisa del Giocondo is the painting of the Louvre."
The catalogue raisonné Leonardo da Vinci (2019) confirms that the painting probably depicts Lisa del Giocondo, with Isabella d'Este being the only plausible alternative. Scholars have developed several alternative views, arguing that Lisa del Giocondo was the subject of a different portrait, and identifying at least four other paintings referred to by Vasari as the Mona Lisa. Several other people have been proposed as the subject of the painting, including Isabella of Aragon, Cecilia Gallerani, Costanza d'Avalos, Duchess of Francavilla, Pacifica Brandano/Brandino, Isabella Gualanda, Caterina Sforza, Bianca Giovanna Sforza, Salaì, and even Leonardo himself. Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud theorized that Leonardo imparted an approving smile from his mother, Caterina, onto the Mona Lisa and other works like The Baptism of Christ, Virgin of the Rocks, and The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne.
== Description ==
The Mona Lisa bears a strong resemblance to many Renaissance depictions of the Virgin Mary, who was at that time seen as an ideal for womanhood. The woman sits markedly upright in a pozzetto armchair with her arms folded, a sign of her reserved posture. Her gaze is fixed on the observer. The woman appears alive to an unusual extent, which Leonardo achieved by his method of not drawing outlines. The soft blending (sfumato) creates an ambiguous mood "mainly in two features: the corners of the mouth, and the corners of the eyes".
The depiction of the sitter in three-quarter profile is similar to late 15th-century works by Lorenzo di Credi and Agnolo di Domenico del Mazziere. Frank Zöllner notes that the sitter's general position can be traced back to Flemish models and that "in particular the vertical slices of columns at both sides of the panel had precedents in Flemish portraiture." Woods-Marsden cites Hans Memling's portrait of Benedetto Portinari (1487) or Italian imitations such as Sebastiano Mainardi's pendant portraits for the use of a loggia, which has the effect of mediating between the sitter and the distant landscape, a feature missing from Leonardo's earlier portrait of Ginevra de' Benci.
The painting was one of the first Italian portraits to depict the sitter in front of an imaginary landscape, although some scholars favour a realistic description, and Leonardo was one of the first painters to use aerial perspective. The enigmatic woman is portrayed seated in what appears to be an open loggia with dark pillar bases on either side. Behind her, a vast landscape recedes to icy mountains, winding paths and a distant bridge, giving only the slightest indications of human presence. Leonardo chose to place the horizon line not at the neck, as he did with Ginevra de' Benci, but on a level with the eyes, thus linking the figure with the landscape and emphasizing the mysterious nature of the painting. The bridge in the background was identified by Silvano Vincenti as the four-arched Romito di Laterina bridge from Etruscan-Roman times near Laterina, Arezzo, over the Arno river. Other bridges with similar arches suggested as possible locations had more arches. Some observers find similarities with the Azzone Visconti Bridge.
Mona Lisa has no clearly visible eyebrows or eyelashes, although Vasari describes the eyebrows in detail. In 2007, French engineer Pascal Cotte announced that his ultra-high resolution scans of the painting provide evidence that Mona Lisa was originally painted with eyelashes and eyebrows but that these had gradually disappeared over time, perhaps as a result of overcleaning. Cotte discovered that the painting had been reworked several times, with changes made to the size of the face and the direction of gaze. He also found that in one layer the subject was depicted wearing numerous hairpins and a headdress adorned with pearls which was later scrubbed out and overpainted.
There has been much speculation regarding the painting's sitter and landscape background. For example, Leonardo probably painted his sitter's appearance faithfully since her beauty is not seen as being among the best, "even when measured by late quattrocento (15th century) or even twenty-first century standards." Some historians in Eastern art, such as Yukio Yashiro, argue that the landscape in the background of the picture was influenced by Chinese paintings; this thesis has been contested for lack of clear evidence.
Research in 2003 by Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University said that Mona Lisa's smile disappears when observed with direct vision, known as foveal. Because of the way the human eye processes visual information, it is less suited to pick up shadows directly; however, peripheral vision can pick up shadows well. Research in 2008 by a geomorphology professor at Urbino University and an artist-photographer revealed that Mona Lisa's landscape was similar to some views in the Montefeltro region in the Italian provinces of Pesaro and Urbino, and Rimini. Research in 2023/2024 by geologist and art historian Ann Pizzorusso suggests that the landscape contains "several recognisable features of Lecco, on the shores of Lake Como in the Lombardy region of northern Italy."
== History ==
=== Creation and date ===
Of Leonardo da Vinci's works, the Mona Lisa is the only portrait whose authenticity has never been seriously questioned, and one of four works—the others being Saint Jerome in the Wilderness, Adoration of the Magi and The Last Supper —whose attribution has avoided controversy. He had begun working on a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo, the sitter for the Mona Lisa, by October 1503. It is believed by some that the Mona Lisa was begun in 1503 or 1504 in Florence. Although the Louvre states that it was "doubtless painted between 1503 and 1506", art historian Martin Kemp says that there are some difficulties in confirming the dates with certainty. Alessandro Vezzosi believes that the painting is characteristic of Leonardo's style in the final years of his life, post-1513. Other academics argue that, given the historical documentation, Leonardo would have painted the work from 1513. According to Vasari, "after he had lingered over it four years, [he] left it unfinished". In 1516, Leonardo was invited by King Francis I to work at the Clos Lucé near the Château d'Amboise; it is believed that he took the Mona Lisa with him and continued to work on it after he moved to France. Art historian Carmen C. Bambach has concluded that Leonardo probably continued refining the work until 1516 or 1517. Leonardo's right hand was paralytic c. 1517, which may indicate why he left the Mona Lisa unfinished.
Circa 1505, Raphael executed a pen-and-ink sketch, in which the columns flanking the subject are more apparent. Experts universally agree that it is based on Leonardo's portrait. Other later copies of the Mona Lisa, such as those in the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design and The Walters Art Museum, also display large flanking columns. As a result, it was thought that the Mona Lisa had been trimmed. By 1993, Frank Zöllner observed that the painting surface had never been trimmed; this was confirmed through a series of tests in 2004. In view of this, Vincent Delieuvin, curator of 16th-century Italian painting at the Louvre, states that the sketch and these other copies must have been inspired by another version, while Zöllner states that the sketch may be after another Leonardo portrait of the same subject.
The record of an October 1517 visit by Louis d'Aragon states that the Mona Lisa was executed for the deceased Giuliano de' Medici, Leonardo's steward at Belvedere, Vienna, between 1513 and 1516; this was likely an error. According to Vasari, the painting was created for the sitter's husband, Francesco del Giocondo. A number of experts have argued that Leonardo made two versions (because of the uncertainty concerning its dating and commissioner, as well as its fate following Leonardo's death in 1519, and the difference of details in Raphael's sketch—which may be explained by the possibility that he made the sketch from memory). The hypothetical first portrait, displaying prominent columns, would have been commissioned by Giocondo c. 1503, and left unfinished in Leonardo's pupil and assistant Salaì's possession until his death in 1524. The second, commissioned by Giuliano de' Medici c. 1513, would have been sold by Salaì to Francis I in 1518, and is the one in the Louvre today. Others believe that there was only one true Mona Lisa but are divided as to the two aforementioned fates. At some point in the 16th century, a varnish was applied to the painting. It was kept at the Palace of Fontainebleau until Louis XIV moved it to the Palace of Versailles, where it remained until the French Revolution. In 1797, it went on permanent display at the Louvre.
=== Refuge, theft, and vandalism ===
After the French Revolution, the painting was moved to the Louvre but spent a brief period in the bedroom of Napoleon (d. 1821) in the Tuileries Palace. Although the Mona Lisa was not widely known outside the art world, in the 1860s, a portion of the French intelligentsia began to hail it as a masterwork of Renaissance painting. During the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), the painting was moved from the Louvre to the Brest Arsenal.
In 1911, the painting was still not popular among the lay-public. On 21 August 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre. The painting was first reported missing the next day by painter Louis Béroud. After some confusion as to whether the painting was being photographed somewhere, the Louvre was closed for a week for investigation. French poet Guillaume Apollinaire came under suspicion and was arrested and imprisoned. Apollinaire implicated his friend Pablo Picasso, who was brought in for questioning. Both were later exonerated. The real culprit was Louvre employee Vincenzo Peruggia, who had helped construct the painting's glass case. He carried out the theft by entering the building during regular hours, hiding in a broom closet, and walking out with the painting hidden under his coat after the museum had closed.
Peruggia was an Italian patriot who believed that Leonardo's painting should have been returned to an Italian museum. Peruggia may have been motivated by an associate whose copies of the original would significantly rise in value after the painting's theft. After having kept the Mona Lisa in his apartment for two years, Peruggia grew impatient and was caught when he attempted to sell it to Giovanni Poggi, director of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. It was exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery for over two weeks and returned to the Louvre on 4 January 1914. Peruggia served six months in prison for the crime and was hailed for his patriotism in Italy. A year after the theft, Saturday Evening Post journalist Karl Decker wrote that he met an alleged accomplice named Eduardo de Valfierno, who claimed to have masterminded the theft. Forger Yves Chaudron was to have created six copies of the painting to sell in the US while concealing the location of the original. Decker published this account of the theft in 1932.
During World War II, it was again removed from the Louvre and taken first to the Château d'Amboise, then to the Loc-Dieu Abbey and Château de Chambord, then finally to the Musée Ingres in Montauban. Since the 1990s, the painting has been temporarily moved to accommodate renovations to the Louvre on three occasions: between 1992 and 1995, from 2001 to 2005, and again in 2019.
On 30 December 1956, Bolivian Ugo Ungaza Villegas threw a rock at the Mona Lisa while it was on display at the Louvre. He did so with such force that it shattered the glass case and dislodged a speck of pigment near the left elbow. The painting was protected by glass because a few years earlier a man who claimed to be in love with the painting had cut it with a razor blade and tried to steal it. After this attack, Salvador Dalí wrote in 1963 an essay titled "Why they attack the Mona Lisa", referencing earlier Freud theories.
Since the 1956 attack, bulletproof glass has been used to shield the painting from any further attacks, and in all subsequent cases the painting was undamaged. On 21 April 1974, while the painting was on display at the Tokyo National Museum, a woman sprayed it with red paint as a protest against that museum's failure to provide access for disabled people. On 2 August 2009, a Russian woman, distraught over being denied French citizenship, threw a ceramic teacup purchased at the Louvre; the vessel shattered against the glass enclosure.
On 29 May 2022, a male activist, disguised as a woman in a wheelchair, threw cake at the protective glass covering the painting in an apparent attempt to raise awareness for climate change; the painting was not damaged. The man was arrested and placed in psychiatric care in the police headquarters, and an investigation was opened after the Louvre filed a complaint. On 28 January 2024, two attackers from an environmentalist group threw soup at the painting's protective glass, demanding the right to "healthy and sustainable food" and criticizing the contemporary state of agriculture; the painting was not damaged.
=== Modern analysis ===
In the early 21st century, French scientist Pascal Cotte hypothesized a hidden portrait underneath the surface of the painting. He analysed the painting in the Louvre with reflective light technology beginning in 2004, and produced circumstantial evidence for his theory. Cotte admits that his investigation was carried out only in support of his hypotheses and should not be considered as definitive proof. The underlying portrait appears to be of a sitter looking to the side, and lacks flanking columns, but it does not fit with historical descriptions of the painting. Both Vasari and Gian Paolo Lomazzo describe the subject as smiling, unlike the subject in Cotte's supposed portrait. In 2020, Cotte published a study alleging that the painting has an underdrawing, transferred from a preparatory drawing via the spolvero technique.
== Conservation ==
The Mona Lisa has survived for more than 500 years, and an international commission convened in 1952 noted that "the picture is in a remarkable state of preservation". It has never been fully restored, so the current condition is partly due to a variety of conservation treatments the painting has undergone. A detailed analysis in 1933 by Madame de Gironde revealed that earlier restorers had "acted with a great deal of restraint." Nevertheless, applications of varnish made to the painting had darkened even by the end of the 16th century, and an aggressive 1809 cleaning and revarnishing removed some of the uppermost portion of the paint layer, resulting in a washed-out appearance to the face of the figure. Despite the treatments, the Mona Lisa has been well cared for throughout its history, and although the panel's warping caused the curators "some worry", the 2004–05 conservation team was optimistic about the future of the work.
=== Poplar panel ===
At some point, the Mona Lisa was removed from its original frame. The unconstrained poplar panel warped freely with changes in humidity, and as a result, a crack developed near the top of the panel, extending down to the hairline of the figure. In the mid-18th century to early 19th century, two butterfly-shaped walnut braces were inserted into the back of the panel to a depth of about one third the thickness of the panel. This intervention was skillfully executed, and successfully stabilized the crack. Sometime between 1888 and 1905, or perhaps during the picture's theft, the upper brace fell out. A later restorer glued and lined the resulting socket and crack with cloth. The picture is kept under strict, climate-controlled conditions in its bulletproof glass case. The humidity is maintained at 50% ±10%, and the temperature is maintained between 18 °C (64 °F) and 21 °C (70 °F). To compensate for fluctuations in relative humidity, the case is supplemented with a bed of silica gel treated to provide 55% relative humidity.
=== Frame ===
Because the Mona Lisa's poplar support expands and contracts with changes in humidity, the picture has experienced some warping. In response to warping and swelling experienced during its storage during World War II, and to prepare the picture for an exhibit to honour the anniversary of Leonardo's 500th birthday, the Mona Lisa was fitted in 1951 with a flexible oak frame with beech crosspieces. This flexible frame, which is used in addition to the decorative frame, exerts pressure on the panel to keep it from warping further. In 1970, the beech crosspieces were switched to maple after it was found that the beechwood had been infested with insects. In 2004–05, a conservation and study team replaced the maple crosspieces with sycamore ones, and an additional metal crosspiece was added for scientific measurement of the panel's warp. The Mona Lisa has had many different decorative frames in its history. In 1909, the art collector Comtesse de Béhague gave the portrait its current frame, a Renaissance-era work consistent with the historical period of the Mona Lisa. The edges of the painting have been trimmed at least once in its history to fit the picture into various frames, albeit no part of the original paint layer has been trimmed.
=== Cleaning and touch-up ===
The first and most extensive recorded cleaning, revarnishing, and touch-up of the Mona Lisa was an 1809 wash and revarnishing undertaken by Jean-Marie Hooghstoel, who was responsible for the restoration of paintings for the galleries of the Musée Napoléon. The work involved cleaning with spirits, touch-ups of colour, and revarnishing the painting. In 1906, Louvre restorer Eugène Denizard performed watercolour retouches on areas of the paint layer disturbed by the crack in the panel. Denizard also retouched the edges of the picture with varnish to mask areas that had been covered initially by an older frame. In 1913, when the painting was recovered after its theft, Denizard was again called upon to work on the Mona Lisa. Denizard was directed to clean the picture without solvent and to lightly touch up several scratches on the painting with watercolour. In 1952, the varnish layer over the background in the painting was evened out. After the second 1956 attack, restorer Jean-Gabriel Goulinat was directed to touch up the damage to Mona Lisa's left elbow with watercolour. In 1977, a new insect infestation was discovered in the back of the panel as a result of crosspieces installed to keep the painting from warping. This was treated on the spot with carbon tetrachloride, and later with an ethylene oxide treatment. In 1985, the spot was again treated with carbon tetrachloride as a preventive measure.
=== Display ===
On 6 April 2005—following a period of curatorial maintenance, recording, and analysis—the painting was moved to a new location within the museum's Salle des États. It is displayed in a purpose-built, climate-controlled enclosure behind bulletproof glass. Since 2005, the painting has been illuminated by an LED lamp, and a new 20-watt LED lamp that was specially designed for this painting was installed in 2013. The lamp has a colour rendering index of up to 98 and minimizes infrared and ultraviolet radiation, which could otherwise degrade the painting. The renovation of the gallery where the painting now resides was financed by the Japanese broadcaster Nippon Television. As of 2019, about 10.2 million people view the painting at the Louvre each year. A new queuing system introduced in 2019 reduces the amount of time museum visitors have to wait in line to see the painting. After going through the queue, a group has about 30 seconds to see the painting.
On the 500th anniversary of the master's death, the Louvre held the largest ever single exhibit of Leonardo's works from 24 October 2019 to 24 February 2020. The Mona Lisa was not included because it is in such great demand among visitors to the museum; the painting remained on display in its gallery. In 2024, it was decided to place the panel in a separate room. This change will require significant construction changes, including a new entrance to the Louvre and two rooms in the basement under the museum's square courtyard. Due to the renovation, visitors will be able to pass directly to the painting, which will reduce queues at the Louvre.
== Legacy ==
The Mona Lisa began influencing contemporary Florentine painting even before its completion. Raphael, who had been to Leonardo's workshop several times, promptly used elements of the portrait's composition and format in several of his works, such as Young Woman with Unicorn (c. 1506), and Portrait of Maddalena Doni (c. 1506). Later paintings by Raphael, such as La velata (1515–16) and Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione (c. 1514–15), continued to borrow from Leonardo's painting. Zollner states that "None of Leonardo's works would exert more influence upon the evolution of the genre than the Mona Lisa. It became the definitive example of the Renaissance portrait and perhaps for this reason is seen not just as the likeness of a real person, but also as the embodiment of an ideal."
Where earlier critics such as Vasari in the 16th century and André Félibien in the 17th praised the picture for its realism, by the mid-19th century, writers began to regard the Mona Lisa as imbued with a sense of mystery and romance. In 1859, Théophile Gautier wrote that the Mona Lisa was a "sphinx of beauty who smiles so mysteriously" and that "Beneath the form expressed one feels a thought that is vague, infinite, inexpressible. One is moved, troubled ... repressed desires, hopes that drive one to despair, stir painfully." Walter Pater's essay of 1869 described the sitter as "older than the rocks among which she sits; like the vampire, she has been dead many times, and learned the secrets of the grave; and has been a diver in the deep seas, and keeps their fallen day about her."
By the early 20th century, some critics started to feel the painting had become a repository for subjective exegeses and theories. Upon the painting's theft in 1911, Renaissance historian Bernard Berenson admitted that it had "simply become an incubus, and [he] was glad to be rid of her." Jean Metzinger's Le goûter (Tea Time) was exhibited at the 1911 Salon d'Automne and was sarcastically described as "la Joconde à la cuiller" (Mona Lisa with a spoon) by art critic Louis Vauxcelles on the front page of Gil Blas. André Salmon subsequently described the painting as "The Mona Lisa of Cubism".
The avant-garde art world has made note of the Mona Lisa's undeniable popularity. Because of the painting's overwhelming stature, Dadaists and Surrealists often produce modifications and caricatures. In 1883, Le rire, an image of a Mona Lisa smoking a pipe, by Eugène Bataille (Sapeck), was shown at the "Incoherents" show in Paris. In 1919, Marcel Duchamp, one of the most influential modern artists, created L.H.O.O.Q., a Mona Lisa parody made by adorning a cheap reproduction with a moustache and goatee. Duchamp added an inscription, which when read out loud in French sounds like "Elle a chaud au cul" (meaning "she has a hot ass"), implying the woman in the painting is in a state of sexual excitement and intended as a Freudian joke. According to Rhonda R. Shearer, the apparent reproduction is in fact a copy partly modelled on Duchamp's own face.
Salvador Dalí, famous for his surrealist work, painted Self portrait as Mona Lisa in 1954. Andy Warhol created serigraph prints of multiple Mona Lisas, called Thirty Are Better than One, following the painting's visit to the United States in 1963. The French urban artist known pseudonymously as Invader has created versions of the Mona Lisa on city walls in Paris and Tokyo using a mosaic style. A 2014 New Yorker magazine cartoon parodies the supposed enigma of the Mona Lisa smile in an animation showing progressively more maniacal smiles.
=== Fame ===
In the 21st century, the Mona Lisa is considered the most famous painting in the world, a destination painting. Until the 20th century, it was one among many highly regarded artworks. Once part of King Francis I of France's collection, the Mona Lisa was among the first artworks to be exhibited in the Louvre, which became a national museum after the French Revolution. Leonardo began to be revered as a genius, and the painting's popularity grew in the mid-19th century when French intelligentsia praised it as mysterious and a representation of the femme fatale. The Baedeker guide in 1878 called it "the most celebrated work of Leonardo in the Louvre", but the painting was known more by the intelligentsia than the general public. An article in a 1910 issue of Ladies' Home Journal declared it "the most famous portrait in the world". Ladies' Home Journal is notable for being the first American magazine to reach one million subscribers in 1903.
The 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa and its subsequent return was reported worldwide, leading to a massive increase in public recognition of the painting. During the 20th century, it was an object for mass reproduction, merchandising, lampooning, and speculation, and was claimed to have been reproduced in "300 paintings and 2,000 advertisements". The Mona Lisa was regarded as "just another Leonardo until early last century, when the scandal of the painting's theft from the Louvre and subsequent return kept a spotlight on it over several years."
From December 1962 to March 1963, the French government lent it to the United States to be displayed in New York City and Washington, D.C. It was shipped on the new ocean liner SS France. In New York, an estimated 1.7 million people queued "in order to cast a glance at the Mona Lisa for 20 seconds or so." While exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the painting was nearly drenched in water because of a faulty sprinkler; the painting's bullet-proof glass case protected it. In 1974, the painting was exhibited in Tokyo and Moscow. In 2014, 9.3 million people visited the Louvre. Former director Henri Loyrette reckoned that "80 percent of the people only want to see the Mona Lisa."
=== Financial worth ===
Before the 1962–1963 tour, the painting was assessed for insurance at $100 million (equivalent to $790 million in 2024), making it, in practice, the most highly valued painting in the world. The insurance was not purchased; instead, more was spent on security. In 2014, a France 24 article suggested that the painting could be sold to help ease the national debt, although it was observed that the Mona Lisa and other such art works were prohibited from being sold by French heritage law, which states that, "Collections held in museums that belong to public bodies are considered public property and cannot be otherwise."
=== Cultural depictions ===
Cultural depictions of the Mona Lisa include:
The 1915 Mona Lisa by German composer Max von Schillings.
Two 1930s films written about the theft, (The Theft of the Mona Lisa and Arsène Lupin).
The 1950 song "Mona Lisa" recorded by Nat King Cole.
The 1952 short story "The Smile" by Ray Bradbury, published in his 1959 collection A Medicine for Melancholy
The 1984 song "Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile" recorded by David Allan Coe.
The 2011 song "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" by American rock band Panic! at the Disco.
The 2018 song "Mona Lisa" by rapper Lil Wayne.
The 2022 mystery film Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery depicts the destruction of the Mona Lisa, which has been borrowed from its location by a billionaire.
Lego released a set called Mona Lisa 31213 as part of their Lego Art theme. The set includes 1503 pieces to build it.
During the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony the Mona Lisa got "stolen" by the Minions from the Louvre museum and later ended up floating in the Seine river waters.
== Early versions and copies ==
=== Prado Museum La Gioconda ===
A version of Mona Lisa known as Mujer de mano de Leonardo Abince ("Woman by Leonardo da Vinci's hand", Museo del Prado, Madrid) was for centuries considered to be a work by Leonardo. Since its restoration in 2012, it is now thought to have been executed by one of Leonardo's pupils in his studio at the same time as Mona Lisa was being painted. The Prado's conclusion that the painting is probably by Salaì (1480–1524) or by Melzi (1493–1572) has been called into question by others. The restored painting is from a slightly different perspective than the original Mona Lisa, leading to the speculation that it is part of the world's first stereoscopic pair; however, a 2017 report demonstrated that this stereoscopic pair in fact gives no reliable stereoscopic depth.
=== Isleworth Mona Lisa ===
A version of the Mona Lisa known as the Isleworth Mona Lisa was first bought by an English nobleman in 1778 and was rediscovered in 1913 by Hugh Blaker, an art connoisseur. The painting was presented to the media in 2012 by the Mona Lisa Foundation. It is a painting of the same subject as Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. The current scholarly consensus on attribution is unclear. Some experts, including Frank Zöllner, Martin Kemp, and Luke Syson denied the attribution to Leonardo; professors such as Salvatore Lorusso, Andrea Natali, and John F Asmus supported it; others like Alessandro Vezzosi and Carlo Pedretti were uncertain.
=== Hermitage Mona Lisa ===
A version known as the Hermitage Mona Lisa is in the Hermitage Museum and it was made by an unknown 16th-century artist.
== Mona Lisa illusion ==
If a person being photographed looks into the camera lens, the image produced provides an illusion that viewers perceive as the subject looking at them, irrespective of the photograph's position. It is presumably for this reason that many people, while taking photographs, ask subjects to look at the camera rather than anywhere else. In psychology, this is known as the "Mona Lisa illusion", which was named after the famous painting that also presents the same illusion.
== Features of the golden ratio ==
The painting has features of the golden ratio and reveals several Golden triangles as well as the Golden spiral.
In Figure 1, the point
M
{\displaystyle M}
(Mona Lisa's left eye) divides the lines
[
D
K
]
{\displaystyle [DK]}
and
[
E
L
]
{\displaystyle [EL]}
in the golden ratio.
The triangles
A
B
C
{\displaystyle ABC}
,
D
E
F
{\displaystyle DEF}
,
A
F
G
{\displaystyle AFG}
,
F
B
H
{\displaystyle FBH}
,
H
G
F
{\displaystyle HGF}
and
G
H
C
{\displaystyle GHC}
are golden triangles, because in each of these six triangles base and legs are in the golden ratio to each other.
The Golden spiral is shown in Figure 2. It is positioned so that it starts at Mona Lisa's right wrist and touches the top of her head. The tip of her nose then forms the point towards which the spiral converges.
There is little evidence to suggest that Leonardo intentionally used the golden ratio in the painting according to Walter Isaacson. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalkbrenner | Kalkbrenner | Kalkbrenner (German: occupational name for a lime burner) is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Christian Kalkbrenner (1755–1806), German bandmaster
Friedrich Kalkbrenner (1785–1849), German pianist
Fritz Kalkbrenner (born 1981), German musician
Paul Kalkbrenner (born 1977), German musician
Ryan Kalkbrenner (born 2002), American basketball player |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico | Mexico | Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America and borders the United States of America to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundaries with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Mexico to the east. Mexico covers 1,972,550 km2 (761,610 sq mi), and is the thirteenth-largest country in the world by land area. With a population exceeding 130 million, Mexico is the tenth-most populous country in the world and is home to the largest number of native Spanish speakers as of 2020. Mexico City is the capital and largest city in Mexico, which ranks among the most populous metropolitan areas in the world.
Human presence in Mexico dates back to at least 8,000 BC. Mesoamerica, considered a cradle of civilization, was home to numerous advanced societies, including the Olmecs, Maya, Zapotecs, Teotihuacan civilization, and Purépecha. Spanish colonization began in 1521 with an alliance that defeated the Aztec Empire, establishing the colony of New Spain with its capital at Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City. New Spain became a major center of the transoceanic economy during the Age of Discovery, fueled by silver mining and its position as a hub between Europe and Asia. This gave rise to one of the largest multiracial populations in the world. The Peninsular War led to the 1810–1821 Mexican War of Independence, which ended Peninsular rule and led to the creation of the First Mexican Empire, which quickly collapsed into the short-lived First Mexican Republic. In 1848, Mexico lost nearly half its territory to the American invasion. Liberal reforms set in the Constitution of 1857 led to civil war and French intervention, culminating in the establishment of the Second Mexican Empire under Emperor Maximilian I of Austria, who was overthrown by Republican forces led by Benito Juárez. The late 19th century saw the long dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, whose modernization policies came at the cost of severe social unrest. The 1910–1920 Mexican Revolution led to the overthrow of Díaz and the adoption of the 1917 Constitution. Mexico experienced rapid industrialization and economic growth in the 1940s–1970s, amidst electoral fraud, the Tlatelolco massacre, and economic crises. The late 20th century saw a shift towards neoliberalism, marked by the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, amidst unrest in Chiapas.
Mexico is a federal republic with a presidential system of government, characterized by a democratic framework and the separation of powers into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The federal legislature consists of the bicameral Congress of the Union, comprising the Chamber of Deputies, which represents the population, and the Senate, which provides equal representation for each state. The Constitution establishes three levels of government: the federal Union, the state governments, and the municipal governments. Mexico's federal structure grants autonomy to its 32 states, and its political system is deeply influenced by indigenous traditions and European Enlightenment ideals.
Mexico is a newly industrialized and developing country, with the world's 15th-largest economy by nominal GDP and the 13th-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It ranks first in the Americas and seventh in the world by the number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries, ranking fifth in natural biodiversity. It is a major tourist destination: as of 2022, it is the sixth most-visited country in the world, with 42.2 million international arrivals. Mexico's large economy and population, global cultural influence, and steady democratization make it a regional and middle power, increasingly identifying as an emerging power. As with much of Latin America, poverty, systemic corruption, and crime remain widespread. Since 2006, approximately 127,000 deaths have been caused by ongoing conflict between drug trafficking syndicates. Mexico is a member of United Nations, the G20, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Coffee Club, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), and has an observer status at the Council of Europe.
== Etymology ==
Mēxihko is the Nahuatl term for the heartland of the Aztec Empire, namely the Valley of Mexico and surrounding territories, with its people being known as the Mexica. It is generally believed that the toponym for the valley was the origin of the primary ethnonym for the Aztec Triple Alliance, but it may have been the other way around. In the colonial era (1521–1821) when Mexico was known as New Spain, this central region became the Intendency of Mexico. After New Spain achieved independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821 and became a sovereign state, the Intendency came to be known as the State of Mexico, with the new country being named after its capital, Mexico City.
The country's official name has changed as the form of government has changed. The declaration of independence signed on 6 November 1813 by the deputies of the Congress of Anáhuac called the territory América Septentrional (Northern America). The 1821 Plan of Iguala also used América Septentrional. On two occasions (1821–1823 and 1863–1867), the country was known as Imperio Mexicano (Mexican Empire). All three federal constitutions (1824, 1857, and 1917, the current constitution) used the name Estados Unidos Mexicanos—or the variant Estados-Unidos Mexicanos, all of which have been translated as "United Mexican States". The phrase República Mexicana, "Mexican Republic", was used in the 1836 Constitutional Laws. In the Nahuatl version of the current constitution, the official name is Mexika Sentik Wexteyowalko, and in its Yucatec Maya version, U Múuchꞌ Péetluꞌumiloꞌob México. In fact, by virtue of the legal equality of Spanish with the 68 indigenous languages of the country, all have their own translation of the official name.
== History ==
=== Indigenous civilizations before European contact (pre-1519) ===
The earliest human artifacts in Mexico are chips of stone tools found in the Valley of Mexico, dated to circa 10,000 years ago. Mexico is the site of the domestication of maize, tomato, and beans, which produced an agricultural surplus. This enabled the transition from paleo-Indian hunter-gatherers to sedentary agricultural villages beginning around 5000 BC. The formative period of Mesoamerica is one of the six independent cradles of civilization, this era saw the origin of distinct cultural traits such as religious and symbolic traditions, maize cultivation, artistic and architectural complexes as well as a vigesimal (base 20) numeric system that spread from Mexican cultures to the rest of Mesoamerica. Villages became more densely populated, socially stratified with an artisan class, and developed into chiefdoms. The most powerful rulers had religious and political power, organizing the construction of ceremonial centers.
The earliest complex civilization was the Olmec culture, which flourished on the Gulf Coast from around 1500 BC. Olmec cultural traits diffused through Mexico into other formative-era cultures in Chiapas, Oaxaca, and the Valley of Mexico. In the pre-classical period, the Maya and Zapotec civilizations developed complex centers. The first true Mesoamerican writing systems were developed in the Epi-Olmec and Zapotec cultures. The Mesoamerican writing tradition reached its height in the Classic Maya Hieroglyphic script, the earliest written histories date from then. The tradition of writing was important after Spanish conquest in 1521, with indigenous scribes learning to write their languages in alphabetic letters, while continuing to create pictorial texts.
In Central Mexico, the height of the classic period saw the ascendancy of Teotihuacán, which formed a military and commercial empire. Teotihuacan, with a population of more than 150,000, had some of the largest pyramidal structures in the pre-Columbian Americas. After the collapse of Teotihuacán around 600 AD, competition ensued between political centers in such as Xochicalco and Cholula. During the Epi-Classic, Nahua peoples began moving south into Mesoamerica, and became politically and culturally dominant in central Mexico. During 1000–1519 AD, central Mexico was dominated by the Toltec culture, Oaxaca by the Mixtec, and the lowland Maya area had centers at Chichén Itzá and Mayapán. Toward the end of the post-Classic period, the Aztecs established dominance, establishing a political and economic empire based in Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City), extending from central Mexico to Guatemala.
=== Spanish conquest and colonial era (1519–1821) ===
Although the Spanish Empire established colonies in the Caribbean in 1493, it first learned of Mexico during the Juan de Grijalva expedition of 1518. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire began in 1519 when Hernán Cortés founded Veracruz. The 1521 capture of Tenochtitlan and posterior founding of Mexico City on its ruins, was the beginning of a 300-year colonial era, during which Mexico was known as Nueva España (New Spain). Two factors made Mexico a jewel in the Empire: the existence of large, hierarchically organized Mesoamerican populations that rendered tribute and performed obligatory labor, and discovery of silver deposits in north Mexico.
The Kingdom of New Spain was created from the remnants of the Aztec empire. The two pillars of Spanish rule were the State and Church, both under the authority of the Spanish crown. In 1493 the pope granted sweeping powers to the Spanish monarchy for its overseas empire, with the proviso it spread Christianity. In 1524, King Charles I created the Council of the Indies based in Spain to oversee State power in its colonies. The crown established a high court in Mexico City, the Real Audiencia ('royal audience'). In 1535, the crown created the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the highest official of the State. The Diocese of Mexico was created in 1530 and elevated to the Archdiocese of Mexico in 1546, with the archbishop as head. Castilian Spanish was the language of the rulers. Catholic faith was the only one permitted, with non-Catholics and Catholics, excluding Indians, holding unorthodox views being subject to the Mexican Inquisition.
Spanish military forces, sometimes accompanied by native allies, led expeditions to conquer territory or quell rebellions. Notable Amerindian revolts include the Chichimeca War (1576–1606), the Tepehuán Revolt (1616–20), and Pueblo Revolt (1680). Most rebellions were small-scale, posing no major threat to the elites. To protect Mexico from the attacks of English, French, and Dutch pirates and the Crown's monopoly of revenue, only two ports were open to foreign trade—Veracruz on the Atlantic, connecting to Spain, and Acapulco on the Pacific, connecting to the Philippines. Pirate attacks included the 1663 Sack of Campeche and 1683 Attack on Veracruz.
Of greater concern to the crown was the issue of invasion, especially after Britain seized Havana and Manila in 1762, during the Seven Years' War. It created a standing military, increased coastal fortifications, and expanded the northern presidios and missions into Alta California. The volatility of the urban poor in Mexico City was evident in the 1692 riot over the price of maize. It escalated to a full-scale attack on the seats of power, with the viceregal palace and archbishop's residence attacked.
=== Independence era (1808–1855) ===
In 1810, secular priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla declared against "bad government" in Dolores, Guanajuato. Known as the Cry of Dolores (Spanish: Grito de Dolores) it is commemorated each year, on 16 September, as Mexico's independence day. The upheaval in the Empire, that resulted in the independence of most of its New World territories, was due to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1808. Hidalgo and some of his soldiers were executed by firing squad in 1811. The first 35 years after Mexico's independence were marked by instability and changing of the Mexican state from a transient monarchy to a fragile federated republic. There were military coups, foreign invasions, ideological conflict between Conservatives and Liberals, and economic stagnation.
Former Royal Army General Agustín de Iturbide became regent, as newly independent Mexico sought a constitutional monarch from Europe. When no member of a European royal house desired the position, Iturbide himself was declared Emperor Agustín I. The US was the first country to recognize Mexico's independence, sending a message to Europe via the Monroe Doctrine not to intervene in Mexico. The emperor's rule was short (1822–23), he was overthrown by army officers in the Plan of Casa Mata. Central America and Chiapas left the union to form the Federal Republic of Central America.
In 1824, the First Mexican Republic was established. Former insurgent General Guadalupe Victoria became the first president — the first of many generals to hold the presidency. In 1829, former insurgent general and fierce Liberal Vicente Guerrero, a signatory of the Plan of Iguala that achieved independence, became president in a disputed election. During his term, from April to December 1829, he abolished slavery. His Conservative vice president, former Royalist General Anastasio Bustamante, led a coup against him and Guerrero was judicially murdered.
Mexico's ability to maintain its independence and establish a viable government was in question. Spain attempted to reconquer it during the 1820s, but eventually recognized its independence. France attempted to recoup losses it claimed for its citizens during Mexico's unrest and blockaded the Gulf Coast during the so-called Pastry War of 1838–39. General Antonio López de Santa Anna emerged as a national hero because of his role in these conflicts; Santa Anna came to dominate politics for the next 25 years, often known as the "Age of Santa Anna", until his overthrow in 1855.
Mexico contended with indigenous groups that controlled the territory that Mexico claimed in the north. For example, the Comanche controlled a huge territory in sparsely populated central and northern Texas. Wanting to stabilize and develop that area — and as few from central Mexico had chosen to resettle to this remote and hostile territory — the Mexican government encouraged Anglo-American immigration into present-day Texas, a region that bordered the US. Mexico by law was a Catholic country; the Anglo-Americans were primarily Protestant English speakers from the southern US. Some brought their black slaves, which after 1829 was contrary to Mexican law.
In 1835, Santa Anna sought to centralize government rule in Mexico, suspending the 1824 constitution and promulgating the Seven Laws, which placed power in his hands. As a result, civil war spread. Three new governments declared independence: the Republic of Texas, the Republic of the Rio Grande and the Republic of Yucatán. The largest blow to Mexico was the US invasion in 1846 in the Mexican–American War. Mexico lost much of its northern territory, sealed in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Despite this, Santa Anna returned to the presidency, but was ousted and exiled during the Liberal Revolution of Ayutla.
=== Liberal era (1855–1911) ===
The overthrow of Santa Anna, and establishment of a civilian government by liberals, allowed them to enact laws they considered vital for development. La Reforma attempted to modernize the economy and institutions along liberal principles. They promulgated a new Constitution of 1857, separating Church and State, stripping the Church and military of privileges (fueros); mandating the sale of Church-owned property and indigenous community lands, and secularizing education. Conservatives revolted, touching off the Reform War between Liberal and Conservative governments (1858–61).
The Liberals defeated the Conservative army on the battlefield, but Conservatives sought to gain power via intervention by the French, asking Emperor Napoleon III to place a European monarch as head of state in Mexico. The French Army defeated the Mexicans and placed Maximilian Habsburg on the newly established throne, supported by Mexican Conservatives. The Liberal Republic under Benito Juárez was a government in internal exile, but with the end of the US Civil War in 1865, the US government began aiding the Mexican Republic. The French Army withdrew its support, but Maximilian remained in Mexico; Republican forces executed him. The "Restored Republic" saw the return of Juárez, "the personification of the embattled republic," as president.
The Conservatives had been defeated militarily and discredited politically, for their collaboration with the French, and liberalism became synonymous with patriotism. The Mexican Army that had its roots in the colonial royal army, then the army of the early republic, was destroyed, and new military leaders emerged from the Reform War and conflict with the French. Notable was Porfirio Díaz, a hero of the Cinco de Mayo, who sought civilian power and challenged Juárez on his re-election in 1867. Díaz then rebelled but was crushed by Juárez. Having won re-election, Juárez died in office in 1872. Liberal Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada became president, declaring a "religion of the state" for the rule of law, peace, and order. When Lerdo ran for re-election, Díaz rebelled against the civilian president, issuing the Plan of Tuxtepec. Díaz had more support and waged guerrilla war against Lerdo. On the verge of Díaz's victory on the battlefield, Lerdo fled from office into exile.
After the turmoil of 1810 to 1876, the 35-year rule of Liberal General Porfirio Díaz (1876–1911) allowed Mexico to modernize in a period described one of "order and progress". The Porfiriato was characterized by economic stability and growth, foreign investment and influence, an expansion of the rail network and telecommunications, and investments in the arts and sciences. Díaz ruled with a group of advisors that became known as the científicos ('scientists'). The regime was influenced by positivism. They rejected theology and idealism in favor of scientific methods applied towards development. An integral aspect was secular education. The Díaz government led a protracted conflict against the Yaqui that culminated with the forced relocation of Yaqui to Yucatán and Oaxaca. Díaz gave an interview where he said he was not going to run in the 1910 elections, when he would be 80. Opposition had been suppressed and there were few avenues for new leaders. His announcement set off a frenzy of activity, including the unlikely candidacy of the son of a rich landowning family, Francisco I. Madero. Madero won a surprising amount of support when Díaz changed his mind and ran in the election, jailing Madero.
=== Mexican Revolution (1910–20) ===
The Mexican Revolution was a decade-long transformational conflict, the "wind that swept Mexico." It began with uprisings against Díaz after the fraudulent 1910 election, his resignation in May 1911, demobilization of rebel forces, an interim presidency and the democratic election of Madero in fall 1911. In February 1913, a military coup overthrew Madero's government, with the support of the US, resulting in Madero's murder by agents of Federal Army General Victoriano Huerta. The US administration of Taft supported the Huerta coup, but when Democrat Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated as president in March 1913, Wilson refused to recognize Huerta's regime and allowed arms sales to the Constitutionalists. Wilson ordered troops to occupy the strategic port of Veracruz in 1914. A coalition of anti-Huerta forces in the North, the Constitutional Army led by Governor of Coahuila Venustiano Carranza, and a peasant army in the South under Emiliano Zapata defeated the Federal Army in 1914, leaving only revolutionary forces.
Following the revolutionaries' victory against Huerta, they sought to broker a political solution, but the coalition splintered, plunging Mexico again into civil war. Constitutionalist general Pancho Villa broke with Carranza and allied with Zapata. Carranza's best general Alvaro Obregón defeated Villa, his former comrade, in the Battle of Celaya in 1915, and Villa's forces melted away. Carranza became president, and the US recognized his government while Zapata's forces in the south reverted to guerrilla war. After Villa was defeated by revolutionary forces in 1915, he led an incursion raid into Columbus, New Mexico, prompting the US to send 10,000 troops in an unsuccessful attempt to capture Villa. Carranza pushed back against US troops being in northern Mexico. The expeditionary forces withdrew as the US entered World War I. Although often viewed as internal, the revolution had international elements: Germany attempted to get Mexico to side with it, sending a coded telegram in 1917 to incite war between the US and Mexico, with Mexico to regain the territory it lost in the Mexican-American War but Mexico remained neutral in the conflict.
In 1916, the winners of the Mexican revolution met at a constitutional convention to draft the Constitution of 1917, ratified in February 1917. The Constitution empowered the government to expropriate resources including land, gave rights to labor, and strengthened anticlerical provisions. It remains the governing document of Mexico. The revolutionary war killed 900,000 out of Mexico's 15 million population. Consolidating power, Carranza had Zapata assassinated in 1919. Carranza had gained the support of the peasantry, but once in power, he did little to institute land reform, which had motivated many to fight. Carranza returned some confiscated land to their original owners. Carranza's best general, Obregón, served in his administration, but returned to his home state Sonora to position himself to run in the 1920 election. Since Carranza could not run for re-election, he chose a civilian to succeed him, intending to remain in power behind the presidency. Obregón and two other Sonoran revolutionary generals drew up the Plan of Agua Prieta, overthrowing Carranza. General Adolfo de la Huerta became interim president, followed by the election of General Álvaro Obregón.
=== Political consolidation and one-party rule (1920–2000) ===
The post-revolutionary period (1920–46) was characterized by revolutionary generals serving as presidents, including Álvaro Obregón (1920–24), Plutarco Elías Calles (1924–28), Lázaro Cárdenas (1934–40), and Manuel Avila Camacho (1940–46). The government sought to bring order, end military intervention in politics, and create organizations of interest groups. Workers, peasants, office workers, and even the army for a short period, were incorporated as sectors of the single party that dominated politics from its founding in 1929. Obregón instigated land reform and strengthened organized labor. He gained recognition from the US and settled claims with companies and individuals that lost property during the Revolution. He imposed his fellow revolutionary general, Calles, as his successor. Calles provoked a major conflict with the Catholic Church and Catholic guerrilla armies when he enforced anticlerical articles of the constitution, which ended with an agreement. Although the constitution prohibited the reelection of the president, Obregón wished to run again and the constitution was amended to allow non-consecutive re-election. He won the 1928 elections but was assassinated by a Catholic activist, causing a succession crisis. Calles could not become president again, so he sought to set up a structure to manage succession, founding the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which dominated Mexico for the rest of the 20th century. Despite not holding the presidency, Calles remained the key politician during the period known as the Maximato (1929–34), that ended during the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas, who expelled Calles and implemented economic and social reforms. This included the Mexican oil expropriation in 1938, which nationalized the U.S. and Anglo-Dutch oil company known as the Mexican Eagle Petroleum Company, which would result in the creation of the state-owned Pemex.
Cárdenas's successor, Manuel Ávila Camacho (1940–46) was moderate, and relations between the US and Mexico improved during World War II, when Mexico was a significant ally. From 1946 the election of Miguel Alemán, the first civilian president in the post-revolutionary period, Mexico embarked on a program of development, known as the Mexican miracle, characterized by industrialization, urbanization, and increased inequality between urban and rural areas. The Green Revolution, a technological movement that led to worldwide increases in crop production, began in the Yaqui Valley in the middle of the 20th century.
With robust growth, Mexico sought to showcase itself by hosting the 1968 Summer Olympics. The government poured resources into new facilities, prompting unrest among students and others. Demonstrations in Mexico City went on for weeks before the opening of the games, with the government of Gustavo Díaz Ordaz cracking down. The culmination was the Tlatelolco Massacre, which killed 300-800 protesters. Although the economy continued to flourish for some, inequality remained a factor of discontent. PRI rule became authoritarian and oppressive in the Mexican Dirty War.
In the 1980s the first cracks emerged in the PRI's political dominance. In Baja California, the PAN candidate was elected governor. When De la Madrid chose Carlos Salinas de Gortari as the candidate for the PRI, and therefore a foregone presidential victor, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, son of former President Lázaro Cárdenas, broke with the PRI and challenged Salinas in the 1988 elections. In 1988 there was electoral fraud, with results showing that Salinas had won the election by the narrowest percentage ever. There were protests in Mexico City over the stolen election. Salinas took the oath of office in December 1988. In 1990 the PRI was described by Mario Vargas Llosa as the "perfect dictatorship", but there had been major challenges to the PRI's hegemony.
Salinas embarked on a program of neoliberal reforms that fixed the exchange rate, controlled inflation, opened Mexico to foreign investment, and began talks with the US and Canada to join their free-trade agreement, which culminated in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on 1 January 1994; the same day, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) in Chiapas began armed rebellion against the federal government, which captured towns and brought world attention. The armed conflict was short-lived and continues as a non-violent opposition movement against neoliberalism and globalization. In 1994, following the assassination of the PRI's presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio, Salinas was succeeded by victorious PRI candidate Ernesto Zedillo. Salinas left Zedillo's government to deal with the Mexican peso crisis, requiring a $50 billion IMF bailout. Macroeconomic reforms were started by Zedillo, and the economy recovered and growth peaked at 7% by 1999.
=== Contemporary Mexico ===
After 71 years of rule, the incumbent PRI lost the 2000 presidential election to Vicente Fox of the opposing conservative National Action Party (PAN). In the 2006 presidential election, Felipe Calderón from the PAN was declared the winner, with a narrow margin (0.6%) over leftist politician Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD). López Obrador, however, contested the election and pledged to create an "alternative government". In the 2012 presidential election, the PRI again won the presidency with the election of Enrique Peña Nieto. However, he won with a plurality of around 38% and did not have a legislative majority.
During the 21st century, Mexico has contended with high crime rates, bureaucratic corruption, narcotrafficking, and a stagnant economy. Many state-owned enterprises were privatized starting in the 1990s with neoliberal reforms. Pemex, the state-owned petroleum company is being privatized, with exploration licenses being issued. In a push against corruption, the ex-CEO of Pemex, Emilio Lozoya Austin, was arrested in 2020.
After founding the new political party MORENA, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (known as AMLO) won the 2018 election with over 50%. His coalition, led by his left-wing party founded after the 2012 elections, included parties from across the spectrum. The coalition won a majority in the upper and lower Congress chambers. His success is attributed to opposing political forces exhausting their chances, as well as AMLO's adoption of moderate discourse focused on reconciliation. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Mexico occurred in February 2020, and COVID-19 vaccination in Mexico began in December. Claudia Sheinbaum, AMLO's successor, won the 2024 presidential election in a landslide and became the first woman to lead Mexico. She was sworn in on 1 October 2024.
== Geography ==
Mexico is located between latitudes 14° and 33°N, and longitudes 86° and 119°W in the southern portion of North America, with a total area of 1,972,550 km2 (761,606 sq mi), is the 13th largest country by total area. It has coastlines on the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of California, as well as the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, the latter two forming part of the Atlantic Ocean. Within these seas are about 6,000 km2 (2,317 sq mi) of islands. Almost all of Mexico lies in the North American Plate, with small parts of the Baja California peninsula on the Pacific and Cocos Plates. Geophysically, some geographers include the territory east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (around 12% of the total) within Central America. Geopolitically, Mexico is entirely considered part of North America.
The majority of Mexican central and northern territories are located at high altitudes, and as such the highest elevations are found at the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt which crosses Mexico east to west: Pico de Orizaba (5,700 m or 18,701 ft), Popocatépetl (5,462 m or 17,920 ft) and Iztaccihuatl (5,286 m or 17,343 ft) and the Nevado de Toluca (4,577 m or 15,016 ft). Two mountain ranges known as Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental, which are the extension of the Rocky Mountains from northern North America crossed the country from north to south and a fourth mountain range, the Sierra Madre del Sur, runs from Michoacán to Oaxaca. The Mexican territory is prone to volcanism.
Mexico has nine distinct regions: Baja California, the Pacific Coastal Lowlands, the Mexican Plateau, the Sierra Madre Oriental, the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Cordillera Neovolcánica, the Gulf Coastal Plain, the Southern Highlands, and the Yucatán Peninsula. An important geologic feature of the Yucatán peninsula is the Chicxulub crater, the scientific consensus is that the Chicxulub impactor was responsible for the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Although Mexico is large (a little over 2,000 mi (3,219 km) in length from its farthest land points), much of its land mass is incompatible with agriculture due to aridity, soil, or terrain.
In 2018, an estimated 54.9% of land was agricultural; 11.8% was arable; 1.4% was in permanent crops; 41.7% was permanent pasture; and 33.3% was forest. Mexico is irrigated by several rivers, with the longest being the Rio Grande, which serves as a natural eastern border with the United States. The Usumacinta River serves as a natural southern border between Mexico and Guatemala.
=== Climate ===
The climate of Mexico is varied due to the country's size and topography. The Tropic of Cancer effectively divides the country into temperate and tropical zones. Land north of the Tropic of Cancer experiences cooler temperatures during the winter months. South of the Tropic of Cancer, temperatures are fairly constant year-round and vary solely as a function of elevation. This gives Mexico one of the world's most diverse weather systems.
Maritime air masses bring seasonal precipitation from May until August. Many parts of Mexico, particularly the north, have a dry climate with only sporadic rainfall, while parts of the tropical lowlands in the south average more than 2,000 mm (78.7 in) of annual precipitation. For example, many cities in the north like Monterrey, Hermosillo, and Mexicali experience temperatures of 40 °C (104 °F) or more in summer. In the Sonoran Desert temperatures reach 50 °C (122 °F) or more.
There are 7 major climate types in Mexico with warm sub-humid climate being coastal up to 900 meters found mostly in the southern region of Mexico; dry and desertic climates being found in the northern half of the country; temperate humid and sub-humid being found mostly on pastures at an elevation of 1,800 meters and higher in central Mexico and cold climate usually found at an elevation of 3,500 meters and beyond. Most of the country's territory has a temperate to dry climate.
Areas south of the Tropic of Cancer with elevations up to 1,000 m (3,281 ft), the southern parts of both coastal plains as well as the Yucatán Peninsula, have a yearly median temperature between 24 and 28 °C (75.2 and 82.4 °F). Temperatures here remain high throughout the year, with only a 5 °C (9 °F) difference between winter and summer median temperatures. The Pacific coast is subject to natural hazards such as tsunamis and both Mexican coasts with the exception of the south coast of the Bay of Campeche and northern Baja California are vulnerable to serious hurricanes during the summer and fall. Although low-lying areas north of the Tropic of Cancer are hot and humid during the summer, they generally have lower yearly temperature averages (from 20 to 24 °C or 68.0 to 75.2 °F) because of more moderate conditions during the winter.
Climate change in Mexico is causing widespread impacts including rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, intensified hurricanes, and sea-level rise in coastal regions. These changes pose threats to water resources and agriculture (particularly for rural and smallholder farmers), and affect crops including maize and coffee, contributing to economic insecurity. Climate change is impacting Mexicans' health, exacerbating human migration, and increasing extinction risk for Mexico's biodiversity, as protected areas are expected to face warming temperatures and decreased precipitation.
=== Biodiversity ===
Mexico ranks fourth in the world in biodiversity and is one of the 17 megadiverse countries. With over 200,000 species, Mexico is home of 10–12% of the world's biodiversity. Mexico ranks first in biodiversity in reptiles with 707 known species, second in mammals with 438 species, fourth in amphibians with 290 species, and fourth in flora, with 26,000 species. Mexico is also considered the second country in the world in ecosystems and fourth in overall species. About 2,500 species are protected by Mexican legislation.
In 2002, Mexico had the second fastest rate of deforestation in the world, second only to Brazil. It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6.82/10, ranking it 63rd globally out of 172 countries. According to SGI there is Deforestation and soil erosion especially in rural areas of Mexico. In the 2022 report it was noted environmental protection laws have improved in major cities but remain unenforced or unregulated in rural regions.
In Mexico, 170,000 square kilometers (65,637 sq mi) are considered "Protected Natural Areas". These include 34 biosphere reserves, 67 national parks, 4 natural monuments, 26 areas of protected flora and fauna, 4 areas for natural resource protection and 17 sanctuaries (zones rich in diverse species). Some of Mexico's native culinary ingredients include maize, tomato, beans, squash, chocolate, vanilla, avocado, guava, chayote, epazote, camote, jícama, nopal, zucchini, tejocote, huitlacoche, sapote, mamey sapote, and a great variety of chiles, such as the habanero and the jalapeño. Tequila, the distilled alcoholic drink made from cultivated agave cacti is a major industry. Because of its high biodiversity Mexico has also been a frequent site of bioprospecting by international research bodies.
== Government and politics ==
The United Mexican States is a federation whose government is representative, democratic, and republican based on a presidential system according to the 1917 Constitution. The Constitution establishes three levels of government: the federal Union, the state governments, and the municipal governments.
The federal legislature is the bicameral Congress of the Union, composed of the Senate of the Republic and the Chamber of Deputies. The Congress makes federal law, declares war, imposes taxes, approves the national budget and international treaties, and ratifies diplomatic appointments. The federal Congress, as well as the state legislatures, are elected by a system of parallel voting that includes plurality and proportional representation. The Chamber of Deputies has 500 deputies. Of these, 300 are elected by plurality vote in single-member districts (the federal electoral districts) and 200 are elected by proportional representation with closed party lists for which the country is divided into five electoral constituencies. The Senate comprises 128 senators: 64 (two for each state and two for Mexico City) are elected by plurality vote in pairs, 32 are the first minority or first-runner-up (one for each state and one for Mexico City), and 32 are elected by proportional representation from national closed party lists.
The executive is the President of the United Mexican States, who is the head of state and government, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Mexican military forces. The President also appoints the Cabinet and other officers. The President is responsible for executing and enforcing the law and has the power to veto bills.
The highest organ of the judicial branch of government is the Supreme Court of Justice, the national supreme court. Judges, pre-selected by Congress, are elected by popular vote. The nine members of the Supreme Court are elected for a single twelve-year term. The first judicial election occurred in 2025. The Supreme Court of Justice interprets laws and judges cases of federal competency. Other institutions of the judiciary are the Federal Electoral Tribunal, collegiate, unitary, and district tribunals, and the Judicial Disciplinary Tribunal.
Three parties have historically been the dominant parties in Mexican politics: the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), a catch-all party and member of the Socialist International that was founded in 1929 to unite all the factions of the Mexican Revolution and held an almost hegemonic power in Mexican politics since then; the National Action Party (PAN), a conservative party founded in 1939 and belonging to the Christian Democrat Organization of America; and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), a left-wing party founded in 1989 as the successor of the coalition of socialists and liberal parties. The National Regeneration Movement (Morena), a left-wing populist party, has been the ruling party since 2018, and it won a second term in the 2024 general election.
Democratic backsliding starting around 2019 was found by the V-Dem Democracy Report.
=== Administrative divisions ===
The boundaries and constituent units of Mexico evolved from its colonial-era origins. Central America peacefully separated from Mexico after independence in 1821. Yucatán was briefly an independent republic. Texas separated in the Texas Revolution and when it was annexed to the U.S. in 1845, it set the stage for the Mexican–American War and major territorial loss to the U.S. The sale of northern territory known in the U.S. as the Gadsden Purchase was the last loss of Mexican territory. The United Mexican States is a federation of 31 free and sovereign states, which form a union that exercises a degree of jurisdiction over Mexico City. Each state has its constitution, congress, and a judiciary, and its citizens elect by direct voting a governor for a six-year term, and representatives to their respective unicameral state congresses for three-year terms.
Mexico City is a special political division that belongs to the federation as a whole and not to a particular state. Formerly known as the Federal District, its autonomy was previously limited relative to that of the states. It dropped this designation in 2016 and is in the process of achieving greater political autonomy by becoming a federal entity with its constitution and congress. The states are divided into municipalities, the smallest administrative political entity in the country, governed by a mayor or municipal president (presidente municipal), elected by its residents by plurality.
=== Foreign relations ===
The foreign relations of Mexico are directed by the President of Mexico and managed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The principles of the foreign policy are constitutionally recognized in the Article 89, Section 10, which include: respect for international law and legal equality of states, their sovereignty and independence, trend to non-interventionism in the domestic affairs of other countries, peaceful resolution of conflicts, and promotion of collective security through active participation in international organizations. Since the 1930s, the Estrada Doctrine has served as a crucial complement to these principles.
Mexico is a founding member of several international organizations, most notably the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the OPANAL and the CELAC. In 2008, Mexico contributed over 40 million dollars to the United Nations regular budget. In addition, it was the only Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development since it joined in 1994 until Chile gained full membership in 2010.
Mexico is considered a regional power hence its presence in major economic groups such as the G8+5 and the G-20. Since the 1990s Mexico has sought a reform of the United Nations Security Council and its working methods with the support of Canada, Italy, Pakistan and other nine countries, which form a group informally called the Coffee Club.
It has an observer status at the Council of Europe
=== Military ===
The Mexican Armed Forces are administered by the Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaria de Defensa Nacional, SEDENA). There are two branches: the Mexican Army (which includes the Mexican Air Force) and Mexican Navy. The National Guard, which was formed in 2019 from the disbanded Federal Police and military police of the Army and Navy, functions as a gendarmerie; while responsible for law enforcement, it is placed under military command. Figures vary, but as of 2024, there are approximately 220,000 armed forces personnel: 160,000 Army; 10,000 Air Force; and 50,000 Navy, including about 20,000 marines. The National Guard has roughly 110,000 personnel. Military expenditures are a small fraction of GDP, at around 0.6% as of 2023.
The Mexican Armed Forces maintain significant infrastructure, including facilities for the design, research, and testing of weapons, vehicles, aircraft, naval vessels, defense systems and electronics; military industry manufacturing centers for building such systems; and advanced naval dockyards that build heavy military vessels and advanced missile technologies. Since the 1990s, when the military escalated its role in the war on drugs, increasing importance has been placed on acquiring airborne surveillance platforms, aircraft, helicopters, digital war-fighting technologies, urban warfare equipment and rapid troop transport. Mexico has the capabilities to manufacture nuclear weapons, but abandoned this possibility with the Treaty of Tlatelolco in 1968, pledging to use its nuclear technology only for peaceful purposes. Mexico signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Historically, Mexico has remained neutral in international conflicts, with the exception of World War II. However, in recent years some political parties have proposed an amendment of the Constitution to allow the Mexican Army, Air Force or Navy to collaborate with the United Nations in peacekeeping missions, or to provide military help to countries that officially ask for it.
=== Law enforcement and human rights ===
The Mexican Federal Police was dissolved in 2019 by a constitutional amendment during the administration of President López Obrador, being replaced by the National Guard, a national gendarmerie formed from units and assets of the Federal Police, Military Police, and Naval Police. As of 2022, the National Guard numbered 110,000 personnel. López Obrador had increasingly used military forces for domestic law enforcement, particularly against drug cartels. There have been serious abuses of power reported in security operations in the southern part of the country and in indigenous communities and poor urban neighborhoods. The National Human Rights Commission has had little impact in reversing this trend, engaging mostly in documentation but failing to use its powers to issue public condemnations to the officials who ignore its recommendations. Most Mexicans have low confidence in the police or the judicial system, and therefore, few crimes are actually reported by the citizens. There have been public demonstrations of outrage against what is considered a culture of impunity.
Mexico has fully recognized same-sex marriage since 2022, and anti-discrimination laws regarding sexual orientation have existed in the nation since 2003. However, hate crimes towards the LGBT community remain an issue in Mexico. Other crime and human rights violations in Mexico have been criticized, including enforced disappearances (kidnappings), abuses against migrants, extrajudicial killings, gender-based violence, especially femicide, and attacks on journalists and human rights advocates. A 2020 report by the BBC gives statistics on crime in Mexico, with 10.7 million households with at least one victim of crime.
As of May 2022, 100,000 people are officially listed as missing, most since 2007 when President Calderón attempted to stop the drug cartels. Drug cartels remain a major issue in Mexico, with a proliferation of smaller cartels when larger ones are broken up and increasingly the use of more sophisticated military equipment and tactics.
Mexico's drug war, ongoing since 2006, has left over 120,000 dead and perhaps another 37,000 missing. Mexico's National Geography and Statistics Institute estimated that in 2014, one-fifth of Mexicans were victims of some sort of crime. The mass kidnapping of 43 students in Iguala on 26 September 2014 triggered nationwide protests against the government's weak response to the disappearances and widespread corruption that gives free rein to criminal organizations. More than 100 journalists and media workers have been killed or disappeared since 2000, and most of these crimes remained unsolved, improperly investigated, and with few perpetrators arrested and convicted. In August 2025, demonstrations were held all around Mexico, in protest over the 130,000 people who have disappeared and considered missing since 2007.
== Economy ==
As of April 2025, Mexico has the 13th largest economy by purchasing power parity (PPP) (US$3.4 trillion), and a GDP per capita of US$26,000. The World Bank reported in 2023 that the country's gross national income in was the second highest in Latin America after Brazil at US$1.7 trillion.
Mexico has the sixth largest electronics industry after China, the US, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Mexico is the second-largest exporter of electronics to the US where it exported $71 billion worth of electronics in 2011. Electronics exports grew 73% between 2002 and 2012. The manufactured value-added sector, which electronics is part of, accounted for 18% of GDP.
Mexico produces the most automobiles of any North American nation. The industry produces technologically complex components and engages in research and development. The "Big Three" (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler) have been operating in Mexico since the 1930s, while Volkswagen and Nissan built their plants in the 1960s. In Puebla alone, 70 industrial part-makers cluster around Volkswagen. In 2016 Kia opened a $1 billion factory in Nuevo León, with Audi also opening an assembling plant in Puebla the same year. BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan currently have plants in construction. The domestic car industry is represented by DINA S.A., which has built buses and trucks since 1962, and the new Mastretta company that builds the high-performance Mastretta MXT sports car. In 2006, trade with the US and Canada accounted for almost 50% of Mexico's exports and 45% of its imports.
During the first three quarters of 2010, the United States had a $46 billion trade deficit with Mexico. The remittances from Mexican citizens working in the US are significant; after dipping during the 2008 Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 they are topping other sources of foreign income. Remittances are directed to Mexico by direct links from a U.S. government banking program.
Although multiple international organizations coincide and classify Mexico as an upper middle income country, or a middle class country, Mexico's National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL), reports that much of Mexico's population lives in poverty. From 2006 to 2010 the portion who live in poverty rose from 19% to 46% (52 million people). Despite this, CONEVAL reported in 2023 that the poverty rate had decreased, between 2018 and 2022, a 6% decrease, from 42% to 36% (from 52 to 47 million people), though extreme poverty rose by 0.1% (410 thousand people), to 7% (9 million people), and those lacking access to healthcare has significantly increased, from 16% to 39% (50 million), though some specialists expressed doubt regarding the accuracy of these rates. According to the OECD's poverty line (defined as the percentage of the population who earns 60% or less of the national median income) 20% of Mexico's population lived in poverty in 2019.
Among OECD countries, Mexico has the second-highest degree of inequality between the extremely poor and rich, after Chile – though it is one of few countries in which this has been falling. The bottom ten percent in the income hierarchy disposes of 1.4% of the country's resources, whereas the upper ten percent dispose of 36%. The OECD notes that Mexico's budgeted expenses for poverty alleviation and social development are only about a third of the OECD average. This is also reflected in infant mortality in Mexico, which is three times higher than the OECD average, whereas its literacy is in the median range. According to a 2008 report the average income in an urban area of Mexico was $27,000, while in rural areas just miles away was, it only $8,000. Daily minimum wages are set annually; it was set at $248.93 Mexican pesos (US$13.24) in 2024 ($375 in the country's northern border), making it comparable to Uruguay, Chile, and Ecuador. This rapidly increased, as it was set at 88 pesos in 2018.
=== Communications ===
The telecommunications industry is mostly dominated by Telmex (Teléfonos de México), previously a government monopoly privatized in 1990. By 2006, Telmex had expanded its operations to Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and the United States. Other players are Axtel, Maxcom, Alestra, Marcatel, AT&T Mexico. Because of Mexican orography, providing a landline telephone service at remote mountainous areas is expensive, and the penetration of line-phones per capita is low compared to other Latin American countries, at 52% percent; however, 81% of Mexican households have internet connection and 81% over the age of 6 have a mobile phone. Mobile telephony has the advantage of reaching all areas at a lower cost, and the total number of mobile lines is almost two times that of landlines, with an estimation of 97 million lines. The telecommunication industry is regulated by the government through Cofetel (Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones).
The satellite system is domestic and operates 120 earth stations. There is extensive microwave radio relay network and considerable use of fiber-optic and coaxial cable. Mexican satellites are operated by Satélites Mexicanos (Satmex), a private company, leader in Latin America and servicing North and South America. It offers broadcast, telephone, and telecommunication services to 37 countries in the Americas, from Canada to Argentina. Through business partnerships Satmex provides high-speed connectivity to ISPs and Digital Broadcast Services. Satmex maintains its satellite fleet with most of the fleet being designed and built in Mexico. Major players in broadcasting are Televisa, the largest Mexican media company in the Spanish-speaking world, TV Azteca and Imagen Televisión.
=== Energy ===
Energy production is managed by the state-owned companies Federal Commission of Electricity and Pemex. Pemex, the public company in charge of exploration, extraction, transportation, and marketing of crude oil and natural gas, as well as the refining and distribution of petroleum products and petrochemicals, is one of the largest companies in the world by revenue, making US$86 billion sales per year. Mexico is the sixth-largest oil producer, with 3.7 million barrels per day. In 1980 oil exports accounted for 62% of total exports; by 2000 it was only 7%. Mexico owns 7 oil refineries on its territory, with the newest built in 2022 and another refinery within the US. Mexico has 60 hydroelectric power plants which generate 12% of the country's electricity, the largest is the 2,400 MW Manuel Moreno Torres Dam on the Grijalva River, the world's fourth most productive hydroelectric plant.
Mexico has the third-largest solar power potential estimated at 5kWh/m2 daily, which corresponds to 50 times the national electricity generation. There is over 1 million square meters of solar thermal panels installed, while in 2005 there were only 115,000 square meters of solar PV (photo-voltaic) panels. The project SEGH-CFE 1 located in Puerto Libertad, Sonora in the Northwest of Mexico was completed in 2018 and has a capacity of 46.8 MW from an array of 187,200 solar panels, all of its generated electricity is sold directly to the CFE and absorbed into the utility's transmission system. The Villanueva solar park in Coahuila which opened in 2019, is the largest solar power plant in the Americas with a capacity of 828 MW. Mexico has one nuclear power plant, the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Station located in the state of Veracruz and numerous wind farms, with the largest wind farm in Latin America located in Oaxaca.
Although Mexico has increased its renewable electricity generation from wind and solar sources, it is still dependent on fossil fuels for most of its energy. In 2023 Mexico was in the top 15 highest greenhouse gas emitters, contributing over 5 million tonnes, or 1.4% of the global total. Mexico has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by 2030, with an increased target of 40% conditional upon external support. The country aims to cut black carbon emissions by 51% unconditionally and 70% with additional support by 2030 and has committed to net zero by 2050.
=== Science and technology ===
The National Autonomous University of Mexico was officially established in 1910, and the university became one of the most important institutes of higher learning in Mexico. UNAM provides world class education in science, medicine, and engineering. Many scientific institutes and new institutes of higher learning, such as National Polytechnic Institute, were established during the first half of the 20th century. Most of the new research institutes were created within UNAM. Twelve institutes were integrated into UNAM from 1929 to 1973. In 1959, the Mexican Academy of Sciences was created to coordinate scientific efforts between academics.
In 1995, the Mexican chemist Mario J. Molina shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Paul J. Crutzen and F. Sherwood Rowland for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone. Molina, an alumnus of UNAM, became the first Mexican citizen to win the Nobel Prize in science.
The largest scientific project being developed in Mexico was the construction of the Large Millimeter Telescope (Gran Telescopio Milimétrico, GMT), the world's largest and most sensitive single-aperture telescope in its frequency range. It was designed to observe regions of space obscured by stellar dust. Mexico was ranked 58th in the Global Innovation Index in 2025.
=== Tourism ===
As of 2017, Mexico was the 6th most visited country. It had the 15th highest income from tourism and highest in Latin America. The vast majority of tourists come from the US and Canada, followed by Europe and Asia. A smaller number come from other Latin American countries. In the 2017 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, Mexico was ranked 22nd in the world, and 3rd in the Americas.
The coastlines are rich in sunny stretches of beach. According to the Constitution of Mexico Article 27, the entirety of the coastlines is under federal ownership. On the Yucatán peninsula, one of the most popular beach destinations is the resort town of Cancún, especially among university students during spring break. To the south of Cancun is the coastal strip called Riviera Maya which includes the beach town of Playa del Carmen and the ecological parks of Xcaret and Xel-Há. To the south of Cancún is the town of Tulum, notable for its ruins of Maya civilization. Other tourist destinations include Acapulco with crowded beaches and multi-story hotels on the shores. At the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula is the resort town of Cabo San Lucas, noted for its marlin fishing. Closer to the US border is the weekend draw of San Felipe, Baja California.
In Mexican cities along the Mexico–United States border, the most lucrative hospitality industry is now medical tourism, with remnants of the traditional motivations that drove tourists to Mexico's northern borderlands for nearly a century. Dominant medical tourism for tourism planning are the purchase of medication, dentistry, elective surgery, optometry, and chiropractic.
=== Transportation ===
Despite its difficult topography, Mexico's roadway is extensive and most areas are covered. The road network has an extent of 366,095 km (227,481 mi), of which 116,802 km (72,577 mi) are paved, making it 9th largest of any country. Of these, 10,474 km (6,508 mi) are multi-lane expressways: 9,544 km (5,930 mi) are four-lane highways and the rest have 6 or more lanes.
Mexico was one of the first Latin American countries to promote railway development, and the network covers 30,952 km (19,233 mi). The Secretary of Communications and Transport of Mexico proposed a high-speed rail link that will transport its passengers from Mexico City to Guadalajara, Jalisco. The train, which will travel at 300 kilometers per hour (190 miles per hour), will allow passengers to travel from Mexico City to Guadalajara in just 2 hours. The whole project was projected to cost 240 billion pesos, or about 25 billion US$ and is being paid for jointly by the Mexican government and the local private sector including one of the wealthiest men in the world, Mexico's billionaire business tycoon Carlos Slim. The federal government has also been funding the construction of an inter city railway line connecting cities such as Cozumel, Mérida, Chichen Itza, Cancún and Palenque; another inter city train connecting the city of Toluca and Mexico City and has restored the Interoceanic train corridor, which connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Mexico has 233 airports with paved runways; of these, 10 carry 72% of national cargo and 97% of international cargo. The Mexico City International Airport remains the busiest in Latin America and the 36th busiest in the world transporting 45 million passengers a year. Two additional airports operate simultaneously to help relieve congestion from the Mexico City International Airport: the Toluca International Airport and the Felipe Ángeles International Airport.
== Demographics ==
In 2022, Mexico's estimated population was 129,150,971 people, per the National Geography and Statistics Institute. In 2025, Mexico's population was estimated by the UN to have grown to 131,946,900 people. Since at least the 1970s, Mexico has been the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world.
Throughout the 19th century, the population of Mexico barely doubled. This trend continued in the first two decades of the 20th century. In 1900, the Mexican population was a little more than 13 million. The Mexican Revolution (c. 1910–1920) greatly impacted population growth, with the 1921 census reporting a loss of about 1 million inhabitants.
The growth rate increased dramatically between the 1930s and the 1980s. Mexico had growth rates of over 3% between 1950 and 1980. The Mexican population doubled in twenty years, and at that rate, it was expected that by 2000 there would be 120 million people living in Mexico. Mexico's population grew from 70 million in 1982 to 123.5 million inhabitants in 2017. Life expectancy increased from 36 years in 1895, to 75 years in 2020.
=== Urban areas ===
In 2020, there were 48 metropolitan areas in Mexico, in which close to 53% of Mexico's population lives. The most populous metropolitan area in Mexico is the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico, or Greater Mexico City, which in 2020 had a population of 21.8 million, or around 18% of the nation's population. The next four largest metropolitan areas are Greater Monterrey (5.3 million), Greater Guadalajara (5.2 million), Greater Puebla (3.2 million) and Greater Toluca (2.3 million). Urban areas contain 76.81% of Mexico's population.
=== Ethnicity and race ===
Mexico's population is diverse, and ethnic research has historically felt the impact of nationalist discourses on identity. Social stratification and racism in Mexico have remained in the contemporary era. Although phenotype is not as important as culture, European features and lighter skin tone are favored by middle- and upper-class groups.
Starting with the Royal Decree of 1503 and the Laws of Burgos of 1512, the Spanish crown influenced by the School of Salamanca recognized the freedom of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, while simultaneously importing African slaves. Indian republics were granted some degree of autonomy, and full assimilation of Spaniards and Indians was ordained. In practice, the Spanish often occupied the administrative positions, and maintained a fluid and complicated caste-like system which favored Europeans over other groups. This social stratification offered some degree of social mobility, as Afro-Mexicans and indigenous people assimilated to the mestizo (mixed) caste, and even pure Spaniards could also fall off the economic ladder. Slavery was abolished twice by the insurgent movements of Hidalgo and Morelos in 1810, and again by the independent government of Vicente Guerrero in 1829, an Afro-Mexican.
After Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, any traces of the colonial caste system were abandoned, with race being omitted from public documents. Near the end of the 1800s, the government led by Porfirio Díaz adopted policies of selective immigration from Europe and persecuted certain indigenous groups, as it was believed it would help to modernize the country.
After the Mexican Revolution and during the 1930s, in an attempt to unify the country under a single national identity, Mexico's government promoted the views of academics such as José Vasconcelos, who asserted that all Mexicans belonged to a mixed race, being distinguished only culturally by residence in or outside of an indigenous community, degree of fluency in an indigenous language, and degree of adherence to indigenous customs. While people of mixed ancestry form the most prominent ethnic group in contemporary Mexico, the subjective and ever-changing definition of this category means that precise estimates are impossible.
During Mexican Revolution, and again during the Cárdenas presidency, government efforts were made to decrease social and economic inequality among indigenous Mexicans. In 1992, the Article 2 of the Constitution of Mexico was amended to define Mexico as a pluricultural country and specifically to emphasize the role of indigenous Mexicans. This new legal framework preceded the Zapatista Army of National Liberation's push against the mestizaje ideology that led to the 1996 San Andrés Accords which granted autonomy, recognition, and rights to the indigenous population of Mexico.
At Mexico's 2020 census, 19.4% of the population identified as indigenous and 6.1% of Mexico's population speaks an Indigenous language. Since the 1960s there has been a cultural and academic re-evaluation of the role of Afro-Mexicans in Mexico, dispelling the misconception that they had assimilated into the mestizo identity. At the 2020 census, Afro-Mexicans were 2.04% of Mexico's population. In 2020, Asians and Middle Easterners were around 1% of the population each.
=== Emigration and immigration ===
In 2019, an estimated 11.7 million Mexicans lived outside Mexico, in addition to 13.5 million born abroad and another 12 million descendants. The vast majority of this combined population (98–99%) are in the U.S. The largest Mexican communities outside Mexico are in the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Dallas–Fort Worth. Between 1965 and 2015, more than 16 million Mexicans migrated to the United States alone—by far the top destination for both temporary and permanent migration—representing one of the largest mass migrations in modern history. As a result of these major migration flows in recent decades, an estimated 37.2 million U.S. residents, or 11.2% of the US population, identified as being of full or partial Mexican ancestry.
In 2018, among the remaining 2% of Mexican expatriates not residing in the U.S., the most popular destinations are Canada (86,780), primarily the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, followed by Spain and Germany. The latter two countries account for two-thirds of all Mexicans living in Europe. In 2018, it was estimated that 69,000 Mexicans live in Latin America, led by Guatemala (18,870) followed by Bolivia (10,610), Chile (10,560), and Panama (5,000).
Historically, and relative to other countries in the Western Hemisphere, Mexico has not been a destination of mass migration. In 2020, an estimated 1.2 million foreigners settled in Mexico, up from nearly 1 million in 2010. In 2021, Mexico officially received 68,000 new immigrants, a 16% increase from the prior year. The overall number of migrants, including those unauthorized to enter or stay in the country, may be higher than official figures.
The vast majority of migrants in Mexico come from the United States (900,000), making Mexico the top destination for U.S. citizens abroad. The second largest group comes from neighboring Guatemala (54,500), followed by Spain (27,600). Other major sources of migration are fellow Latin American countries, which include Colombia (20,600), Argentina (19,200) and Cuba (18,100). Communities descended from the Lebanese diaspora and German-born Mennonites have had an outsized impact in Mexico's culture, particularly in its cuisine and traditional music.
=== Languages ===
Spanish is the de facto national language spoken by the vast majority of the population, making Mexico the world's most populous Hispanophone country. Mexican Spanish refers to the varieties of Spanish spoken in Mexico, which differs from one region to another in sound, structure, and vocabulary.
The federal government recognizes sixty-eight linguistic groups and 364 varieties of indigenous languages. In 2015, an estimated 8.3 million citizens spoke these languages. Nahuatl is spoken by more than 1.7 million, followed by Yucatec Maya, used daily by nearly 850,000 people. Tzeltal and Tzotzil, two other Mayan languages, are spoken by around half a million people each, primarily in the southern state of Chiapas. Mixtec and Zapotec, with an estimated 500,000 native speakers each, are two other prominent language groups.
Since its creation in March 2003, the National Indigenous Languages Institute has been in charge of promoting and protecting the use of Mexico's indigenous languages, through the General Law on the Linguistic Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which recognizes them de jure as "national languages" with status equal to that of Spanish. That notwithstanding, in practice, indigenous peoples often face discrimination and do not have full access to public services such as education and healthcare, or to the justice system, as Spanish is the prevailing language.
Aside from indigenous languages, there are several minority languages spoken in Mexico due to international migration, such as Low German by the 80,000-strong Mennonite population, primarily settled in the northern states, fueled by the tolerance of the federal government towards this community by allowing them to set their educational system compatible with their customs and traditions. The Chipilo dialect, a variant of the Venetian language, is spoken in the town of Chipilo, located in the central state of Puebla, by around 2,500 people, mainly descendants of Venetians that migrated to the area in the late 19th century.
English is the most commonly taught foreign language in Mexico. It is estimated that nearly 24 million, or around a fifth of the population, study English through public schools, private institutions, or self-access channels. However, in 2015, a high level of English proficiency was limited to 5% of the population. French is the second most widely taught foreign language. Every year, between 200,000 and 250,000 Mexican students enroll in French language courses.
=== Religion ===
Although the Constitutions of 1857 and 1917 put limits on the role of the Catholic Church in Mexico, Catholicism remains Mexico's dominant religious affiliation. In the 2020 census, 77.8% (97,864,218) of the population were Catholic. 11.2% (14,095,307) belong to Protestant/Evangelical Christian denominations—including Other Christians (6,778,435), Evangelicals (2,387,133), Pentecostals (1,179,415), Jehovah's Witnesses (1,530,909), Seventh-day Adventists (791,109), and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (337,998). 8.1% (9,488,671) of the population declared having no religion. 0.4% (491,814) were unspecified.
The 97,864,218 Catholics of Mexico constitute in absolute terms the second largest Catholic community in the world, after Brazil's. In 1997, 47% percent of them attended church services weekly. Pentecostalism is the second Christian creed in Mexico, with more than 1.3 million adherents. Migratory phenomena have led to the spread of different aspects of Christianity, including branches Protestants, Eastern Catholic Churches and Eastern Orthodox Church.
In the 2020 census, there were 58,876 Jews in Mexico. The presence of Jews in Mexico dates back to the 16th century when Spaniards arrived in the Americas. The modern Jewish Community began to be formed in the late 19th and early 20th century when Jews from Europe and the Ottoman Empire immigrated to Mexico due to instability and antisemitism. Islam in Mexico, with 7,982 members, is practiced mostly by Arab Mexicans. In the 2020 census, 36,764 Mexicans belonged to a spiritualist religion, a category which includes a tiny Buddhist population. About 74,000 people practiced religions with "ethnic roots", religions of mostly African and indigenous origin.
There is often a syncretism between shamanism and Catholic traditions. Another religion of popular syncretism in Mexico, especially in recent years, is Santería, mainly due to the large number of Cubans who settled in Mexico after the Cuban Revolution. One of the most exemplary cases of popular religiosity is the cult of Holy Dead (Santa Muerte). Other examples are the representations of the Passion of Christ and the celebration of Day of the Dead, which take place within the framework of the Catholic Christian imagery, but under a very particular reinterpretation.
=== Education ===
In 2020, the literacy rate in Mexico was 95.25%, a slight increase from 94.86% in 2018, and significantly higher than 82.99% in 1980. Literacy between males and females is relatively equal.
According to most rankings, the publicly funded National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) is the best university in the country. Other prominent public universities include the National Polytechnic Institute, the Metropolitan Autonomous University, the University of Guadalajara and the Autonomous University of Nuevo León and El Colegio de México.
In terms of private academic institutions, among the most highly ranked is the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education. Other prominent private universities include Universidad Iberoamericana, Universidad Panamericana, ITAM and Universidad Anáhuac.
=== Health ===
In the 1930s, Mexico made a commitment to rural health care, mandating that mostly urban medical students receive training in it and to make them agents of the state to assess marginal areas. Since the early 1990s, Mexico entered a transitional stage in the health of its population and some indicators such as mortality patterns are identical to those found in highly developed countries like Germany or Japan. Mexico's medical infrastructure is highly rated for the most part and is usually excellent in major cities. Rural communities still lack equipment for advanced medical procedures, forcing patients in those locations to travel to the closest urban areas to get specialized medical care. Social determinants of health can be used to evaluate the state of health in Mexico.
State-funded institutions such as Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) and the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers (ISSSTE) play a major role in health and social security. Private health services are also very important and account for 13% of all medical units in the country. Medical training is done mostly at public universities, with many specializations done in vocational or internship settings. Some public universities in Mexico, such as the University of Guadalajara, have signed agreements with the U.S. to receive and train American students in medicine. Health care costs in private institutions and prescription drugs in Mexico are on average lower than that of its North American economic partners.
== Culture ==
Mexican culture reflects a long and complex history of interactions between various peoples through migration, conquest, and trade. Three centuries of Spanish rule resulted in the blending of Spanish culture with those of different indigenous groups. Efforts to assimilate the native population into Christian European culture during the colonial era were only partially successful, with many pre-Columbian customs, traditions, and norms persisting regionally (particularly in rural areas) or becoming syncretized; conversely, many Spanish settlers integrated into local communities through acculturation or intermarriage. However, a high degree of stratification along the lines of class, ethnicity, and race perpetuated distinct subcultures.
The Porfirian era (el Porfiriato) (1876–1911), which brought relative peace after four decades of civil unrest and war, saw the development of philosophy and art, often with government support. Since that time, as accentuated during the Mexican Revolution, the government adopted and promoted the mestizo ideology to create a unified Mexican identity, characterized by the blending of different races and cultures.
In light of the ethnicities that formed the Mexican people, José Vasconcelos in La Raza Cósmica (The Cosmic Race) (1925) defined Mexico and Latin America to be the melting pot of all races (thus extending the definition of the mestizo) not only biologically but culturally as well. Other Mexican intellectuals grappled with the idea of Lo Mexicano, which seeks "to discover the national ethos of Mexican culture." Nobel laureate Octavio Paz explores the notion of a Mexican national character in The Labyrinth of Solitude.
=== Art ===
Painting is one of the oldest arts in Mexico. Cave painting in Mexican territory is about 7,500 years old and has been found in the caves of the Baja California Peninsula. Pre-Columbian Mexican art is present in buildings and caves, in Aztec codices, in ceramics, in garments, etc.; examples of this are the Maya mural paintings of Bonampak or the murals found in Teotihuacán, Cacaxtla and Monte Albán. Mural painting with Christian religious themes had an important flowering during the 16th century, early colonial era in newly constructed churches and monasteries. Examples can be found in Acolman, Actopan, Huejotzingo, Tecamachalco and Zinacantepec.
As with most art during the early modern era in the West, colonial-era Mexican art was religious during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Starting in the late seventeenth century, and, most prominently in the eighteenth century, secular portraits and images of racial types, so-called casta painting appeared. Important painters of the late colonial period were Juan Correa, Cristóbal de Villalpando and Miguel Cabrera. In early post-independence Mexico, nineteenth-century painting had a marked romantic influence; landscapes and portraits were the greatest expressions of this era. Hermenegildo Bustos is one of the most appreciated painters of the historiography of Mexican art. Other painters include Santiago Rebull, Félix Parra, Eugenio Landesio, and his noted pupil, the landscape artist José María Velasco.
In the 20th century artists such as Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and José Clemente Orozco, the so-called "Big Three" of Mexican muralism achieved worldwide recognition. They were commissioned by the Mexican government to paint large-scale historical murals on the walls of public buildings, which helped shape popular perceptions of the Mexican Revolution and Mexican cultural identity. Frida Kahlo's largely personal portraiture is considered by many as the most important historical work by a female artist.
In the 21st century, Mexico City became home to the highest concentration of art museums in the world. Institutions like the Museo Jumex, the largest collection of its kind, founded by collector Eugenio López Alonso and bolstered by art advisor Esthella Provas, changed the notion of contemporary art in Latin America. The Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporaneous founded by Rufino Tamayo is also considered a preeminent institution and introduced foreign artists to a wider population. The country is also an epicenter for International art galleries including Kurimanzutto and FF Projects, and leading artists including Gabriel Orozco, Bosco Sodi, Stefan Brüggemann, and Mario García Torres.
=== Architecture ===
The architecture of Mesoamerican civilizations evolved in style from simple to complex. Teotihuacan, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, is one of the foremost examples of ancient pyramid construction. The cities of the Maya stand out to modern architects as examples of integration between large urban centers (with elaborate stone construction) and a thick jungle, generally with a complex network of roads. Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica also saw distinctive architectural influences from the Olmec, the Puuc and oasiamerican peoples.
With the arrival of the Spanish, architectural theories of the Greco-Latin order with Arab influences were introduced. In the first few decades of Spanish presence in the continent, the high level of Christian missionary activity, especially by mendicant orders like the Dominicans or Franciscans, meant the construction of many monasteries, often with Romanesque, Gothic or Mudéjar elements. The interaction between Spaniards and Indigenous people gave rise to artistic styles such as the tequitqui, from the Nahuatl term for worker or builder.
Years later, Baroque and Mannerist styles prevailed in large cathedrals and civil buildings. In rural areas, haciendas or stately estates with Mozarabic tendencies were built. In the 19th century, the neoclassical movement arose as the country gained independence and sought to establish itself as a republic. A famous example is the Hospicio Cabañas, an orphanage and hospital complex completed in 1829. The art nouveau, and the art deco were styles introduced into the design of the Palacio de Bellas Artes to mark the identity of the Mexican nation with Greek-Roman and pre-Columbian symbols.
As a new sense of nationalism developed in the 20th century, a strengthened central government issued formal policies that sought to use architecture to show Mexico's modernity and differentiation from other nations. The development of Mexican modernist architecture was especially manifested in the mid-1950s construction of the Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City, the main campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Designed by the most prestigious architects of the era, including Mario Pani, Eugenio Peschard, and Enrique del Moral, the buildings feature murals by artists Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and José Chávez Morado. It has since been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Juan O'Gorman was one of the first environmental architects in modern Mexico to develop the "organic" theory, trying to integrate buildings onto the landscape within the same approaches of Frank Lloyd Wright. In the search for a new architecture that does not resemble the styles of the past, it achieves a joint manifestation with the mural painting and the landscaping. Luis Barragán combined the shape of the space with forms of rural vernacular architecture of Mexico and Mediterranean countries (Spain-Morocco), integrating color that handles light and shade in different tones and opens a look at the international minimalism. He won the 1980 Pritzker Prize, the highest award in architecture.
=== Literature ===
Mexican literature has its antecedents in the literature of the indigenous settlements of Mesoamerica. Poetry had a rich cultural tradition in pre-Columbian Mexico, being divided into two broad categories—secular and religious. Aztec poetry was sung, chanted, or spoken, often to the accompaniment of a drum or a harp. While Tenochtitlan was the political capital, Texcoco was the cultural center; the Texcocan language was considered the most melodious and refined. The best well-known pre-Columbian poet is Nezahualcoyotl.
There are historical chronicles of the conquest of the Aztec Empire by participants, and, later, by historians. Bernal Díaz del Castillo's True History of the Conquest of the New Spain is still widely read today. Spanish-born poet Bernardo de Balbuena extolled the virtues of Mexico in Grandeza mexicana (Mexican Grandeur) (1604). Baroque literature flourished in the 17th century; the most notable writers of this period were Juan Ruiz de Alarcón and Juana Inés de la Cruz. Sor Juana was famous in her own time, called the "Ten Muse".
Nineteenth-century liberal of Nahua origin Ignacio Manuel Altamirano is an important writer of the era, along with Vicente Riva Palacio, the grandson of Mexican hero of independence Vicente Guerrero, who authored a series of historical novels as well as poetry. The late colonial-era novel by José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi, The Mangy Parrot ("El Periquillo Sarniento"), is said to be the first Latin American novel. In the modern era, the novel of the Mexican Revolution by Mariano Azuela (Los de abajo, translated to English as The Underdogs) is noteworthy. Poet and Nobel Laureate Octavio Paz, novelist Carlos Fuentes, Alfonso Reyes, Renato Leduc, essayist Carlos Monsiváis, journalist and public intellectual Elena Poniatowska, Juan Rulfo (Pedro Páramo), Martín Luis Guzmán, and Nellie Campobello (Cartucho) are other important Mexican writers.
=== Cinema ===
Mexican films from the Golden Age in the 1940s and 1950s are the greatest examples of Latin American cinema, with a huge industry comparable to the Hollywood of those years. Mexican films were exported and exhibited in all of Latin America and Europe. María Candelaria (1943) by Emilio Fernández, was one of the first films awarded a Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1946, the first time the event was held after World War II. The famous Spanish-born director Luis Buñuel realized in Mexico between 1947 and 1965 some of his masterpieces like Los Olvidados (1949) and Viridiana (1961). Famous actors and actresses from this period include María Félix, Pedro Infante, Dolores del Río, Jorge Negrete and the comedian Cantinflas.
More recently, films such as Como agua para chocolate (1992), Sex, Shame, and Tears (1999), Y tu mamá también (2001), and The Crime of Father Amaro (2002) have been successful in creating universal stories about contemporary subjects, and were internationally recognized. Mexican directors Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, Birdman, The Revenant, Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths), Alfonso Cuarón (A Little Princess, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Gravity, Roma), Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, The Shape of Water, Nightmare Alley), screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga and photographer Emmanuel Lubezki are some of the most known present-day film makers.
=== Music and dance ===
Mexico has a long tradition of music from the prehispanic era to the present. Much of the music from the colonial era was composed for religious purposes.
Although the traditions of European opera and especially Italian opera had initially dominated the Mexican music conservatories and strongly influenced native opera composers (in both style and subject matter), elements of Mexican nationalism had already appeared by the latter part of the 19th century with operas such as Aniceto Ortega del Villar's 1871 Guatimotzin, a romanticized account of the defense of Mexico by its last Aztec ruler, Cuauhtémoc. The most well-known Mexican composer of the twentieth century is Carlos Chávez (1899–1978), who composed six symphonies with indigenous themes, and rejuvenated Mexican music, founding the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional.
Traditional Mexican music includes mariachi, banda, norteño, ranchera, and corridos. Corridos were particularly popular during the Mexican Revolution (1910–20) and in the present era include narcocorridos. The embrace of rock and roll by young Mexicans in the 1960s and 1970s brought Mexico into the transnational, counterculture movement of the era. In Mexico, the native rock culture merged into the larger countercultural and political movement of the late 1960s, culminating in the 1968 protests and redirected into counterculture rebellion, La Onda (the wave).
On an everyday basis most Mexicans listen to contemporary music such as pop, rock, and others in both English and Spanish. Folk dance of Mexico along with its music is both deeply regional and traditional. Founded in 1952, the Ballet Folklórico de México performs music and dance of the prehispanic period through the Mexican Revolution in regional attire in the Palacio de Bellas Artes.
Some example of international success from Mexico Los Lobos, Maná, and Carlos Santana where is it in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
=== Media ===
Telenovelas, or soap operas, are very traditional in Mexico and are translated to many languages and seen all over the world. Mexico was a pioneer in edutainment, with TV producer Miguel Sabido creating in 1970s "soap operas for social change". The "Sabido method" has been adopted in many other countries subsequently, including India, Peru, Kenya, and China. The Mexican government successfully used a telenovela to promote family planning in the 1970s to curb the country's high birth rate.
Bilingual government radio stations broadcasting in Spanish and indigenous languages were a tool for indigenous education (1958–65) and since 1979 the Instituto Nacional Indigenista has established a national network of bilingual radio stations.
There was a major reform of the telecommunications industry in 2013, with the creation of new broadcast television channels. There had been a longstanding limitation on the number of networks, with Televisa, with a virtual monopoly; TV Azteca, and Imagen Television. New technology has allowed the entry of foreign satellite and cable companies. Mexico became the first Latin American country to transition from analog to all digital transmissions.
=== Cuisine ===
The origin of the current Mexican cuisine was established during the Spanish colonial era, a mixture of the foods of Spain with native indigenous ingredients. Foods indigenous to Mexico include corn, pepper vegetables, calabazas, avocados, sweet potato, turkey, many beans, and other fruits and spices. Similarly, some cooking techniques used today are inherited from pre-Columbian peoples, such as the nixtamalization of corn, the cooking of food in ovens at ground level, grinding in molcajete and metate. With the Spaniards came the pork, beef and chicken meats; peppercorn, sugar, milk and all its derivatives, wheat and rice, citrus fruits and another constellation of ingredients that are part of the daily diet of Mexicans.
From this meeting of two millennia old culinary traditions, were born pozole, mole sauce, barbacoa and tamale in its current forms, chocolate, a large range of breads, tacos, and the broad repertoire of Mexican street foods. Beverages such as atole, champurrado, milk chocolate and aguas frescas were born; desserts such as acitrón and the full range of crystallized sweets, rompope, cajeta, jericaya and the wide repertoire of delights created in the convents of nuns in all parts of the country.
In 2005, Mexico presented the candidature of its gastronomy for World Heritage Site of UNESCO, the first time a country had presented its gastronomic tradition for this purpose. The result was negative, because the committee did not place the proper emphasis on the importance of corn in Mexican cuisine. In November 2010, Mexican gastronomy was recognized as Intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. In April 2019, Daniela Soto-Innes was named the best female chef in the world by The World's Best 50 Restaurants and Elena Reygadas in 2023.
=== Sports ===
Organized sport in Mexico largely dates from the late nineteenth century, with only bullfighting having a long history dating to the early colonial era. Once the political turmoil of the early republic was replaced by the stability of the Porfiriato did organized sport become public diversions, with structured and ordered play governed by rules and authorities. Baseball was introduced from the United States and also via Cuba in the 1880s and organized teams were created. After the Mexican Revolution, the government sponsored sports to counter the international image of political turmoil and violence. Mexico's most popular sport is association football.
The bid to host the 1968 Summer Olympics was to burnish Mexico's stature internationally. The government spent abundantly on sporting facilities and other infrastructure to make the games a success, but those expenditures helped fuel public discontent with the government's lack of spending on social programs. Mexico City hosted the XIX Olympic Games in 1968, making it the first Latin American city to do so. Mexico hosted the 1970 FIFA World Cup and the 1986 FIFA World Cup and will co-host, along with Canada and the United States, the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With its past hosting of the 1970 and 1986 tournaments, Mexico will become the first country to host or co-host the men's World Cup three times.
Mexico is an international power in professional boxing. Fourteen Olympic boxing medals have been won by Mexico. The Mexican professional baseball league is named the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol. While usually not as strong as the United States, the Caribbean countries and Japan, Mexico has nonetheless achieved several international baseball titles. Lucha Libre (freestyle professional wrestling) is also major crowd draw with national promotions such as AAA, CMLL and others.
Despite efforts by animal rights activists to outlaw bullfighting, it remains a popular sport in the country, and almost all large cities have bullrings. Plaza México in Mexico City, which seats 45,000 people, is the largest bullring in the world. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa | Ottawa | Ottawa ( , ; Canadian French: [ɔtawɑ]) is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core of the Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area (CMA) and the National Capital Region (NCR). As of 2021, Ottawa had a city population of 1,017,449 and a metropolitan population of 1,488,307, making it the fourth-largest city and fourth-largest metropolitan area in Canada.
Ottawa is the political centre of Canada and the headquarters of the federal government. The city houses numerous foreign embassies, key buildings, organisations, and institutions of Canada's government; these include the Parliament of Canada, the Supreme Court, the residence of Canada's viceroy, and the Office of the Prime Minister.
Founded in 1826 as "Bytown", incorporated in 1850, and renamed "Ottawa" in 1855, its original boundaries were expanded through numerous annexations and were ultimately replaced by a new city incorporation and amalgamation in 2001. The municipal government of Ottawa is established and governed by the City of Ottawa Act of the Government of Ontario. It has an elected city council across 24 wards and a mayor elected city-wide, each elected using the first-past-the-post voting election system.
Ottawa has the highest proportion of university-educated residents among Canadian cities and is home to several colleges, universities, and research and cultural institutions, including the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, Algonquin College, Collège La Cité, the National Arts Centre, and the National Gallery of Canada, as well as numerous national museums, monuments, and historic sites. It has a generally high standard of living and is one of the most visited cities in Canada, with over 11 million visitors annually, including over 6 million vacationers.
== Etymology ==
The city name "Ottawa" was chosen in 1855 in reference to the Ottawa River, whose name is itself derived from the Algonquin adawe, meaning "to trade". In modern Algonquin, the city is known as Odàwàg.
== History ==
=== Early history ===
The Ottawa Valley became habitable around 10,000 years ago, following the natural draining of the Champlain Sea. The first evidence of human presence in the Ottawa Valley were spearpoints dated 8000-8500 years before present. By 6000 years before present, there were robust trading and communications networks. Approximately 3000-3500 years before present, there is definitive evidence of continuously existing settlements, including likely hearths and heavy tools. In closer proximity to the modern bounds of the City of Ottawa, there has been documentation of specific settlements at the mouth of the Gatineau River dating back to 3000-3500 years prior to post-Columbian contact. These findings suggest that these Algonquin people were engaged in foraging, hunting and fishing, but also trade and travel. Three major rivers meet within Ottawa, making it an important trade and travel area for thousands of years. This period ended with the arrival of settlers and colonization of North America by Europeans during and after the 15th century.
=== European exploration and early development ===
In 1610, Étienne Brûlé became the first documented European to navigate the Ottawa River, passing what would become Ottawa on his way to the Great Lakes. Three years later, Samuel de Champlain wrote about the waterfalls in the area and about his encounters with the Algonquin people.
The first non-Indigenous settlement in the area was created by Philemon Wright, a New Englander. Wright founded a lumber town in the area on 7 March 1800 on the north side of the river, across from the present-day city of Ottawa in Hull. He, with five other families and twenty-five labourers, also created an agricultural community, which was named Wright's Town, which would later become Gatineau. Wright pioneered the Ottawa Valley timber trade (soon to be the area's most significant economic activity) by transporting timber by river from the Ottawa Valley to Quebec City.
In 1820s, news of the British military's impending construction of the Rideau Canal led to land speculation by John Le Breton, a local businessman who bought a land lot on the prediction of the upcoming construction, which led to an alternative canal course being selected. A town was established in 1826, and in 1827, was named after the British military engineer Colonel, John By, who was responsible for the Rideau Waterway construction project. The Rideau canal provided a secure route between Montreal and Kingston on Lake Ontario. It bypassed a vulnerable stretch of the St. Lawrence River bordering the state of New York that had left re-supply ships bound for southwestern Ontario easily exposed to enemy fire during the War of 1812.
Colonel By set up military barracks on the site of today's Parliament Hill. He also laid out the streets of the town and created two distinct neighbourhoods named "Upper Town" west of the canal and "Lower Town" east of the canal. Similar to its Upper Canada and Lower Canada namesakes, historically, "Upper Town" was predominantly English-speaking and Protestant, whereas "Lower Town" was mostly French, Irish and Catholic. Bytown's early pioneer period saw Irish labour unrest during the Shiners' War from 1835 to 1845.
Bytown's population grew to 1,000 as the Rideau Canal was completed in 1832. The settlement was incorporated as a town in 1850. In 1855, Bytown was renamed Ottawa and obtained city status. William Pittman Lett was installed as the first city clerk, serving from 1844 to 1891, guiding Ottawa through 36 years of development, leading the hiring of key municipal roles, founding civic organizations, and proposing a set of by-laws for the city.
Starting in the 1850s, entrepreneurs known as lumber barons began to build large sawmills, which produced tens of millions of board feet of timber, such as producing 39 million in 1855 after the USA began accepting imports, against approximately 480 million board feet imported from across Canada in Britain a decade earlier, and eventually rising to 613 million in the early 20th century. Rail lines built in 1854 connected Ottawa to areas south and, from 1886 to the transcontinental rail network via Hull and Lachute, Quebec. By 1885 Ottawa was the only city in Canada whose downtown street-lights were powered entirely by electricity.
=== Selection as capital ===
The selection of Ottawa as a capital city predates Confederation. The choice was contentious and not straightforward, with the parliament of the United Province of Canada holding more than 200 votes over several decades to attempt to settle on a legislative solution to the location of its capital. In Ottawa, political dissension was evident in the 1849 Stony Monday Riot, when Tories objected to consideration of Bytown as the capital of the Province of Canada.
The governor-general of the province designated Kingston as the capital in 1841. This was controversial: the cities of Toronto and Montreal, as well as the former capital of Lower Canada, Quebec City, all had legislators dissatisfied with Kingston as the capital, although anglophone merchants in Quebec were the leading group supportive of the Kingston arrangement. In 1842, a vote rejected Kingston as the capital, and study of potential candidates included the then-named Bytown, but that option proved less popular than Toronto or Montreal. In 1843, a report of the Executive Council recommended Montreal as the capital as a more fortifiable location and commercial centre; however, the governor-general refused to execute a move without a parliamentary vote. In 1844, the Queen's acceptance of a parliamentary vote moved the capital to Montreal.
In 1849, after an Orange mob burned the Parliament building in Montreal, several votes were held on a permanent location. Kingston and Bytown were again considered potential capitals. However, the winning proposal was for two cities to share capital status and the legislature to alternate sitting in each: Quebec City and Toronto, in a policy known as perambulation. Logistical difficulties made this an unpopular arrangement, and an 1856 vote passed for the lower house of parliament to relocate permanently to Quebec City. The upper house refused to approve funding for the relocation, however.
The funding impasse led to the ending of the legislature's role in determining the seat of government. The legislature requested the Queen determine the seat of government. The Queen then acted on the advice of her governor general Edmund Head, who, after reviewing proposals from various cities, selected the recently renamed Ottawa. The Queen sent a letter to colonial authorities selecting Ottawa as the capital, effective 31 December 1857. George Brown, briefly a co-premier of the Province of Canada, attempted to reverse this decision but was unsuccessful. The Parliament ratified the Queen's choice in 1859, with Quebec serving as interim capital from 1859 to 1865. The relocation process began in 1865, with the first session of Parliament held in the new buildings in 1866. The buildings were generally well received by legislators.
Ottawa was chosen as the capital for two primary reasons: first, Ottawa's isolated location, surrounded by dense forest far from the Canada–US border and situated on a cliff face, would make it more defensible from attack. Second, Ottawa was on the border between Canada West and Canada East, making the selection an important political compromise.
Other minor considerations also favoured Ottawa. Despite the city's regional isolation, there was water transportation access from spring to fall, both to Montreal via the Ottawa River, and to Kingston via the Rideau Waterway. Additionally, by 1854 it also had a modern all-season railway (the Bytown and Prescott Railway) that carried passengers, lumber and supplies 82 kilometres (51 miles) to Prescott on the Saint Lawrence River and beyond. Ottawa's small size was also thought to be less prone to politically motivated mob violence, as had happened in the previous Canadian capitals. Finally, the government already owned the land that eventually became Parliament Hill, which it thought would be an ideal location for the Parliament buildings.
The original Parliament buildings, which included the Centre, East and West Blocks, were constructed between 1859 and 1866 in the Gothic Revival style. At the time, this was the largest North American construction project ever attempted and Public Works Canada and its architects were not initially well prepared for the relatively shallow-lying bedrock and had to redesign architectural drawings, leading to delays. The Library of Parliament and Parliament Hill landscaping were completed in 1876.
=== Post-Confederation ===
In 1889, the Government developed and distributed 60 "water leases" to mainly local industrialists which gave them permission to generate electricity and operate hydroelectric generators at Chaudière Falls. Public transportation began in 1870 with a horsecar system, overtaken in the 1890s by an electric streetcar system that operated until 1959 and peaked at trackage of 90.5km, including an extension to Hull.
The Hull–Ottawa fire of 1900 destroyed two-thirds of Hull, including major lumber employers and main street buildings. It began as a chimney fire in Hull on the north side of the river, but due to wind, spread rapidly throughout the widespread wooden buildings. In Ottawa, it destroyed about one-fifth of the buildings from the Lebreton Flats south to Booth Street and down to Dow's Lake. The fire had a disproportionate effect on west-end lower-income neighbourhoods. It had also spread among many lumber yards, a major part of Ottawa's economy. The fire destroyed approximately 3200 buildings and caused an estimated $300 million in damage (in 2020 Canadian dollars). An estimated 14% of Ottawans and 40% of Hull residents were left homeless.
On 1 June 1912, the Grand Trunk Railway opened both the Château Laurier hotel and its neighbouring downtown Union Station. On 3 February 1916, the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings was destroyed by a fire. The House of Commons and Senate was temporarily relocated to the recently constructed Victoria Memorial Museum, now the Canadian Museum of Nature until the completion of the new Centre Block in 1927. The centrepiece of the new Parliament Buildings, is a dominant Gothic Revival-styled structure known as the Peace Tower.
The location of what is now Confederation Square was a former commercial district centrally located in a triangular area downtown surrounded by historically significant heritage buildings, including the Parliament buildings. It was redeveloped as a ceremonial centre in 1938 as part of the City Beautiful Movement. It became the site of the National War Memorial in 1939 and was designated a National Historic Site in 1984. A new Central Post Office (now the Privy Council of Canada) was constructed in 1939 beside the War Memorial because the original post office building on the proposed Confederation Square grounds had to be demolished.
=== Post–Second World War ===
Ottawa's former industrial appearance was vastly altered by the 1950 Gréber Plan. Prime Minister Mackenzie King hired French architect-planner Jacques Gréber to design an urban plan for managing development in the National Capital Region, to make it more aesthetically pleasing and a location more befitting for Canada's political centre. Gréber's plan included the creation of the National Capital Greenbelt, National Arts Centre, the Kichi Zibi Mikan parkway and Queensway highway system. His plan also called the moving of downtown Union Station (now the Senate of Canada Building) to the suburbs, the removal of the street car system, the decentralization of selected government offices, and the relocation of industries and removal of substandard housing from the downtown. While not every recommendation in the Grébér Plan was actioned, such as a city hall on the east side of the canal, the plan's open space recommendations did lead to the creation spaces such as the Rideau Canal and Ottawa River pathways. A major precondition to the creation of the Rideau Canal pathway was the elimination of direct rail service into downtown.
In 1959, the National Capital Commission was established as a Crown Corporation through the 1958 National Capital Act. This marked the creation of a permanent political infrastructure for managing the capital region.
These included plans from the 1899 Ottawa Improvement Commission (OIC), the Todd Plan in 1903, the Holt Report in 1915 and the Federal District Commission (FDC). The National Capital Commission's structure supplanted the Federal District Commission, which was established in 1927 with a 16-year funding commitment but was reliant on the voluntary transfer of municipal planning authorities from the district's municipalities.
From 1931 to 1958, City Hall had been at the Transportation Building adjacent to Union Station (now part of the Rideau Centre). In 1958, a new City Hall opened on Green Island near Rideau Falls, where urban renewal had recently transformed this industrial location into a green space. In 2001, Ottawa City Hall returned downtown to a 1990 building on 110 Laurier Avenue West, the home of the now-defunct Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton. This new location was close to Ottawa's first (1849–1877) and second (1877–1931) City Halls. This new city hall complex also contained an adjacent 19th-century restored heritage building formerly known as the Ottawa Normal School.
From the 1960s to the 1980s, there was a large increase in construction in the National Capital Region, which was followed by large growth in the high-tech industry during the 1990s and 2000s. Ottawa became one of Canada's largest high-tech cities and was nicknamed Silicon Valley North. By the 1980s, Bell Northern Research (later Nortel) employed thousands, and large federally assisted research facilities such as the National Research Council contributed to an eventual technology boom. The early companies led to newer firms such as Newbridge Networks, Mitel and Corel.
In 1991, provincial and federal governments responded to a land claim submitted by the Algonquins of Ontario regarding the unceded status of the land on which Ottawa is situated. Negotiations have been ongoing, with an eventual goal to sign a treaty that would release Canada from claims for misuse of land under Algonquin title, affirm rights of the Algonquins, and negotiate conditions of the title transfer, with an agreement in principle arranged in 2016.
=== 21st Century ===
Ottawa's city limits have expanded over time, including a large expansion effective 1 January 2001, when the province of Ontario amalgamated all the constituent municipalities of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton into a single city. Regional Chair Bob Chiarelli was elected as the new city's first mayor in the 2000 municipal election, defeating Gloucester mayor Claudette Cain. On 15 October 2001, a diesel-powered light rail transit (LRT) line was introduced on an experimental basis. Known today as O-Train Line 2, it was dubbed the O-Train and connected downtown Ottawa to the southern suburbs via Carleton University. The decision to extend the O-Train, and to replace it with an electric light rail system, was a major issue in the 2006 municipal elections, where Chiarelli was defeated by businessman Larry O'Brien. After O'Brien's election, transit plans were changed to establish a series of light rail stations from the east side of the city into downtown, and for using a tunnel through the downtown core. Jim Watson, the last mayor of Ottawa before the 2001 amalgamation, was re-elected in the 2010 election.
In October 2012, the City Council approved the final Lansdowne Park plan, an agreement with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group that saw a new stadium, increased green space and housing and retail added to the site. In December 2012, City Council voted unanimously to move forward with the Confederation Line, a 12.5 km (7.8 mi) light rail transit line, which was opened on 14 September 2019.
In 2020, the city saw a major change in the nature of work due to civil servants without necessary on-site functions moving to online work as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with many government workers shifting to online work. This arrangement continued until the gradual return to in-person work beginning in 2022, when federal workers returned to two mandatory days in office per week.
In 2022, a movement protesting COVID-19 restrictions drew large numbers of Canadians, including those from outside Ottawa, and leading to the occupation of Wellington Street in Canada's parliamentary precinct. The movement had associations with the trucking social identity, and was preceded by a "Convoy to Ottawa" phase, and led to an occupation beginning on January 29th that lasted approximately three and a half weeks, ending after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act on February 14th and pursued enforcement action against the protesters, such as debanking of over 250 protestor bank accounts and later carrying out arrests on February 19th.
In fall 2022, Mark Sutcliffe was elected as mayor of Ottawa on strength of support from suburban voters, making anti-bike lane policy a key policy point of his election campaign.
== Geography ==
=== Districts and neighbourhoods ===
The present-day city of Ottawa consists of the historic main urban area, as well as other urban, suburban and rural areas within the city's post-amalgamation limits.
==== Central Ottawa, Ottawa West and Ottawa East ====
Central Ottawa and Ottawa East comprise a large portion of the pre-amalgamation city, including, the former city of Vanier, a densely populated, historically francophone, working class enclave, and the former village of Rockcliffe Park, a wealthy residential neighbourhood adjacent to the Prime Minister's official residence at 24 Sussex and the Governor General's residence. Theese areas the downtown core and older neighbourhoods to the east, west, and south. These vibrant neighbourhoods include the bustling commercial and cultural areas of Old Ottawa South,
Centretown, Lower Town, and Sandy Hill, the affluent tree-lined neighbourhoods of The Glebe, Westboro, and New Edinburgh, and the historically blue-collar communities of Hintonburg, Mechanicsville, Carlington, and LeBreton Flats, with a mixture of housing types, artist lofts, and industrial uses. These areas also includes the ethnic enclaves of Chinatown and Little Italy.
==== Suburbs and outlying communities ====
Modern Ottawa is made up of eleven historic townships, ten of which are from the former Carleton County and one from the former Russell County. Ottawa city limits are bounded on the east by the United Counties of Prescott and Russell; by Renfrew County and Lanark County in the west; on the south by the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville and the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry; and on the north by the Regional County Municipality of Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais and the City of Gatineau.
The main suburban areas extend a considerable distance to the northeast, southwest and south of the inner-city. These areas also include the former cities of Cumberland, Gloucester (with the large suburban district of Orleans outside the greenbelt split between them), Kanata, and Nepean. The towns of Stittsville and Richmond within the former Goulbourn Township are to the southwest. Nepean as a suburb also includes Barrhaven. The communities of Manotick and Riverside South are on the other side of the Rideau River, and Greely, southeast of Riverside South.
A number of rural communities (villages and hamlets) are also part of the City of Ottawa. Some of these communities are Burritts Rapids; Ashton; Fallowfield; Kars; Fitzroy Harbour; Munster; Carp; North Gower; Metcalfe; Constance Bay and Osgoode. Several towns are within the federally defined National Capital Region but outside of Ottawa's municipal boundaries; these include communities of Almonte, Carleton Place, Embrun, Kemptville, Rockland, and Russell.
=== Architecture ===
Influenced by government structures, much of the city's architecture tends to be formal and functional; the city is also marked by Romantic and Picturesque styles of architecture such as the Parliament Buildings' gothic revival architecture. Ottawa's domestic architecture contains single-family homes, but also includes smaller numbers of semi-detached houses, rowhouses, and apartment buildings. Many domestic buildings in Centretown are clad in red brick, with trim in wood, stone, or metal; variations are common, depending on the cultural heritage of the neighbourhoods and the time they were built.
The skyline has been controlled by building height restrictions originally implemented to keep Parliament Hill and the Peace Tower at 92.2 m (302 ft) visible from most parts of the city, and prevented construction of buildings exceeding 150 feet through at least the 1950s. Today, several buildings are slightly taller than the Peace Tower, with the tallest being the Claridge Icon at 143 metres (469 ft). Many federal buildings in the National Capital Region are managed by Public Works Canada, which leads to heritage conservation in its renovations and management of buildings, such as the renovation of the Senate Building. Most of the federal land in the region is managed by the National Capital Commission; its control of much undeveloped land and appropriations powers gives the NCC a great deal of influence over the city's development.
=== Climate ===
Ottawa has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb, Trewartha Dcbo/Dcbc) with four distinct seasons. The climate falls between Zones 5a and 5b on the Canadian Plant Hardiness Scale.
Winters are cold and snowy. In January, the coldest month, the average minimum temperature is -14.3 °C (6 °F). Temperatures generally stay below freezing, often for weeks at a time, and snowpack is therefore consistent. Snow is the dominant form of precipitation in the winter, though other forms of precipitation, including freezing rain, are also common. On average, 232 cm (91 in) of snow falls in a year, mainly from November through April. Snow is not unusual in May or October, but it is generally very light and does not accumulate. Outbreaks of polar air often cause frigid temperatures. On average, there are 16 nights in a year in which the temperature falls below -20 °C (-4 °F). Extremely low temperatures, below -30 °C (-13 °F), occur on average approximately once every two years. Periods of snowfall are generally light, though occasional snowstorms have been known to significantly affect the city, such as in January 2022.
Summers are hot and humid. In July, the hottest month, the average maximum temperature is 27 °C (81 °F). On average, there are 15 days in a year that have temperatures exceeding 30 °C (86 °F). Heatwaves are common and may lead to temperatures in excess of 35 °C (95 °F). Humidity is generally high at all times of the year, but is most noticeable in the summer. On average, there are 23 days in a year with thunderstorms, with the majority occurring in the summer.
Spring and autumn, while transitional, can see extremes in temperature. For example, it is not unusual for the month of May to have nights below freezing, nor is it for temperatures to exceed 30°C (86°F), with September sometimes seeing temperatures in excess of 35°C, October seeing temperatures below freezing, and November temperatures below -10°C.
On average, days with fog are seen 23 days per year, and they are likely to occur in all seasons.
Annual rainfall averages around 757 mm (29.8 in), while total precipitation averages 930 mm (36.6 in). Days with any precipitation is spread fairly evenly throughout the year, but high precipitation days are more common in late summer and early fall.
In a typical year, Ottawa experiences about 2,080 hours of sunshine annually (45% of possible), with June, July and August being the sunniest period after accounting for time between sunrise and sunset. Prevailing winds are generally from the West.
=== Physical geography ===
Ottawa is situated on the south bank of the Ottawa River and contains the mouths of the Rideau River and Rideau Canal. The Rideau Canal (Rideau Waterway) first opened in 1832 and is 202 km (126 mi) long. It connects the Saint Lawrence River on Lake Ontario at Kingston to the Ottawa River near Parliament Hill. It was able to bypass the unnavigable sections of the Cataraqui and Rideau rivers and various small lakes along the waterway due to flooding techniques and the construction of 47 water transport locks between Ottawa and Kingston Mills
Ottawa is situated in a lowland on top of Paleozoic carbonate and shale and is surrounded by more craggy Precambrian igneous and metamorphic formations. Ottawa has had fluvial deposition of till and sands, leading to the widespread formation of eskers. There are limited distinct features arising from glacial deposits, but Ottawa was affected by the Late Wisconsian advance. Before the draining of the Champlain Sea, the area had high salinity. After the draining of the sea, the area had pine-dominated forests. Ottawa is located within the Western Quebec Seismic Zone, and while relatively inactive, the city does occasionally experience earthquakes.
=== Built environment ===
During part of the winter season the Ottawa section of the canal forms the world's largest skating rink, thereby providing both a recreational venue and a 7.8 km (4.8 mi) transportation path to downtown for ice skaters (from Carleton University and Dow's Lake to the Rideau Centre and National Arts Centre). On 29 June 2007, the Rideau Canal was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The older part of the city (including what remains of Bytown) is known as Lower Town, and occupies an area between the canal and the rivers. Across the canal to the west lie both Centretown and Downtown Ottawa, which share a border along Gloucester Street. These core neighbourhoods contain streets such as Elgin and Bank, which fill the role of commercial main streets in the region.
Centretown is next to downtown, which includes a substantial economic and architectural government presence across multiple branches of government. The legislature's work takes place in the parliamentary precinct, which includes buildings on Parliament Hill and others downtown, such as the Senate of Canada Building. Important buildings in the executive branch include the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council as well as many civil service buildings. The Supreme Court of Canada building can also be found in this area.
Across the Ottawa River, which forms the border between Ontario and Quebec, lies the city of Gatineau, itself the result of amalgamation of the former Quebec cities of Hull and Aylmer. Although formally and administratively separate cities in two different provinces, Ottawa and Gatineau (along with several nearby municipalities) collectively constitute the National Capital Region, which is considered a single metropolitan area. One federal Crown corporation, the National Capital Commission, or NCC, has significant land holdings in both cities, including sites of historical and touristic importance. The NCC, through its responsibility for planning and development of these lands, has a crucial role in shaping the development of the city. Around the main urban area is an extensive greenbelt, administered by the NCC for conservation and leisure, and comprising mostly forest, farmland and marshland.
== Demographics ==
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Ottawa had a population of 1,017,449 living in 407,252 of its 427,113 total private dwellings, a change of 8.9% from its 2016 population of 934,243. With a land area of 2,788.2 km2 (1,076.5 sq mi), it had a population density of 364.9/km2 (945.1/sq mi) in 2021.
As of 2021 the Ottawa-Gatineau census metropolitan area (CMA) had a population of 1,488,307 living in 604,721 of its 638,013 total private dwellings, a change of 8.5% from its 2016 population of 1,371,576. With a land area of 8,046.99 km2 (3,106.96 sq mi), it had a population density of 185.0/km2 (479.0/sq mi) in 2021.
Ottawa's median age of 40.1 is below the provincial and national averages as of 2016. Youths under 15 constituted 16.7% of the total population in 2016, while those of retirement age (65 years and older) made up 15.4%.
=== Race, immigrant status and ethnicity ===
As of 2021, approximately 64.9% of Ottawa's population were white or European, while 2.6% were Indigenous, and 32.5% were visible minorities (higher than the national percentage of 26.5%).
The 2021 census reported that immigrants (individuals born outside Canada) number 259,215, 25.9% of the population of Ottawa. Of this immigrant population, the top countries of origin were China (20,320 persons or 7.8%), India (16,200 persons or 6.2%), United Kingdom (14,760 persons or 5.7%), Lebanon (11,900 persons or 4.6%), Philippines (10,505 persons or 4.1%), United States of America (8,795 persons or 3.4%), Haiti (6,710 persons or 2.6%), Syria (6,370 persons or 2.5%), Vietnam (6,155 persons or 2.4%), and Iran (6,000 persons or 2.3%).
=== Religion ===
According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Ottawa included:
Christianity (528,700 persons or 52.8%)
Irreligion (316,740 persons or 31.6%)
Islam (98,920 persons or 9.9%)
Hinduism (20,300 persons or 2.0%)
Buddhism (10,800 persons or 1.1%)
Judaism (10,600 persons or 1.1%)
Sikhism (6,375 persons or 0.6%)
Indigenous Spirituality (445 persons or <0.1%)
Other (8,055 persons or 0.8%)
In 2011, around 65% of Ottawa residents described themselves as Christian, with Catholics accounting for 38.5% of the population and members of Protestant churches 25%. Other religions were also present in Ottawa, the most prominent being Islam (6.7%), Hinduism (1.4%), Buddhism (1.3%), and Judaism (1.2%). Those with no religious affiliation represented 22.8%.
=== Language ===
Those who identify their mother tongue as English constitute 58.2 percent, while those with French as their mother tongue make up 12.5 percent of the population. Regarding respondents' knowledge of one or both official languages, 60.6 percent and 1.4 percent of the population know English and French only, respectively, while 36.4 percent know both official languages. Bilingualism became official policy for the conduct of municipal business in 2002, making it the largest city in Canada with both English and French as co-official languages, as Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto do not have official bilingualism policies. An additional 23.1 percent of the population list languages other than English and French as their mother tongue. These include Arabic (4.3%), Mandarin (2.2%), Spanish (1.4%), Italian (0.8%), and many others.
The overall Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area (CMA) has a larger proportion of French speakers than Ottawa since Gatineau's population's first language is mostly French.
== Economy ==
As of 2015, the region of Ottawa-Gatineau has the sixth-highest total household income of all Canadian metropolitan areas ($82,053), and the Ontario portion more directly overlapping the City of Ottawa has a higher household income ($86,451). The median household income after taxes in the City of Ottawa is $88,000 in 2020 was higher than the national median of $73,000. Ottawa's unemployment rate has remained below the national and provincial unemployment rates since 2006, with a rate of 5.2% in April 2022, low compared to the decade preceding. Ottawa is ranked the best city in North America for quality of life by Numbeo, but falls short of other Canadian cities in other rankings such as Vancouver and Toronto in Mercer's rankings.
Ottawa's primary employers are the Public Service of Canada and the high-tech industry, although tourism and healthcare also represent increasingly sizeable economic activities. The federal government is the city's largest employer, employing over 116,000 individuals from the National Capital Region. The national headquarters for many federal departments are in Ottawa, particularly throughout Centretown and in the Terrasses de la Chaudière and Place du Portage complexes in Hull. The National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa is the main command centre for the Canadian Armed Forces. It hosts the Department of National Defence. During the summer, the city hosts the Ceremonial Guard, which performs functions such as the Changing the Guard.
As Canada's national capital, tourism is an important part of Ottawa's economy, particularly after the 150th anniversary of Canada, centred in Ottawa. The lead-up to the festivities saw much investment in civic infrastructure, upgrades to tourist infrastructure and increases in national cultural attractions. Depending on methodology and source, the National Capital Region annually attracts an estimated 9.8 to 11 million tourists, who spend about 2.6 billion dollars and support approximately 23,000 jobs directly.
In addition to the economic activities that come with being the national capital, Ottawa is an important technology centre; in 2015, its 1800 companies employed approximately 63,400 people. The concentration of companies in this industry earned the city the nickname of "Silicon Valley North." Most of these companies specialize in telecommunications, software development and environmental technology. Large technology companies such as Nortel, Corel, Mitel, Cognos, Halogen Software, Shopify and JDS Uniphase were founded in the city. Ottawa also has regional locations for Nokia, Adobe Systems, Bell Canada and IBM. Many of the telecommunications and new technology are in the western part of the city (formerly Kanata). The "tech sector" was doing particularly prior to the dot-com burst, but remains generally strong as of 2016.
Nordion, Abbott Laboratories and the National Research Council of Canada and OHRI are part of the life science sector in Ottawa.
The health sector is another major employer, which employs over 64,000 people in the city as of the 2020 census. The City of Ottawa is the second largest employer as of 2010, with approximately 2,100 people employed by the Ottawa Police service as of 2022, and 13,300 full-time equivalent non-police employees as of 2019.
All major clusters tracked by the city saw increases in employment between 2014 and 2019. Major areas of growth in the 2010s included local and federal administration, finance and accommodation. Between 2008 and 2020, there was growth in the number of government employees and a reduction in high-tech jobs, a reversal of previous trends from 2003 to 2008. The city has experienced a weak labour market recovery in the years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ottawa has also seen above average disruption to the economy due to American tariff policy during the second term of President Donald Trump.
Ottawa already has the largest rural economy among Canada's major cities. In Ottawa, the rural economy contributes over $1 billion to the GDP. Agriculture alone accounts for $400 million, $136.7 million of which is farm-gate sales. Rural economic activity includes agriculture, retail sales, construction, forestry and mining (aggregates), tourism, manufacturing, personal and business services, and transportation, to name a few. Rural employment expanded by a healthy 18% from 1996 to 2001.
=== Media ===
Three two daily local newspapers are printed in Ottawa: two English newspapers, the Ottawa Citizen established as the Bytown Packet in 1845 and the Ottawa Sun. The city's last French language daily, Le Droit, has become an online only paper after a 2020-2023 run as a weekly. The city is also home to local stations of the television broadcast networks and systems CBC and CTV, as well as English and French radio stations.
In addition to the market's local media services, Ottawa is home to several national media operations, including CPAC (Canada's national legislature broadcaster) and the parliamentary bureau staff of various major newsgathering organizations in television, radio and print. The city is also home to the head office of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
== Education ==
=== Primary and secondary education ===
Ottawa has four main public school boards: English, English-Catholic, French, and French-Catholic. The English-language Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) is the largest board with 116 primary schools, 26 scondary schools, 5 alternative learning sites and 1 adult education school, followed by the English-Catholic Ottawa Catholic School Board with 90 schools. The two French-language boards are the French-Catholic Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est with 46 primary schools and 11 secondary schools, and the French Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario with 44 schools. Ottawa also has numerous private schools which are not part of a board.
The Ottawa Public Library was created in 1906 as part of the Carnegie library system. As of 2026 the library system has 1.8 million items, down from 2.3 million in 34 branches and 2 mobile libraries in 2008. Approximately 11.5 million loans were conducted in 2024, approximately 8.2 million physical loans and the remainder digital items. In 2024, the library saw 3.5 million visits.
=== Higher education and public research ===
Ottawa is known as the most educated city in Canada, with over half the population having graduated from college and/or university. As of 2007, Ottawa was claimed by the local business journal to have the highest per capita concentration of engineers, scientists, and residents with PhDs in Canada. The city has two main public universities and two main public colleges.
Carleton University was founded in 1942 to meet the needs of returning World War II veterans and later became Ontario's first private, non-denominational college. Over time, Carleton transitioned into a comprehensive university that Maclean's ranks 4th out of 15 in its comprehensive category. The university's campus sits between Old Ottawa South and the Central Experimental Farm.
The University of Ottawa (originally named the "College of Bytown") was the first post-secondary institution established in the city in 1848. The university later grew to become the largest English-French bilingual university in the world. It is also a member of the U15, a group of highly respected research-intensive universities in Canada. The university's main campus is in the Sandy Hill neighbourhood, just adjacent to the city's downtown core. The University of Ottawa's catholic affiliated university college is St. Paul University.
Algonquin College is a college of applied arts and technology founded in 1967. Its main campus is located in the City View neighbourhood of College Ward. The college serves the National Capital Region and the outlying areas of Eastern Ontario. The college has satellite campuses in Pembroke and Perth.
Collège La Cité is the largest French-language college in Ontario. Founded in 1989, its campus is located off the Aviation Parkway in the Carson Meadows neighbourhood.
Other colleges and universities in the metropolitan area are located in the neighbouring suburb of Gatineau, including the University of Quebec in Outaouais, Cégep de l'Outaouais, and Heritage College.
The city is also home to many federal post-secondary associations, including those representing institutions like Polytechnics Canada, Universities Canada, Colleges and Institutes Canada, Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne, and the U15; those representing educators, such as the Canadian Association of University Teachers; and those representing students, such as the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, Canadian Federation of Students and the National Educational Association of Disabled Students.
Public research also occurs through government laboratories and research centres such as the National Research Council, various Health Canada laboratories or the Central Experimental Farm.
=== Public health ===
There are six active general medical hospitals in the city of Ottawa: The Queensway Carleton Hospital, The Ottawa Hospital (Civic Hospital, General Hospital, Riverside Hospital), Montfort Hospital, and Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Several specialized hospital facilities are also present, such as the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, and Élisabeth Bruyère Hospital. There are also several hospitals and major medical centres in neighbouring suburban communities and commuter towns. The University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine operates teaching hospitals in conjunction with partners throughout the city.
Ottawa is the headquarters of numerous major medical organizations and institutions such as Canadian Red Cross, Canadian Blood Services, Health Canada, Canadian Medical Association, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Canadian Nurses Association, and the Medical Council of Canada.
== Culture and contemporary life ==
Traditionally, the ByWard Market (in Lower Town), Parliament Hill, Chinatown, and the Golden Triangle (in Centretown – Downtown) have been focal points of the cultural scenes in Ottawa. Modern thoroughfares such as Wellington Street, Rideau Street, Sussex Drive, Elgin Street, Bank Street, Somerset Street, Preston Street, Richmond Road in Westboro, and Sparks Street are home to many boutiques, museums, theatres, galleries, landmarks and memorials in addition to eating establishments, cafes, bars and nightclubs.
As Canada's capital, Ottawa has played host to many significant cultural events in Canadian history, including the first visit of the reigning Canadian sovereign—King George VI, with his consort, Queen Elizabeth—to his parliament, on 19 May 1939. VE Day was marked with a large celebration on 8 May 1945, the first raising of the country's new national flag took place on 15 February 1965, and the centennial of Confederation was celebrated on 1 July 1967. Queen Elizabeth II was in Ottawa on 17 April 1982, to issue a royal proclamation of the enactment of the Constitution Act. In 1983, then prince Charles and Diana Princess of Wales came to Ottawa for a state dinner hosted by then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. In 2011, Ottawa was selected as the first city to receive Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge during their tour of Canada.
Ottawa was featured in the short story collection For Your Eyes Only, by Ian Fleming.
=== Landmarks ===
There is one World Heritage Site in Ottawa, the Rideau Canal, along with 27 National Historic Sites of Canada in Ottawa, including the Château Laurier, the Parliament of Canada, Confederation Square, the former Ottawa Teachers' College and Laurier House. Additionally in 1990, Notre Cathedral Basilica was designated as a National Historic Site. Many other properties of cultural value have been designated as having "heritage elements" by the City of Ottawa under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.
=== Arts ===
==== Performing and visual arts ====
The Ottawa Little Theatre, founded in 1913 as the Ottawa Drama League, is Ottawa's longest-running community theatre company. Since 1969, Ottawa has been the home of the National Arts Centre, a major performing arts venue that houses four stages and is home to the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and formerly hosted the Opera Lyra Ottawa and the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra prior to their failure and move to Carleton University, respectively.
Established in 1975, the Great Canadian Theatre Company specializes in the production of Canadian plays at a local level. The cities museum landscape is notable for containing six of Canada's nine national museums, the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, the Canada Science and Technology Museum, Canadian Museum of Nature, Canadian War Museum and National Gallery of Canada. The National Gallery of Canada; designed by famous architect Moshe Safdie, it is a permanent home to the Maman sculpture. The Canadian War Museum houses a collection comprised of approximately 600,000 artifacts, photos and books and was moved to an expanded facility in 2005. The Victoria Memorial Museum Building, which houses the Canadian Museum of Nature commenced construction in 1905 and it opened as the National Museum of Natural Sciences in 1912, and underwent a major renovation between 2004 and 2010, leading to a centrepiece Blue Whale skeleton, and the creation of a monthly nightclub experience, Nature Nocturne.
=== Cuisine ===
Ottawa is home to several regional dishes. As a city with traditional French-Canadian roots, staples such as poutine are served throughout the city. However, many consider shawarma Ottawa's official dish; the city contains more shawarma restaurants than anywhere else in Canada. Beaver tails, a fried dough pastry, were first created in Ottawa in the 1970s. Le Cordon Bleu has a long-established culinary arts institute in the central Ottawa neighbourhood of Sandy Hill, the only Le Cordon Bleu campus in North America.
=== Festivals ===
Ottawa hosts a variety of annual seasonal activities—such as Winterlude, the largest festival in Canada, and Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill and surrounding downtown area, as well as Bluesfest, Canadian Tulip Festival, Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival, Ottawa International Jazz Festival, Fringe Festival, Capital Pride, and CityFolk, that have grown to become some of the largest festivals of their kind in the world. In 2010, Ottawa's Festival industry received the IFEA "World Festival and Event City Award" for the category of North American cities with a population between 500,000 and 1,000,000.
== Sports ==
=== Professional sports ===
Sport in Ottawa has a history dating back to the 19th century. The city is currently home to six professional sports teams. The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team playing in the National Hockey League. The team shares the name with a previous franchise that won the Stanley Cup four times between 1920 and 1927. The team is currently a member of the Atlantic Division and play their home games at the Canadian Tire Centre. In 2023, the Ottawa Charge became one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).The Charge play home games at TD Place Arena.
The Ottawa Redblacks are a professional Canadian Football team playing in the Canadian Football League. Formerly the Ottawa Rough Riders represented the city until 1996. With a precursors dating back to 1876, the team adopted its identify in 1898 and was one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America. The professional soccer club, Atlético Ottawa, plays in the Canadian Premier League. The team was founded by Spanish club Atlético Madrid, and along with the Redblacks, play their home games at TD Place Stadium. Ottawa Rapid FC of the Northern Super League also play at TD Place Stadium. The Rapid are one of the six founding clubs in the NSL, having played in the inaugural 2025 season. The New York Riptide became Ottawa Black Bears when they moved to the city in 2024. They compete in the National Lacrosse League and play at the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata. The Ottawa Blackjacks are a professional basketball team, playing in the Canadian Elite Basketball League, out of the TD Place Arena. The Ottawa Titans play professional baseball in the Frontier League at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park. Ottawa was previously home to the Ottawa Lynx, a Triple-A club, as well as the Ottawa Champions, an independent baseball team in the Can-Am League.
=== Collegiate sports ===
The University of Ottawa and Carleton University varsity teams compete in U Sports in various sports. Algonquin College and Collège La Cité teams compete in the OCAA.
The Carleton Ravens are nationally ranked in basketball and soccer as of 2011. Carleton's men's basketball program is regarded as dynastically successful, having won 17 of the last 20 national championships. The Ottawa Gee-Gees are nationally ranked in basketball and soccer as of 2022.
=== Non-professional and amateur sports ===
Several non-professional teams also play in Ottawa, including the Ottawa 67's junior ice hockey team.
The city is home to an assortment of amateur organized team sports such as soccer, basketball, baseball and curling. Casual recreational activities, such as skating, cycling and skiing are also available.
The city has hosted Ottawa Race Weekend during the 4th weekend of May since 1975. In addition, Ironman Triathlon began in Ottawa in 2025.
== Government and politics ==
The City of Ottawa is a single-tier municipality, meaning it is in itself a census division and has no county or regional municipality government above it, and has no subsidiary municipalities to provide municipal services. Ottawa is governed by the 25-member Ottawa City Council consisting of 24 councillors each representing one ward and the mayor, Mark Sutcliffe as of the 2022 Ottawa municipal election, is elected in a citywide vote. Ottawa is subject to Ontario's strong mayor powers.
Along with being the capital of Canada, Ottawa is politically diverse in local politics. Most of the city has traditionally supported the Liberal Party in federal elections. The safest areas for the Liberals are the ones dominated by Francophones, especially in Vanier and central Gloucester. Central Ottawa is usually more left-leaning, and the New Democratic Party have won ridings there. Ridings further outside the city centre, such as those including Kanata, Barrhaven and rural areas, tend to be more conservative, fiscally and socially. This is especially true in the former Townships of West Carleton, Goulbourn, Rideau and Osgoode, which are more in line with the conservative areas in the surrounding counties.
At present, Ottawa is host to approximately 150 embassies. A further approximately 50 countries accredit their embassies and missions in the United States to Canada.
== Transportation ==
=== Public transportation ===
Ottawa's public transit system is managed by OC Transpo. OC Transpo operates an integrated, multi-modal rapid transit system which includes:
The O-Train light rail system. The four-line public rail system includes three existing lines and one currently under construction.
Line 1 is an east–west line which operates medium-capacity light rail vehicles and travels under the city's downtown core.
Line 2 is a north–south rail transit corridor which utilizes a mix of Stadler FLIRTs and Alstom Coradia LINTs connecting the south end of Ottawa to Line 1 at Bayview station.
Line 3 is an under construction branch of Line 1, splitting at Lincoln Fields station and continuing west.
Line 4 is a 4 km (2.5 mi) airport link connecting Line 2 to the Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport
A vast bus rapid transit (BRT) system that uses a series of dedicated bus-only roadways named the Transitway and reserved lanes on city streets and highways. The Transitway has long distances between stops and full station amenities (including platforms, walkways, fare gates, ticket booths, elevators and convenience stores). It connects Ottawa's suburbs to the inner city. The rapid bus service network operates all day, seven days a week, reaching the suburban communities of Kanata to the West, Barrhaven to the South-West, Orléans to the East, and South Keys to the South.
Over 190 local bus routes are served by a fleet of ordinary, articulated and double-decker buses. Both OC Transpo and the Quebec-based Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) operate bus transit services between Ottawa and Gatineau. OC Transpo also operates a door-to-door bus service for disabled individuals known as ParaTranspo. There is a hypothetical LRT partnership that proposes linking Ottawa with Gatineau and connecting to the O-Train.
=== Airports ===
The Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport is the city's principal airport. There are also three other airports providing general aviation services: Gatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport, Ottawa/Carp Airport, and Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport.
=== Inter-city transportation ===
Ottawa station is the main inter-city train station operated by Via Rail. It is located 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the east of downtown in Eastway Gardens (adjacent to O-Train Tremblay station) and serves Via Rail's Corridor Route. The city is also served by inter-city passenger rail service at Fallowfield station in the southwestern suburban community of Barrhaven.
Intercity bus services are currently provided by several carriers at various stops throughout the city, following the closure of the former Ottawa Central Station bus terminal on 1 June 2021. Major carriers include: Megabus, Ontario Northland, Autobus Gatineau, and Orléans Express.
=== Streets and highways ===
The City of Ottawa has over 8,400 km (5,200 mi) lane-kilometres of road and a series of freeways. The primary freeways are the east–west provincial Highway 417 (designated as the Queensway and part of the Trans-Canada Highway), Ottawa-Carleton Highway 174 (formerly Provincial Highway 17), Highway 7, and the north–south provincial Highway 416 (designated as Veterans' Memorial Highway), which connects to other 400-Series highways via the 401. From downtown there are also freeway connections to Autoroute 5 and Autoroute 50, in neighbouring Gatineau.
The city also has several scenic parkways and promenades, such as the Kichi Zibi Mikan (formerly the Macdonald Parkway), Colonel By Drive, Queen Elizabeth Driveway, the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway (formerly the Rockcliffe Parkway), and the Aviation Parkway. The National Capital Commission manages ceremonial routes linking key attractions on both sides of the Ottawa River, including Confederation Boulevard.
=== Cycling and pedestrian network ===
Numerous paved multi-use trails, mostly operated by the National Capital Commission and the city, wind their way through much of the capital, including along the Ottawa River, Rideau River, and Rideau Canal. These pathways are used for transportation, tourism, and recreation. Because many streets either have wide curb lanes or bicycle lanes, cycling is a mode of transportation used by up to 3.7% of citizens, including in winter. This is the largest percentage of any major Canadian city. As of 31 December 2015, over 900 km (560 mi) of cycling facilities are found in Ottawa, including 435 km (270 mi) of multi-use pathways, 8 km (5.0 mi) of cycle tracks, 200 km (120 mi) of on-road bicycle lanes, and 257 km (160 mi) of paved shoulders. 204 km (127 mi) of new cycling facilities were added between 2011 and 2014.
The entire length of Sparks Street was turned into a pedestrian mall in 1966. Since 1960, additional avenues, streets, and parkways, are reserved for pedestrian and bicycle use only on Saturdays, Sundays and on selected holidays and events. In 2021 city council unanimously approved the Byward Market Public Realm Plan to make the market area more car-free and pedestrian friendly. From 2009 to 2015 the NCC introduced the Capital Bixi bicycle-sharing system. This continued until the company VeloGo took over the program from 2015 to 2018 when the partnership ceased. Scooter-sharing systems were introduced in the downtown and inner-city areas in 2025. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambyr_Childers | Ambyr Childers | Ambyr Childers is an American actress known for her portrayal of Susan Atkins in the NBC crime drama Aquarius, Ashley Rucker in the Showtime crime drama Ray Donovan, and Candace Stone in the Netflix thriller series You.
== Career ==
After appearing in the 2003 film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, she played Colby Chandler on the daytime soap opera All My Children from 2006 to 2008. She also played Elizabeth "E" Dodd in The Master.
Childers and Kate Bosworth teamed up to co-create Ambyr Childers Jewelry, a new line of delicate pieces that mixes Childers's Native American heritage with Bosworth's "essential cool-girl vibe".
Childers starred as Candace Stone in Lifetime's television adaptation of You, which premiered on September 9, 2018. On December 3, 2018, it was announced that You would move to Netflix as a "Netflix Original" title, ahead of the premiere of the second season. On February 1, 2019, Deadline announced that Childers had been promoted to a series regular role, ahead of the second season's premiere. The second season was released on December 26, 2019.
== Personal life ==
Childers married film producer Randall Emmett in 2009. The couple had a daughter in 2010 and a second daughter in 2013. Emmett filed for separation from Childers in April 2015, but dismissed the petition the following year. Childers filed for divorce in January 2017. It was finalized in December 2017.
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weekly_Sh%C5%8Dnen_Jump | Weekly Shōnen Jump | Weekly Shōnen Jump (Japanese: 週刊少年ジャンプ, Hepburn: Shūkan Shōnen Janpu; stylized in English as WEEKLY JUMP) is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many action scenes and a fair amount of comedy. Chapters of the series that run in Weekly Shōnen Jump are collected and published in tankōbon volumes under the Jump Comics imprint every two to three months. It is one of the longest-running manga magazines, with the first issue being released with a cover date of August 1, 1968.
The magazine has sold over 7.5 billion copies since 1968, making it the best-selling comic/manga magazine, ahead of competitors such as Weekly Shōnen Magazine and Weekly Shōnen Sunday. The mid-1980s to the mid-1990s represents the era when the magazine's circulation was at its highest, 6.53 million copies per week, with a total readership of 18 million people in Japan. Throughout 2021, it had an average circulation of over 1.3 million copies per week. Many of the best-selling manga series—including One Piece, Dragon Ball, Naruto, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Slam Dunk, and KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops, all of which are among the top ten best-selling manga of all time—originate from Weekly Shōnen Jump.
Weekly Shōnen Jump has sister magazines such as Jump SQ, V Jump, Saikyō Jump, and digital counterpart Shōnen Jump+ which boasts its own exclusive titles. The magazine has also had several international counterparts, including the North American Weekly Shonen Jump. It also spawned a crossover media franchise including anime and video games (since Famicom Jump) which bring together various Shōnen Jump characters.
== History ==
=== Origins (1960s–1970s) ===
Weekly Shōnen Jump was launched by Shueisha on July 11, 1968, to compete with the already-successful Weekly Shōnen Magazine and Weekly Shōnen Sunday. Weekly Shōnen Jump's sister publication was a manga magazine called Shōnen Book, which was originally a male version of the short-lived shōjo manga anthology Shōjo Book. Prior to issue 20, Weekly Shōnen Jump was originally called simply Shōnen Jump as it was originally a bi-weekly magazine. In 1969, Shōnen Book ceased publication at which time Shōnen Jump became a weekly magazine and a new monthly magazine called Bessatsu Shōnen Jump was made to take Shōnen Book's place. This magazine was later rebranded as Monthly Shōnen Jump before eventually being discontinued and replaced by Jump SQ.
=== Golden age (1980s–1990s) ===
Hiroki Goto was appointed chief editor in 1986 and remained in the position until 1993. His tenure saw significant increases in circulation, and the serialization of numerous popular series. When asked about the period, Goto stated: "We only tried to create manga that everybody can enjoy. There were no specific rules. Idol and tabloid magazines dominated in the Media & Entertainment industry at that time and we aimed to stand out from the crowd by using only manga as our weapon." Famicom Jump: Hero Retsuden, released in 1988 for the Family Computer was produced to commemorate the magazine's 20th anniversary. It was followed by a sequel: Famicom Jump II: Saikyō no Shichinin in 1991, also for the Family Computer.
Shōnen Jump's circulation continued to increase year on year until 1995, peaking at 6.53 million copies. By 1998, circulation had dropped to 4.15 million copies, a decline in part ascribed to the conclusion of popular manga series Dragon Ball and Slam Dunk. The magazine peaked with a total readership of 18 million people in Japan during the early 1990s.
=== Declining circulation (2000–2013) ===
Circulation for the magazine continued to decline through the early 2000s, before reaching some stability around 2005, well below its earlier peak. In 2000, two more games were created for the purpose of commemorating the magazine's anniversaries. A crossover fighting game titled Jump Super Stars was released for the Nintendo DS in 2005. It was followed by Jump Ultimate Stars in 2006. Due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the shipment of the 15th issue of 2011 was delayed in some areas of Japan. In response, Shueisha published the series included in that issue for free on its website from March 23 to April 27.
On July 11, 2013, the Namco Bandai Group opened an amusement park themed around Weekly Shōnen Jump series. Titled J-World Tokyo, it is located on the third floor of the Sunshine City World Import Mart Building in Ikebukuro and is 1.52 acres. In celebration of the magazine's 45th anniversary in 2013, Shueisha began a contest where anyone can submit manga in three different languages, Japanese, English and Chinese. Judged by the magazine's editorial department, four awards will be given, a grand prize and one for each language, each including 500,000 yen (about US$4,900) and guaranteed publication in either Jump, its special editions, North American edition, China's OK! Comic, or Taiwan's Formosa Youth.
=== Transition to digital (2013–present) ===
A mobile phone app titled "Jump Live" was launched in August 2013, it features exclusive content from the artists whose series run in Weekly Shōnen Jump. On September 22, 2014, the free Shōnen Jump+ (少年ジャンプ+, Shōnen Janpu Purasu; abbreviated J+) mobile app and website was launched in Japan. It sells digital versions of the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine, simultaneous with its print release, and tankōbon volumes of individual Jump series past and present. However, it also has large samples of the manga that can be read for free. There are also series that are serialized exclusively on the app, such as Marvel × Shōnen Jump+ Super Collaboration; unlike those in Weekly Shōnen Jump, these series may be aimed at adult men or women. These exclusive series are later published in print tankōbon volumes under the Jump Comics+ imprint. In 2019, the Shōnen Jump+ website and app had about 2.4 million active users. As of January 2020, the app had been downloaded more than 13 million times.
As the magazine shifted towards digital provision, print circulation once again began to decline. By 2017, print circulation was down to under two million, less than a third of its peak during the golden age. This decline follows similar trends seen by other magazines in the sector.
A new crossover game, J-Stars Victory Vs., was released in 2014 for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita to commemorate Jump's 45 anniversary. In June 2018, a limited 50th Anniversary Shōnen Jump Edition of the Famicom Mini (NES Classic Edition) game console was released in Japan. It sold 110,000 units in two days.
On January 28, 2019, Shueisha launched the global English-language version of Shōnen Jump+, titled Manga Plus. It is freely available in every country except China and South Korea, which have their own separate services. A Spanish-language version was launched in February 2019, and has a different library of content. Like the Japanese app, it has large samples of manga that can be read for free including all the current titles of Weekly Shōnen Jump, a sizeable number of titles from Shōnen Jump+ and some titles from Jump Square. However, unlike the Japanese version, the latest chapters of current Weekly Shōnen Jump manga are made available free for a limited-time and it does not sell content.
== Newcomer Awards ==
Weekly Shōnen Jump, in association with parent company Shueisha, holds annual competitions for new or up and coming manga artists to create one-shot stories. The best are put to a panel of judges (including manga artists past and present) where the best are given a special award for the best of these new series. The Tezuka Award, named for manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka, is given for all different styles of stories. The Akatsuka Award, named for gag manga pioneer Fujio Akatsuka, is a similar competition for comedy and gag manga. Many Weekly Shōnen Jump manga artists have gotten their start either winning or being acknowledged by these competitions.
== Associated items ==
WSJ is also the center of the Shueisha's branding of its main manga products due to the popularity and recognition of the series and characters published in it. Although the manga are published both in the main magazine as well as in the Jump Comics imprint line of tankōbon, they also are republished in various other editions such as kanzenban and "Remixes" of the original work, usually publishing series older or previously established series. The Jump brand is also used on the tankōbon released of their manga series, related drama CDs, and at "Jump Festa", a festival showing off the people and products behind the Weekly Shōnen Jump manga titles.
== Circulation and demographic ==
Weekly Shōnen Jump is the bestselling manga magazine in Japan. In 1982, Weekly Shōnen Jump had a circulation of 2.55 million. By 1995, circulation numbers swelled to 6.53 million. The magazine's former editor-in-chief Masahiko Ibaraki (2003–2008) stated this was due to the magazine including "hit titles such as Dragon Ball, Slam Dunk, and others." After hitting this peak, the circulation numbers continued to drop. 1998's New Year's issue was the first time in 24 years that Weekly Shōnen Jump lost as the highest selling shōnen manga magazine (4.15 million copies sold), ceding to Weekly Shōnen Magazine (4.45 million). It was not until 2007 that the magazine saw its first increase in 11 years, from 2.75 million to 2.78 million, an increase that Ibaraki credited to One Piece.
By publishing shōnen manga, the magazine is targeted to young teenage males. However, Index Digital reported in 2005 that the favorite non-shōjo magazine of elementary and middle school-aged female readers is Weekly Shōnen Jump at 61.9%. Strengthening it, Oricon conducted a poll among 2,933 female Japanese readers on their favorite manga magazines in 2007. Weekly Shōnen Jump was the number one answer, with One Piece, Death Note, and The Prince of Tennis cited as the reasons. In 2009, it was reported that 62.9% of the magazine's readers were under the age of fourteen. However, in 2019 Shueisha revealed that its largest demographic of 27.4% was aged 25 or older.
== Features ==
=== Series ===
There are currently 22 manga titles present in Weekly Shōnen Jump. Out of them, Burn the Witch's continuation is yet to be scheduled and Hunter × Hunter is published irregularly.
== Related titles ==
=== Jump Giga ===
Jump Giga (ジャンプGIGA) is a special seasonal offshoot of Weekly Shōnen Jump launched on July 20, 2016. Its original predecessor started in 1969 as a regular special issue of the bi-weekly Shōnen Jump. When Shōnen Jump became a weekly publication and was renamed Weekly Shōnen Jump in October of that same year, the special issue changed to a quarterly release and kept the shorter name. In the mid-1980s, the magazine took on the Weekly Shōnen Jump name with each issue subtitled the Spring, Summer, Autumn, or Winter Special.
Beginning in 1996, it was published three times a year for Golden Week, Obon and New Years under the name Akamaru Jump (赤マルジャンプ, Akamaru Janpu) until April 30, 2010, when it was renamed Shōnen Jump Next! (少年ジャンプNEXT!). Jump Next! has had several other past special versions:
Aomaru Jump (青マルジャンプ, Aomaru Janpu) was a single issue of Akamaru Jump. One-shots that were featured in Aomaru Jump were Dead/Undead, Shōgai Oyaji Michi!, The Dream, Mieruhito, Yūtō ☆ Hōshi, and Fuku wa Jutsu.
Jump the Revolution! (ジャンプ the REVOLUTION!) was a special edition of Akamaru Jump that was published in two issues in November 2005 and 2006. Jump the Revolution! contained one-shots of upcoming Weekly Shōnen Jump series and soon to be Jump SQ series.
In 2012 it returned to a quarterly schedule. A second exclamation point was added to the title in March 2014, when it switched to a bi-monthly release. After relaunching as Jump Giga, the magazine published four issues or "volumes" in 2016 and 2017, six in 2018 and 2019 (three in summer and three in winter), and seems to have returned to a seasonal quarterly release since 2020.
Jump Giga features many amateur manga artists who get their one-shots published in the magazine. It also puts additional one-shot titles by professional manga artists, which promote upcoming series to be published in the main magazine. It has also featured the last chapters of cancelled series from Weekly Shōnen Jump, such as Enigma and Magico. It also features yonkoma of popular series such as Death Note and Naruto, as well as the pilot chapter of Bleach. Final epilogue chapters of The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. and Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma were also featured, while Gintama and Black Clover were transferred to allow for their completion.
=== Series ===
There is currently one manga title being serialized in Jump GIGA.
=== V Jump ===
V Jump (Vジャンプ, Bui Janpu) was originally an offshoot of the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine in a special issue called Weekly Shōnen Jump Tokubetsu Henshū Zōkan V Jump (週刊少年ジャンプ特別編集増刊 V JUMP). The special issues lasted from 1992 through 1993. V Jump became its own independent anthology in 1993 for coverage of games, including video and card games, in addition to its own run of manga series.
=== Super Jump ===
Super Jump (スーパージャンプ, Sūpā Janpu) was also originally an offshoot of the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine in a special issue called Weekly Shōnen Jump Tokubetsu Henshū Zōkan Super Jump (週刊少年ジャンプ特別編集増刊 スーパージャンプ). The magazine was published from 1968 to 1988, when it became a separate anthology for seinen manga.
=== Jump VS ===
Jump VS was a special issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, published on March 22, 2013. The issue focused on "battle manga" and included 12 one-shots.
== International adaptations ==
Manga titles from Weekly Shōnen Jump are translated into many foreign languages, and some even have their own separate version of the Weekly Shōnen Jump anthology. Weekly Shōnen Jump manga are also published in many other countries where the magazine itself is not published, like the United Kingdom, Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Australia, and South Korea.
=== Shonen Jump ===
Shonen Jump, published in North America by Viz Media, debuted in November 2002, with a January 2003 cover date. Though based on Weekly Shōnen Jump, the English language Shonen Jump is retooled for English readers and the American audience and is published monthly, instead of weekly. It features serialized chapters from seven manga series, and articles on Japanese language and culture, manga, anime, video games, and figurines. In conjunction with the magazine, Viz launched new imprints for releasing media related to the series presented in the magazine, and other shōnen works. This includes two new manga imprints, an anime DVD imprint, a fiction line for releasing light novels, a label for fan and data books, and a label for the release of art books.
Prior to the magazine's launch, Viz launched an extensive marketing campaign to promote the magazine and help it succeed where other manga anthologies in North America have failed. Shueisha purchased an equity interest in Viz to help fund the venture, and Cartoon Network, Suncoast, and Diamond Distributors became promotional partners in the magazine. The first issue required three printings to meet demand, with over 300,000 copies sold. It was awarded the ICv2 "Comic Product of the Year" award in December 2002, and continued to enjoy high sales with a monthly circulation of 215,000 in 2008. Shonen Jump was discontinued in April 2012 in favor of its digital successor, Weekly Shonen Jump. With it ending in an incomplete, but yet almost complete picture spine of the Naruto splash page of "Declaration of War" on the side of each said magazine.
=== Weekly Shonen Jump ===
Weekly Shonen Jump, Viz Media's successor to the monthly print anthology Shonen Jump, was a North American digital shōnen manga anthology published simultaneously with the Japanese editions of Weekly Shōnen Jump, in part to combat the copyright violation of manga through bootleg scanlation services. It began serialization on January 30, 2012, as Weekly Shonen Jump Alpha with a lineup of six titles and new issues published online two weeks after Japanese release, but within a year had expanded to twelve ongoing series, and on January 21, 2013, it underwent a rebranding and transitioned to simultaneous publication with Japan.
=== Banzai! ===
Banzai! is a German-language version of Weekly Shōnen Jump published by Carlsen Verlag that was published from 2001 through December 2005 before being canceled. In addition to the Weekly Shōnen Jump manga series, the magazine also included original German language manga-influenced comics. The magazine competed as a sister publication to a shōjo anthology called Daisuki. It had a circulation of 140,000 copies.
=== Remen Shaonian Top ===
Rèmén Shàonián Top (熱門少年TOP) is the former weekly Chinese-language version of Weekly Shōnen Jump, published in Taiwan by Da Ran Publishing. In the 1990s Da Ran went bankrupt and the magazine had to cease publication. Rèmén Shàonián Top serialized series such as Yu-Gi-Oh!, Tottemo! Luckyman, Hikaru no Go, and One Piece as well as several other domestic manhua.
=== Formosa Youth ===
Formosa Youth (寶島少年 Báodǎo Shàonián) is the current weekly Chinese version of Weekly Shōnen Jump. Formosa Youth features various series from Weekly Shōnen Jump. The Formosa Youth magazine translates Weekly Shōnen Jump manga up to date. A sister publication of Formosa Youth is Dragon Youth Comic (龍少年 Lóng Shàonián), which specializes in domestic manhua. In 1977, the Tong Li company was created and founded by Fang Wan-Nan which created bootlegs, this ended in 1992. A law in Taiwan restricted the act of bootlegging all manga. During 1992, Tong Li created many manga and manhua magazines, New Youth Bulletin, Youth Comic, Margaret Girl, Dragon Youth Comic, and Formosa Youth. Some series like One Piece and Hikaru no Go were first published in the manga/manhua magazine Rèmén Shàonián Top (熱門少年TOP) by Da Ran Publishing, but when Daran Publishing went bankrupt the series were transferred to Formosa Youth.
=== EX-am ===
EX-am is the Hong Kong version of Weekly Shōnen Jump published by Culturecom Holdings's comic division Culturecom Comics, the largest comic distributors in all of Asia. The magazine published Hunter × Hunter, Captain Tsubasa and Dragon Ball—which holds the highest circulation of manga in Hong Kong, alongside the highest of domestic manhua which would be Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword.
=== C-Kids ===
C-Kids (ซีคิดส์ See Kít) is the Thai language Weekly Shōnen Jump published by Siam Inter Comics. C-Kids publishes many Weekly Shōnen Jump series such as One Piece, Gintama along with many original manga-influenced comics from the division Cartoon Thai Studio like EXEcutional.
=== Boom ===
Boom (บูม) is another Thai language Weekly Shōnen Jump published by Nation Edutainment. Boom publishes many Weekly Shōnen Jump series such as Naruto, Death Note along with many original manga-influenced comics from Factory Studio like Meed Thii Sib-Sam and Apaimanee Saga.
=== Swedish Shonen Jump ===
In November 2004, Manga Media began publication of a Swedish language version of Weekly Shōnen Jump in Sweden, called Shonen Jump as a sister publication to their existing magazines Manga Mania and Shojo Stars. The magazine included chapters from various popular Weekly Shōnen Jump titles including Bleach, Naruto, Shaman King, and Yu-Gi-Oh!. In November 2007, after 37 issues published, Manga Media ceased publication of the magazine. It had a circulation of 30,000 copies.
=== Norwegian Shonen Jump ===
A Norwegian language edition of Weekly Shōnen Jump began publication in Norway in March 2005. Published by Schibsted, the Norwegian edition was a direct translation of Bonnier's Swedish version of the magazine, containing the same series and titles. When Bonnier lost the license for Weekly Shōnen Jump, the Norwegian version also ceased publication, with the last issue released on February 26, 2007. They also created two short lived book imprints: "En Bok Fra Shonen Jump" (a book from Shonen Jump) for profile books and "Dragon Ball Ekstra" (Dragon Ball Extra) a line specifically for manga written by Akira Toriyama. Also a film comic based on the Dragon Ball Z anime was released under the "TV Anime Comic" imprint.
== Imprints ==
Jump Comics is used as an imprint label for publishing manga, most often for collected tankōbon volumes of manga series originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump and other Jump magazines. The imprint is published in the U.S. under the names Shonen Jump and Shonen Jump Advanced. Shōnen Jump Advanced was created for the distribution of manga series considered more mature due to content or themes. Series released under SJA include Eyeshield 21, Ichigo 100%, Pretty Face, I"s, Hunter × Hunter, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo (first edition) and Death Note.
Weekly Shōnen Jump formerly ran a manga line of aizōban editions called Jump Comics Deluxe. Jump Comics+ is the imprint for all the manga series exclusively digitally released on the app and website Shōnen Jump+ after the chapters of the series get reunited and released in print in tankōbon format. Weekly Shōnen Jump has also run a line of light novels and guidebooks called Jump J-Books. Weekly Shōnen Jump has also run a line bunkobon editions called Shueisha Comic Bunko. A line of large square-bound phone book size issues of early Jump Comics series named Shueisha Jump Remix has also been published.
== Circulation figures ==
=== Magazine circulation ===
The mid-1980s to the mid-1990s represents the era when the magazine's circulation was at its highest, 6.53 million copies per week, with a total readership of 18 million people in Japan. The magazine has sold over 7.5 billion copies since 1968, making it the best-selling comic/manga magazine, ahead of competitors such as Weekly Shōnen Magazine and Weekly Shōnen Sunday. Throughout 2019, it had an average circulation of over 1.6 million copies per week.
=== Manga series ===
The following table lists the manga series that have had the highest circulation in Shōnen Jump magazine. It lists the number of issues where they're serialized, and estimated circulation figures and sales revenue of those Shōnen Jump issues (based on the magazine circulation figures above). Of the series listed below, only Bleach, Gintama and Black Clover began their serialization after the conclusion of the golden age in the late 1990s. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo%27s_middle_finger#Exhibition_history | Galileo's middle finger#Exhibition history | The middle finger from the right hand of Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) is a secular relic in the collection of the Museo Galileo in Florence, Italy. The finger was removed from his body after his death, and is encased in a gilded glass egg.
In 1737, 95 years after he died, Galileo's remains were transferred to a mausoleum at the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence. Antiquarian Anton Francesco Gori, anatomist Antonio Cocchi, and Italian marquis Vincenzio Capponi removed the finger of Galileo's right hand as well as one of his vertebrae, an index finger, a thumb, and a tooth. The middle finger passed to Angelo Maria Bandini, who exhibited it at the Laurentian Library. In 1841, the finger was moved to the Tribune of Galileo at La Specola. It was then transferred to the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in 1927.
== Background ==
Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei died in 1642 and had stipulated in his will that his remains go to Basilica di Santa Croce, beside those of his father, Vincenzo Galilei. Authorities from the Catholic Church did not want him to be buried on consecrated grounds given his views on Copernican heliocentrism, which were considered heretical at the time. Cardinal Francesco Barberini addressed the matter, writing that people might be scandalized by his entombment in the mausoleum. Instead, his remains were placed in a small enclosure near the Chapel of Saints Cosimo and Damiano.
In 1688, Galileo's pupil Vincenzo Viviani stipulated in his will that his fortune should be used to establish a mausoleum for Galileo. The mausoleum was not constructed until well after Viviani's death, delayed at first by the potential disapproval of the Catholic Church and later by the "dillydallying" of Viviani's nephew and heir, Abbot Jacopo Panzanini.
== Removal from corpse ==
Ninety-five years after his death, on 12 March 1737, Galileo's remains were transferred from an unconsecrated box underneath the Santa Croce bell tower to a memorial tomb inside the church, near Michelangelo's fingers and bones. In a ceremony resembling the transfer of a saintly relic, Galileo's remains were taken from his heretic's grave to the mausoleum of the Basilica di Santa Croce.
The botanist Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti attended the transfer and had brought a knife. Anatomist Antonio Cocchi, Italian marquis Vincenzio Capponi, and antiquarian Anton Francesco Gori used the knife to remove the middle finger from Galileo's corpse, along with his thumb, index finger, one of his teeth, and his fifth lumbar vertebra. The tooth, index finger, and thumb were placed in a handblown glass base and remained with the Capponi family until the beginning of the 20th century. Tozzetti later wrote that Capponi's explanation for taking the two fingers as relics was "because Galileo wrote so many beautiful things with them." The vertebra was donated to the University of Padua by Domenico Thiene in 1823.
== Exhibition history ==
The middle finger was later acquired by Angelo Maria Bandini of the Laurentian Library, where it was exhibited. In 1841, the finger was moved to the Tribune of Galileo at the Museum of Physics and Nature (now La Specola) along with Galileo's Medici-Lorraine instruments. In 1927, it was moved to the Institute and Museum of the History of Science (Museo di Storia della Scienza). The museum's inventory originally listed the finger as his left index finger, though University of Florence professor Francesco Leoncini added a footnote indicating that it was Galileo's right middle finger.
It eventually came to be included in the Museo Galileo collection. The finger is encased in an egg-shaped glass display above a cylindrical marble base. The base includes a commemorative inscription by astronomer Tommaso Perelli. According to the museum, Galileo's middle finger "exemplifies the celebration of Galileo as a hero and martyr of science". The finger is displayed alongside the objective lens from Galileo's telescope.
The Latin inscription by Tommaso Perelli reads:
Leipsana ne spernas digiti quo dextera coeliMensa vias nunquam visos mortalibus orbesMonstravit, parvo fragilis molimine vitriAusa prior facinus cui non Titania quondamSuffecit pubes congestis montibus altisNequidquam superas conata ascendere in arces.
Spurn not the remains of the finger by which the right hand measured out paths of the sky, pointed to orbs never before seen by mortals; with the aid of a small pile of fragile glass first dared the deed to which Titania, in full vigor, on mountains heaped high, was once inadequate, having tried in vain to ascend into the loftiest heavens.
American journalist Nino Lo Bello wrote in 1986 about his attempts to track down Galileo's finger in the 1960s. He reported being told by an employee of the National Library that it had resided there for years before it was given to the Museum of the History of Science.
Galileo's middle finger is a rare example of a secular relic, the preservation of body parts being a practice usually reserved for saints within the Catholic Church. Bonnie Gordon remarked on "the irony of preserving relic style the remains of a heretic". British art critic Julian Spalding remarked that the Museum of Science took pride in the finger, adding "I don't particularly recommend going to see it, because what is the point of looking at Galileo's finger?"
In Italy, Galileo's middle finger is considered the property of the state.
== Galileo's other body parts ==
Galileo's index finger, the thumb of his right hand, and a tooth were sealed in a glass jar that disappeared sometime after 1905 and remained lost to the public until 2009. Rufus Suter wrote in 1951 that the other two fingers were said to be preserved in the reliquary of Luigi Rosselli del Turco in Florence. They turned up at auction in 2009 and were turned over to the Museum. The Museum applied a DNA test to forensically confirm the authenticity of the remains. One of Galileo's vertebrae is kept at the University of Padua. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Australian_Poker_Championship | Crown Australian Poker Championship | The Australian Poker Championship, commonly known as Aussie Millions, is a series of poker tournaments held at the Crown Casino, in Melbourne, Australia. The Main Event of the series is the Southern Hemisphere's richest poker tournament with a prize pool in excess of A$7 million.
== History ==
Poker at Crown was introduced in June 1997, with the first major championship held shortly after in July 1998. The Main Event was a $1,000 buy in Limit Holdem tournament that attracted 74 entries with a $74,000 prize pool. The Crown Australian Poker Championship, or the 'Aussie Millions' as it became known, moved to January in 2001, attracting 40 entrants with a $5,000 buy in for a prize pool of $200,000. January 2003 saw the event go international, attracting a field of 122 entrants and a $1,200,000 prize pool. In January 2005, the Aussie Millions continued to grow with 263 participants paying $10,000 each to enter the No Limit Hold'em Main Event, generating the biggest prize pool ever in the Southern Hemisphere of $2,630,000. Over half the field was from overseas including players from New Zealand, England, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, the US, Sweden, the Netherlands, Canada, Italy and Lebanon. In 2006, 418 players competed for a share of the $4,180,000 prize pool, including some of the biggest names in the Poker world such as WSOP Champion Joe Hachem, along with Phil Ivey, John Juanda and Daniel Negreanu. The 2007 championship commenced on Sunday 14 January 2007 with the final table held on Friday 19 January 2007. The buy-in was $10,500 ($10,000+$500). A record 747 players entered, which generated a prize pool of $7,470,000. The top 80 players were "in the money" and received between $15,000 and $1,500,000 each.
The 2008 championship concluded on Sunday 20 January 2008 with the winner being the 21-year-old Russian Alexander Kostritsyn. The buy-in was $10,500 ($10,000+$500). A record 780 players entered, which generated a prize pool of $7,800,000. The top 80 players were "in the money" and received between $15,000 and $1,650,000 each. The 2009 event will feature a total of 15 tournaments. The Main Event will have a guaranteed $2 million first prize. It will also feature ten players taking part in the first Million Dollar Poker Cash Game, the largest poker game of its kind anywhere in the world. Ten players will be required to stake a minimum of $1 million, though it is expected that some players will bring more to the table. The Aussie Millions is now regarded as the largest poker tournament in the Southern Hemisphere and the sixth-largest internationally (by prize pool).
== Television ==
In 2013, Crown's Aussie Millions Poker Championship television coverage, produced by McGuire Media in conjunction with Poker PROductions, was a nine-episode series broadcast on One HD and ESPN Australia. The series was hosted by Lynn Gilmartin, with commentary by Joe Hachem and Jonno Pittock, as well as pro analysis by Antonio Esfandiari.
== Main Event structure ==
The structure of the Main Event is slightly different from that of most other major tournaments. While most major Hold 'em tournaments, including the World Series of Poker Main Event, play at nine-handed tables throughout, the Aussie Millions Main Event begins with eight-handed tables. Play continues eight-handed until the field is reduced to 36 players, at which point all tables are six-handed. The 2009 Aussie Millions Main Event structure will see Day 1 divided into three flights, with blind levels of 90 minutes' duration. From Day 2 until the completion of the tournament, the blind levels are 120 minutes long.
== High roller events ==
The Aussie Millions is also known for its high roller tournaments, which have featured some of the highest buy-ins in history.
=== $100,000 Challenge ===
The high roller trend began in 2006 when the Aussie Millions launched its $100,000 No Limit Holdem Challenge (actual buy in is $100,500, including the $500 entry fee), at that time billed as the highest buy-in of any poker tournament in history. It has a particularly unusual structure:
Players start with 100,000 chips, a comparatively larger amount compared to both the Aussie Millions and WSOP Main Events.
Betting is pot limit preflop and no limit afterwards.
Players are allowed only 30 seconds to act on their hands. At the start of the tournament, each player is given three extensions of 30 seconds each for use during the tournament.
The $100,000 Challenge was first played in 2006, with 10 entrants. Eighteen entered the Challenge in 2007, 25 in 2008, and 24 in 2010. Daniel Shak won the 2010 tournament for a total prize of A$1,200,000. A record field of 38 played in the 2011 edition.
=== $250,000 Super High Roller ===
With a number of other poker events adding tournaments with buy-ins comparable to that of the $100,000 Challenge, the Aussie Millions added a tournament with a $250,000 buy-in in 2011, which the organisers again claimed as the world's highest. (Since then, the World Series of Poker has held an official event with a US$1 million buy-in.) It was originally scheduled to be a heads-up no-limit event, but the organisers changed the format twice, settling on what they thought would be a single-table no-limit hold 'em tournament. However, 20 players entered the inaugural $250K tournament, including major stars Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel, Tom Dwan, Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, David Benyamine and Annette Obrestad, plus Sam Trickett, who had just won that year's $100K event. Seidel, who had finished second in the $100K event, won the $2.5 million first prize, defeating Trickett in heads-up play.
The 2012 event was won by Ivey, who defeated 15 other players to win $2 million, the largest prize of his career. Trickett won the 2013 event, also winning $2 million after defeating 17 other players.
== Results ==
=== Main Event Winners ===
==== 1998 Australian Poker Championships (Limit Hold'em) ====
Buy-in: $1,000
Date: 26 July 1998
Number of buy-ins: 74
Total prize pool: $74,000
Number of Payouts: 9
==== 1999 Australian Poker Championships (Pot-Limit Hold'em) ====
Buy-in: $1,000
Date: August 1999
Number of buy-ins: 109
Total prize pool: $109,000
Number of Payouts: 18
==== 2000 Australian Poker Championships ====
Buy-in: $1,500
Date: Sunday, 27 August 2000
Number of buy-ins: 109
Total prize pool: $173,500
Number of Payouts: 18
==== 2001 Australian Poker Championships ====
Buy-in: $1,500
Date: Friday, 24 August 2001
Number of buy-ins: 101
Total prize pool: $151,500
Number of Payouts: 18
==== 2002 Australian Poker Championships ====
Buy-in: $5,000
2-Day Event: Friday, 11 January 2002 to Saturday, 12 January 2002
Number of buy-ins: 66
Total prize pool: $330,000
Number of Payouts: 10
==== 2003 Crown Australian Poker Championships ====
Buy-in: $10,000
Date: Sunday, 12 January 2003
Number of buy-ins: 122
Total prize pool: $1,220,000
Number of Payouts: 18
==== 2004 Crown Australian Poker Championships ====
Buy-in: $10,000
Date: Thursday, 15 January 2004
Number of buy-ins: 133
Total prize pool: $1,330,000
Number of Payouts: 18
==== 2005 Crown Australian Poker Championships ====
Buy-in: $10,000
3-Day Event: Tuesday, 18 January 2005 to Thursday, 20 January 2005
Number of buy-ins: 263
Total prize pool: $2,630,000
Number of Payouts: 40
==== 2006 Crown Australian Poker Championships ====
Buy-in: $10,000
6-Day Event: Saturday, 14 January 2006 to Thursday, 19 January 2006
Number of buy-ins: 418
Total prize pool: $4,180,000
Number of Payouts: 48
==== 2007 Crown Australian Poker Championships ====
Buy-in: $10,000
6-Day Event: Sunday, 14 January 2007 to Friday, 19 January 2007
Number of buy-ins: 747
Total prize pool: $7,470,000
Number of Payouts: 80
==== 2008 Crown Australian Poker Championships ====
Buy-in: $10,000
6-Day Event: Sunday, 14 January 2008 to Friday, 19 January 2008
Number of buy-ins: 780
Total prize pool: A$7,758,500
Number of Payouts: 80
==== 2009 Crown Australian Poker Championship ====
Buy-in: $10,000
7-Day Event: Saturday, 17 January 2009 to Friday, 23 January 2009
Number of buy-ins: 681
Total prize pool: $6,810,000
Number of Payouts: 64
==== 2010 Crown Australian Poker Championship ====
Buy-in: $10,000
7-Day Event: Sunday, 24 January 2010 to Saturday, 30 January 2010
Number of buy-ins: 746
Total prize pool: $7,460,000
Number of Payouts: 72
==== 2011 Crown Australian Poker Championship ====
Buy-in: $10,000
7-Day Event: Sunday, 23 January 2011 to Saturday, 29 January 2011
Number of buy-ins: 721
Total prize pool: $7,210,000
Number of Payouts: 72
==== 2012 Crown Australian Poker Championship ====
Buy-in: $10,000
7-Day Event: Sunday, 22 January 2012 to Saturday, 28 January 2012
Number of buy-ins: 659
Total prize pool: $6,590,000
Number of Payouts: 72
==== 2013 Crown Australian Poker Championship ====
Buy-in: $10,000
7-Day Event: Sunday, 27 January to Saturday, 2 February 2013
Number of buy-ins: 629
Total prize pool: $6,290,000
Number of Payouts: 64
==== 2014 Aussie Millions Poker Championship ====
Buy-in: $10,600
7-Day Event: Sunday, 2 February to Sunday, 9 February 2014
Number of buy-ins: 668
Total prize pool: $6,680,000
Number of Payouts: 72
==== 2015 Aussie Millions Poker Championship ====
Buy-in: $10,600
7-Day Event: 25 January–1 February
Number of buy-ins: 648
Total prize pool: $6,480,000
Number of Payouts: 72
==== 2016 Aussie Millions Poker Championship ====
Buy-in: $10,600
6-Day Event: 25–31 January
Number of buy-ins: 732
Total prize pool: $7,320,000
Number of Payouts: 81
==== 2017 Aussie Millions Poker Championship ====
Buy-in: $10,000
9-Day Event: 22–30 January
Number of buy-ins: 725
Total prize pool: $7,685,000
Number of Payouts: 80
==== 2018 Aussie Millions Poker Championship ====
Buy-in: $10,600
8-Day Event: 28 January–4 February
Number of buy-ins: 800
Total prize pool: $8,000,000
Number of Payouts: 88
==== 2019 Aussie Millions Poker Championship ====
Buy-in: $10,600
7-Day Event: 28 January–3 February
Number of buy-ins: 822
Total prize pool: $8,220,000
Number of Payouts: 88
*-The final three players made a deal, with Kenney being crowned champion
==== 2020 Aussie Millions Poker Championship ====
Buy-in: $10,600
7-Day Event: 17–24 January 2020
Number of buy-ins: 820
Total prize pool: $8,200,000
Number of Payouts: 88
* – Denotes deal between the final three players
==== 2021 Aussie Millions Poker Championship ====
POSTPONED due COVID-19 – The popular annual Australian poker extravaganza is officially postponed. But organizers for the popular event hope to reschedule it for later in the year. "Crown will continue to monitor and review the situation, working closely with the Victorian Government and health authorities to determine if and when such events can be safely revisited. We look forward to scheduling these long-standing annual events when it is deemed safe for us to do so."
==== 2022 Aussie Millions Poker Championship ====
A new responsible gambling policy released in 2021 make Crown Melbourne rethink poker tournament and live tables ath their Casino. According Crown, the new policy have a "12 Hour Daily Visit" for all guests, and this will make poker tournaments unvaliable at Crown Casino. "It doesn’t look like the Aussie Millions will be back anytime soon" – PMAunderstands Crown Melbourne has yet to appoint a new tournament director, no surprise given the pandemic-related issued of the past two years.
==== 2023 Aussie Millions Poker Championship ====
Poker Tournaments will no longer be running at Crown – The popular Australian tournament series last ran in January 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down live poker at many casinos around the world. Three years later, it seems unlikely the Aussie Millions will be returning because Victoria recently announced a package of reforms for Crown Melbourne stemming from a royal commission inquiry which found the casino unfit to hold a license.
=== High Roller Winners (A$100,000 Challenge) ===
=== Super High Roller Winners (A$250,000 Challenge) === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayeux_Tapestry | Bayeux Tapestry | The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth nearly 70 metres (230 feet) long and 50 centimetres (20 inches) tall that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William, Duke of Normandy, challenging Harold II, King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings. It is thought to date to the 11th century, within a few years of the battle. Now widely accepted to have been made in England, perhaps as a gift for William, it tells the story from the point of view of the conquering Normans and for centuries has been preserved in Normandy.
According to Sylvette Lemagnen, conservator of the tapestry, in her 2005 book La Tapisserie de Bayeux:
The Bayeux tapestry is one of the supreme achievements of the Norman Romanesque .... Its survival almost intact over nine centuries is little short of miraculous ... Its exceptional length, the harmony and freshness of its colours, its exquisite workmanship, and the genius of its guiding spirit combine to make it endlessly fascinating.
The cloth consists of 58 scenes, many with Latin tituli, embroidered on linen with coloured woollen yarns. It is likely that it was commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, William's maternal half-brother, and made for him in England in the 1070s. In 1729, the hanging was rediscovered by scholars at a time when it was being displayed annually in Bayeux Cathedral. The tapestry is now exhibited at the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux in Bayeux, Normandy, France. It will return to England for the first time in over 900 years, on loan from France for display at the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027.
The designs on the Bayeux Tapestry are embroidered rather than in a tapestry weave, so it does not meet narrower definitions of a tapestry. It can be seen as a rare example of secular Romanesque art. Tapestries adorned both churches and wealthy houses in medieval Western Europe, though at 0.5 by 68.38 m (1 ft 8 in by 224 ft 4 in), the Bayeux Tapestry is exceptionally large. The background is not embroidered, providing a large, clear field of cloth which allows the figures and decorative elements to stand out very clearly.
== History ==
=== Origins ===
The earliest known written reference to the tapestry is a 1476 inventory of Bayeux Cathedral, but its origins have been the subject of much speculation and controversy.
French legend maintained the tapestry was commissioned and created by Queen Matilda, William the Conqueror's wife, and her ladies-in-waiting. Indeed, in France, it is occasionally known as La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde ("The Tapestry of Queen Matilda"). However, scholarly analysis in the 20th century concluded it was probably commissioned by William's half-brother, Bishop Odo of Bayeux, who, after the Conquest, also became Earl of Kent and, when William was absent in Normandy, regent of England.
The reasons for the Odo commission theory include:
three of the bishop's followers mentioned in the Domesday Book appear on the tapestry;
it was found in Bayeux Cathedral, built by Odo;
it may have been commissioned at the same time as the cathedral's construction in the 1070s, possibly completed by 1077 in time for display on the cathedral's dedication.
Assuming Odo commissioned the tapestry, it was probably designed and constructed in England by Anglo-Saxon artists (Odo's main power base being by then in Kent); the Latin text contains hints of Anglo-Saxon; other embroideries originate from England at this time; and the vegetable dyes can be found in cloth traditionally woven there. Howard B. Clarke has proposed that the designer of the tapestry (i.e., the individual responsible for its overall narrative and political argument) was Scolland, the abbot of St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury, because of his previous position as head of the scriptorium at Mont-Saint-Michel (famed for its illumination), his travels to Trajan's Column in Rome, and his connections to Wadard and Vital, two individuals identified in the tapestry. Alternatively, Christine Grainge has argued that the designer may have been Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury 1070–1089. The actual physical work of stitching was most probably undertaken by women needleworkers. Anglo-Saxon needlework of the more detailed type known as Opus Anglicanum was famous across Europe. It was perhaps commissioned for display in the hall of Odo's palace in Bayeux and then bequeathed to the cathedral he had built, following the precedent of the documented but lost hanging of the Anglo-Saxon warrior Byrhtnoth, bequeathed by his widow to Ely Abbey.
Other theories exist. Carola Hicks has suggested the tapestry could possibly have been commissioned by Edith of Wessex, widow of Edward the Confessor and sister of Harold. Wolfgang Grape has challenged the consensus that the embroidery is Anglo-Saxon, distinguishing between Anglo-Saxon and other Northern European techniques; Medieval material authority Elizabeth Coatsworth contradicted this: "The attempt to distinguish Anglo-Saxon from other Northern European embroideries before 1100 on the grounds of technique cannot be upheld on the basis of present knowledge." George Beech has suggested that the tapestry was executed at the Abbey of Saint-Florent de Saumur in the Loire Valley, the detailed depiction of the Breton campaign implying additional sources in France. Andrew Bridgeford has suggested that the tapestry was actually of English design and encoded with secret messages meant to undermine Norman rule.
=== Recorded history ===
The first reference to the tapestry is from 1476 when it was listed in an inventory of the treasures of Bayeux Cathedral. It survived the sack of Bayeux by the Huguenots in 1562; and the next certain reference is from 1724. Antoine Lancelot sent a report to the Académie Royale des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres concerning a sketch he had received about a work concerning William the Conqueror. He had no idea where or what the original was, although he suggested it could have been a tapestry. Despite further enquiries he discovered no more.
The Benedictine scholar Bernard de Montfaucon made more successful investigations and found that the sketch was of a small portion of a tapestry preserved at Bayeux Cathedral. In 1729 and 1730, he published drawings and a detailed description of the complete work in the first two volumes of his Les Monuments de la Monarchie française. The drawings were by Antoine Benoît, one of the ablest draughtsmen of that time.
The tapestry was first briefly noted in English in 1746 by William Stukeley, in his Palaeographia Britannica. The first detailed account in English was written by the English antiquary Smart Lethieullier, who was living in Paris in 1732–3, and was acquainted with Lancelot and de Montfaucon: it was not published, however, until 1767, as an appendix to Andrew Ducarel's Anglo-Norman Antiquities.
During the French Revolution, in 1792, the tapestry was confiscated as public property to be used for covering military wagons. It was rescued from a wagon by a local lawyer who stored it in his house until the troubles were over, whereupon he sent it to the city administrators for safekeeping. After the Reign of Terror, the Fine Arts Commission, set up to safeguard national treasures in 1803, required it to be removed to Paris for display at the Musée Napoléon. When Napoleon abandoned his planned invasion of Britain the tapestry's propaganda value was lost and it was returned to Bayeux where the council displayed it on a winding apparatus of two cylinders. Despite scholars' concern that the tapestry was becoming damaged the council refused to return it to the cathedral.
In 1816, the Society of Antiquaries of London commissioned its historical draughtsman, Charles Stothard, to visit Bayeux to make an accurate hand-coloured facsimile of the tapestry. His drawings were subsequently engraved by James Basire jr. and published by the Society in 1819–23. Stothard's images are still of value as a record of the tapestry as it was before 19th-century restoration.
By 1842, the tapestry was displayed in a special-purpose room in the Bibliothèque Publique. It required special storage in 1870, with the threatened invasion of Normandy in the Franco-Prussian War, and again in 1939–1944 by the Ahnenerbe during the German occupation of France and the Normandy landings. On 27 June 1944 the Gestapo took the tapestry to the Louvre, and on 18 August, three days before the Wehrmacht withdrew from Paris, Himmler sent a message (intercepted by Bletchley Park) ordering it to be taken to "a place of safety", thought to be Berlin. It was only on 22 August that the SS attempted to take possession of the tapestry, by which time the Louvre was again in French hands. After the liberation of Paris, on 25 August, the tapestry was again put on public display in the Louvre, and in 1945 it was returned to Bayeux, where it is exhibited at the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux (49.2744°N 0.7000°W / 49.2744; -0.7000).
=== Later reputation and history ===
The inventory listing of 1476 shows that the tapestry was being hung annually in Bayeux Cathedral for the week of the Feast of St John the Baptist; this was still the case in 1728, although by that time the purpose was merely to air the hanging, which was otherwise stored in a chest. Clearly, the work was being well cared for. In the eighteenth century, the artistry was regarded as crude or even barbarous—red and yellow multi-coloured horses upset some critics. It was thought to be unfinished because the linen was not covered with embroidery. However, its exhibition in the Louvre in 1797 caused a sensation, with Le Moniteur, which normally dealt with foreign affairs, reporting on it on its first two pages. It inspired a popular musical, La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde. It was because the tapestry was regarded as an antiquity rather than a work of art that in 1804 it was returned to Bayeux, where in 1823 one commentator, A. L. Léchaudé d'Anisy, reported that "there is a sort of purity in its primitive forms, especially considering the state of the arts in the eleventh century".
The tapestry was becoming a tourist attraction, with Robert Southey complaining of the need to queue to see the work. In the 1843 Hand-book for Travellers in France by John Murray III, a visit was included on "Recommended Route 26 (Caen to Cherbourg via Bayeux)", and this guidebook led John Ruskin to go there; he would describe the tapestry as "the most interesting thing in its way conceivable". Charles Dickens, however, was not impressed: "It is certainly the work of amateurs; very feeble amateurs at the beginning and very heedless some of them too."
During the Second World War Heinrich Himmler coveted the work, regarding it as "important for our glorious and cultured Germanic history". In 1941, during the Nazi occupation of France, fragments from the underside of the tapestry were taken by a research team sent to study Germany's "ancestral heritage". The fragments were discovered in 2023, and returned to Bayeux in 2026.
In 2007, UNESCO admitted the tapestry to its Memory of the World International Register which lists globally important documentary heritage.
==== Loan to the United Kingdom ====
In 2018 French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the Bayeux Tapestry would be loaned to Britain for public display. An initial exhibition date at the British Museum in 2022 was announced but did not materialise.
During a visit to the UK in July 2025, Macron announced that the tapestry would be loaned to the British Museum from September 2026 to June 2027 in exchange for items from the Sutton Hoo site, the Lewis chessmen or the Battersea Shield being loaned to museums in Rouen and Caen. It would be the first time in 900 years that the tapestry had been in Britain. Shortly afterwards, French art historian Didier Rykner launched a petition to block the loan, claiming that transporting the tapestry could damage its fabric. As of August, over 40,000 people had signed the petition.
On 19 September 2025, the tapestry was removed from its museum for the first time since 1983 as part of preparations for its loan to Britain. The UK government announced in December 2025 that taxpayers will be liable for covering up to £800 million in potential damage to the Bayeux Tapestry during its loan to the British Museum.
The British Museum secured a £5 million sponsorship from hedge fund billionaire Igor Tulchinsky for its exhibition of the Bayeux Tapestry.
== Construction, design and technique ==
In common with other embroidered hangings of the early medieval period, this piece is conventionally referred to as a "tapestry", although it is not a true tapestry in which the design is woven into the cloth in tapestry weave; it is technically an embroidery, although it meets the traditional broader definition of "tapestry" as: "A textile fabric decorated with designs of ornament or pictorial subjects, painted, embroidered, or woven in colours, used for wall hangings, curtains, covers for seats, ..."
The Bayeux tapestry is embroidered in crewel (wool yarn) on a tabby-woven linen ground 68.38 metres long and 0.5 metres wide (224.3 ft × 1.6 ft) and using two methods of stitching: outline or stem stitch for lettering and the outlines of figures, and couching or laid work for filling in figures. Nine linen panels, between fourteen and three metres in length, were sewn together after each was embroidered and the joins were disguised with subsequent embroidery. At the first join (start of scene 14) the borders do not line up properly but the technique was improved so that the later joins are practically invisible.
The design involved a broad central zone with narrow decorative borders top and bottom. By inspecting the woollen threads behind the linen it is apparent all these aspects were embroidered together at a session and the awkward placing of the tituli is not due to them being added later. Later generations have patched the hanging in numerous places and some of the embroidery (especially in the final scene) has been reworked. The tapestry may well have maintained much of its original appearance—it now compares closely with a careful drawing made in 1730.
The end of the tapestry has been missing from time immemorial and the final titulus "Et fuga verterunt Angli" ("and the English left fleeing") is said to be "entirely spurious", added shortly before 1814 at a time of anti-English sentiment. Musset speculates the hanging was originally about 1.5 metres longer. In the last section still remaining, the embroidery has been almost completely restored, but this seems to have been done with at least some regard for the original stitching. The stylised tree is quite unlike any other tree in the tapestry. The start of the tapestry has also been restored but to a much lesser extent.
Norton has reviewed the various measurements of the length of the tapestry itself and of its nine individual linen panels. He has also attempted to estimate the size and architectural design of the 11th-century Bayeux Cathedral. He considers the tapestry would have fitted well if it had been hung along the south, west, and north arcades of the nave and that the scenes it depicts can be correlated with positions of the arcade bays in a way that would have been dramatically satisfying. He agrees with earlier speculation that a final panel is missing—one that shows William's coronation and which he thinks was some three metres long. Norton concludes that the tapestry was definitely designed to be hung in Bayeux Cathedral specifically; that it was designed to appeal to a Norman audience; and that it was probably designed for Bishop Odo so as to be displayed at the dedication of the cathedral in 1077 in the presence of William, Matilda, their sons, and Odo.
The main yarn colours are terracotta or russet, blue-green, dull gold, olive green, and blue, with small amounts of dark blue or black and sage green. Later repairs are worked in light yellow, orange, and light greens. Laid yarns are couched in place with yarn of the same or contrasting colour.
The tapestry's central zone contains most of the action, which sometimes overflows into the borders either for dramatic effect or because depictions would otherwise be very cramped (for example at Edward's death scene). Events take place in a long series of scenes which are generally separated by highly stylised trees. However, the trees are not placed consistently and the greatest scene shift, between Harold's audience with Edward after his return to England and Edward's burial scene, is not marked in any way at all.
The tituli are normally in the central zone but occasionally use the top border. The borders are otherwise mostly purely decorative and only sometimes does the decoration complement the action in the central zone. The decoration consists of birds, beasts, fish and scenes from fables, agriculture, and hunting. There are frequent oblique bands separating the vignettes. There are nude figures, some of corpses from battle, others of a ribald nature. A harrow, a newly invented implement, is depicted (scene 10) and this is the earliest known depiction. The picture of Halley's Comet, which appears in the upper border (scene 32), is the first known picture of this comet.
In 1724, a linen backing cloth was sewn on comparatively crudely and, in around the year 1800, large ink numerals were written on the backing which broadly enumerate each scene and which are still commonly used for reference.
== Background ==
=== Background of the events depicted ===
In a series of pictures supported by a written commentary, the tapestry tells the story of the events of 1064–1066 culminating in the Battle of Hastings. The two main protagonists are Harold Godwinson, recently crowned King of England, leading the Anglo-Saxon English, and William, Duke of Normandy, leading a mainly Norman army, sometimes called the companions of William the Conqueror.
William was the illegitimate son of Robert the Magnificent, Duke of Normandy, and Herleva (or Arlette), a tanner's daughter. William became Duke of Normandy at the age of seven and was in control of Normandy by the age of nineteen. His half-brother was Bishop Odo of Bayeux.
King Edward the Confessor, king of England and about sixty years old at the time the tapestry starts its narration, had no children or any clear successor. Edward's mother, Emma of Normandy, was William's great aunt. At that time succession to the English throne was not by primogeniture but was decided jointly by the king and by an assembly of nobility, the Witenagemot.
Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex and the most powerful noble in England, was Edward's brother-in-law. The Norman chronicler William of Poitiers reported that Edward had previously determined that William would succeed him on the throne, and Harold had sworn to honour this, and yet later that Harold had claimed Edward, on his deathbed, had made him heir over William. However, other sources, such as Eadmer dispute this claim.
=== Artistic context ===
Tapestry fragments have been found in Scandinavia dating from the ninth century and it is thought that Norman and Anglo-Saxon embroidery developed from this sort of work. Examples are to be found in the grave goods of the Oseberg ship and the Överhogdal tapestries.
A monastic text from Ely, the Liber Eliensis, mentions a woven narrative wall-hanging commemorating the deeds of Byrhtnoth, killed in 991. Wall-hangings were common by the tenth century, with English and Norman texts particularly commending the skill of Anglo-Saxon seamstresses. Mural paintings imitating draperies still exist in France and Italy, and there are twelfth-century mentions of other wall-hangings in Normandy and France. A poem by Baldric of Dol might even describe the Bayeux Tapestry itself. The Bayeux Tapestry was therefore not unique at the time it was created; rather it is remarkable for being the sole surviving example of medieval narrative needlework.
Very few hangings from the 11th century survive, but the Tapestry of Creation, or Girona Tapestry, is a large Romanesque panel of needlework, in the Museum of Girona Cathedral, Catalonia, Spain. The hanging depicts a series of figures from the Book of Genesis and personifications of the months. The Cloth of Saint Gereon, in Germany, is the largest of a group of fragments from hangings based on decorative Byzantine silks, including animals, that are probably the earliest European survivals.
== Content ==
=== Events depicted ===
The tapestry begins with a panel of Edward the Confessor sending Harold to Normandy.(scene 1) Later Norman sources say that the mission was for Harold to pledge loyalty to William but the tapestry does not suggest any specific purpose. By mischance, Harold arrives at the wrong location in France and is taken prisoner by Guy, Count of Ponthieu.(scene 7) After exchanges of messages borne by mounted messengers, Harold is released to William, who then invites Harold to accompany him on a campaign against Conan II, Duke of Brittany. On the way, just outside the monastery of Mont Saint-Michel, the army becomes mired in quicksand and Harold saves two Norman soldiers.(scene 17) William's army chases Conan from Dol de Bretagne to Rennes, and Conan finally surrenders at Dinan.(scene 20) William gives Harold arms and armour (possibly knighting him) and Harold takes an oath on saintly relics.(scene 23) Although the writing on the tapestry explicitly states an oath is taken there is no clue as to what is being promised.
Harold leaves for home and meets again with the old king Edward, who appears to be remonstrating with him.(scene 25) Harold is in a somewhat submissive posture and seems to be in disgrace. However, possibly deliberately, the king's intentions are not made clear. The scene then shifts by about one year to when Edward has become mortally ill and the tapestry strongly suggests that, on his deathbed, he bequeaths the crown to Harold. What is probably the coronation ceremony is attended by Stigand, whose position as Archbishop of Canterbury was controversial.(scene 31) Stigand is performing a liturgical function, possibly not the crowning itself. The tapestry labels the celebrant as "Stigant Archieps" (Stigand the archbishop) although by that time he had been excommunicated by the papacy who considered his appointment unlawful.
A star with a streaming tail, now known to be Halley's Comet, then appears. At this point, the lower border of the tapestry shows a fleet of ghost-like ships thus hinting at a future invasion.(scene 33) The news of Harold's coronation is taken to Normandy, whereupon we are told that William is ordering a fleet of ships to be built although it is Bishop Odo shown issuing the instructions.(scene 35) The invaders reach England, and land unopposed. William orders his men to find food, and a meal is cooked.(scene 43) A house is burnt by two soldiers, which may indicate some ravaging of the local countryside on the part of the invaders, and underneath, on a smaller scale than the arsonists, a woman holds her boy's hand as she asks for humanity.(scene 47) News is brought to William. The Normans build a motte and bailey at Hastings to defend their position. Messengers are sent between the two armies, and William makes a speech to prepare his army for battle.(scene 51)
The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 less than three weeks after the Battle of Stamford Bridge but the tapestry does not provide this context. The English fight on foot behind a shield wall, whilst the Normans are on horses. Two fallen knights are named as Leofwine and Gyrth, Harold's brothers, but both armies are shown fighting bravely. Bishop Odo brandishes his baton or mace and rallies the Norman troops in battle.(scene 54) To reassure his knights that he is still alive and well, William raises his helmet to show his face. The battle becomes very bloody with troops being slaughtered and dismembered corpses littering the ground. King Harold is killed.(scene 57) This scene can be interpreted in different ways, as the name "Harold" appears above a number of knights, making it difficult to identify which character is Harold, since one character appears with an arrow shot in his head under the name "Harold" while another character is slain by a sword underneath the words "was slain" . The final remaining scene shows unarmoured English troops fleeing the battlefield. The last part of the tapestry is missing; however, it is thought that the story contained only one additional scene.
=== People depicted ===
The following is a list of known persons depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry:
=== Latin text ===
Tituli are included in many scenes to point out names of people and places or to explain briefly the event being depicted. The text is in Latin but at times the style of words and spelling shows an English influence. A dark blue wool, almost black, is mostly used but towards the end of the tapestry other colours are used, sometimes for each word and other times for each letter. The complete text and English translation are displayed beside images of each scene at Bayeux Tapestry tituli.
== Unsettled questions ==
The depiction of events on the tapestry has raised several questions which remain unsettled.
The identification of Harold II of England in the vignette depicting his death is disputed. Some recent historians disagree with the traditional view that Harold is the figure struck in the eye with an arrow, and that the arrow is a later 18th/19th century modification following a period of repair. Benoît's engraving of 1729, and Bernard de Montfaucon's engravings of the tapestry as it was in 1730, show a spear or lance in place of the arrow and no arrow fletchings. Further, needle holes in the linen suggest that something has been removed, or shortened, and fletchings added to form an arrow. A figure is slain with a sword in the subsequent plate, and the phrase above the figure refers to Harold's death (interfectus est, "he was killed").
This would appear to be more consistent with the labelling used elsewhere in the work. It was common medieval iconography that a perjurer was to die with a weapon through the eye. Therefore, the tapestry might be said to emphasise William's rightful claim to the throne by depicting Harold as an oath breaker. Whether he actually died in this way remains a mystery and is much debated.
There is a panel with what appears to be a clergyman touching or possibly striking a woman's face. No one knows the significance of this scene or the caption above it: ubi unus clericus et Ælfgyva ("where [or in which] a certain cleric and Ælfgyva"), where Ælfgyva is the Latinised spelling of Ælfgifu, a popular Anglo-Saxon woman's name (literally "elf-gift"). The use of the grapheme Æ shows familiarity with English spelling. There are two naked male figures in the border below this figure; the one directly below the figure is in a pose mirroring that of the cleric, squatting and displaying his genitalia (a scene that was frequently censored in historical reproductions). However, similar naked figures appear elsewhere in the lower border where there seems to be no connection at all with the main action.
Harold had a younger sister named Ælfgifu (her name is spelt Alveva in the Domesday Book of 1086) who was possibly promised to William by Harold or even betrothed to him, but she died c. 1066, prior to the invasion. Ælfgifu was also the name of the mother of Sweyn Knutsson and Harold Harefoot, past kings of Denmark and England respectively, via Cnut the Great. It has been speculated that this scene, occurring after the meeting of Harold and William, is to remind the contemporary viewers of a scandal that occurred between Ælfgifu of Northampton and Emma of Normandy, Cnut's wives, that eventually led to the crowning of Edward the Confessor, child of Emma and her first husband, Æthelred the Unready.
At least two panels of the tapestry are missing, perhaps even another 6.4 m (7.0 yd) in total. This missing area may have depicted William's coronation as King of England. A poem by Baldric of Dol describes a tapestry on the walls of the personal apartments of Adela of Normandy, which is very similar to the Bayeux depiction. He describes the closing scene as the coronation of William in London.
== Historical accuracy ==
The Bayeux Tapestry was probably commissioned by the House of Normandy and essentially depicts a Norman viewpoint. However, Harold is shown as brave, and his soldiers are not belittled. Throughout, William is described as dux ("duke"), whereas Harold, also called dux up to his coronation, is subsequently called rex ("king"). The fact that the narrative extensively covers Harold's activities in Normandy (in 1064) indicates that the intention was to show a strong relationship between that expedition and the Norman Conquest starting two years later. It is for this reason that the tapestry is generally seen by modern scholars as an apologia for the Norman Conquest.
The tapestry's narration seems to place stress on Harold's oath to William, although its rationale is not made clear. Norman sources claim that the English succession was being pledged to William, but English sources give varied accounts. Today it is thought that the Norman sources are to be preferred. Both the tapestry and Norman sources name Stigand, the excommunicated archbishop of Canterbury, as the man who crowned Harold, possibly to discredit Harold's kingship; one English source suggests that he was crowned by Ealdred, archbishop of York, and favoured by the papacy, making Harold's position as legitimate king more secure. Contemporary scholarship has not decided the matter, although it is generally thought that Ealdred performed the coronation.
Although political propaganda or personal emphasis may have somewhat distorted the historical accuracy of the story, the Bayeux Tapestry constitutes a visual record of medieval arms, apparel, and other objects unlike any other artifact surviving from this period. There is no attempt at continuity between scenes, either in individuals' appearance or clothing. The knights carry shields, but show no system of hereditary coats of arms—the beginnings of modern heraldic structure were in place, but would not become standard until the middle of the 12th century. It has been noted that the warriors are depicted fighting with bare hands, while other sources indicate the general use of gloves in battle and hunt.
The American historian Stephen D. White, in a study of the tapestry, has "cautioned against reading it as an English or Norman story, showing how the animal fables visible in the borders may instead offer a commentary on the dangers of conflict and the futility of pursuing power".
== Replicas and continuations ==
A number of replicas of the Bayeux Tapestry have been created, in various media.
Through the collaboration of William Morris with textile manufacturer Thomas Wardle, Wardle's wife Elizabeth, who was an accomplished seamstress, embarked on creating a reproduction in 1885. She organised some 37 women in her Leek School of Art Embroidery to collaborate working from a full-scale water-colour facsimile drawing provided by the South Kensington Museum. The full-size replica was finished in 1886 and is now exhibited in Reading Museum in Reading, Berkshire, England. The naked figure in the original tapestry (in the border below the Ælfgyva figure) is depicted wearing a brief garment because the drawing which was worked from was similarly bowdlerised. The replica was digitised and made available online in 2020.
Ray Dugan of University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, completed a stitched replica in 1996. Since its completion, it has been displayed in various museums and galleries in Canada and the United States.
In 2000, a Danish association, Vikingegruppen Lindholm Høje, began making a replica of the Bayeux Tapestry using the original sewing techniques. The replica was completed in June 2014 and went on permanent exhibition at Børglum Abbey in May 2015.
E. D. Wheeler, former judge and former dean at Oglethorpe University, commissioned a hand-painted, full-size replica of the Bayeux Tapestry completed by Margaret ReVille and donated it to the University of West Georgia in Carrollton in 1994. In 2014, the replica was acquired by the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega.
An approximately half-scale mosaic version of the Bayeux Tapestry was formerly on display at Geraldine, New Zealand. It was made up of 1.5 million 7 mm2 pieces of spring steel—off-cuts from patterning disks of knitting machines—and was created by Michael Linton over a period of twenty years from 1979. The work was in 32 sections, and included a hypothetical reconstruction of the missing final section leading up to William the Conqueror's coronation at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1066.
Jason Welch, a woodcarver from North Creake, Norfolk, England, created a replica of the tapestry between 2011 and 2014 in carved and painted wooden relief on 25 five-foot planks. He undertook the project to help cope with the grief of losing his 18-year-old son.
Mia Hansson, from Skanör, Sweden, living in Wisbech, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, started a reproduction on 13 July 2016. As of May 2023 she had completed 40 metres, saying that she expected to finish in some four years. Hansson takes part of her replica out for talk and display events. In September 2020 she published Mia's Bayeux Tapestry Colouring Book, with hand-drawn images from the tapestry.
In January 2024, the Bayeux Museum acquired a Victorian replica of the Bayeux tapestry as part of the late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts's estate auction, purchased for £16,000. The replica, one of three known surviving Victorian copies, was originally created as a panoramic photograph in the 19th century.
A version of the tapestry made entirely in needle lace was created as a table runner. It is over 30 feet long and four feet wide and it is stored in the Smithsonian archives. The origins and creators of this large piece were unknown for many years, but new information connected the work to the company Melville & Ziffer. The work was displayed at a Paris exhibition in 1906.
Other modern artists have attempted to complete the work by creating panels depicting subsequent events up to William's coronation, though the actual content of the missing panels is unknown. In 1997, the embroidery artist Jan Messent completed a reconstruction showing William accepting the surrender of English nobles at Berkhamsted (Beorcham), Hertfordshire, and his coronation. In early 2013, 416 residents of Alderney in the Channel Islands finished a continuation including William's coronation and the building of the Tower of London.
== In popular culture ==
Because it resembles a modern comic strip or movie storyboard, is widely recognised, and is so distinctive in its artistic style, the Bayeux Tapestry has frequently been used or reimagined in a variety of different popular culture contexts. George Wingfield Digby wrote in 1957:
It was designed to tell a story to a largely illiterate public; it is like a strip cartoon, racy, emphatic, colourful, with a good deal of blood and thunder and some ribaldry.
It has been cited by Scott McCloud in Understanding Comics as an example of early sequential-narrative art; and Bryan Talbot, a British comic book artist, has called it "the first known British comic strip".
It has inspired many modern political and other cartoons, including:
John Hassall's satirical pastiche Ye Berlyn Tapestrie, published in 1915, which tells the story of the German invasion of Belgium in August 1914
Rea Irvin's cover for the New Yorker magazine of 15 July 1944 marking D-Day
George Gale's pastiche chronicling the saga leading up to Britain's entry into the European Economic Community, published across six pages in The Times's "Europa" supplement on 1 January 1973
The tapestry has inspired modern embroideries, most notably and directly:
The Overlord Embroidery (1974), commemorating Operation Overlord and the Normandy landings of 1944, now at Portsmouth
The Prestonpans Tapestry (2010), which chronicles the events surrounding the Battle of Prestonpans in 1745
The Black Gold Tapestry (2017), by Sandra Sawatzky, depicting 5000 years of the history of oil
Other embroideries more loosely inspired by it include the Hastings Embroidery (1966), the New World Tapestry (1980–2000), the Quaker Tapestry (1981–89), the Great Tapestry of Scotland (2013), the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry (2014–15), Magna Carta (An Embroidery) (2014–15), and (in this case a woven tapestry with embroidered details) the Game of Thrones Tapestry (2017–19).
Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki was inspired by the tapestry during the creation of his manga and film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984). The legendary tapestry tells the story of a chosen one who will save the earth.
A number of films have used sections of the tapestry in their opening credits or closing titles, including Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Anthony Mann's El Cid, Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet, Frank Cassenti's La Chanson de Roland, Kevin Reynolds' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and Richard Fleischer's The Vikings.
The tapestry is referred to in Tony Kushner's play Angels in America. The apocryphal account of Queen Matilda's creation of the tapestry is used, perhaps in order to demonstrate that Louis, one of the main characters, holds himself to mythological standards.
The couch gag for the 2008 The Simpsons episode "E Pluribus Wiggum" retells the eponymous family's struggle with their neighbour in the style of the tapestry.
In 2022 the French documentary Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry was broadcast by BBC Four. It was written by Jonas Rosales, directed by Alexis de Favitski and produced by Antoine Bamas. The documentary covered investigations carried out on the tapestry by the Laboratoire d'Archéologie Moléculaire et Structurale (LAMS) at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, which used a hyperspectral camera, measuring 215 different colours, to analyse the pigments which produced the original colours for the dyes, extracted from madder, weld and indigo.
In 2025, Bethesda Softworks commissioned a remake of the Bayeux Tapestry as part of a promotional campaign for their video game Doom: The Dark Ages. The tapestry, dubbed the Slayeux Tapestry, was displayed in the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggie_Sanders | Reggie Sanders | Reginald Laverne Sanders (born December 1, 1967) is an American former right fielder in Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed. He played professionally with the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Kansas City Royals, and was a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks' 2001 World Series championship over the New York Yankees. Sanders possessed both power and speed and is one of eight MLB players to record over 300 home runs and over 300 steals.
Currently, Sanders is a special assistant to baseball operations for player and staff engagement for the Kansas City Royals. The team hired him in 2017.
== Early career ==
Sanders was 23 years old when he debuted in Major League Baseball (MLB) on August 22, 1991, after being selected in the seventh round of the 1987 MLB draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He attended Spartanburg Methodist College before beginning his pro career with the Rookie-level Billings Mustangs of the Pioneer League in 1988.
== Baseball career ==
Sanders was called up to the majors in August 1991. He made his major league debut on August 22 versus the Atlanta Braves, going 0-for-4. He played in nine games that year and hit his first MLB home run on September 26 against Atlanta pitcher Armando Reynoso. The following year, he played more in the outfield, splitting between left and center field for 110 games (with a few pinch hit appearances). In 116 total games, he batted .270 with twelve home runs and 104 hits while striking out 98 times with 48 walks and stealing 16 bases on 23 attempts; he finished 4th in Rookie of the Year voting. He was put as the primary right fielder for 1993 and played 138 games while batting .274 with twenty home runs and 83 RBIs and 27 stolen bases on 37 attempts.
In the strike-shortened 1994 season, he batted just .263 while hitting 17 home runs with 21 stolen bases on 30 attempts but he also led the NL in strikeouts with 114. Sanders gained some notoriety during the 1994 season when Pedro Martínez hit him with a pitch to end his bid for a perfect game with one out in the eighth inning. Sanders responded by charging the mound and igniting a bench-clearing brawl. He was ridiculed by some in the press for believing that a pitcher would abandon an attempt at a perfect game to intentionally hit a batter. In 1995, crediting a decision to adjust his batting stance (where he moved his hands from high and back to low and toward the front of the plate) for timing, Sanders had a career year, playing in 133 games and batting a career high .306 with 99 RBIs while hitting 28 home runs and stealing 36 bases on 48 attempts to go with 148 hits and 69 walks (all except the home runs wound up being career highs for Sanders). The Reds won the NL Central title that year and Sanders played as the right fielder for each game of their postseason run. He batted .154 in the NLDS with one home run and nine strikeouts as the Reds won in a three-game sweep over the Dodgers. It did not get better for Sanders as the Reds met the Braves in the 1995 NLCS, as Sanders proceeded to bat .125 with two total hits and ten strikeouts as the Braves swept Cincinnati. 1996 saw him plagued with injuries that saw him go on the disabled list three times with a lower back strain in April, a sore rib cage in June, and torn ligaments in his right thumb in August. He played 81 total games and batted .251 with 14 home runs and 24 stolen bases. Sanders was plagued by further injuries the following year, having had a bulging disc in his lower back in April to then pair up with severely spraining his right ankle in late May 1997 while sliding into second base trying to avoid a game-ending double play. He played 86 games and batted .253 with 19 home runs and 13 stolen bases. He was healthier in 1998 for the Reds, playing in 135 games and batting .268 with 14 home runs and 20 stolen bases, although he struck out a career-high 137 times. On February 2, 1999, Sanders was traded by the Reds (along with Josh Harris and Damian Jackson) for Mark Sweeney and Greg Vaughn.
In his one season with San Diego, he batted .285 in 133 games while having 26 home runs and 72 RBIs. On December 22, 1999, he was traded (alongside Wally Joyner and Quilvio Veras) to the Atlanta Braves for Bret Boone, Ryan Klesko and Jason Shiell. Sanders would play as a free agent for five different teams in the next five seasons. With Atlanta in 2000, he batted .232 in 103 games while playing mostly in left field but got to return to the postseason; in the NLDS, he went 0-for-9 with two walks as the Braves lost. With Arizona in 2001, he played 126 games and batted .263 with 90 RBIs and a career-high 33 home runs to go with 14 stolen bases as the Diamondbacks made a run to the World Series. Sanders got his first postseason home run in six years when he broke a scoreless tie in Game 5 of the NLDS versus St. Louis. It was his only RBI of that series, but Arizona won the game 2–1 to move on to the NLCS. Facing Atlanta, Sanders batted .118 while playing in right field, but Arizona won in five games anyway. In the 2001 World Series versus the New York Yankees, Sanders played the first six games in right field and batted .304 but stole just one base with one RBI. He didn't play in Game 7 due to being benched by manager Bob Brenly but Arizona won to give Sanders a World Series ring.
With San Francisco in 2002, he played 140 games and batted .250 while hitting 23 home runs with 18 stolen bases. He played in each of the 16 postseason games for the Giants in that year, which included the 2002 World Series. He hit a home run in both Game 1 and Game 2 of the series, but the Giants lost the series in seven games; Sanders had seven RBIs in the postseason, albeit with all but one being in the World Series. With Pittsburgh in 2003, he batted .285 while having 31 home runs and 15 stolen bases. On August 20, 2003, Sanders became the fortieth player in MLB history to hit two home runs in an inning, doing so against the St. Louis Cardinals in the top of the 5th inning. He was only the third Pirates player to accomplish the feat. Sanders' first home run of the inning came as the third in a back-to-back-to-back string for the Pirates; the second was a grand slam. With St. Louis in 2004, he played in 135 games and batted .260 while hitting for 22 home runs with 21 stolen bases. He played in all but one of the postseason games during the trip to the World Series, which saw him have eight total hits with one RBI and go hitless in the World Series, which ended in a sweep for Boston. He returned to the Cards for 2005, which saw him bat .271 in just 93 games with 21 home runs and 14 stolen bases. Sanders had a breakout of sorts during the 2005 National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres. In a three-game sweep of the Padres, Sanders had ten runs batted in (with six coming in Game 1) a new record for a division series. In Game 1 of the 2005 NLCS, Sanders hit a two-run home run to give the Cardinals a two-run lead, making it his seventh career postseason home run. Sanders went cold from that game on however, having just two total hits after Game 1 as the Cardinals would lose the series in six games, giving the Houston Astros their first NL pennant and trip to the World Series.
Sanders played in 88 games and batted .246 with 11 home runs and 7 stolen bases as a free agent who signed with the Royals for 2006. On June 10, 2006, as a member of the Royals, Sanders hit his 300th home run. This made him the fifth member of Major League Baseball's 300-300 club, as he had stolen the 300th base of his career on May 1. He became the first player in history to join the club at his home stadium. Steve Finley of the San Francisco Giants joined the 300-300 club as its sixth member on June 14, four days after Sanders achieved the feat. Sanders hit 20 or more home runs in one season for six different teams. He hit at least 10 home runs in a season for every major league team he played for (eight in all).
Sanders missed the majority of the 2007 season due to an injury and became a free agent after the season. In what ended up as his final game on July 29, 2007, Sanders went 1-for-3, with his final hit being a single that scored a run in a 10–0 victory for Kansas City.
On December 16, 2025, Sanders was elected to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.
== Career statistics ==
In 64 postseason games, Sanders batted .195 (43-for-221) with 24 runs, 7 home runs, 25 RBI, 9 stolen bases, and 26 walks. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yadier_Molina | Yadier Molina | Yadier Benjamín Molina (Spanish pronunciation: [ɟʝaˈðjeɾ moˈlina]; born July 13, 1982) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball manager and former catcher who is the manager of the Navegantes del Magallanes of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. He played his entire 19-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB) and he is currently the team's Special Assistant to the President of Baseball Operations. Widely considered one of the greatest defensive catchers of all time for his blocking ability and caught-stealing percentage, Molina won nine Rawlings Gold Gloves and six Fielding Bible Awards. A two-time World Series champion, he played for Cardinals teams that made 12 playoff appearances and won four National League pennants. Molina also played for the Puerto Rican national team in four World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournaments, winning two silver medals.
When he retired after the 2022 season, Molina ranked first all-time among catchers in putouts and second all-time among catchers with 130 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS); among active players, he ranked first with 845 assists, 40.21% of runners caught stealing, and 55 pickoffs. Along with pitcher Adam Wainwright, Molina holds the records for most games started and won as a battery. As a hitter, Molina accrued more than 2,100 hits, 150 home runs, and 1,000 runs batted in (RBIs); he batted over .300 in five seasons. Other distinctions include selection to ten MLB All-Star Games, four Platinum Glove Awards, and one Silver Slugger Award. He was a two-time selection to the All-WBC Tournament Team and was a member of the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series.
The product of a baseball family, Molina was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. His father was an amateur second baseman and the all-time hits leader in Puerto Rican baseball, and his two older brothers, Bengie and José, also developed into standout defensive catchers with lengthy MLB careers. The Cardinals' fourth-round selection in the 2000 MLB draft, Molina entered the major leagues in the 2004 season and quickly showed one of the strongest and most accurate arms in the game. Over his career, he earned a reputation as a team leader, eventually formulating pregame plans to handle opposing hitters, including pitching strategies and fielder positioning.
Molina appeared on five NL Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) ballots, including finishing fourth in 2012 and third in 2013. When Hurricane Maria ravaged the island of Puerto Rico in September 2017, Molina began relief efforts for victims of the catastrophe, consequently receiving the Roberto Clemente Award in 2018.
== Early life ==
Yadier Benjamín Molina was born on July 13, 1982, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, the youngest of three boys to Gladys Matta and Benjamín Molina, Sr. He attended Maestro Ladislao Martínez High School in Vega Alta.–Baseball in Puerto Rico is a significant part of the island's culture. Molina's father played second base as an amateur and worked as a tools technician 10 hours per day in a Westinghouse factory. The all-time hits leader in Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (or Doble-A Beísbol) history, the elder Molina delivered a .320 career batting average and gained election to the Puerto Rican baseball hall of fame in 2002. Molina's two older brothers, Bengie and José, also developed into distinguished defensive catchers with lengthy careers in Major League Baseball (MLB), and each of the three won at least one World Series championship.
Each day when he completed work, Molina's father went directly home, ate dinner with his family, and crossed the street from his family's home with his sons and his son's friend Carlos Diaz to Jesús Mambe Kuilan Park, spending countless evening hours teaching them the fundamentals of the sport. He remained hopeful that his sons would become professional baseball players.
Molina's catching aptitude showed as early as age five and developed quickly. Nonetheless, he developed great competence in playing all over the baseball field and, as older brother Bengie recalled, always seemed to "be the first player taken in the youth league draft". Molina concentrated on infield positions until about age 16, when he began to develop the familiar Molina physique: as of 2013, he stood 5'11" and weighed 220 pounds.
Molina's father also sought to accelerate him on the diamond. Following Yadier's suspension from a youth league about age 15, he anticipated the desistance would stagnate his development, so he searched for an alternative. Against the wishes of coaches, family members and friends, he scheduled Yadier for a workout with the Hatillo Tigres, an amateur league team. Molina made the team after a single workout and immediately became the starting catcher. The Tigres' first baseman, Luís Rosario, was the one who recommended him to the organization. The Tigres played in a league composed mainly of players 10 or more years older than Molina, well before he was eligible for the MLB draft.
== Professional career ==
=== Draft and minor leagues ===
Minnesota Twins scout Edwin Rodríguez followed and scrutinized Molina starting in high school. He observed that Molina's skills closely resembled that of both his older brothers—both accomplished major league catchers—and decided that his defense was "polished" enough to be considered more advanced than most high schoolers in the United States. However, Molina's hitting lagged behind his defense. The initial report on his skill set was "defensive catcher, great arm, weak bat"; the closest comparable hitter as catcher was one whom the Cardinals eventually placed at the top of their organizational ladder, his future manager Mike Matheny.
Before he was drafted, Molina worked out for the Cincinnati Reds. He put on a spectacle at Riverfront Stadium with his arm and bat that grabbed the attention of executives, scouts, and prominent former Reds players, including Johnny Bench and Bob Boone. As Molina recalled, he left the session with the impression that Cincinnati intended to draft him. Undeterred by the universal reservations about his offensive ceiling, the St. Louis Cardinals instead took Molina in the fourth round of the 2000 MLB draft and signed him for $325,000.
The Cardinals then invited Molina to major league spring training camp. Described as "raw", the young catcher worked to emulate Matheny. At one point in that extended spring training, instructor Dave Ricketts observed Molina from a golf cart during a game. Molina allowed a passed ball through his legs with a runner on third base, and raced to the backstop to retrieve the ball. Still hoping to prevent the runner from scoring, he instead found Ricketts in the golf cart parked on top of home plate. Ricketts, who had a reputation for becoming upset when minor league catchers allowed balls to bounce between their legs, removed Molina from the game and drove him to the batting cage. There, Molina later recalled, Ricketts batted 150 to 200 ground balls to improve the young catcher's ability to block pitches.
Molina began his professional career with the Johnson City Cardinals of the Rookie-level Appalachian League in 2001, playing 44 total games and batting .259. He advanced one level in each of four seasons in the minor leagues. Even without highly developed offensive skills, Molina proved difficult to strike out. Mainly a singles hitter who favored hitting the ball the other way, he batted .278 with 14 home runs and 133 runs batted in (RBIs) with 118 strikeouts in 1,044 at-bats in four minor league seasons. In his first three seasons, he threw out 111 base runners attempting to steal while allowing 133 stolen bases, for a caught-stealing percentage of 45%.
=== St. Louis Cardinals (2004–2022) ===
==== 2004–06 ====
Molina's first chance in the Major Leagues came when the incumbent catcher, Matheny, went on the disabled list (DL) with a strained rib in the Cardinals' pennant-winning season of 2004. Molina made his Major League debut on June 3. One of his first game-winning hits occurred on August 7. He stroked a broken-bat single to shallow center field in the bottom of the ninth inning against the New York Mets. On the play, the center fielder, Mike Cameron started towards the outfield wall based on Molina's full swing, not immediately realizing that he had made only partial contact because of the broken bat. By the time Cameron charged the ball, it was too late; it fell in for a hit, scoring Jim Edmonds. Three weeks later, on August 29, the Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6–4, thanks in part to two plays in which Molina tagged out the runner at home plate, including a collision with Ty Wigginton.
Molina appeared in 51 regular-season games and batted .267 with two home runs and 15 RBIs in 151 plate appearances. He threw out more than half of would-be base-stealers (nine of 17). In the World Series against the Boston Red Sox, manager Tony La Russa elected to start Molina over Matheny in Game 4. The Red Sox swept the Cardinals and claimed the title that game, their first in 86 years. The following offseason, Matheny signed a three-year, $10.5-million contract with the San Francisco Giants, clearing the way for Molina to become the Cardinals' starting catcher.
In 2005, Molina struggled with injuries and saw a drop off in the offensive performance in his rookie season. He doubled and scored on David Eckstein's go-ahead single on his way to three hits in a June 12 defeat of the New York Yankees, 5–3. Molina returned from a 33-game absence on August 19 induced by a hairline fracture of his left fifth metacarpal bone from being hit by a pitch on July 7. Starting pitcher Chris Carpenter, attempting to extend a winning streak to ten games on an August 19 game versus the San Francisco Giants, found himself in a 4–0 deficit in the ninth inning. Capped by Molina's three-run home run, the Cardinals rallied and won 5–4 in the ninth. The next day, Molina's suicide squeeze bunt scored Mark Grudzielanek, tying the game and allowing the Cardinals to win 4–2. Those were just two wins of 100 as St. Louis made their way to another division title following 105 wins the season before.
In 114 games, Molina posted a .252 batting average with eight home runs and 49 RBIs with just 30 strikeouts in 421 plate appearances. Defensively, he registered career-highs of nine pickoffs and a caught-stealing percentage of 64 from throwing out 25 of 39 would-be base-stealers. According to Baseball-Reference.com, as of 2024, that percentage ranked as the 28th highest all-time season-single caught stealing percentage. Since 1957, only Roberto Pérez's 71.4% in the shortened 2020 season and Mike LaValliere's 72.7% in 1993 were higher.
Before the 2006 season commenced, Molina participated in the inaugural World Baseball Classic (WBC) for Puerto Rico. After returning to the Cardinals, he changed his jersey number from 41 to 4. However, the regular season presented some of his greatest offensive challenges as he struggled through a career-worst .216 batting average in 461 regular-season plate appearances. It was a culmination of a decline over his first three seasons; Molina's on-base plus slugging percentages (OPS) registered at .684 in 2004, .654 in 2005 and .595 in 2006. The low batting average was due in part to a deflated batting average on balls in play (BABIP) of .226 (normal is around .300), a career low.
In a May 27 game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in San Diego with the Cardinals holding a 4–3 lead in the bottom of the ninth, Molina picked Brian Giles off first to end the game, the first pickoff to end a major league game in nearly four years. The Cardinals faced the Padres again in the National League Division Series (NLDS) playoff game in the playoffs, he again picked a Padre off at first, this time Mike Piazza, while bailing pitcher Jeff Suppan out of a jam. For the season, he caught 41% of all base-stealing attempts and picked off seven runners.
Even as his bat languished, Molina's defense was instrumental in propelling the Cardinals to the National League Central division crown in a season heavily marred by injuries for the team. However, the following playoffs marked a turning point in his career offensive output. He posted a .358 composite batting average, .424 on-base percentage (OBP), two home runs and eight RBIs in 16 games as the Cardinals reached the World Series. He batted .308 in the National League Division Series (NLDS), .348 in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) and .412 in the World Series.
One of Molina's landmark playoff performances came in Game 7 of the NLCS against the New York Mets, the final game of the series tied at three games each. Starting in the top of the ninth, he batted with a 1–1 score. In the sixth inning, Mets left fielder Endy Chávez had prevented the Cardinals from taking the lead when he leapt to catch Scott Rolen's near-miss home run over the left field fence. This time, however, Molina hit a two-run home run off Aaron Heilman over left field that was too high for Chávez to catch and gave the Cardinals a 3–1 edge.
In the bottom of the ninth, rookie pitcher Adam Wainwright – filling in as emergency closer – found himself in a two-out, bases-loaded situation against center fielder Carlos Beltrán, who had already homered three times in the NLCS. Molina called for a mound conference. Initially, he wanted a sinker from Wainwright but changed his mind because he suspected Wainwright would overthrow it and give Beltrán an easy pitch to hit. Molina made an unconventional choice by calling for a changeup to start the sequence against Beltrán. It was called for a strike. Had Beltrán successfully got a base hit, the scheme may have caused tension for the third-year catcher with La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan because throwing a first-pitch changeup ran contrary to Duncan's teaching. Molina then called for two curveballs. Beltrán fouled off the first, but Wainwright struck him out looking at a "bender that started up and away and bit hard to the low inside corner" for the final out of the game. The Cardinals' conquest of the NLCS gave them a return trip to the World Series after two years. They proceeded to defeat the Detroit Tigers in five games, giving Molina his first championship ring. His mask was turned in for display at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
==== 2007–09 ====
Batting out of the number-five spot in the batting order for the first time in his career on Opening Day, 2007, Molina collected two hits. In a game against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 15, Molina picked Prince Fielder off first base as he leaned far off the bag, tipping off Molina and first baseman Albert Pujols to a hit and run the Brewers were planning. Four days later, Molina faced his brother Bengie for the first time in a game against the San Francisco Giants. It was also the first time they had seen each other in about three and one-half years.
From May 1 to 24, Molina strung together a then-career high 15-game hitting streak, during which he batted .373. It was the longest streak for a Cardinals catcher since Erik Pappas' 16-game streak in 1993. Molina was absent for most of June due to a fractured left wrist. In the third inning of the May 29 game against Colorado, he took a foul tip off his wrist from Rockies right fielder Brad Hawpe's bat. After missing 26 games, the Cardinals activated him from the disabled list on June 28.
The first multi-error game of Molina's career occurred July 13 against the Philadelphia Phillies on a catch and throw. In a span of 11 starts from August 2–16, he racked up four three-hit games. On August 16, he hit two home runs against the Brewers for his first career multi-homer game. Molina homered and stroked the go-ahead double in an August 22 defeat of Florida. One week later, he homered in back-to-back games against the Cincinnati Reds; he, Edmonds, and Rick Ankiel each drove in three runs in an 11–3 victory on September 2. On Yadier Molina Bobblehead Night September 19 versus Philadelphia, he stroked three hits including the game-winning single in the tenth inning.
Molina suffered a concussion in September and underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee. The knee surgery ended his season early on September 24. In Molina's final 50 games, he successfully collected 49 hits in 158 AB for a .310 AVG. Of his final 35 starts, 12 were multi-hit games. His .281 batting average after the All-Star break ranked fifth among NL catchers. He finished the season with a new career-best .275 batting average, six home runs, and 40 RBIs in 111 games. He threw out 50% (23 of 46) baserunners attempting to steal, the highest percentage in the majors. From 2005 to 2007, he led all MLB with a 47% caught-stealing rate and 18 pick-offs.
On January 14, 2008, Molina and the Cardinals agreed to a four-year, $15.5 million deal with a club option for a fifth, cementing his position as their starting catcher. He reported to spring training having lost 15 pounds and in improved physical shape from rehabilitating following knee surgery. He started the season with an Opening Day home run and seven-game hitting streak. After a home plate collision with Eric Bruntlett on June 15 against the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth inning, Molina sustained head and neck injuries and was removed from the field on a stretcher. There were no indications of a concussion. He held on to the ball to help the Cardinals win. He missed the next four games. To that point, Molina was batting .295 with three home runs and 24 RBIs. He also had thrown out 10 of 32 baserunners (31.3%) – well below his career average of 45% – but an Associated Press reporter attributed the decline to an inexperienced pitching staff.
Molina returned to the field against Boston at Fenway Park as the designated hitter. In that game, his solo home run provided the difference in a 5–4 Cardinals victory. It was also the first game of the first of two 13-game hitting streaks for the season. His first career start at first base, also against Boston, occurred two days later. During that streak, he collected 17 hits in 47 at-bats for a .362 batting average. The second hitting streak spanned from August 16 to September 2, where he successfully hit 19 times in 50 at bats for a .380 average. On September 2, he and Felipe López hit consecutive home runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks en route to an 8–2 victory.
Overall, Molina enjoyed a breakout offensive season, finishing with new career highs with a .304 batting average – his first over .300 – and in hits (135), OBP (.349), SLG (.392), runs (37) and RBIs (56). Of all catchers in franchise history with at least 450 PA in a season, he became just the second ever, after Simmons, to bat over .300; it was then the fourth-best season batting average; and, his 29 strikeouts were the fewest since Simmons fanned 20 times in 1976. Molina led the team and was sixth in the NL with a .340 batting average with runners in scoring position. For the season, he successfully caught 35% of opposing baserunners, still higher than the league average of 27%. He led all MLB with seven pickoffs. That November, Molina received his first Gold Glove Award, becoming the third Cardinal catcher ever to win the honor, after Tom Pagnozzi and Matheny.
Before the 2009 season commenced, Molina participated with Puerto Rico in his second WBC. When the event concluded, he returned to the Cardinals. In an April 16 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he reached base in all five of his plate appearances in a 12–7 victory. Starting pitcher Joel Piñeiro – struggling with his fastball command in previous starts – experimented with a sinker and shut out the New York Mets on June 24 with just two hits. Molina erased a Mets runner by throwing out Luis Castillo attempting to steal second base. Molina was batting .278 with five home runs and 25 RBIs through July 5, 2009. He was selected through fan vote to represent the Cardinals in the All-Star Game in St. Louis' Busch Stadium – his first All-Star Game. As the top vote-getter among NL catchers with 2,641,467 votes, Molina was named the NL's starting catcher. He caught eight innings and drove home a run.
Following the All-Star break on July 18, Molina's four hits and Albert Pujols' two home runs helped cap Chris Carpenter's 6–1 victory over the Diamondbacks, who pitched around nine runners on base in eight innings. On August 15, Molina picked off San Diego's Kevin Kouzmanoff at first on the way to a 7–4 victory, the 33rd of his career. At that point, Bill James Online rated that Molina saved his team fifteen total runs from pickoffs alone in his career.
A sore left knee sustained after taking a foul ball of his kneecap temporarily disabled Molina on September 26. He was back in action on October 1 against Cincinnati, although he was removed from that game due to a "tweaked" knee. He finished the season with a .293 batting average, six home runs, 54 RBIs, and a major league-leading 136 games caught, the highest franchise total since Ted Simmons' total in 1977. His strikeout rate of once every 13.9 PA was the second-lowest in the NL. While accumulating 39 mult-hit games, the Cardinals won 27 of them. He led the major leagues with eight pickoffs and was second in the NL in innings caught. He also won his second Gold Glove award after the season. The Sporting News announced that major league managers and coaches had selected Molina for the magazine's end-of-season All-Star award. For the first time in his career, Molina earned Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) consideration. He finished tied for 23rd with Miguel Tejada with one percent of the vote share.
==== 2010–11 ====
On Opening Day, April 5, 2010, Molina connected for a grand slam, becoming just the third Cardinals player to hit an Opening Day grand slam, following Mark McGwire and Scott Rolen. On April 17, he caught all 20 innings of a game against the Mets. Molina turned in a productive April, driving in 15 runners, the most for a Cardinals catcher in the month of April since Ted Simmons drove in 20 in 1977. He also continued his productivity with the bases loaded that month, collecting four hits and 11 RBIs in five at bats.
Before the All-Star break, Molina batted just .223. However, he was voted to start his second consecutive game, and second overall, and played four innings. After the All-Star break, his hitting improved, as he stroked 63 hits in 200 at bats for .315 batting average. During a game against the Cincinnati Reds on August 10, as second baseman Brandon Phillips came to bat, he exchanged words with Molina that escalated to a bench-clearing confrontation, although no one was ejected. On September 17, he amassed a career-high five RBIs and career-tying four hits against San Diego, including two doubles. After an examination on his sore right knee on September 23, Molina was shut down for the rest of the season, missing 12 games.
The final batting results for Molina's 2010 season consisted of a .262 batting average, six home runs, and 62 RBIs. He ranked as the fourth toughest in the NL to strike out with 10.2 at bats per strikeout. He led all NL catchers in at-bats (465) and stolen bases (eight), and his 122 hits ranked second, just behind Brian McCann's 123. He was tops in the NL with 24 bases-loaded RBIs, collecting eight hits in 15 AB for a .533 batting average in those situations. He also was first in the Majors with a .455 batting average (10–22) on 0–2 counts. He led all MLB catchers in innings (1138), games started (130) and assists (79), and led the NL for the third time in caught-stealing percentage at 49%. On November 1, he won his fourth consecutive Fielding Bible Award as the sole catcher. In addition, Molina became the first player at any position to win the award unanimously with a perfect score of 100. Nine days later, he was awarded his third consecutive Gold Glove Award.
With increased offensive productivity in 2011, Molina continued to help anchor the middle of Cardinals lineup in addition to the pitching staff and defense. From May 15 to 18, he put together four consecutive multi-hit games. Selected to his third consecutive All-Star Game, he substituted for the starter, McCann, played four innings and doubled in his only at-bat. Molina hit safety in 14 consecutive games from July 21 to August 11, one fewer than his career high. From July 22–25, he homered in three consecutive games, the second time in his career he had done so.
On August 2, Molina was ejected from a game against the Milwaukee Brewers for arguing a called strike. He bumped umpire Rob Drake in the chest multiple times and appeared to spit upon him. Molina later apologized, stating that he did not intend to spit on the umpire and that he "was caught up in the moment. That's what happens when you're caught up in the race and trying to win. I didn't handle it the right way." He served a five-game suspension handed down by MLB for "making contact with umpire Rob Drake multiple times and spraying him with spit twice while arguing."
Although the Cardinals stayed competitive, they were, at best, on the fringes of making the playoffs through August. On August 28, with a 70–64 record, they faced a 10+1⁄2-game deficit to the Braves for the wild card playoff berth with 28 left to play. Molina provided a spark to the offense in the close of the season, batting .342 in August and .341 in September. With his 30th double on September 21, he became the fourth catcher in Cardinals history to reach that milestone, following Simmons, Bob O'Farrell and Walker Cooper.
St. Louis won 20 of 28 games to finish the season, allowing them to tie the Braves for the wild card lead going into the final day. Molina caught Carpenter's 8–0 shutout of the Astros, the final game of the regular season. Meanwhile, the Philles defeated the Braves 4–3 in 13 innings, giving the Cardinals the wild card title and eliminating the Braves from the playoffs. The 10+1⁄2 games-won deficit marked the largest lead surrendered with 28 left to play in MLB history, consummating what St. Louis Post-Dispatch sportswriter Bernie Miklasz termed an "improbable comeback," and one of the greatest sports history. It was just the first in a series of improbable comebacks for the Cardinals in 2011.
Molina compiled a .305 batting average, 32 doubles, 14 home runs and 65 RBIs during the 2011 regular season. His batting average led the Cardinals and was eighth in the NL. However, his posted a career-low 29% caught-stealing percentage. His OPS+ (126), batting average, and hit totals led NL catchers, doubles placed second and RBIs third. His .337 batting average following the All-Star Break tied for seventh in the NL. He also led all NL catchers with 12 three-hit games, and collated 39 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI games.
By making the playoffs, Molina became the first catcher in franchise history to appear in five postseasons for the Cardinals. He batted .333 in the NLCS against Milwaukee, including five hits in eight AB in the final two games. In Game 1 of the World Series against the Texas Rangers, Molina threw out Ian Kinsler attempting to steal in the first inning on the way to a 3–2 win. It was the Rangers' only attempted steal of the game. That caught stealing gave Molina five in seven total chances in the 2011 postseason to that point; the Rangers had been tied with the Cardinals for most steals in that postseason. For the series, the Rangers attempted to steal four bases and were successful just once. In Game 3, Molina accumulated four RBI, and two more each in Games 6 and 7.
The Cardinals won the Series in seven games, giving Molina his second championship ring. He batted .333 and set a team World Series record with nine RBIs. It was the highest World Series RBI total among catchers since Sandy Alomar Jr., drove in 10 in 1997. Molina started all 18 games and played every inning in that 2011 playoff run, including one at first. Overall, he batted .299 with five doubles and 12 RBIs. His 20 hits were the most by a catcher in the postseason since Iván Rodríguez stroked 21 in 2003. On November 1, Molina won his fourth consecutive Gold Glove Award, becoming just the fifth catcher on a pennant-winning club to lead his position in OPS+ in his league while winning a Gold Glove. He also won the first-ever National League Rawlings Platinum Glove Award, bestowed upon one player in each league. For the second time in his career, he won MVP consideration; he finished tied for 21st for the NL MVP balloting.
==== 2012 ====
On March 1, 2012, Molina signed a five-year extension with the Cardinals worth $75 million through 2017. The contract included a $1 million signing bonus, no-trade clause, and a mutual option for 2018 worth another $15 million. The deal made him the second-highest-paid catcher in the majors. He collected his tenth career four-hit game against the Brewers on April 29 with a two-run home run that led the Cardinals to a 7–3 win. On May 1, Molina mounted the first of two two-stolen base games of the season; the other occurred August 3.
On May 27 against the Phillies, Molina blasted his third career grand slam against Roy Halladay. His made his 1,000th career appearance in an MLB game against the Chicago White Sox on June 12. From July 25 to August 7, he maintained a season-best 11-game hitting streak in which he batted .413. In a game against Pittsburgh at PNC Park on August 28, he sustained head, neck and back injuries – although no concussion – in a second-inning home plate collision with second baseman Josh Harrison. In August, he batted .403 with a .453 OBP, both tied for third in the NL. As the season progressed, he garnered widespread consideration for the National League MVP award. On September 4, Molina collected his 1,000th career hit, an infield single against the Mets at home in the second inning.
The 2012 season was one of Molina's crowning achievements as a hitter, especially considering early professional scouting reports did not forecast his bat being much of a factor in the major leagues. He set new career highs in multiple offensive categories, including a .315 batting average, 22 home runs, 76 RBI, 65 runs scored, .373 OBP, .501 slugging percentage and 12 stolen bases. He led the team in batting average for the second straight season, thus becoming the first catcher in franchise history to do so.
Panning Molina's performance National League-wide, he ranked fourth in batting average, tenth in on-base percentage, 14th in slugging percentage and tied for 18th with 46 multihit games. He led NL catchers in stolen bases and set a Cardinals single-season record for catchers, and ranked second among NL catchers in HR and third in RBIs and batting average. An aggressive hitter, he batted .380 with seven home runs on the first pitch; his home run total on first pitches ranked seventh in the NL. His 32 baserunners caught stealing topped MLB, 47.9 caught stealing percentage ranked second, and three pickoffs tied for first in the NL and were second in MLB.
From a historic perspective, Fangraphs' Dave Cameron noted that Molina's combination of offensive productivity and interception of base runners in 2012 was one of the rarest performances in history. He became just the ninth MLB catcher to post a season with a weighted runs created (WRC+) factor of 140 and 45 percent of runners caught stealing. At 143, his WRC+ was tied for eighth all-time among catchers with at 45% of base runners caught stealing. Further, those figures aligned with peak seasons of other catchers such as Johnny Bench, Elston Howard, Carlton Fisk, and Rick Wilkins.
After being the subject of much speculation for the MVP award throughout the season, Molina ultimately finished fourth. However, he did win the prestigious and oldest award given to Latino players: the LatinoMVP award given by Latino Sports and the Latino Sports Writers & Broadcasters Association (LSWBA). He and winner Buster Posey became the first pair of catchers to finish in the top four in the award's 88-year history. However, like in years past, other awards were on their way. In November, he won his fifth straight Gold Glove award, making him the first Cardinal since Jim Edmonds to win that many consecutively, which Edmonds did in 2004. On December 4, he won his first GIBBY Award for Defensive Player of the Year. The St. Louis chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) named him the St. Louis Baseball Man of the Year for 2012. In a Los Angeles Times report that published the top MLB jersey sales from the All-Star break until October 1, his jersey ranked 18th.
==== 2013 ====
With increased profile coming in conjunction with his offensive breakout from the year before, Molina's popularity with fans around the game also increased. Following his 2012 fourth-place MVP finish, his 2013 in-season jersey sales rose to third place, just after Posey and retiring New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, according to a July 11 report. On June 2 he was ejected by 1st base umpire Clint Fagan for throwing his helmet. Molina collected two doubles in a three-hit game on June 12, giving him 21 doubles for the season, a pre-All-Star break career high. It was also the second-highest pre-All-Star break total in franchise history following Ted Simmons' 29 thirty-five years earlier. That three-hit game also gave Molina 78 for his career, tied for 43 on the all-time list for catchers.
Through July 15, Molina led the NL with a .341 (110 hits in 323 at-bats) batting average. In the final All-Star Game balloting, Molina (6,883,258 votes) edged out Posey (6,474,088) for the role of the NL's starting catcher in the game held at Citi Field in Queens, New York City. The Cardinals placed Molina on the 15-day disabled list on July 31 due to a right knee sprain. At the time he went on the DL, Molina was batting .330 with eight homers, thirty doubles, and 54 RBIs. A magnetic resonance image (MRI) indicated inflammation but no structural damage, so the knee was drained of excess fluid buildup and Molina was given a cortisone injection.
The knee injury impacted his batting average, contributing to a late-season slump. On September 16, Molina collected four hits with three runs scored to help the Cardinals to a 12–2 win over the Seattle Mariners and break an 0–15 slump, raising his batting average to .317. Eight days later, Molina was behind the plate to call rookie Michael Wacha's one-hit, 8 2⁄3 innings of shutout work in a 2–0 victory over the Washington Nationals. It was actually a no-hitter through that point until Ryan Zimmerman broke it up with a high-bouncing ground ball that glanced off Wacha's glove for the Nationals' only hit of the game.
For the year, Molina set new career highs in batting average (.319), doubles (44), runs scored (68), and RBIs (80). He also hit .373 with runners in scoring position (RISP) in a season in which the Cardinals set the all-team team record for batting average with RISP at .330. He finished fourth in the NL in batting average, second in doubles and sixth in batting average with RISP. His 44 doubles were the most in the Major Leagues among catchers since Iván Rodríguez' 47 in 1996.
Molina was also noted for his handling of the pitching staff. The Cardinals overcame losing key pitchers Chris Carpenter, Jason Motte, and Jaime García – among others – early in the season by substituting twelve rookie pitchers en route to winning a competitive NL Central division title over the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds (each team finished with at least 90 wins). A continuously evolving core exceeded expectations by filling in for 52 games started, 36 wins, and five saves and Molina was credited with their success in a large part due to his pitch-calling skills and aptness to guide. The rookies' 36 wins were the most in franchise history since 1941.
The Cardinals squared off against the Pirates in the NLDS. Two weeks removed from just missing a no-hitter, Wacha again nearly repeated the feat with Molina behind the plate in an elimination game, Game 4. Molina threw out pinch runner Josh Harrison attempting to steal second base in the eighth inning to help the Cardinals preserve a 2–1 lead. In the World Series against the Boston Red Sox, Molina became just the ninth player – and the first in the expansion era – in franchise history to appear in four World Series with the club, and the first since Stan Musial in the 1946 World Series, also against the Red Sox. Molina collected more awards following the season, including his first Silver Slugger Award, sixth Gold Glove, and a third-place finish in MVP voting. Molina was a co-winner, along with Wainwright and Matt Carpenter, for the BBWAA St. Louis Baseball Man of the Year.
==== 2014 ====
Along with three other players each separately displayed, Sports Illustrated featured Molina on the cover of their March 31 issue complementing the 2014 MLB season preview article. On the 2014 Opening Day – the same day Sports Illustrated published the Molina cover edition – he stroked his second season-entry home run and the 90th of his career, accounting for the difference in a 1–0 defeat of the Reds in Cincinnati. It also secured the 100th win for batterymate Adam Wainwright. Molina added a single for two of the Cardinals' five hits.
With a one ball, two strike pitch from relief pitcher Randy Choate incoming to Cubs outfielder Nate Schierholtz in a May 4 game, the batter foul tipped the pitch. Instead of Molina being in a position to catch it cleanly with his glove, the ball hit the thigh. Molina instantly hunched over the ball, trapping it between the thigh and rib cage. He held on, qualifying it as a third strike.
With the All-Star Game nearing, Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy aired Archived July 15, 2014, at the Wayback Machine a satirical television commercial in the style of a political advertising campaign on June 17 to outgain Molina in the All-Star voting totals. The voice-over narrator posed the question, "Do you want another St. Louis Cardinals catcher to star in an All Star game? Isn't there a better way? Cast a ballot for change. Cardinals fans need to know that enough is enough." At that point, Molina led the vote total for NL catchers with more than two million, while Posey was second at 1.4 million and Lucroy third with 1.1 million.
Some, including Matheny, took the message literally. However, Brad Weimer, the advertisement's creator, confirmed the humor was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Molina stayed in the lead and won the vote as the starting catcher in the All-Star Game at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota, his sixth consecutive appearance.
His season was interrupted on July 9 against the Pirates. While sliding past third base, he attempted to grab the bag to stay on. However, during the play, he injured his right thumb. An MRI revealed torn ligaments, requiring surgery and forcing him to miss the next eight to 12 weeks. Regarding the injury as having a significance impact on the Cardinals' season, St. Louis Post-Dispatch sportswriter Bernie Miklasz commented, "Losing the best catcher in the world for the next 8 to 12 weeks with a torn thumb ligament is a horrendous, demoralizing setback for the Cardinals. This could be a season-ending injury." At that point, he was batting .287 with a .341 OBP, .409 SLG, 16 doubles, seven homers, and 30 RBIs through 83 games. He also led MLB with a 49 caught-stealing percentage.
He returned from the DL ahead of schedule, about seven weeks and 40 games missed after the injury, and was activated August 29 before a series against the Cubs. However, he still had not fully recovered, as he batted .250 in September with a pronounced drop in power production. His 110 appearances were his fewest since his rookie season in 2004. He finished the season with a .282 batting average, seven HR, 38 RBIs, 21 doubles, a .333 OBP and .386 SLG, all lower totals than 2013, and many since 2010. Among players with at least 90 games played, Molina's 48% caught stealing and 3.20 catcher's ERA were both first in the major leagues.
During Game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers, Wainwright hit Adrián González with a pitch, and both benches cleared. Umpire Jerry Meals attempted to get between González and Molina, but Molina briefly shoved Meals. MLB fined Molina $5,000 without suspending him. In Game 2 of the NLCS against the Giants, Molina collected his 89th career hit in the postseason, passing Pujols for the franchise record. However, he sustained his second significant injury of the season in that same game, straining his left abdominal oblique muscle during another at bat, due in part to compensation in his swing for lost power following his thumb injury earlier in the season.
After missing the next game, his string of 83 consecutive playoff games started was stopped, which was a major league record. The last playoff game he had not started was Game 3 of the 2004 World Series. On November 4, Molina was announced as winning his seventh consecutive Gold Glove, tying Boone as having won the third-most Gold Gloves among catchers. Further, only Bench and Rodríguez had won more consecutive (10 each) as catchers in major league history. He won the National League Platinum Glove award on November 8, his third time in the award's first four years.
==== 2015 ====
With his 11th consecutive Opening Day start on April 5, 2015, against the Cubs, Molina became the first catcher in club history to achieve this feat. On May 10 against the Pirates, he was on the dubious end of a piece of MLB history: lining out into the first "4–5–4" triple play in MLB history. Second baseman Neil Walker caught his line drive with two runners on, then threw to third baseman Jung-ho Kang to double up Jhonny Peralta for the second out. Kang briefly pirouetted the ball in his hand, albeit confused, but threw back to Walker to tag Jason Heyward for the third out. Molina's first home run of the season and first in 95 games occurred against the Minnesota Twins on June 15; his previous home run dated back to June 27, 2014.
On July 7, he was selected to his seventh consecutive All-Star Game, played at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. In the Reds' clubhouse for the All-Star Game, Molina shared a locker with Reds' second baseman Brandon Phillips. Since the brawl between the Cardinals and Reds in 2010, the two mended their schism, and Molina has a photograph of their families together. When informed whose locker he was using, Molina replied, "This is Phillips' locker? How about that? I'll have to write something to him." While the pregame roster introductions were made, Reds fans booed all six Cardinals players who were selected, and even former Cardinal Albert Pujols. When Molina was introduced, he smiled and turned and pointed his thumbs toward the back of his jersey. Pujols provided levity when he then joined in the booing. After the game, Molina remarked to reporters, "when you spend 12 years coming to Cincinnati and you beat them so many times, they're going to boo you." In his career to that point, he hit .319 with a .352 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage in 270 career at-bats at Great American Ball Park.
Hitting his first triple in more than four years and 2,000 at bats, with the bases loaded, Molina provided the decisive run in a 3–2 outcome against the Chicago White Sox on July 22. In the annual Baseball America Toolbox Awards, managers and coaches around the National League rated Molina as both the "Best hit and run artist" and "Best defensive catcher" in the NL. His 100th career home run was well-timed, becoming the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning at Busch Stadium on August 19 in a 4–3 win over San Francisco. After sustaining an injury to his left thumb during a September 20 game against the Cubs, an MRI revealed a partial ligament tear, preventing him from playing. Molina won his eighth consecutive Gold Glove Award and fourth Platinum Glove Award in 2015. In December, it was revealed that Molina had a second surgery on his left thumb, pushing his return to late in 2016 spring training. He was winner of the Darryl Kile Good Guy Award.
==== 2016 ====
At age 33, Molina broke the Cardinals' all-time games caught record on April 8, 2016, in his 1,440th game, passing Ted Simmons (1968–80). His 1,343 games started since the beginning of the 2005 season was the highest total in the major leagues. He made his 1,500th career major league appearance on May 14 in a 5–3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. While playing the Washington Nationals in the seventh inning of a 2–1 loss at Nationals Park on May 26, Stephen Drew hit a high infield fly that stayed over the pitcher's mound. With both Aledmys Díaz and Mike Leake attempting to catch the ball, Molina posited himself and waited. As the ball deflected off Díaz' glove, he almost collided with Leake, but Molina instinctively moved his glove and caught the ball before it hit the ground. He recorded his 1,500th career hit on July 2 against Milwaukee, becoming the 34th catcher in MLB history, and second for the Cardinals, after Simmons.
Molina's ninth-inning, RBI double, tied the July 27 game against the New York Mets at 4−4, ending Jeurys Familia's consecutive-saves streak of 52, the third-longest in major league history. His tenth-inning double against Milwaukee on August 30, his 30th of the season and 300th of his career, helped lead the Cardinals to a 2–1 victory. He caught a career-high 146 games. After starting with a .256 average through 85 games, Molina batted .365 from July 8 to the end of the season, and overall hit .307, eight home runs, 58 RBIs, and led all major league catchers with 164 hits and 38 doubles. His hit total was also a career-high, leading the club, and he was eighth in the league in batting and ninth in doubles.
==== 2017 ====
During Spring Training before the 2017 season, and the final guaranteed year on Molina's contract, the Cardinals began to negotiate an extension to keep Molina in St. Louis for the remainder of his career. He agreed to a three-year contract extension for a reported $60 million, making him the highest-paid catcher in baseball. He was not interested in exercising his 2018 mutual option, which would have been worth $15 million. The extension assured Molina of remaining in St. Louis through 2020, and increases the chances that he will finish his career having played for just one organization, the one that drafted him. This distinction of having Molina retire as a Cardinal is something that carried weight for both parties throughout the negotiations.
On June 26, Molina became the ninth catcher all-time to record 11,000 career putouts at the position. For the eighth time in his career, he was an All-Star selection, as resulted in a vote by fellow players. He homered, making him the oldest catcher to hit a homer in an All-Star Game, in his age-34 season, and the first Cardinal to homer in an All-Star Game since Reggie Smith in 1974.
On August 9 against the Kansas City Royals, Molina came in with two outs and the bases loaded. After drawing a 1–0 count against Peter Moylan, a brief delay occurred when a stray kitten had made its way onto the outfield. On the very next pitch to Molina, he hit it 387 feet into the left field seats for a go-ahead grand slam. This was the fifth grand slam of his career, tying him with Tim McCarver for second-most career grand slams by a Cardinals catcher. This also proved to be the deciding hit in this game, as the Cardinals held up to win, 8–5.
On September 19, Molina tied Jim Bottomley (1922–1932) for 10th place in Cardinals history with 1,727 hits. Molina led the team in 2017 with 134 hits and 78 RBIs, and all NL catchers in both categories, entering play on that date. He broke the tie with Bottomley on September 20, with his 1,728th hit, and tied his own career-high RBI total for a season with 80, reached in 2013. He passed 80 on September 21, with his 81st and 82nd RBI. He was the 2017 recipient of the Missouri Athletic Club's Sports Personality of the Year Award.
==== 2018 ====
In January 2018, Molina expressed his plan to retire following the 2020 season when his contract would expire. As batterymates, Wainwright and Molina had accumulated more starts together than any other in franchise history. He passed Bench for two milestones early in the season: for 13th place in major league history in innings caught with 14,494+1⁄3 on April 14 while playing the Cincinnati Reds, and 16th in games caught versus with 1,743 on May 2 versus the Chicago White Sox. Molina doubled versus Cincinnati on April 22 to give him 338 for his career and tie Ozzie Smith for tenth place in Cardinals' history. On May 5, Molina exited the game after a foul tip struck him in the groin. The next day, on May 6, Molina underwent emergency surgery for a pelvic injury with traumatic hematoma.
The Cardinals activated Molina from the DL on June 5. On June 19, he set the major league record for most games caught with one team with 1,757, passing Gabby Hartnett who had previously held the record as a member of the Cubs. Molina homered twice in a loss to Philadelphia on June 20 for his fifth career multihomer game. He homered twice again on June 23 versus Milwaukee to fuel a 3–2 win, giving him five home runs over his previous six games.
Batting .279 with 13 home runs, Molina was named to the 2018 MLB All-Star Game to replace the injured Buster Posey. He finished his 2018 campaign batting .261 with twenty home runs and 74 RBIs in 123 games. He had the highest fielding percentage among major league catchers, at .998. He won his ninth Gold Glove.
==== 2019 ====
On Opening Day 2019, versus the Brewers, Molina extended his team-record for Opening Day starts with 15. He made his first career appearance at third base in extra innings of a 6−5 win on April 1 versus the Pirates. The Cardinals were in need of infield depth with an injury to regular utility infielder Jedd Gyorko. He was placed on the injured list on May 31 with a thumb tendon strain.
For the 2019 season, Molina batted .270/.312/.399 with ten home runs and 57 RBIs over 113 games. He batted .143 in the NLCS and .167 in the NLDS. He had the slowest sprint speed of all National League players, at 22.8 feet/second. On October 9, Molina set the record for the most appearances by a National League player in post-season MLB play, at ninety-four games. He was nominated for a Gold Glove.
==== 2020 ====
In 2020, Molina made his 16th consecutive Opening Day start. On August 4, it was announced that Molina had tested positive for COVID-19, and he was subsequently placed on the injured list. He returned from the injured list on August 20. On September 24, against the Milwaukee Brewers, he singled to right-center field for his 2,000th career hit.
For the season, he batted a slash line of .262/.303/.359, with four home runs and 16 RBIs. He was the second-oldest player in the NL, and had the slowest sprint speed of all major league catchers, at 23.0 feet per second. On defense, he led all NL catchers in errors, with five.
At the end of the 2020 season, Molina entered into free agency for the first time in his career.
==== 2021 ====
In 2021, Molina returned temporarily to Puerto Rico to play in the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente to play as a reinforcement with the Atenienses de Manatí in the semifinals. However, his participation was shadowed by the poor performance of the team, resulting in a sweeping 4-0 series with the Indios de Mayagüez.
On February 8, 2021, the Cardinals announced that they had signed Molina to a one-year deal for a reported $9 million. In regards to the signing, Molina stated "this is my home" and "I'm happy to be back." On April 14, Molina caught his 2,000th game with the Cardinals, the most by a catcher on one team. On August 24, Molina signed a one-year extension worth $10 million and announced that 2022 would be his final season.
Molina finished the 2021 season batting .252/.297/.370 with 11 home runs and 66 RBIs over 121 games and again had the slowest sprint speed of all major league catchers, at 22.6 feet/second.–He was nominated for a Gold Glove, making him one of six Cardinals to be nominated which led the major leagues.
==== 2022 ====
On May 15, 2022, Molina and Adam Wainwright won their 203rd game as a starting battery, setting the MLB record. On May 22, Molina made his first career pitching performance as he closed an 18–4 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He gave up all four of the Pirates' runs on four hits and two home runs. His pitching debut came one week after that of teammate Albert Pujols, who also gave up four hits and two home runs in the ninth inning. On June 8, Molina came in to pitch again in the eighth inning of an 11-3 loss against the Tampa Bay Rays. In the mound appearance, Molina collected his first career pitching strikeout, punching out Rays infielder Isaac Paredes.
On September 14, Wainwright and Molina set another MLB record by starting alongside one another for the 325th time, surpassing Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan of the Detroit Tigers for the most starts by a battery in MLB history. His last game was played on October 8, 2022, as the Cardinals were beaten 2–0 in the 2022 Wild Card Series by the Philadelphia Phillies. He went one for four and left two runners on base.
In 2022 he batted .214/.233/.302 in 262 at bats, and was the slowest player in major league baseball, with a sprint speed of 21.8 feet per second.
== International career ==
Molina played in the first four World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournaments – 2006, 2009, 2013, and 2017 – for Puerto Rico. He was fellow defensive standout Iván Rodríguez's backup in 2006 and 2009 and the primary catcher for the 2013 and 2017 squads.
In his first tournament in 2006, Molina played four games and collected three hits in five at-bats. In a 2009 game against the Netherlands on March 9, Molina's eighth-inning double keyed a rally in which Puerto Rico won 3–1. Speaking the next day, Molina stated that the previous night's double had been a bigger thrill than his two-run homer to beat the Mets in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS.
With Molina as the starting catcher in 2013, Puerto Rico earned the silver medal. Edwin Rodríguez, who had scouted Molina in Puerto Rico before the Cardinals signed him, became the manager for the 2013 squad. Shortly after learning he would be the manager, Rodríguez contacted Molina for input on constructing the roster. Molina prepared for the Classic by playing 14 games for the winter league team in Puerto Rico Rodríguez managed. Molina was voted on the All-World Baseball Classic team for the first time.
In a 2013 semifinal game against Japan, Molina alertly took advantage of a baserunning mistake to record an unusual putout. With Shinnosuke Abe batting for Japan in the top of the eighth inning, and Hirokazu Ibata on second and Seiichi Uchikawa on first, J. C. Romero was pitching for Puerto Rico. Abe took a pitch from Romero inside for a ball as the runners went in motion. However, Ibata retreated to second as Uchikawa charged toward him. Instead of throwing and risking an error, Molina held on to the ball. He then chased Uchikawa, cornered him by positioning himself between first and second and tagged out Uchikawa – an unassisted caught stealing. The Japanese later stated they were attempting to exploit Romero's slow delivery.
Puerto Rico advanced the finals again in 2017, falling to the United States 8−0 in earning their second consecutive silver medal and only loss of the tournament. Molina made a strong case to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the entire tournament, batting .333 with two home runs and a .583 slugging percentage in six games. After collecting three hits and a home run in eight at bats over two games in Pool F competition, he was named that group's MVP. In the semifinal game against the Netherlands, he picked two runners off base in one inning. He was named the catcher of 2017 All-World Baseball Classic team, his second All-WBC honor. Also, the coaching staff often allowed him to conduct the preparation meetings, took his advice on construction of the starting rotation, and when to remove tiring pitchers.
On September 10, 2018, he was selected to be part of the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series as a member of the MLB All-Stars team.
== Coaching career ==
Molina's first experience managing was with Puerto Rico's U-23 baseball team, in both the qualifiers for and actual tournament of the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup. Puerto Rico dropped its first three games to the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and South Korea, preventing it from moving on in the tournament. However, Molina managed the team to four more victories in the group stage and consolation round.
In 2022, Molina announced that he would be managing the Navegantes del Magallanes in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, having been recruited by former major leaguer Pablo Sandoval. Molina said the opportunity could open the door to managing a team in MLB, saying that Navegantes was "something different, and I'd like to try it early and see how it goes. And then after, I can decide if I want to do it [in the United States]." He managed Magallanes to a 29–27 regular season finish, though they were eliminated in the playoff round-robin.
Also in 2022, Molina was announced as manager of the Puerto Rico national team for the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The appointment created some controversy in Puerto Rico after the resignation of team general manager Eduardo Pérez, who had reportedly wanted Astros bench coach Joe Espada to manage the team. Puerto Rico was placed in Pool D, the so-called "group of death," along with Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. At the tournament, Molina managed Puerto Rico to eight perfect innings against Israel, as well as a 5–2 upset victory over the Dominican Republic to decide which team moved on to the knockout stage. However, Puerto Rico was eliminated by Mexico in the quarterfinals.
Molina managed the Criollos de Caguas to the 2023–24 Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League title in Puerto Rico, as well as at the 2024 Caribbean Series. He returned to manage Navegantes in the 2025–26 LVBP season, following the departure of Eduardo Pérez. At the time of his appointment, Magallanes was in last place; he led the team to a 20-12 record and finished the season in third, one game behind the leader. He was awarded Manager of the Year honors. Molina led the team to its 14th championship, defeating the Caribes de Anzoátegui in six games.
On January 21, 2026, the St. Louis Cardinals hired Molina to serve as a special assistant to president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom.
== Playing style ==
=== Defense, pitch calling, throwing, and hands ===
The winner of eight consecutive Gold Gloves, Molina was widely praised for his preparation, defense and leadership, not just of the pitching staff, but also of the entire team, even from Johnny Bench. Fellow catchers Jorge Posada and Brian McCann said in 2009 that Molina was the best defensive catcher in baseball. Víctor Martínez also called him "the best behind the plate." In 2013, a scout pronounced Molina the "one piece the St. Louis Cardinals cannot lose" while another commented that he was "irreplaceable." When the club did lose Molina midway through the 2014 season to a thumb injury, ESPN's Keith Law tweeted, "Yadier Molina missing two-plus months would be bad for the Cardinals, but also just bad for baseball, period." In his time in the major leagues, Molina was widely viewed as evolving into a competitive influence and an unofficial on-field coach.
As a part of his pre-game preparation, Molina would meticulously study and prepare for the upcoming game's opposing hitters by creating a complete pitching and defensive plan. Other preparation included handling ground balls at shortstop and third base, extending his agility for blocking pitches thrown in the dirt. Former Cardinals starter Jake Westbrook said he was "a part of every aspect of the game: starters, relievers, offense, defense."
Advanced baseball analysis, also called sabermetrics, show Molina to be one of the best defending catchers in MLB history. Molina ranked second all-time among catchers as of the end of the 2024 season on Baseball Reference's career defensive total zone runs, behind only Iván Rodríguez and just ahead of Jim Sundberg, Bob Boone, and Gary Carter. Molina also ranked as one of the best 15 defenders at any position. Molina led NL catchers in total zone runs 8 times in his career, from 2005 to 2017. Fangraphs assessed Molina's defense even better, ranking him second all time in defensive wins above replacement, just behind fellow Cardinal Ozzie Smith. According to the Fielding Bible's defensive runs saved, Molina saved 186 runs in his career, with a career-high of 30 in 2013.
Molina was known for his in-game pitch-calling skills, and pitchers rarely rejected signs that he showed for the next pitch. In 2013, Matheny said, "We tell all our young pitchers when they come up to pitch their game. Yadi needs to find out how they work. He's a quick study. But at the same time, they tend to just follow him. We do put them in Yadi's hands." Molina read opposing hitters and would move fielders with subtle signs and gestures to align them with his pitch calling. La Russa said that "it's not just instinct. It's sense, based on how a hitter's standing, how he responds to the pitch or two before, and he's very creative in how he makes his adjustment based on what he sees with the hitter and knowing what his pitcher can do."
Baseball Prospectus estimated that Molina saved 35 defensive runs in the 2012 season through his pitch framing.
Molina was among the best in the game at throwing out baserunners with pickoffs and during steal attempts. He threw out 40% of attempted basestealers, leading the NL four times. He studied baserunners to learn how they decide when and whether to attempt a steal and when they were less guarded against a pickoff. He practiced pickoff moves and coordinates signals with the first basemen to indicate when he was primed to move for a pickoff throw. Molina threw from behind left-handed batters to obfuscate the runner's view of his motion to first base. In 2012, a Sports Illustrated poll of 306 players found that Molina was the "toughest catcher to run on." An Arizona Diamondbacks official said team policy was not to run on Molina.
=== Batting ===
As the website Viva El Birdos wrote, "Yadier Molina broke into the majors as a light-hitting defensive specialist", who hit mostly singles. Molina pushed to shed the light-hitter label he had in common with his brothers. A fidgeter with his batting stance early in his career, Molina mimicked and vacillated between more accomplished hitters such as Andrés Galarraga and Albert Pujols. However, it was a dip in his swing and an inability to get around on fastballs that sapped his efforts. Over time, with assistance of teammates such as Pujols, Molina found his comfortable stance, sounder mechanics and adopted a line-drive style of swing that eliminated the dip and helped him hit fastballs with more authority.
Thus, he became a more consistent hitter as his career progressed, defying the scouting reports that he would have a weak bat. In combination with an improved ability to pull the ball and hit it up the middle, he improved his batting average, batting .293 or higher from 2008 to 2013. His line-drive pull percentage of 2009–11 increased by about 6% in 2012–13; his batting average on balls in play increased from .280 in 2005–10 to .327 in 2011–13; and his weighted on-base average (wOBA) increased from .290 in 2009 to over .520 in 2013. To keep his bat in the lineup but allow respite from the rigors of his in-game catching duties, Molina has occasionally started at first base.
Aside from swinging with increased line-drive contact and hitting fastballs with more authority, very little has actually changed in the catcher's approach. One trait that always persisted throughout his career was Molina's aggressive and free-swinging — but high-contact — batting style. Through 2012, he swung at more than 51% percent of the pitches he saw — he has a reputation for swinging at pitches in and out of the strike zone, low and away and even in toward his hands. Because of his free-swinging tendency, he naturally had a walk rate (6.3%) below the major league average (8.3%). Combined with his ability to put the bat on the ball quite frequently (87%) and his improved approach at the plate, he increased his career-high single-season batting average five times between 2006 and 2013.
Despite batting just .238 in his first three seasons and .240 after 1,000 at-bats, Molina increased his average to .285 average through 2016. He also improved his power, hitting a career high 22 home runs in 2012 and 44 doubles the following season. His hitting diminished toward the end of his career, batting .258 in his final six seasons. His ability to get on base was hampered by his low walk rate and footspeed; he was consistently one of the slowest runners in baseball in his final seven seasons.
== Awards and accomplishments ==
=== Records ===
MLB records
Consecutive playoff games started, 83
Career leader in putouts by a catcher 15,122
St. Louis Cardinals records
Consecutive Opening Day starts at catcher, 15 (2005–19)
Consecutive seasons leading the team in batting average as catcher, 2
Gold Gloves won as catcher, 9
Total zone runs as catcher, 163
Playoff appearances as catcher, 8
Career postseason hits, 102
=== Statistical Achievements ===
== Personal life ==
Molina resides in Vega Alta and stayed in Caseyville, Illinois, during the baseball season until 2015. He then purchased a home in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Molina also owned a home in Jupiter, Florida, the home of the Cardinals spring training facilities, but sold it in 2020.
Molina married his wife Wanda Torres in 2007 and the couple have three children. On September 4, 2008, they had a son; on July 4, 2010, a daughter; and on February 6, 2016, another son. After signing his $75 million contract in 2012, Molina purchased a home on a four-acre property in Jupiter, Florida, for $7.15 million. His agent is Melvin Roman of MDR Sports Management, who has represented him since he signed his first professional contract with the Cardinals shortly after being drafted in 2000. Molina's charitable organization, named Foundation 4, has helped to raise donations for childhood cancer patients in Puerto Rico. Molina is an avid fan of the St. Louis Blues and attends games frequently. He is close friends with Vladimir Tarasenko.
Molina's two older brothers, Bengie and José Molina, played a combined 28 seasons in the major leagues. Each of the three brothers has won at least one World Series ring, making them the only trio of brothers with such a distinction (Bengie and José both won their first while with the Anaheim Angels in 2002). They are also the only trio of brothers to play as catchers in the major leagues. Of a total of 19 trios of brothers who have played in the major leagues — including the DiMaggios and the Cruzes — only one other trio of brothers has all appeared in a World Series: Matty, Félipe, and Jesús Alou.
Even while the Molina brothers still lived in the United States playing professional baseball, their parents stayed in the same home near the park where the brothers grew up playing ball, Jesús Rivera Park. Benjamín Molina organized youth teams. On October 11, 2008, Molina's father died from a heart attack. At the moment it occurred, he was tending to a baseball field that he had built for the youth in Bayamón.
Spurred by absences from autograph shows for which he was paid to appear, Steiner Sports Marketing filed a lawsuit for $175,000 against Molina in the New York state supreme court in Manhattan on October 2, 2009. Steiner Sports allegedly paid him $90,640 in advance when they renewed their contract with him in July 2008. The firm stated that he ignored their agreement to make public and private appearances to sign autographs and did not return the money.
After Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico in September 2017, Molina and his wife started a GoFundMe page for the victims on September 21 with a goal of $1 million. It raised $20,000 in the first seven hours. More than three million Puerto Ricans were left without power, and The New York Times had reported that over 95% of cell service was unavailable. Drone video coverage on The Weather Channel described Bayamon as looking "like a war zone". Continuing with relief efforts, Molina was consequently named the recipient of the annual Roberto Clemente Award on October 24, 2018. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akiyo_Noguchi | Akiyo Noguchi | Akiyo Noguchi (野口 啓代, Noguchi Akiyo; born May 30, 1989) is a Japanese professional rock climber who specializes in competition bouldering as well as outdoor bouldering and sport climbing.
She participates in both competition bouldering and competition lead climbing disciplines. She is known for winning the IFSC Climbing World Cup in Bouldering four times. In her home country, she won Bouldering Japan Cup nine times consecutively from 2005 to 2014, which no other Japanese athlete has been able to match. She retired from competition climbing after competing and winning a bronze medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
== Early life ==
Noguchi grew up on a cattle farm in the Ibaraki Prefecture. From a young age she would climb on buildings, trees and sometimes even on the cows. In 2000, when she was 11 years old, she tried a real climbing wall for the first time, during a holiday trip to Guam. Back at home she immediately joined a local climbing gym. Her father later built her a climbing wall in an old cattle barn on the farm.
== Competition climbing ==
In 2007, she started competing in the Bouldering World Cups, reaching the podium three times. In 2009, she won the World Cup in bouldering, over the previous year's champion Anna Stöhr. Noguchi repeated as champion in 2010, 2014 and 2015. In the 2011, 2012 and 2013 bouldering events at the World Cup she placed second. She has also won the combined climbing title at the World Cup three times.
Noguchi was also awarded the La Sportiva Competition Award in 2010, "for her victories and the positive spirit she exudes during competitions".
In 2019 Akiyo Noguchi won a silver medal in the combined competition at the climbing World Championship which qualified her for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Noguchi had contemplated retirement from competition climbing as early as 2016, but when it was announced that climbing would become an Olympic sport in 2020 for the first time she decided to try and qualify for Olympics in her home country. Noguchi attended her final IFSC Climbing World Cup in Innsbruck in June 2021, finishing a career of 169 World Cups and World Championships and 75 podium places. On July 13, 2021, she published an autobiography.
She finished her climbing career with a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
== Personal life ==
On December 25, 2021, Noguchi and fellow Japanese sport climber Tomoa Narasaki announced their marriage on their respective social media pages.
== Rankings ==
=== World Cup ===
=== World Championships ===
== World Cup podiums ==
=== Lead ===
=== Bouldering ===
== Rock climbing ==
=== Redpointed routes ===
8c+ (5.14c):
Mind Control - Oliana (SPN) - December 10, 2013
8b (5.13d):
Liquid Finger - Joyama (JPN) - December 12, 2008
=== Boulder problems ===
8B+ (V14):
The Globalist - Sipoo (FIN) - October 2025.
8A+ (V12):
Aguni - Mizugaki (JPN) - November 2014.
A Maze of Death - Bishop (CAL) - 2016.
Euro Trash - Little Cottonwood Canyon (UT) - May 2022.
8A (V11):
Monsterman SD - Jyougasaki (JPN) - February 2010.
Evilution Direct - Bishop (CAL) - 2016. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Grint | Rupert Grint | Rupert Alexander Lloyd Grint ( ; born 24 August 1988) is an English actor. He rose to fame for his role as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter film series, for which he was cast at age eleven, having previously acted only in school plays and his local theatre group. Grint portrayed Weasley in all eight films in the series, beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and concluding with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). Since then, he has continued to work in film, television, and theatre.
Beginning in 2002, Grint began to work outside of the Harry Potter franchise, with a co-leading role in Thunderpants. He starred in the dramedy Driving Lessons (2006) and the drama Cherrybomb (2009) and co-starred in the comedy Wild Target (2010). After the Harry Potter series concluded, he appeared in the films Into the White (2012), Charlie Countryman (2013), CBGB (2013), Moonwalkers (2015), and Knock at the Cabin (2023). Grint made his stage debut in 2013 in Mojo at the Harold Pinter Theatre. He executive-produced and starred in the television series Snatch, based on the film of the same name. He has also starred in the black comedy series Sick Note, the mystery thriller miniseries The ABC Murders, and the psychological horror series Servant.
== Early life ==
Grint was born on 24 August 1988 in Harlow, Essex, to Nigel Grint, a dealer in racing memorabilia, and Joanne Grint (née Parsons). He is the eldest of five siblings. He has said that his earliest goal in life was to become an ice cream man. He grew up in Watton-at-Stone, Hertfordshire, and was educated at Richard Hale School, in Hertford. Grint was raised a Catholic and said he "feared God" as a child.
While in school, he took an avid interest in theatre. He began performing in school productions and joined the Top Hat Stage and Screen School, a local theatre group that cast him as a fish in Noah's Ark and a donkey in a nativity play. He continued participating in school plays as he moved into secondary school. Nonetheless, he had never acted professionally prior to the Harry Potter series. He left school at sixteen to focus on his acting career, saying he "didn't really like school that much".
== Career ==
=== 1999–2011: Harry Potter and worldwide recognition ===
Starting in 1999, casting began for the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the best-selling novel by J. K. Rowling. Rowling insisted the cast be British and assisted Susie Figgis and director Chris Columbus in casting the roles. Grint, a fan of the book series, chose to audition for the role of Ron Weasley, one of Harry Potter's best friends at Hogwarts. Having seen a Newsround report about the open casting, he sent in a video of himself rapping about how he wished to receive the role, and the casting team asked for a meeting with him.
In August 2000, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Grint were selected to play Harry, Hermione Granger, and Ron. Grint is the oldest member of the trio. The release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 2001 was Grint's debut screen performance. Breaking records for opening-day sales and opening-weekend takings, it was the year's highest-grossing film. With a total of US$974 million in its theatrical run, it stands as the series' second most commercially successful entry. It was critically well-received, scoring mainly positive reviews. However, a number of critics found the adaption's faithfulness to the book both its best and worst quality. Grint won a Satellite Award in the category of Outstanding New Talent, and a Young Artist Award for Most Promising Young Newcomer.
A year later, Grint again starred as Ron in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). It opened to positive reviews and critics generally enjoyed the lead actors' performances. Both Los Angeles Times and New York Magazine observed that Grint and his peers had matured between films, with the latter pointing out that Grint had become "more proficient" and said they missed "the amateurish ardour" the actor and Watson carried in Philosopher's Stone. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) was released on 31 May in the UK. The film sees all three of its lead characters hover on the brink of adolescence, "and while they look braver and more capable than before, the dangers they face seem far more grave and their vulnerability more intense." Alfonso Cuarón took over direction for Prisoner of Azkaban, which remains the lowest-grossing Harry Potter film with US$795 million in revenue. Nonetheless, it was the second highest-grossing movie of 2004, behind Shrek 2.
In 2005, Grint reprised his role for the fourth film in the series – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The adaptation, unlike previous films, explored romantic elements and included more humour. In a 2005 interview with IGN, all three lead actors singled out humour as a reason for the film's success. It was directed by Mike Newell, whom Grint characterised as "really loud and not afraid to swear at you, but he was really cool". Goblet of Fire is one of the series' best-reviewed instalments, and is noted for its characters' maturity and sophistication, darker and more complex plotline, and the quality of the screenplay and lead actors' performances.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth film in the Harry Potter franchise, was released to cinemas in 2007. A huge financial success, it set a record worldwide opening-weekend gross of US$394 million, superseding Spider-Man 3. It was directed by a new filmmaker, David Yates, who directed all of the subsequent Potter films. Grint said the laid-back director was "really good" and helped keep the material fresh. Grint and his Harry Potter co-stars left imprints of their hands, feet and wands in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
On 15 July 2009, the series' sixth instalment, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was released and again set box office records. In its theatrical run, it earned US$933 million ticket sales. It is also one of the most positively reviewed Harry Potter films, with critics praising its "emotionally satisfying" story, direction, cinematography, visual design and music. Grint observed a change in Ron in this entry, pointing out that his once insecure, often overshadowed character started to become more secure and even began to show a dark side. He found it fun to personify a more emotional Ron. Between 2009 and 2010, Grint's work received three award nominations, including one win—an Otto Award from the German magazine Bravo.
Despite the previous films' successes, the franchise's future was put into question when the three lead actors had reservations about signing on for the final two films. However, by March 2007, Grint agreed to return for the last installments. For financial and scripting reasons, the final book was divided into two films, shot back-to-back, with filming concluding in June 2010. After completing the final film, Grint said: "I mean it literally has been my childhood, and suddenly it all came down to really just one random scene, with us jumping through a fireplace, and then it was over. ...it's very odd. Because suddenly it was all over, just like that. It was really emotional for all of us, realising that we're never going to be doing this again."
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010) was released in November and grossed over US$950 million. It set several box office records and received mostly favourable reviews. Grint's portrayal of Ron again earned him critical praise. Reviewing the adaption for Slate, Dana Stevens called all three of the leads "terrific". Although he disliked the film, Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal wrote that "Grint has grown up to be a skilful actor who knows the value of a slow burn". Grint's performance brought him nominations from the MTV Movie Awards and National Movie Awards for Best Fight and Performance of the Year in 2011. He reprised his role for the seventh time in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the final Harry Potter instalment. It resumed from where the previous film left off, and included a lot of action, whereas Part 1 had focused more on character development. Grint, along with the film, was critically acclaimed: Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post wrote, "Who could have predicted that Radcliffe, Grint and Watson would turn out to be good actors?". The film broke several box office records, including biggest midnight release, biggest first-day opening, and biggest opening-weekend. Deathly Hallows – Part 2 became the fourth highest-grossing film of all time.
Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling gave a speech at the world premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 on 7 July 2011 in London. She said that there were seven Harry Potter film series cast members whom she called "The Big Seven"; Grint was one of them, with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Tom Felton, Matthew Lewis, Evanna Lynch and Bonnie Wright.
=== 2002–2011: Concurrent film work during Harry Potter ===
In 2002, Grint starred in his first non-Harry Potter film, Thunderpants, which revolves around Patrick (played by Bruce Cook) whose remarkable capacity for flatulence scores him a job as an astronaut. In this film, Grint played the co-lead role of Alan, an anosmic boy who is Patrick's only friend. It was generally ignored by critics and audiences. Most critics who did take notice of it did not respond well to it, with one writing: "This film should be shown in prisons so that inmates have a good reason to never return." Grint also appeared in Driving Lessons, a comedy drama released in 2006, starring opposite Julie Walters. It met with a mixed reception by critics, but his portrayal of an oppressed teenage boy was generally praised. Alt Film Guide's Andre Soares wrote: "Grint, on the other hand, is a revelation . . . [He] displays an innate naturalness mixed with personal charisma that turn a potentially pathetic Christian freak into a humorous, thoroughly likable – if more than a little awkward – young man".
In July 2008, it was announced that Grint would star in the drama film Cherrybomb with Robert Sheehan and Kimberley Nixon. Grint found shooting this film very different from the Harry Potter films, as he had to adjust to doing a dozen scenes per day. Grint's character—Malachy, a worker at Belfast—goes to great lengths to impress his boss's daughter, with whom he is infatuated. This film, like his next project, involved him playing violent roles. Despite premiering at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival, the film was initially unable to find a distributor. An online campaign by Grint's fans was credited with helping to secure a distribution deal in the UK in 2010.
Jonathan Lynn directed Grint in Wild Target, a 2010 comedy thriller, where he starred with Emily Blunt and Bill Nighy. A remake of the 1993 French film Cible Emouvante, it was made on a relatively small budget of US$8 million. It was a commercial failure, earning only US$3.4 million, and garnered mostly negative reviews in the media, which criticised it for dishonouring the original film and wasting the comedic potential of its cast. However, Grint also attracted some positive notice: "It's nice to see Rupert Grint perform well in a role other than that of Ron Weasley, and it's clear that he's got a career ahead of him."
In January 2011, Grint made a cameo appearance on the BBC popular comedy show Come Fly with Me, starring comedy duo Matt Lucas and David Walliams (Little Britain). In March 2011, he was cast as the lead character in the small-budget anti-war Norwegian film Into the White, directed by Petter Næss. Principal photography started in April, and the film, which was shot on location, was released in 2012. It is based on a real incident that took place on 27 April 1940, when German Luftwaffe pilot Horst Schopis's bomber was shot down at Grotli by a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Blackburn Skua, which then crash-landed. The several German and British crew members found shelter by chance during a harsh winter there.
In August 2011, Grint did a photo shoot with his friend and Harry Potter co-star Tom Felton in Los Angeles for the autumn/winter collection of the fashion label Band of Outsiders. In September 2011, it was announced that Grint would voice a character in the film adaptation of Postman Pat along with David Tennant, Stephen Mangan and Jim Broadbent; it was released in May 2014. Grint also appears in the music video for Ed Sheeran's song "Lego House", released on 20 October 2011.
=== 2012–present: Further work, theatre, and television ===
In March 2012, the "Visit Britain" TV ad was released, featuring Grint alongside Julie Walters, Michelle Dockery and Stephen Fry, promoting holidaying at home in the UK. Later that month, Variety reported that Grint had been cast alongside Chloë Grace Moretz in The Drummer, a biopic film about drummer Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys. That day, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed it and announced that filming would begin 15 June 2012 in California and Savannah, Georgia.
On 25 July 2012, Grint carried the 2012 London Olympic torch during the Olympic Torch Relay, part of the London 2012 Summer Olympics. He told the BBC News that it was an "overwhelming" experience that he "hoped to remember forever", and told The Daily Telegraph, "It was amazing, it was really overwhelming. It's just such an honour to be a part of this. I'm really proud". In October 2012, he narrated We Are Aliens, a 25-minute 3D Planetarium Fulldome film about the possibility of other intelligent life in the universe.
On 13 February 2013, The Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed announced that Grint would star in a television pilot for CBS called Super Clyde. It did not become a series. In July 2013, it was confirmed that Grint would make his stage debut in the second run of Jez Butterworth's black comedy Mojo, with Grint playing Sweets, a hood who "pops amphetamines like Smarties" and "does a sort of double act, full of comic menace". The play, which also starred Brendan Coyle, Ben Whishaw and Daniel Mays, was based on real-life events, and ran from 26 October 2013 to 8 February 2014 at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London. Grint won the WhatsOnStage Award for Best London Newcomer for his role.
In September 2013, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Grint would star in an adaptation of Macbeth called Enemy of Man, also featuring Sean Bean, Charles Dance, Jason Flemyng, James D'Arcy, Neil Maskell and Joe Gilgun, and directed by Vincent Regan. Filming began in January 2014 in the United Kingdom. In June 2014, it was announced that Grint would make his Broadway debut as Frank Finger in the play It's Only a Play at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, appearing with Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Stockard Channing, and Megan Mullally. It ran from 28 August 2014 to 4 January 2015.
Since 2019, Grint has starred as Julian Pearce in the Apple TV+ psychological horror series Servant. The series has been critically praised. In December 2021, the show was renewed for its fourth and final season.
Grint starred in the 2022 Netflix anthology series Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities and in M. Night Shyamalan's 2023 thriller film Knock at the Cabin. He also reunited with multiple cast members of the Harry Potter film series for an HBO Max special, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, which premiered on 1 January 2022.
In December 2024, Finnish film director Hanna Bergholm announced that her film, Nightborn (Yön Lapsi), had wrapped filming, with Grint and Seidi Haarla starring in the lead roles. In January 2026, the film was selected for the main competition in the 76th Berlin International Film Festival.
In August 2025, Grint starred in Ed Sheeran's music video for song "A Little More". In December 2025, Grint was cast in Ti West's Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, alongside Johnny Depp, Andrea Riseborough, Ian McKellen, and Tramell Tillman. The film is set for release in November 2026.
== Personal life ==
Grint has been in a relationship with actress Georgia Groome since 2011. They have two daughters, born in May 2020 and April 2025. He joined Instagram in November 2020, posting a photo of himself holding his newborn daughter. He reached one million followers within four hours and one minute of creating his account, breaking the previous Guinness World Records title for the fastest time to reach one million followers on the platform.
As Grint's earliest ambition was to be an ice cream man, he bought an ice cream van with the money he earned from the Harry Potter series and sold ice cream to local customers.
He took part in the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay, carrying the flame through Hendon in northwest London to outside Middlesex University. Grint is a keen football fan and an avid supporter of Tottenham Hotspur.
=== Philanthropy ===
Grint has supported various charitable organisations, including donating personal items to charity auctions. He participated in the Wacky Rally in 2010 with James and Oliver Phelps, which raised money for Britain's Royal National Lifeboat Institution. He was one of more than 40 people to produce designs for the Chrysalis Collection for Keech Hospice Care in Luton. His piece, a painted butterfly, was auctioned on eBay in March 2010. In May 2011, with other celebrities, he took part in the "Make Mine Milk" ad campaign to promote daily milk drinking. His ads were seen on posters and the sides of thousands of buses across the United Kingdom. Since 2011, he has supported the Little Star Award for Cancer Research UK. "I think that it's wonderful that Cancer Research UK is helping to bring a little bit of magic to the children's lives in this way," he said.
=== Tax affairs ===
In 2016, Grint lost an appeal against HMRC's decision to block his attempt to change his accounting date. This move was intended to reduce his tax liability by deferring income into a lower tax year. At that time, the actor was calculated to have earned around £24 million from the Harry Potter franchise. However, HMRC successfully argued that the change was motivated by tax avoidance rather than legitimate business reasons.
In 2019, HMRC brought another case against Grint. He was ordered to pay an additional £1.8 million in tax after losing the legal battle with HMRC. The tax authority argued that a £4.5 million sum he received should be classified as income rather than as a capital asset which is subject to much lower tax rate. This ruling increased his tax liability for the 2011–12 tax year. Grint later lost his appeal claim and was ordered to pay £1.8 million of tax liability and legal costs.
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television ===
=== Stage ===
=== Video games ===
=== Music ===
=== Other roles ===
== Awards and nominations == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_I_of_England | Henry I of England | Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henry's elder brothers Robert Curthose and William Rufus inherited Normandy and England, respectively, thereby leaving Henry landless. He subsequently purchased the County of Cotentin in western Normandy from Robert, but his brothers deposed him in 1091. He gradually rebuilt his power base in the Cotentin and allied himself with William Rufus against Robert.
When William died in a hunting accident, Henry seized the English throne ahead of Robert, promising at his coronation to correct many of William's less popular policies. He married Matilda of Scotland and they had two surviving children, Empress Matilda and William Adelin. Robert disputed Henry's control of England and invaded from Normandy in 1101. The ensuing military campaign ended in a negotiated settlement that confirmed Henry as king. The peace was short-lived, however, and Henry invaded the Duchy of Normandy in 1105 and 1106, finally defeating Robert at the Battle of Tinchebray. Henry kept Robert imprisoned for the rest of his life. Henry's control of Normandy was subsequently challenged by Louis VI of France, Baldwin VII of Flanders and Fulk V of Anjou, who promoted the rival claims of Robert's son, William Clito, and supported a major rebellion in the Duchy between 1116 and 1119. Following Henry's victory at the Battle of Brémule, a favourable peace settlement was agreed with Louis in 1120.
Considered by contemporaries to be a harsh but effective ruler, Henry skilfully manipulated the barons in England and Normandy. In England, he drew on the existing Anglo-Saxon system of justice, local government and taxation, but also strengthened it with more institutions such as the royal exchequer and itinerant justices. Many of the officials who ran Henry's system were "new men" of obscure backgrounds, rather than from families of high status, who rose through the ranks as administrators. Henry encouraged ecclesiastical reform but became embroiled in a serious dispute in 1101 with Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury, which was resolved through a compromise solution in 1105. He supported the Cluniac order and played a major role in the selection of the senior clergy in England and Normandy.
Henry's son William drowned in the White Ship disaster of 1120, throwing the royal succession into doubt. Henry took a second wife, Adeliza of Louvain, in the hope of having another son, but their marriage was childless. In response to this, he declared his daughter Matilda his heir and married her to Geoffrey of Anjou. The relationship between Henry and the couple became strained, and fighting broke out along the border with Anjou. Henry died on 1 December 1135 after a week of illness. Despite his plans for Matilda, the King was succeeded by his nephew Stephen of Blois, resulting in a period of civil war known as the Anarchy.
== Early life, 1068–1099 ==
=== Childhood and appearance, 1068–1086 ===
Henry was probably born in England in 1068, in either the summer or the last weeks of the year, possibly in the town of Selby in Yorkshire. His father was William the Conqueror, the duke of Normandy who had invaded England in 1066 to become the king of England, establishing lands stretching into Wales. The invasion had created an Anglo-Norman ruling class, many with estates on both sides of the English Channel. These Anglo-Norman barons typically had close links to the Kingdom of France, which was then a loose collection of counties and smaller polities, only nominally under control of the king. Henry's mother, Matilda of Flanders, was the granddaughter of King Robert II of France, and she probably named Henry after her uncle Henry I of France.
Henry was the youngest of William and Matilda's four sons. Physically he resembled his older brothers Robert Curthose, Richard and William Rufus, being, as historian David Carpenter describes, "short, stocky and barrel-chested," with black hair. As a result of their age differences and Richard's early death, Henry would have probably seen relatively little of his older brothers. He probably knew his sister Adela well, as the two were close in age. There is little documentary evidence for his early years; historians Warren Hollister and Kathleen Thompson suggest he was brought up predominantly in England, while Judith Green argues he was initially brought up in the Duchy. He was probably educated by the Church, possibly by Bishop Osmund, the King's chancellor, at Salisbury Cathedral; it is uncertain if this indicated an intent by his parents for Henry to become a member of the clergy. It is also uncertain how far Henry's education extended, but he was probably able to read Latin and had some background in the liberal arts. He was given military training by an instructor called Robert Achard, and Henry was knighted by his father on 24 May 1086.
=== Inheritance, 1087–1088 ===
In 1087, William was fatally injured during a campaign in the Vexin. Henry joined his dying father near Rouen in September, where the King partitioned his possessions among his sons. The rules of succession in western Europe at the time were uncertain; in some parts of France, primogeniture, in which the eldest son would inherit a title, was growing in popularity. In other parts of Europe, including Normandy and England, the tradition was for lands to be divided, with the eldest son taking patrimonial lands – usually considered to be the most valuable – and younger sons given smaller, or more recently acquired, partitions or estates.
In dividing his lands, William appears to have followed the Norman tradition, distinguishing between Normandy, which he had inherited, and England, which he had acquired through war. William's second son, Richard, had died in a hunting accident, leaving Henry and his two brothers to inherit William's estate. Robert, the eldest, despite being in armed rebellion against his father at the time of his death, received Normandy. England was given to William Rufus, who was in favour with the dying king. Henry was given a large sum of money, usually reported as £5,000, with the expectation that he would also be given his mother's modest set of lands in Buckinghamshire and Gloucestershire. William's funeral at Caen was marred by angry complaints from a local man, and Henry may have been responsible for resolving the dispute by buying off the protester with silver.
Robert returned to Normandy, expecting to have been given both the Duchy and England, to find that William Rufus had crossed the Channel and been crowned king. The two brothers disagreed fundamentally over the inheritance, and Robert soon began to plan an invasion of England to seize the kingdom, helped by a rebellion by some of the leading nobles against William Rufus. Henry remained in Normandy and took up a role within Robert's court, possibly either because he was unwilling to side openly with William Rufus, or because Robert might have taken the opportunity to confiscate Henry's inherited money if he had tried to leave. William Rufus sequestered Henry's new estates in England, leaving Henry landless.
In 1088, Robert's plans for the invasion of England began to falter, and he turned to Henry, proposing that his brother lend him some of his inheritance, which Henry refused. Henry and Robert then came to an alternative arrangement, in which Robert would make Henry the count of western Normandy, in exchange for £3,000. Henry's lands were a new countship created by a delegation of the ducal authority in the Cotentin, but it extended across the Avranchin, with control over the bishoprics of both. This also gave Henry influence over two major Norman leaders, Hugh d'Avranches and Richard de Redvers, and the abbey of Mont Saint-Michel, whose lands spread out further across the Duchy. Robert's invasion force failed to leave Normandy, leaving William Rufus secure in England.
=== Count of the Cotentin, 1088–90 ===
Henry quickly established himself as count, building up a network of followers from western Normandy and eastern Brittany, whom the historian John Le Patourel has characterised as "Henry's gang". His early supporters included Roger of Mandeville, Richard of Redvers, Richard d'Avranches and Robert Fitzhamon, along with the churchman Roger of Salisbury. Robert attempted to go back on his deal with Henry and re-appropriate the county, but Henry's grip was already sufficiently firm to prevent this. Robert's rule of the duchy was chaotic, and parts of Henry's lands became almost independent of central control from Rouen.
During this period, neither King William nor Duke Robert seems to have trusted Henry. Waiting until the rebellion against William was safely over, Henry returned to England in July 1088. He met with the King but was unable to persuade him to grant him their mother's estates, and travelled back to Normandy in the autumn. While he had been away, however, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, who regarded Henry as a potential competitor, had convinced Robert that Henry was conspiring against the duke with William. On landing, Odo seized Henry and imprisoned him in Neuilly-la-Forêt, and Robert took back the county of the Cotentin. Henry was held there over the winter, but in the spring of 1089 the senior elements of the Normandy nobility prevailed upon Robert to release him.
Although no longer formally the Count of Cotentin, Henry continued to control the west of Normandy. The struggle between his brothers continued. William continued to put down resistance to his rule in England, but began to build a series of alliances against Robert with barons in Normandy and neighbouring Ponthieu. Robert allied himself with Philip I of France. In late 1090 William encouraged Conan Pilatus, a powerful burgher in Rouen, to rebel against Robert; Conan was supported by most of Rouen and made appeals to the neighbouring ducal garrisons to switch allegiance as well.
Robert issued an appeal for help to his barons, and Henry was the first to arrive in Rouen in November. Violence broke out, leading to savage, confused street fighting as both sides attempted to take control of the city. Robert and Henry left the castle to join the battle, but Robert then retreated, leaving Henry to continue the fighting. The battle turned in favour of the ducal forces and Henry took Conan prisoner. Henry was angry that Conan had turned against his feudal lord. He had him taken to the top of Rouen Castle and then, despite Conan's offers to pay a huge ransom, threw him off the top of the castle to his death. Contemporaries considered Henry to have acted appropriately in making an example of Conan, and Henry became famous for his exploits in the battle.
=== Fall and rise, 1091–1099 ===
In the aftermath, Robert forced Henry to leave Rouen, probably because Henry's role in the fighting had been more prominent than his own, and possibly because Henry had asked to be formally reinstated as the count of the Cotentin. In early 1091, William invaded Normandy with a sufficiently large army to bring Robert to the negotiating table. The two brothers signed a treaty at Rouen, granting William a range of lands and castles in Normandy. In return, William promised to support Robert's attempts to regain control of the neighbouring county of Maine, once under Norman control, and help in regaining control over the duchy, including Henry's lands. They nominated each other as heirs to England and Normandy, excluding Henry from any succession while either one of them lived.
War now broke out between Henry and his brothers. Henry mobilised a mercenary army in the west of Normandy, but as William and Robert's forces advanced, his network of baronial support melted away. Henry focused his remaining forces at Mont Saint-Michel, where he was besieged, probably in March 1091. The site was easy to defend, but lacked fresh water. The chronicler William of Malmesbury suggested that when Henry's water ran short, Robert allowed his brother fresh supplies, leading to remonstrations between Robert and William Rufus. The events of the final days of the siege are unclear: the besiegers had begun to argue about the future strategy for the campaign, but Henry then abandoned Mont Saint-Michel, probably as part of a negotiated surrender. He left for Brittany and crossed over into France.
Henry's next steps are not well documented; one chronicler, Orderic Vitalis, suggests that he travelled in the French Vexin, along the Normandy border, for over a year with a small band of followers. By the end of the year, Robert and William had fallen out once again, and the Treaty of Rouen had been abandoned. In 1092, Henry and his followers seized the Normandy town of Domfront. Domfront had previously been controlled by Robert of Bellême, but the inhabitants disliked his rule and invited Henry to take over the town, which he did in a bloodless coup. Over the next two years, Henry re-established his network of supporters across western Normandy, forming what Judith Green terms a "court in waiting". By 1094, he was allocating lands and castles to his followers as if he were the Duke of Normandy. William began to support Henry with money, encouraging his campaign against Robert, and Henry used some of this to construct a substantial castle at Domfront.
William crossed into Normandy to take the war to Robert in 1094, and when progress stalled, called upon Henry for assistance. Henry responded, but travelled to London instead of joining the main campaign further east in Normandy, possibly at the request of William, who in any event abandoned the campaign and returned to England. Over the next few years, Henry appears to have strengthened his power base in western Normandy, visiting England occasionally to attend William's court. In 1095 Pope Urban II called the First Crusade, encouraging knights from across Europe to join. Robert joined the Crusade, borrowing money from William to do so, and granting the King temporary custody of his part of the Duchy in exchange. The King appeared confident of regaining the remainder of Normandy from Robert, and Henry appeared ever closer to William. They campaigned together in the Norman Vexin between 1097 and 1098.
== Early reign, 1100–1106 ==
=== Taking the throne, 1100 ===
On the afternoon of 2 August 1100, King William went hunting in the New Forest, accompanied by a team of huntsmen and Norman nobility, including Henry. An arrow, possibly shot by the baron Walter Tirel, hit and killed William. Many conspiracy theories have been put forward suggesting that the King was killed deliberately; most modern historians reject these, as hunting was a risky activity and such accidents were common. Chaos broke out, and Tirel fled the scene for France, either because he had shot the fatal arrow, or because he had been incorrectly accused and feared that he would be made a scapegoat for the King's death.
Henry rode to Winchester, where an argument ensued as to who now had the best claim to the throne. William of Breteuil championed the rights of Robert, who was still abroad, returning from the Crusade, and to whom Henry and the barons had given homage in previous years. Henry argued that, unlike Robert, he had been born to a reigning king and queen, thereby giving him a claim under the right of porphyrogeniture. Tempers flared, but Henry, supported by Henry de Beaumont and Robert of Meulan, held sway and persuaded the barons to follow him. He occupied Winchester Castle and seized the royal treasury.
Henry was hastily crowned king in Westminster Abbey on 5 August by Maurice, the bishop of London, as Anselm, the archbishop of Canterbury, had been exiled by William Rufus, and Thomas, the archbishop of York, was in the north of England at Ripon. In accordance with English tradition and in a bid to legitimise his rule, Henry issued a coronation charter laying out various commitments. The new king presented himself as having restored order to a trouble-torn country. He announced that he would abandon William's policies towards the Church, which had been seen as oppressive by the clergy; he promised to prevent royal abuses of the barons' property rights, and assured a return to the gentler customs of Edward the Confessor; he asserted that he would "establish a firm peace" across England and ordered "that this peace shall henceforth be kept".
As well as his existing circle of supporters, many of whom were richly rewarded with new lands, Henry quickly co-opted many of the existing administration into his new royal household. His brother's chancellor, William Giffard, was made the bishop of Winchester, and the prominent sheriffs Urse d'Abetot, Haimo Dapifer and Robert Fitzhamon continued to play a senior role in government. By contrast, the unpopular Ranulf Flambard, the bishop of Durham and a key member of the previous regime, was imprisoned in the Tower of London and charged with corruption. The late king had left many Church positions unfilled, and Henry set about nominating candidates to these, in an effort to build further support for his new government. The appointments needed to be consecrated, and Henry wrote to Anselm, apologising for having been crowned while the archbishop was still in France and asking him to return at once.
=== Marriage to Matilda, 1100 ===
On 11 November 1100 Henry married Matilda, the daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland, in Westminster Abbey. Henry was now around 31 years old, but late marriages for noblemen were not unusual in the 11th century. The pair had probably first met earlier the previous decade, possibly being introduced through Bishop Osmund of Salisbury. Historian Warren Hollister argues that Henry and Matilda were emotionally close, but their union was also certainly politically motivated. Matilda had originally been named Edith, an Anglo-Saxon name, and was a member of the West Saxon royal family, being the niece of Edgar the Ætheling, the great-granddaughter of Edmund Ironside and a descendant of Alfred the Great. For Henry, marrying Matilda gave his reign increased legitimacy, and for Matilda, an ambitious woman, it was an opportunity for high status and power in England.
Matilda had been educated in a sequence of convents and may well have taken the vows to formally become a nun, which formed an obstacle to the marriage progressing. She did not wish to be a nun and appealed to Anselm for permission to marry Henry, and the Archbishop established a council at Lambeth Palace to judge the issue. Despite some dissenting voices, the council concluded that although Matilda had lived in a convent, she had not actually become a nun and was therefore free to marry, a judgement that Anselm then affirmed, allowing the marriage to proceed. Matilda proved an effective queen for Henry, acting as a regent in England on occasion, addressing and presiding over councils, and extensively supporting the arts. The couple soon had two children, Matilda, born in 1102, and William Adelin, born in 1103; it is possible that they also had a second son, Richard, who died young. Following the birth of these children, the Queen preferred to remain based in Westminster while the King travelled across England and Normandy, either for religious reasons or because she enjoyed being involved in the machinery of royal governance.
Henry had a considerable sexual appetite and enjoyed a substantial number of sexual partners, resulting in many illegitimate children, at least nine sons and 13 daughters, many of whom he appears to have recognised and supported. It was normal for unmarried Anglo-Norman noblemen to have sexual relations with prostitutes and local women, and kings were also expected to have mistresses. Some of these relationships occurred before Henry was married, but many others took place after his marriage to Matilda. Henry had a wide range of mistresses from a range of backgrounds, and the relationships appear to have been conducted relatively openly. He may have chosen some of his noble mistresses for political purposes, but the evidence to support this theory is limited.
=== Treaty of Alton, 1101–1102 ===
By early 1101, Henry's new regime was established and functioning, but many of the Anglo-Norman elite still supported his brother Robert, or would be prepared to switch sides if Robert appeared likely to gain power in England. In February, Flambard escaped from the Tower of London and crossed the Channel to Normandy, where he injected fresh direction and energy to Robert's attempts to mobilise an invasion force. By July, Robert had formed an army and a fleet, ready to move against Henry in England. Raising the stakes in the conflict, Henry seized Flambard's lands and, with the support of Anselm, Flambard was removed from his position as bishop. The King held court in April and June, where the nobility renewed their oaths of allegiance to him, but their support still appeared partial and shaky.
With the invasion imminent, Henry mobilised his forces and fleet outside Pevensey, close to Robert's anticipated landing site, training some of them personally in how to counter cavalry charges. Despite English levies and knights owing military service to the Church arriving in considerable numbers, many of his barons did not appear. Anselm intervened with some of the doubters, emphasising the religious importance of their loyalty to Henry. Robert unexpectedly landed further up the coast at Portsmouth on 20 July with a modest force of a few hundred men, but these were quickly joined by many of the barons in England. Instead of marching into nearby Winchester and seizing Henry's treasury, Robert paused, giving Henry time to march west and intercept the invasion force.
The two armies met at Alton, Hampshire, where peace negotiations began, possibly initiated by either Henry or Robert, and probably supported by Flambard. The brothers then agreed to the Treaty of Alton, under which Robert released Henry from his oath of homage and recognised him as king; Henry renounced his claims on western Normandy, except for Domfront, and agreed to pay Robert £2,000 a year for life; if either brother died without a male heir, the other would inherit his lands; the barons whose lands had been seized by either the King or the Duke for supporting his rival would have them returned, and Flambard would be reinstated as bishop; the two brothers would campaign together to defend their territories in Normandy. Robert remained in England for a few months more with Henry before returning to Normandy.
Despite the treaty, Henry set about inflicting severe penalties on the barons who had stood against him during the invasion. William de Warenne, the Earl of Surrey, was accused of fresh crimes, which were not covered by the Alton amnesty, and was banished from England. In 1102 Henry then turned against Robert of Bellême and his brothers, the most powerful of the barons, accusing him of 45 different offences. Robert escaped and took up arms against Henry. Henry besieged Robert's castles at Arundel, Tickhill and Shrewsbury, pushing down into the south-west to attack Bridgnorth. His power base in England broken, Robert accepted Henry's offer of banishment and left the country for Normandy.
=== Conquest of Normandy, 1103–1106 ===
Henry's network of allies in Normandy became stronger during 1103. He arranged the marriages of his illegitimate daughters Juliane and Matilda to Eustace of Breteuil and Rotrou III, Count of Perche, respectively, the latter union securing the Norman border. Henry attempted to win over other members of the Norman nobility and gave other English estates and lucrative offers to key Norman lords. Duke Robert continued to fight Robert of Bellême, but the Duke's position worsened, until by 1104, he had to ally himself formally with Bellême to survive. Arguing that the Duke had broken the terms of their treaty, the King crossed over the Channel to Domfront, where he met with senior barons from across Normandy, eager to ally themselves with him. He confronted the Duke and accused him of siding with his enemies, before returning to England.
Normandy continued to disintegrate into chaos. In 1105, Henry sent his friend Robert Fitzhamon and a force of knights into the Duchy, apparently to provoke a confrontation with Duke Robert. Fitzhamon was captured, and Henry used this as an excuse to invade, promising to restore peace and order. Henry had the support of most of the neighbouring counts around Normandy's borders, and King Philip of France was persuaded to remain neutral. Henry occupied western Normandy, and advanced east on Bayeux, where Fitzhamon was held. The city refused to surrender, and Henry besieged it, burning it to the ground. Terrified of meeting the same fate, the town of Caen switched sides and surrendered, allowing Henry to advance on Falaise, Calvados, which he took with some casualties. His campaign stalled, and the King instead began peace discussions with Robert. The negotiations were inconclusive and the fighting dragged on until Christmas, when Henry returned to England.
Henry invaded again in July 1106, hoping to provoke a decisive battle. After some initial tactical successes, he turned south-west towards the castle of Tinchebray. He besieged the castle and Duke Robert, supported by Robert of Bellême, advanced from Falaise to relieve it. After attempts at negotiation failed, the Battle of Tinchebray took place, probably on 28 September. The battle lasted around an hour, and began with a charge by Duke Robert's cavalry; the infantry and dismounted knights of both sides then joined the battle. Henry's reserves, led by Elias I, Count of Maine, and Alan IV, Duke of Brittany, attacked the enemy's flanks, routing first Bellême's troops and then the bulk of the ducal forces. Duke Robert was taken prisoner, but Bellême escaped.
Henry mopped up the remaining resistance in Normandy, and Duke Robert ordered his last garrisons to surrender. Reaching Rouen, Henry reaffirmed the laws and customs of Normandy and took homage from the leading barons and citizens. The lesser prisoners taken at Tinchebray were released, but the Duke and several other leading nobles were imprisoned indefinitely. The Duke's son, William Clito, was only three years old and was released to the care of Helias of Saint-Saens, a Norman baron. Henry reconciled himself with Robert of Bellême, who gave up the ducal lands he had seized and rejoined the royal court. Henry had no way of legally removing the Duchy from his brother, and initially Henry avoided using the title "duke" at all, emphasising that, as the king of England, he was only acting as the guardian of the troubled Duchy.
== Government, family and household ==
=== Government, law and court ===
Henry inherited the kingdom of England from William Rufus, giving him a claim of suzerainty over Wales and Scotland, and acquired the Duchy of Normandy, a complex entity with troubled borders. The borders between England and Scotland were still uncertain during Henry's reign, with Anglo-Norman influence pushing northwards through Cumbria, but his relationship with King David I of Scotland was generally good, partially due to Henry's marriage to his sister. In Wales, Henry used his power to coerce and charm the indigenous Welsh princes, while Norman Marcher Lords pushed across the valleys of South Wales. Normandy was controlled via interlocking networks of ducal, ecclesiastical and family contacts, backed by a growing string of important ducal castles along the borders. Alliances and relationships with neighbouring counties along the Norman border were particularly important to maintaining the stability of the Duchy.
Henry ruled through the barons and lords in England and Normandy, whom he manipulated skilfully for political effect. Political friendships, termed amicitia in Latin, were important during the 12th century, and Henry maintained a wide range of these, mediating between his friends in factions across his realm when necessary, and rewarding those who were loyal to him. He also had a reputation for punishing those barons who stood against him, and he maintained an effective network of informers and spies who reported to him on events. Henry was a harsh, firm ruler, but not excessively so by the standards of the day. Over time, he increased the degree of his control over the barons, removing his enemies and bolstering his friends until the "reconstructed baronage", as historian Warren Hollister describes it, was predominantly loyal and dependent on the King.
Henry's itinerant royal court comprised several parts. At the heart was his domestic household, called the domus; a wider grouping was termed the familia regis, and formal gatherings of the court were termed curia. The domus was divided into several parts. The chapel, headed by the chancellor, looked after the royal documents, the chamber dealt with financial affairs and the master-marshal was responsible for travel and accommodation. The familia regis included Henry's mounted household troops, up to several hundred strong, who came from a wider range of social backgrounds, and could be deployed across England and Normandy as required. Initially Henry continued his father's practice of regular crown-wearing ceremonies at his curia, but they became less frequent as the years passed. Henry's court was grand and ostentatious, financing the construction of large new buildings and castles with a range of precious gifts on display, including his private menagerie of exotic animals, which he kept at Woodstock Palace. Despite being a lively community, Henry's court was more tightly controlled than those of previous kings. Strict rules controlled personal behaviour and prohibited members of the court from pillaging neighbouring villages, as had been the norm under William Rufus.
Henry was responsible for a substantial expansion of the royal justice system. In England, Henry drew on the existing Anglo-Saxon system of justice, local government and taxes, but strengthened it with more central governmental institutions. Roger of Salisbury began to develop the royal exchequer after 1110, using it to collect and audit revenues from the King's sheriffs in the shires. Itinerant justices began to emerge under Henry, travelling around the country managing eyre courts, and many more laws were formally recorded. Henry gathered increasing revenue from the expansion of royal justice, both from fines and from fees. The first Pipe Roll that is known to have survived dates from 1130, recording royal expenditures. Henry reformed the coinage in 1107, 1108 and in 1125, inflicting harsh corporal punishments to English coiners who had been found guilty of debasing the currency. In Normandy, he restored law and order after 1106, operating through a body of Norman justices and an exchequer system similar to that in England. Norman institutions grew in scale and scope under Henry, although less quickly than in England. Many of the officials that ran Henry's system were termed "new men", relatively low-born individuals who rose through the ranks as administrators, managing justice or the royal revenues.
=== Relations with the Church ===
==== Church and the King ====
Henry's ability to govern was intimately bound up with the Church, which formed the key to the administration of both England and Normandy, and this relationship changed considerably over the course of his reign. William the Conqueror had reformed the English Church with the support of his Archbishop of Canterbury, Lanfranc, who became a close colleague and advisor to the King. Under William Rufus this arrangement had collapsed, the King and Archbishop Anselm had become estranged and Anselm had gone into exile. Henry also believed in Church reform, but on taking power in England he became embroiled in the investiture controversy.
The argument concerned who should invest a new bishop with his staff and ring: traditionally, this had been carried out by the King in a symbolic demonstration of royal power, but Pope Urban II had condemned this practice in 1099, arguing that only the papacy could carry out this task, and declaring that the clergy should not give homage to their local temporal rulers. Anselm returned to England from exile in 1100 having heard Urban's pronouncement, and informed Henry that he would be complying with the Pope's wishes. Henry was in a difficult position. On one hand, the symbolism and homage was important to him; on the other hand, he needed Anselm's support in his struggle with his brother Robert.
Anselm stuck firmly to the letter of the papal decree, despite Henry's attempts to persuade him to give way in return for a vague assurance of a future royal compromise. Matters escalated, with Anselm going back into exile and Henry confiscating the revenues of his estates. Anselm threatened excommunication, and in July 1105 the two men finally negotiated a solution. A distinction was drawn between the secular and ecclesiastical powers of the prelates, under which Henry gave up his right to invest his clergy, but retained the custom of requiring them to come and do homage for the temporalities, the landed properties they held in England. Despite this argument, the pair worked closely together, combining to deal with Duke Robert's invasion of 1101, for example, and holding major reforming councils in 1102 and 1108.
A long-running dispute between the Archbishops of Canterbury and York flared up under Anselm's successor, Ralph d'Escures. Canterbury, traditionally the senior of the two establishments, had long argued that the Archbishop of York should formally promise to obey their Archbishop, but York argued that the two episcopates were independent within the English Church and that no such promise was necessary. Henry supported the primacy of Canterbury, to ensure that England remained under a single ecclesiastical administration, but the Pope preferred the case of York. The matter was complicated by Henry's personal friendship with Thurstan, the Archbishop of York, and the King's desire that the case should not end up in a papal court, beyond royal control. Henry needed the support of the Papacy in his struggle with Louis VI of France, however, and therefore allowed Thurstan to attend the Council of Rheims in 1119, where Thurstan was then consecrated by the Pope with no mention of any duty towards Canterbury. Henry believed that this went against assurances Thurstan had previously made and exiled him from England until the King and Archbishop came to a negotiated solution the following year.
Even after the investiture dispute, Henry continued to play a major role in the selection of new English and Norman bishops and archbishops. He appointed many of his officials to bishoprics and, as historian Martin Brett suggests, "some of his officers could look forward to a mitre with all but absolute confidence". Henry's chancellors, and those of his queens, became bishops of Durham, Hereford, London, Lincoln, Winchester and Salisbury. Henry increasingly drew on a wider range of these bishops as advisors – particularly Roger of Salisbury – breaking with the earlier tradition of relying primarily on the Archbishop of Canterbury. The result was a cohesive body of administrators through which Henry could exercise careful influence, holding general councils to discuss key matters of policy. This stability shifted slightly after 1125, when he began to inject a wider range of candidates into the senior positions of the Church, often with more reformist views, and the impact of this generation would be felt in the years after Henry's death.
==== Personal beliefs and piety ====
Like other rulers of the period, Henry donated to the Church and patronised several religious communities, but contemporary chroniclers did not consider him an unusually pious king. His personal beliefs and piety may have developed during the course of his life; Henry had always taken an interest in religion, but in his later years he may have become much more concerned about spiritual affairs. If so, the major shifts in his thinking would appear to have occurred after 1120, when his son William Adelin died, and 1129, when his daughter Matilda's marriage to Geoffrey of Anjou teetered on the verge of collapse.
As a proponent of religious reform, Henry gave extensively to reformist groups within the Church. He was a keen supporter of the Cluniac order, probably for intellectual reasons. He donated money to the abbey at Cluny itself, and after 1120 gave generously to Reading Abbey, a Cluniac establishment. Construction on Reading began in 1121, prompted by the death of the king's son, and Henry endowed it with rich lands and extensive privileges, making it a symbol of his dynastic lines. He also focused effort on promoting the conversion of communities of clerks into Augustinian canons, the foundation of leper hospitals, expanding the provision of nunneries, and the charismatic orders of the Savigniacs and Tironensians. He was an avid collector of relics, sending an embassy to Constantinople in 1118 to collect Byzantine items, some of which were donated to Reading Abbey.
== Later reign, 1107–1135 ==
=== Continental and Welsh politics, 1108–1114 ===
Normandy faced an increased threat from France, Anjou and Flanders after 1108. Louis VI succeeded to the French throne in 1108 and began to reassert central royal power. Louis demanded Henry give homage to him and that two disputed castles along the Normandy border be placed into the control of neutral castellans. Henry refused, and Louis responded by mobilising an army. After some arguments, the two kings negotiated a truce and retreated without fighting, leaving the underlying issues unresolved. Fulk V assumed power in Anjou in 1109 and began to rebuild Angevin authority. He inherited the county of Maine, but refused to recognise Henry as his feudal lord and instead allied himself with Louis. Robert II of Flanders also briefly joined the alliance, before his death in 1111.
In 1108, Henry betrothed his six-year-old daughter Matilda to Henry V of Germany. For the English king, this was a prestigious match; for Henry V, it was an opportunity to restore his financial situation and fund an expedition to Italy, as he received a dowry of £6,666 from England and Normandy. Raising this money proved challenging, and required the implementation of a special "aid", or tax, in England. Matilda was crowned German queen in 1110.
Henry responded to the French and Angevin threat by expanding his own network of supporters beyond the Norman borders. Some Norman barons deemed unreliable were arrested or dispossessed, and Henry used their forfeited estates to bribe his potential allies in the neighbouring territories, in particular Maine. Around 1110, Henry attempted to arrest the young William Clito, but William's mentors moved him to the safety of Flanders before he could be taken. At about this time, Henry probably began to style himself as the duke of Normandy. Robert of Bellême turned against Henry once again, and when he appeared at Henry's court in 1112 in a new role as a French ambassador, he was arrested and imprisoned.
Rebellions broke out in France and Anjou between 1111 and 1113, and Henry crossed into Normandy to support his nephew Theobald IV, Count of Blois, who had sided against Louis in the uprising. In a bid to isolate Louis diplomatically, Henry created alliances with Anjou and Brittany by betrothing his young son, William Adelin, to Fulk of Anjou's daughter Matilda and marrying his illegitimate daughter Matilda to Conan III, Duke of Brittany. Louis backed down and in March 1113 met with Henry near Gisors to agree a peace settlement, giving Henry the disputed fortresses and confirming Henry's overlordship of Maine, Bellême and Brittany.
Meanwhile, the situation in Wales was deteriorating. Henry had conducted a campaign in South Wales in 1108, pushing out royal power in the region and colonising the area around Pembroke with Flemings. By 1114, some of the resident Norman lords were under attack, while in Mid-Wales, Owain ap Cadwgan blinded one of the political hostages he was holding, and in North Wales Gruffudd ap Cynan threatened the power of the Earl of Chester. Henry sent three armies into Wales that year, with Gilbert Fitz Richard leading a force from the south, Alexander I of Scotland pressing from the north and Henry himself advancing into Mid-Wales. Owain and Gruffudd sued for peace, and Henry accepted a political compromise. He reinforced the Welsh Marches with his own appointees, strengthening the border territories.
=== Rebellion, 1115–1120 ===
Concerned about the succession, Henry sought to persuade Louis VI to accept his son, William Adelin, as the legitimate future Duke of Normandy, in exchange for his son's homage. Henry crossed into Normandy in 1115 and assembled the Norman barons to swear loyalty; he also almost successfully negotiated a settlement with Louis, affirming William's right to the Duchy in exchange for a large sum of money. Louis, backed by his ally Baldwin VII of Flanders, instead declared that he considered William Clito the legitimate heir to the Duchy.
War broke out after Henry returned to Normandy with an army to support Theobald of Blois, who was under attack from Louis. Henry and Louis raided each other's towns along the border, and a wider conflict then broke out, probably in 1116. Henry was pushed onto the defensive as French, Flemish and Angevin forces began to pillage the Normandy countryside. Amaury III of Montfort and many other barons rose up against Henry, and there was an assassination plot from within his own household. Queen Matilda died in early 1118, but the situation in Normandy was sufficiently pressing that Henry was unable to return to England for her funeral.
Henry responded by mounting campaigns against the rebel barons and deepening his alliance with Theobald. Baldwin of Flanders was wounded in battle and died in September 1118, easing the pressure on Normandy from the north-east. Henry attempted to crush a revolt in the city of Alençon, but was defeated by Fulk and the Angevin army. Forced to retreat from Alençon, Henry's position deteriorated alarmingly, as his resources became overstretched and more barons abandoned his cause. Early in 1119, Henry's daughter Juliane and son-in-law Eustace of Breteuil threatened to join the baronial revolt. Hostages were exchanged in a bid to avoid conflict, but relations broke down and both sides mutilated their captives. Henry attacked and took the town of Breteuil, Eure, despite Juliane's attempt to kill her father with a crossbow. In the aftermath, Henry dispossessed the couple of almost all of their lands in Normandy.
Henry's situation improved in May 1119 when he enticed Fulk to switch sides by finally agreeing to marry William Adelin to Fulk's daughter Matilda and paying Fulk a large sum of money. Fulk left for the Levant, leaving the County of Maine in Henry's care, and the King was free to focus on crushing his remaining enemies. During the summer Henry advanced into the Norman Vexin, where he encountered Louis's army, resulting in the Battle of Brémule. Henry appears to have deployed scouts and then organised his troops into several carefully formed lines of dismounted knights. Unlike Henry's forces, the French knights remained mounted; they hastily charged the Anglo-Norman positions, breaking through the first rank of the defences but then becoming entangled in Henry's second line of knights. Surrounded, the French army began to collapse. In the melee, Henry was hit by a sword blow, but his armour protected him. Louis and William Clito escaped from the battle, leaving Henry to return to Rouen in triumph.
The war slowly petered out after this battle, and Louis took the dispute over Normandy to Pope Callixtus II's council in Reims that October. Henry faced French complaints concerning his acquisition and subsequent management of Normandy, and despite being defended by Geoffrey, the Archbishop of Rouen, Henry's case was shouted down by the pro-French elements of the council. Callixtus declined to support Louis, and merely advised the two rulers to seek peace. Amaury de Montfort came to terms with Henry, but Henry and William Clito failed to find a mutually satisfactory compromise. In June 1120, Henry and Louis formally made peace on terms advantageous to the English king: William Adelin gave homage to Louis, and in return Louis confirmed William's rights to the Duchy.
=== Succession crisis, 1120–1124 ===
Henry's succession plans were thrown into chaos by the sinking of the White Ship off the French coast on 25 November 1120. Henry had left the port of Barfleur for England in the early evening, leaving William Adelin and many of the younger members of the court to follow on that night in a separate vessel, the White Ship. Both the crew and passengers were drunk and, just outside the harbour, the ship hit a submerged rock. The ship sank, killing as many as 300 people, with only one survivor, a butcher from Rouen. Henry's court was initially too scared to report William's death to the King. When he was finally told, he collapsed with grief.
The disaster left Henry with no legitimate son, his nephews now the closest possible male heirs. Henry announced he would take a new wife, Adeliza of Louvain, opening up the prospect of a new royal son, and the two were married at Windsor Castle in January 1121. Henry appears to have chosen her because she was attractive and came from a prestigious noble line. Adeliza seems to have been fond of Henry and joined him in his travels, probably to maximise the chances of her conceiving a child. The White Ship disaster initiated fresh conflict in Wales, where the drowning of Richard, Earl of Chester, encouraged a rebellion led by Maredudd ap Bleddyn. Henry intervened in North Wales that summer with an army and, although he was hit by a Welsh arrow, the campaign reaffirmed royal power across the region.
Henry's alliance with Anjou – which had been based on his son William marrying Fulk's daughter Matilda – began to disintegrate. Fulk returned from the Levant and demanded that Henry return Matilda and her dowry, a range of estates and fortifications in Maine. Matilda left for Anjou, but Henry argued that the dowry had in fact originally belonged to him before it came into the possession of Fulk, and so declined to hand the estates back to Anjou. Fulk married his daughter Sibylla to William Clito, and granted them Maine. Once again, conflict broke out, as Amaury de Montfort allied himself with Fulk and led a revolt along the Norman-Anjou border in 1123. Amaury was joined by several other Norman barons, headed by Waleran de Beaumont, one of the sons of Henry's old ally, Robert of Meulan.
Henry dispatched his illegitimate son Robert of Gloucester and Ranulf le Meschin to Normandy and then intervened himself in late 1123. He began the process of besieging the rebel castles, before wintering in the Duchy. In the spring of 1124, campaigning began again. In the Battle of Bourgthéroulde, fought near Rouen, Borleng, castellan of Bernay, Eure, led the King's army and received intelligence that the rebels were departing from the rebel base in Beaumont-le-Roger allowing him to ambush them as they traversed through the Brotonne forest. Waleran charged the royal forces, but his knights were cut down by Odo's archers and the rebels were quickly overwhelmed. Waleran was captured, but Amaury escaped. Henry mopped up the remainder of the rebellion, blinding some of the rebel leaders – considered, at the time, a more merciful punishment than execution – and recovering the last rebel castles. He paid Pope Callixtus a large amount of money, in exchange for the Papacy annulling the marriage of William Clito and Sibylla on the grounds of consanguinity.
=== Planning the succession, 1125–1134 ===
Henry and Adeliza did not conceive any children, generating prurient speculation as to the possible explanation, and the future of the dynasty appeared at risk. Henry may have begun to look among his nephews for a possible heir. He may have considered Stephen of Blois as a possible option and, perhaps in preparation for this, he arranged a beneficial marriage for Stephen to the wealthy heiress Matilda of Boulogne. Theobald of Blois, his close ally, may have also felt that he was in favour with Henry. William Clito, who was Louis VI's preferred choice, remained opposed to Henry and was therefore unsuitable. Henry may have also considered his own illegitimate son, Robert of Gloucester, as a possible candidate, but English tradition and custom would have looked unfavourably on this.
Henry's plans shifted when his son-in-law, Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, died in 1125. The King recalled his widowed daughter, Empress Matilda, to England the next year and declared that, should he die without a male heir, she was to be his rightful successor. The Anglo-Norman barons were gathered together at Westminster at Christmas 1126, where they swore to recognise Matilda and any future legitimate heir she might have. Putting forward a woman as a potential heir in this way was unusual: opposition to Matilda continued to exist within the English court, and Louis was vehemently opposed to her candidacy.
Fresh conflict broke out in 1127, when the childless Charles I, Count of Flanders, was murdered, creating a local succession crisis. With Louis's support, the Flemings chose William Clito to become their new ruler. This development potentially threatened Normandy, and Henry began to finance a proxy war in Flanders, promoting the claims of William's Flemish rivals. In an effort to disrupt the French alliance with William, Henry mounted an attack into France in 1128, forcing Louis to cut his aid to William. William died unexpectedly in July, removing the last major challenger to Henry's rule and bringing the war in Flanders to a halt. Without William, the baronial opposition in Normandy lacked a leader. A fresh peace was made with France, and Henry was finally able to release the remaining prisoners from the revolt of 1123, including Waleran of Meulan, who was rehabilitated into the royal court.
Meanwhile, Henry rebuilt his alliance with Fulk of Anjou, this time by marrying Matilda to Fulk's eldest son, Geoffrey. The pair were betrothed in 1127 and married the following year. It is unknown whether Henry intended Geoffrey to have any future claim on England or Normandy, and he was probably keeping his son-in-law's status deliberately uncertain. Similarly, although Matilda was granted several castles in Normandy as part of her dowry, it was not specified when the couple would actually take possession of them. Fulk left Anjou for Jerusalem in 1129, declaring Geoffrey the Count of Anjou and Maine. The marriage proved difficult, as the couple did not particularly like each other and the disputed castles proved a point of contention, resulting in Matilda returning to Normandy later that year. Henry appears to have blamed Geoffrey for the separation, but in 1131 the couple were reconciled. Much to the pleasure and relief of Henry, Matilda then gave birth to two sons, Henry and Geoffrey, in 1133 and 1134.
== Death and legacy ==
=== Death ===
Relations among Henry, Matilda, and Geoffrey became increasingly strained during the King's final years. Matilda and Geoffrey suspected that they lacked genuine support in England. In 1135 they urged Henry to hand over the royal castles in Normandy to Matilda while he was still alive, and insisted that the Norman nobility swear immediate allegiance to her, thereby giving the couple a more powerful position after Henry's death. Henry angrily declined to do so, probably out of concern that Geoffrey would try to seize power in Normandy. A fresh rebellion broke out among the barons in southern Normandy, led by William III, Count of Ponthieu, whereupon Geoffrey and Matilda intervened in support of the rebels.
Henry campaigned throughout the autumn, strengthening the southern frontier, and then travelled to Lyons-la-Forêt in November to enjoy some hunting, still apparently healthy. There he fell ill – according to the chronicler Henry of Huntingdon, he ate too many ("a surfeit of") lampreys against his physician's advice – and his condition worsened over the course of a week. It is improbable that eating too many lampreys was actually the cause of his death. A listeria monocytogenes infection has been proposed as a more likely cause. Once the condition appeared terminal, Henry gave confession and summoned Archbishop Hugh of Amiens, who was joined by Robert of Gloucester and other members of the court. In accordance with custom, preparations were made to settle Henry's outstanding debts and to revoke outstanding sentences of forfeiture. The King died on 1 December 1135, and his corpse was taken to Rouen accompanied by the barons, where it was embalmed; his entrails were buried locally at the priory of Notre-Dame du Pré, and the preserved body was taken on to England, where it was interred at Reading Abbey.
Despite Henry's efforts, the succession was disputed. When news began to spread of the King's death, Geoffrey and Matilda were in Anjou supporting the rebels in their campaign against the royal army, which included a number of Matilda's supporters such as Robert of Gloucester. Many of these barons had taken an oath to stay in Normandy until the late king was properly buried, which prevented them from returning to England. The Norman nobility discussed declaring Theobald of Blois king. Theobald's younger brother Stephen quickly crossed from Boulogne to England, accompanied by his military household. Hugh Bigod dubiously testified that Henry, on his deathbed, had released the barons from their oath to Matilda, and with the help of his brother Henry of Blois, Stephen seized power in England and was crowned king on 22 December. Matilda did not give up her claim to England and Normandy, appealing at first to the Pope against the decision to allow the coronation of Stephen, and then invading England to start a prolonged civil war, known as the Anarchy, between 1135 and 1153.
=== Historiography ===
Historians have drawn on a range of sources on Henry, including the accounts of chroniclers; other documentary evidence, including early pipe rolls; and surviving buildings and architecture. The three main chroniclers to describe the events of Henry's life were William of Malmesbury, Orderic Vitalis, and Henry of Huntingdon, but each incorporated extensive social and moral commentary into their accounts and borrowed a range of literary devices and stereotypical events from other popular works. Other chroniclers include Eadmer, Hugh the Chanter, Abbot Suger, and the authors of the Welsh Brut. Not all royal documents from the period have survived, but there are several royal acts, charters, writs, and letters, along with some early financial records. Some of these have since been discovered to be forgeries, and others had been subsequently amended or tampered with.
Late medieval historians seized on the accounts of selected chroniclers regarding Henry's education and gave him the title of Henry "Beauclerc", a theme echoed in the analysis of Victorian and Edwardian historians such as Francis Palgrave and Henry Davis. The historian Charles David dismissed this argument in 1929, showing the more extreme claims for Henry's education to be without foundation. Modern histories of Henry commenced with Richard Southern's work in the early 1960s, followed by extensive research during the rest of the 20th century into a wide variety of themes from his reign in England, and a much more limited number of studies of his rule in Normandy. Only two major, modern biographies of Henry have been produced, C. Warren Hollister's posthumous volume in 2001, and Judith Green's 2006 work.
Interpretation of Henry's personality by historians has altered over time. Earlier historians such as Austin Poole and Richard Southern considered Henry a cruel, draconian ruler. More recent historians, such as Hollister and Green, view his implementation of justice much more sympathetically, particularly when set against the standards of the day, but even Green has noted that Henry was "in many respects highly unpleasant", and Alan Cooper has observed that many contemporary chroniclers were probably too scared of the King to voice much criticism. Historians have also debated the extent to which Henry's administrative reforms genuinely constituted an introduction of what Hollister and John Baldwin have termed systematic, "administrative kingship", or whether his outlook remained fundamentally traditional.
Henry's burial at Reading Abbey is marked by a local cross and a plaque, but Reading Abbey was slowly demolished during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century. The exact location is uncertain, but the most likely location of the tomb itself is now in a built-up area of central Reading, on the site of the former abbey choir. A plan to locate his remains was announced in March 2015, with support from English Heritage and Philippa Langley, who aided with the successful discovery and exhumation of Richard III.
== Family and children ==
=== Legitimate ===
In addition to Matilda and William, Henry possibly had a short-lived son, Richard, with his first wife, Matilda of Scotland. Henry and his second wife, Adeliza of Louvain, had no children.
=== Illegitimate ===
Henry had a number of illegitimate children by various mistresses.
==== Sons ====
Robert FitzRoy, Earl of Gloucester, born in the 1090s to a woman of Gay family of north Oxfordshire;
Richard, born to Ansfride, brought up by Robert Bloet, the Bishop of Lincoln;
Reginald de Dunstanville, Earl of Cornwall, born in the 1110s or early 1120s, possibly to Sibyl Corbet;
Robert FitzEdith, born in 1093 to Edith Forne;
Gilbert FitzRoy, possibly born to an unnamed sister or daughter of Walter of Gand;
William de Tracy, possibly born in the 1090s;
Henry FitzRoy, possibly born to Nest ferch Rhys;
Fulk FitzRoy, possibly born to Ansfride;
William, the full brother of Sybilla of Normandy, probably also of Reginald de Dunstanville.
==== Daughters ====
Matilda FitzRoy, Countess of Perche;
Matilda FitzRoy, Duchess of Brittany;
Juliane, wife of Eustace of Breteuil, possibly born to Ansfrida;
Mabel, wife of William Gouet;
Constance, Viscountess of Beaumont-sur-Sarthe;
Aline, wife of Matthew de Montmorency;
Isabel, daughter of Isabel de Beaumont, Countess of Pembroke;
Sybilla de Normandy, Queen of Scotland, probably born before 1100;
Matilda Fitzroy, Abbess of Montivilliers;
Gundrada de Dunstanville;
Possibly Rohese, wife of Henry de la Pomerai;
Emma, wife of Guy of Laval;
Adeliza;
Elizabeth Fitzroy, possibly the wife of Fergus of Galloway;
Possibly Sibyl of Falaise.
=== Family tree === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_parliamentary_dissolution_referendum | 1953 Iranian parliamentary dissolution referendum | A referendum on the dissolution of Parliament, the first referendum ever held in Iran, was held in August 1953. The referendum was in direct contravention of the then Constitution of Iran which normally reserved the power to dissolve parliament to the Shah. The vote was boycotted by the opposition, including influential figures like Ayatollah Kashani. Prime Minister Mosaddegh justified it as "the will of the people is above law" to legitimize the dissolution of Parliament. The referendum was approved by more than 99% of voters, with the result being described as fraudulent.
Following the referendum, there were talks about another referendum to abolish the Pahlavi dynasty and make Iran a republic, however the government was overthrown by a coup d'état shortly after.
== Timeline ==
12 July: PM Mohammad Mosaddegh openly announced his intention to hold the referendum, asking people to either choose between his government or the 17th Parliament.
14 July: The decision to hold the referendum was approved by the cabinet.
3 August: The referendum was held in Tehran.
10 August: The referendum was held in other cities.
13 August: The official results of the polls were declared by the interior ministry.
16 August: Mosaddegh officially announced the dissolution of the parliament.
19 August: The government was overthrown in a coup d'état.
== Campaign ==
== Controversy ==
The balloting was not secret and there were two separate voting booths, i.e. the opponents of Mossadegh had to cast their vote in a separate tent. Voters were required to give name, address and the number and place of issuance of his identity card. Critics pointed that the referendum had ignored the democratic demand for secret ballots.
Officials at the voting booth in favor of the motion reportedly did not check identity cards or stamp voter's hands to indicate having submitted a ballot, leading to accusations of voter fraud. Voters at the booth against the motion were presented with intimidating signs such as “Only Traitors Vote for Non-Dissolution.”
Rural areas were also excluded from the ballot, under the argument it would take too long to count the votes from remote areas.
== Results ==
=== By city ===
== Reactions ==
=== Domestic ===
Ayatollah Kashani said taking part in such a referendum is haraam (religiously prohibited). However, Ayatollah Boroujerdi supported the referendum.
Mohammad Reza Shah declared the results "fraudulent".
=== International ===
United States: On 5 August 1953, the U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, speaking to a gathering of state governors in Seattle, criticized Mosaddegh for the decision and specified, that it had been supported by the communist party. An editorial published by The New York Times on 4 August characterized the exercise as "More fantastic and farcical than any ever held under Hitler or Stalin", and an effort by Mosaddegh "to make himself unchallenged dictator of the country". |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteen_Years%27_War_(1454%E2%80%931466) | Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466) | The Thirteen Years' War (Polish: wojna trzynastoletnia; German: Dreizehnjähriger Krieg), also called the War of the Cities, was a conflict fought in 1454–1466 between the Prussian Confederation, allied with the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, and the State of the Teutonic Order.
After the defeat suffered by the Teutonic Order at the Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg) in 1410 and the ensuing political, military and economic problems, the state was rife with internal conflict between the ruling Order and the local Prussian nobility. Eventually, this tension led to an uprising by the Prussian Confederation representing the Prussian nobility and cities, who sought the protection of the Polish King Casimir IV Jagiellon. Once the King granted his assent, war broke out between the Prussian Confederation, supported by Poland, and the proponents of Teutonic Knight rule.
The Thirteen Years' War ended in the victory of the Prussian Confederation and Poland and in the Second Peace of Thorn. The Teutonic Order became a Polish fief and its Grand Masters had to commit to homage to the Polish King within 6 months of acquiring power. This was honored for approximately the next two centuries with tensions rising seldomly during this period. The Teutonic Order also returned Pomerelia to Poland after nearly 150 years and ceded the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia, which together formed Royal Prussia, as both lands fell under direct rule of the Polish King. Tension quickly flared up afterward, and this was soon followed by the War of the Priests (1467–1479), a drawn-out dispute over the independence of Warmia, in which the Knights sought revision of the Peace.
== Background ==
=== Reasons for war ===
A dispute between Poland and the Teutonic Order over control of Eastern Pomerania had lasted since the 1308 Teutonic takeover of Danzig (Gdańsk), when the territory was contested and annexed by the Teutonic Order. This event resulted in a series of Polish–Teutonic Wars throughout the 14th and 15th centuries. In the 15th century, the towns of Prussia rapidly grew economically. However, this was not followed by an increase in their political influence. The rule of the Teutonic Knights was seen as more and more anachronistic – taxes (customs) and the system of grain licenses (every trader had to pay large fees for the privilege of trading grain) were hindering economic development in the province. At the same time the nobility wanted a larger say in the running of the country and were looking enviously at neighbouring Poland, where the Polish nobility enjoyed wider privileges. The Knights were also accused of violating the few existing privileges of the nobility and the cities. Craftsmen were discontented because of competition from so-called partacze, or artisans settled by the Knights near their castles. Kashubians, Poles, Germans, and Prussians were slowly melting into one nation, and as national differences disappeared, the common goals of all the ethnic and social groups of Prussia became more prominent, and the Prussian estates leaned increasingly towards Poland.
In 1397 Prussian knights had founded a secret organisation called the Eidechsenbund (English translation: Lizard Union), more or less against the Teutonic Knights, but that organization had failed as it was not supported by the urban population. After the victory by the Polish and Lithuanian forces at Grunwald during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War (1409–1411), the Prussian estates eagerly pledged allegiance to King Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) of Poland. But they quickly returned to the order's rule after the Poles were unable to conquer Marienburg (Malbork). A clause in the peace treaty stated that it was guaranteed by the Prussian states, which would gain the right to defy the Teutonic Order if it broke the treaty. In the succeeding wars the Prussian estates opposed any conflict, and pushed the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights to make peace.
On 21 February 1440, a group made up of individuals from the Prussian cities, nobility, and clergy, formed the Prussian Confederation. The main contributors were from the nobility of Culmerland (Chełmno Land), Thorn, Culm (Chełmno), and from the Hanseatic cities of Elbing (Elbląg) and Danzig. Grand Master Paul von Rusdorf was seen to approve the existence of the confederacy, but his successor, Konrad von Erlichshausen, opposed it. His non-compromising policy was followed and intensified by Ludwig von Erlichshausen who took that office in 1449 or 1450.
=== 1452–1454 negotiations ===
In 1452, the Prussian Confederation asked Emperor Frederick III for mediation in their conflict with the Teutonic Order. Disagreeing with the confederacy, Frederick banned it and ordered it to obey the Teutonic Order on 5 December 1453.
Faced with that situation the Prussians sent envoys to Poland – although the Prussian Confederation, under the influence of Thorn and the Pomeranian and Culmerland nobility, had already sought contact with the Poles. They received support, especially from Greater Poland and from the party of Queen Sophia of Halshany, mother of King Casimir IV Jagiellon of Poland. The Bishop of Kraków, Zbigniew Oleśnicki, opposed this support and tried to prevent war.
In January 1454, the year that Casimir IV was married to Elisabeth of Austria, the Prussian faction asked Casimir IV for protection by the Kingdom of Poland. Casimir asked the Prussian Confederation for a more formal petition. On 4 February 1454, the Secret Council of the Prussian Confederation sent a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master. Two days later the confederacy started its rebellion and soon almost all Prussia, except for Marienburg, Stuhm (Sztum), and Konitz (Chojnice), were free from Teutonic rule. Most of the captured Ordensburg castles were immediately destroyed. Seen from within Prussia, the conflict was essentially a civil war.
On 10 February 1454, the confederacy sent an official delegation to Poland, headed by Johannes von Baysen. By 20 February, the delegates were in Kraków and asked Casimir to bring Prussia into the Polish kingdom. After negotiating the exact conditions of incorporation, the king agreed and delegates of the Prussian Confederation pledged allegiance to Casimir on 6 March 1454.
Poland sent the Grand Master a declaration of war, predated to 22 February. Both sides expected the war to end quickly.
=== International situation ===
In 1454 Poland was in conflict with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which meant that although Casimir IV was Grand Duke of Lithuania as well as King of Poland, Lithuania sent no aid during the war to Poland and, aside from a few ineffective raids, did not participate during the conflict. There was also the threat of attack by the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
Elsewhere, the international situation was quite good for Poland, as no outside states were likely to intervene. The southern border of Poland was more or less secure because of the weakness of the Bohemian lands, which resulted from the Hussite Wars. Although the Hanseatic League sympathized with the Prussian cities, the league backed the Teutonic Knights because the order granted them extra privileges. The Livonian Order had problems with Denmark and was unable to help the Teutonic Knights in Prussia. Because of conflict between Sweden and Denmark, both sides stayed more or less neutral in the upcoming conflict.
France and England were too weakened after the Hundred Years' War, and England was also embroiled in civil war, the Wars of the Roses. The Duke of Burgundy, Flanders, and the Netherlands, Philip the Good, was more interested in creating an independent Kingdom of Burgundy. Pope Nicholas V's primary concern was dealing with the Ottoman Turks.
== Forces of belligerents ==
The main part of the Polish army of that period was conscripted. All noblemen, when called by the king, had to appear accompanied by their village-mayors and village-administrators. Cities gave wagons with horses, food, and service to them (including escorts). Units were divided into choragwie (standards) of two kinds: family, which were made by very large clans, and land which were from nobles from particular territory. Peasants also participated as infantrymen. The highest command belonged to the king. The total army could amount to 30,000 cavalry.
From the beginning of the 15th century, the Polish Crown started to hire mercenaries, who usually fought under the flag of St. George (especially Bohemian (Czech) mercenaries). The flag was either a red cross on white, or a white cross on red; the latter was used only when two Bohemian units met on opposite sides of a battlefield and had to be differentiated. The concept of tabor, learned from the Bohemians, was an important tactic.
The Poles had artillery, at first primitive cannons such as bombards. Pistols, or handguns, were used but were ineffective. More important were crossbows, which, when properly used, could cause large losses.
The army of the Prussian estates consisted of conscripts and small units provided by cities (around 750 people per unit). In total they could provide about 16,000 soldiers, plus a few thousand armed peasant infantry. They also had more artillery than the Polish army.
The Prussian cities were also able to raise a sizable navy, partially from armed trade ships, partially from hired privateers from other cities.
The Teutonic Order in 1454 lost most of its arsenals, but later it was able to raise armies from loyal knights (free Prussians) and peasants. However, most of its forces were hired mercenaries, mainly from Germany and Bohemia.
== Overview ==
=== First phase ===
The first land operations from February to August 1454 were carried out by Prussian state conscripts, supported by Czech mercenaries from Moravia and soldiers from Lesser Poland. This force, commanded by Scibor von Baysen (Polish: Scibor Bażyński), brother of Johannes von Baysen, tried to besiege the Grand Master Ludwig von Erlichshausen in the city and castle of Marienburg, but without much success due to the professional command of Heinrich Reuß von Plauen the Elder, Komtur of Elbing.
In the meantime there was some organised support for the Teutonic Order from the German principalities, mainly in Saxony. The reinforcements entered Prussia in the second half of March 1454, from the direction of the Neumark. They were able to take the highly important strategic city of Konitz, which was situated on the important route from Poland to the mouth of the Vistula. Johannes von Baysen moved conscript and mercenary forces there, and they were soon followed by Mikołaj Szarlejski of the Clan of Ostoja, who was the representative of the Polish kingdom and received the title of "Supreme Commander of Forces in Prussia".
In 1454 and 1455, the Teutonic Knights first pawned, then sold the Neumark back to the Margraviate of Brandenburg in the Treaties of Cölln and Mewe.
At the end of April 1454, the Prussian army started the siege of Konitz; the defence of the city was commanded by Heinrich Reuß von Plauen from Greitz. However, Szarlejski lacked any significant commanding skill, his army had not enough artillery, and the Prussian estates were unable to pay their mercenaries, so Konitz was not seriously endangered.
After the arrival of Casimir IV, when he received the official oath of allegiance from his new subjects in Elbing and Thorn, he directed to Konitz a pospolite ruszenie (levée en masse) of Polish nobles from Kuyavia, which replaced the unpaid mercenaries. Cavalry forces such as the nobles, however, were ill-suited to the taking of castles, so the situation in Konitz did not change. The king also sent his own units and a levée en masse to lay siege to Marienburg, but Polish forces were unable to take the castle even with Prussian reinforcements, which were relocated to Malbork after taking Stuhm on 8 August 1454. The Teutonic Knights defended themselves skillfully and were able to defeat forces from Danzig in a sudden attack on 13 September 1454.
The degrading situation of the Polish crown worsened further when in September 1454 a large army of mercenaries under the command of Rudolf, prince of Sagan (Żagań), and a Moravian nobleman, the talented soldier Bernhard von Zinnenberg (Polish: Bernard Szumborski) arrived in Prussia from the Holy Roman Empire. The army had 9,000 cavalry and 6,000 infantry, plus artillery and many wagons in tabor formations.
Rudolf's army slowly moved to Konitz to rescue it from the Polish siege. It forced Casimir to call a levée en masse of Greater Poland, without the traditional approval of the provincial sejmik. Noblemen, angered by the disruption of the harvest and the unconventional form of the call, massed near the village of Duża Cerkwica (Cerekwica, Groß Zirkwitz) and demanded from the king several privileges, which were granted in the privilege of Cerekwica on 14 September 1454.
Casimir divided his forces into seven large units and the army marched to Konitz, where it was joined by Prussians. On 18 September 1454 the Teutonic Knights defeated the Polish army in the resulting Battle of Konitz.
The defeat was a near disaster. The Polish army quickly withdrew from Marienburg, and Stuhm was recovered by the Teutonic Order. They were also able to take other large towns, such as Mewe (Gniew) and Dirschau (Tczew). Impressed by the crusaders' victory, some Prussian lands also capitulated. This was a great victory for the Teutonic Knights, although they lacked enough money to pay the victorious mercenaries. On October 9, the Grand Master promised them that if he could not pay them by 19 February 1455, they would receive all cities, castles, and lands of Prussia, with the rights to sell them.
Mercenaries later captured two other cities, Marienwerder (Kwidzyn) and Lessen (Łasin), near Marienburg. None of the largest and most important cities of Prussia, such as Königsberg, surrendered, and they were determined to continue the war. As a result, the Teutonic Order was totally dependent on help from the Holy Roman Empire.
To save the situation for Poland, Casimir started hiring more Bohemian and Silesian soldiers and sending them to the cities of Pomerania, Pomesania, and Culmerland. He also decided to call for another levée en masse from the whole Polish kingdom. The levée en masse in Opoka, this time dominated by nobility from Lesser Poland, demanded privileges similar to those given in Cerekwica; the king quickly approved them. Later on, from 11 November to 16 November 1454, while under the influence of the aristocracy from Lesser Poland, Casimir changed some of the promises given earlier both in Opoka and Cerekwica through privileges for the whole country given in Nieszawa (the privilege of Nieszawa).
This time the Polish army counted almost 3,000 cavalry, plus 3,000 mercenaries. The mercenaries had a few capable commanders, such as Jan Kolda from Zampach and Jan Skalski from the northern Bohemian city of Malá Skála (literally, "little rock") and a member of the family of Valdsztejn, Waldstein, or Wallenstein.
This time the Grand Master avoided battle as too risky. The army started the siege of Lessen, whose defense was commanded by the Austrian mercenary Fritz Raweneck. However, the army was unprepared for taking castles, and the large preparations ended with another fiasco.
=== 1455 to 1460 ===
The first negotiations between the two sides, conducted for two days ending 10 January 1455, were unsuccessful. The situation became difficult for Casimir. To pay his mercenaries he had to borrow from the clergy. He decided to give two cities as a fief to Eric II of Pomerania from Stolp (Słupsk), hoping it would secure northern Pomerania. To calm opposition, Casimir later went to Lithuania, where he was forced to stay until the summer of 1455.
In that situation the Teutonic Knights were able to recover the eastern part of Prussia, including the Königsberg towns of Altstadt and Löbenicht on 17 April 1455. They were aided by rebellions in the cities, caused by new large war taxes. The last East Prussian town loyal to the Polish king, Kneiphof, was taken on 14 July 1455 after a long siege by the Teutonic Knights commanded by Heinrich Reuss von Plauen the Elder. The Poles suffered defeat after defeat, and they later also lost Warmia (Ermeland).
However, the Grand Master was unable to pay his mercenaries and they took Marienburg, Dirschau, and Eylau (Iława) in May 1455. Mercenaries under the Bohemian Ulrich Czerwonka (or Oldrzych) immediately started negotiations with Poland to discuss selling the castles.
The international situation also became significantly worse. On 25 March 1455 Emperor Frederick III banned the Prussian Confederation, forbidding trade with its members. On 24 September Pope Callixtus III warned that he would excommunicate the Prussian Confederation and all its allies unless they made peace with the Order. In June 1455 the Teutonic Knights gained a new ally, King Christian I of Denmark, who declared war against Poland and the Prussian Confederation. This meant nothing more than a disturbance in trade, however, since Denmark was still busy fighting with Sweden.
Shocked by the loss of Kneiphof, Casimir, in debt and unable to hire new mercenaries, called another levée en masse. The Polish army moved slowly to Thorn, but military actions were halted briefly when the king finally agreed to mediation by Frederick II, Margrave of Brandenburg; all earlier propositions of mediation from different sides had been rejected. The elector, however, failed to negotiate a peace, because the Teutonic Knights, after recent successes, were unwilling to compromise. The Poles suggested that the Teutonic Order should leave Prussia and go elsewhere to fight with pagans; a location suggested earlier by Polish envoys to the Holy Roman Empire was Podolia, near the Tatars. Negotiations ended unsuccessfully on 26 September and the war continued.
The new Polish army was larger than before, including soldiers from Red Ruthenia, small auxiliary forces of Lithuanian Tatars, and a few mercenaries from Silesia. It laid siege to Lessen, but Raweneck was able to defend the city. Additionally, when Casimir IV ordered a further march to Graudenz (Grudziądz), the nobility refused and instead decided to pay a new tax, which would allow the king to hire more mercenaries.
After that, the situation did not change much. The Teutonic Knights were able to recover another city, Memel (Klaipėda), but their offensives in other directions were stopped by the burghers of Thorn and of Culmerland, and the leadership of Andrzej Tęczynski. In autumn 1455 the peasants of eastern Masuria, tired of the war, revolted against the Teutonic Knights but were defeated at Rhein (Ryn) on 1 January 1456. Land-based military actions were limited to raids and local skirmishes.
In the maritime arena, Casimir urged Danzig to build a fleet that would be able to break sea connections between the Teutonic Order and its allies. In May 1456 privateers hired by Danzig captured Dutch ships, which caused conflict with Amsterdam and the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good. In two weeks in August 1457, three ships from Danzig defeated a combined Danish–Livonian fleet of 16 ships near Bornholm.
Earlier, in 1454, Jan Janski de Turze of the Clan of Ostoja had become the first Polish Voivode of Gdańsk and Pomerania. The Clan had been fighting the Teutonic side since the days of Stibor of Stiboricz, the Duke of Transylvania and one of the most loyal Lords of King Sigismund von Luksemburg. The strategy of the Clan of Ostoja was in the beginning of 15th century not only use of military forces but also to use diplomacy in order to make the Teutonic side weaker economically, so they could not pay the mercenaries they depended on. By the time Jan Janski de Turze become voivode of Pomerania, Szarlejski of Ostoja was Voivode of Kujawy and used the help of his Clan brother to raise funds to hire mercenaries fighting on Polish side. Stibor de Poniec of Ostoja, the Lord General of Greater Poland, joined the cause in 1457. Together with his Clan brothers Jan Janski and Szarlejski, Stibor de Poniec raised new funds to hire more mercenaries to fight on the Polish side. However, Stibor decided to use those funds to pay mercenaries that defended the main stronghold of Teutonic Knights, Malbork (Marieburg), and in return asked them to leave the stronghold. In this way, the Polish side succeeded to overtake Malbork without force, in 1457. Later, in 1466 Stibor de Poniec sealed the Second Peace of Thorn, which also finally broke the power of the Teutonic Knights.
After long negotiations, Teutonic mercenaries agreed to sell three castles in Prussia, including Marienburg, to Poland. Heavy new taxes caused rebellions in Danzig and Thorn that were bloodily suppressed by the cities with help from the king's army. The Polish and Prussian estates were able to gather 190,000 Hungarian gold pieces, most of which had been borrowed from Danzig. On 6 June 1457, the castles of Marienburg, Dirschau, and Eylau were transferred to the Polish army. Two days later Casimir entered the castle of Marienburg, and its burghers paid homage to him. Ulrich Czerwonka became the first Polish sheriff of the castle, and also received three other counties. The king again granted broad privileges to the Prussian cities. It was generally expected that now, with the fall of the Teutonic Order's capital, the war would end quickly. Optimism faded, however, when the Polish army commanded by Prandota Lubieszowski was unable to take Mewe, which was again defended by Raweneck. Casimir had to return to Poland to seek money to pay his debts and mercenaries. The mood worsened when the grand master organised a new offensive. The Teutonic Knights received significant aid from the burghers of Königsberg, free Prussian knights, and others. Although they were unable to take Wehlau (Znamensk) and Schippenbeil (Sępopol), the two Polish-controlled castles that were the initial target of the offensive, they again defeated the Polish army in September 1457.
With the assistance of the town's burghers, Teutonic forces under the command of Bernard von Zinnenberg, who had been released from service with the Poles, took Marienburg by surprise on 28 September 1457; only the castle commanded by Czerwonka remained in Polish control. Lubieszowski was able to stop some further advances of the Teutonic army. However, they recaptured Eylau, which again pledged allegiance to the Teutonic Order, Culm, and Preußisch Stargard (Starogard Gdański). The situation was saved for the Poles by a new army sent from Greater Poland.
The international situation became increasingly complicated. The new Prince-Bishop of Ermeland was Cardinal Eneas Silvio Piccolomini, known for his pro-Teutonic sympathies. In 1458, Piccolomini was elected Pope Pius II. Another complication was the death of Ladislaus the Posthumous and the election of George of Poděbrady as the new (Hussite) king of Bohemia, and Matthias Corvinus as king of Hungary.
In spring 1458 Casimir IV again called for a levée en masse, which included the Masovians. Ignoring the mediation of John Giskra (Jan Jiskra), a Czech mercenary who hoped for an end to war with Prussia and the start of a new conflict with Hungary, the Polish army slowly marched into Prussia, crossing the Vistula via a pontoon bridge near Thorn in June. Again the army was supported by Tatar auxiliary forces from Lithuania and by the king's own army. The army was commanded by Piotr of Szamotuly, the castellan of Poznań. The Polish army marched directly to Marienburg, reaching the city on 10 August 1458. This time it was well equipped with artillery sent by Danzig and Elbing. The siege, however, was another fiasco, due partly to lengthy negotiations, and partly to Piotr's lack of aggression on the battlefield. His inept leadership allowed Fritz Raweneck to take yet another castle. The nobles demanded the storming of the castle, and when this did not happen, they started deserting and returning to Poland.
In Lower Prussia, there was a peasant rebellion against Polish rule. The peasants captured a few castles and gave them to the Teutonic Knights, declaring that they were ready to fight on the Teutonic Order's side against Poland.
In the meantime the king, using John Giskra as mediator, negotiated with the Teutonic Knights. The Poles again proposed that the Teutonic Order should leave Prussia for Podolia. The crusaders agreed on a mission to Podolia, but refused to leave Prussia. Danzigers proposed a compromise that would leave part of Prussia for the Teutonic Order. At one point there was a signed cease fire lasting nine months – there was even a signed treaty, and John Giskra as the mediator was to keep Marienburg – and peace appeared certain, but the Prussian estates decided to persuade the king to break off negotiations.
One positive sign was peace with Denmark. King Christian I of Denmark finally conquered Sweden, but the Swedish king Charles VIII escaped to Poland and started supporting the Polish cause financially. Danzig and Charles VIII began hiring more privateers, which seriously damaged Baltic trade, and finally Christian I decided to sign a ceasefire in July 1458, which was extended to four years in May 1459, and then to 20 years.
In 1459, Johannes von Baysen died, and his brother, Scibor, became the new governor of Prussia. The Teutonic Knights raided Polish lands and achieved a few successes, notably Komtur Kaspar Nostitz of Konitz's capture of a Polish city in northern Greater Poland for a few months. There were other attempts at mediation, such as by dukes of Bavaria and Austria, as well as by bishops from Livonia, but they were all refused by Poland. More serious mediation was undertaken by Pope Pius II, who was trying to mount a coalition against the Ottoman Turks. He suspended the ban over the Prussian Confederation and explicitly stated that the forementioned ban was also against Poland. That statement outraged Casimir, who rejected the arrival of the papal legate, Hieronymus Landus. On 3 June 1460, the pope reactivated the ban against Prussia, Poland, and the Polish king. At the same time the Bohemian king George of Poděbrady banned and jailed Ulrich Czerwonka and his comrades, and agreed to hire Teutonic soldiers in the territory of his kingdom.
On 21 March 1460, the Polish army, supported by Danzigers and peasants, began a siege of the town of Marienburg; the town's Malbork Castle was already in Polish control. This time the army had a more capable commander, Lubieszowski, and enough artillery. Lubieszowski died during the siege and was replaced by Jan Koscielecki with Johann Meydeburg of Danzig as his advisor. The town of Marienburg finally capitulated on 5 July. Marienburg's mayor, Burgomaster Blume, was hanged as a traitor, since he had pledged allegiance to the Polish king but later opened the gates of Marienburg to the Teutonic Knights.
This Polish success was quickly countered by the Teutonic Knights, who regained other cities in western Prussia. They defeated the army of Danzig near Praust (Pruszcz Gdański) in July 1460, and burnt the suburbs of Danzig; the Hanseatic city then asked Casimir for help. The Teutonic Order also conquered Lauenburg (Lębork) and Bütow (Bytów), which had been in the possession of Eric II of Pomerania, Leba (Łeba), and Putzig (Puck); the latter was garrisoned by mercenaries hired by the former Swedish king Charles VIII. Bernard von Zinnenberg also captured the castle of Schwetz (Świecie). Thorn immediately sent soldiers there, who, helped by the king's army, started a siege. In the Bishopric of Warmia, the administration of Paul von Legensdorf commenced. He was appointed by the pope, and promised neutrality between the Teutonic Knights and the Polish king. The neutrality of Legendorf made him popular amongst the burghers and peasants, who were tired of war.
The situation of Poland became desperate. One by one, the castles and cities in Prussia were recovered by the Teutonic army. The internal situation was pessimistic because of the conflict between the pope and the king over nominating the new bishop of Kraków, since both king and pope were convinced that the other lacked the right to choose the new bishop.
The Polish king again called for a levée en masse, but most of the nobility refused to participate after Tęczynski was killed in Kraków by burghers in a dispute over payment for his armor. Commanders, amongst them Piotr of Szamotuly, were disorganized, and, after raids to Eric II's Duchy of Pomerania, the army returned home after a few weeks. The failure of the latest levée en masse and the Teutonic recovery of Warmia, capturing the last Polish points of resistance, convinced Casimir that the war should be left to professionals. The nobility agreed to pay new taxes for the hiring and maintaining of a more regular army. The new commander was Piotr Dunin, an innovative leader from Prawkowice.
=== Second phase ===
In 1461, Poland achieved a major success with the capture of the castle of Schwetz. Polish privateers hired by Danzig were also successful, even though they were fighting not only Teutonic ships and privateers, but also ships from Lübeck. The first group of Polish army regulars – initially around 2,000 soldiers – came to Prussia around October 1461, under Dunin. Almost immediately Dunin achieved two successes, capturing the castles of Lessen and Stuhm. The Teutonic Knights at the same time captured a few cities and castles, such as the town of Strasburg (Brodnica), although the castle stayed in Polish hands, and Stargard. The Sejm in Nowe Miasto Korczyn in Lesser Poland decided to raise new taxes for increasing the Polish regular army. It was only in the summer of 1462 when Dunin finally, after losing the castle of Strasburg, could start any more serious action. His first success was the conquest of the castle of Frauenburg (Frombork) and burning Fischhausen.
Casimir was unable to profit from the Polish successes because of troubles in Lithuania. The Lithuanians rejected the idea of moving the Teutonic Order to Podolia, even if Lithuania would acquire territories in Prussia. This forced the king to open new negotiations with the Teutonic Order, with the Hanseatic League as mediators. On 3 July 1462, negotiations started in Thorn. The Polish negotiators included Jan Długosz and the rector of the Kraków Academy, Jan of Dąbrówka. The Prussian representatives included Gabriel von Baysen and Scibor von Baysen, as well as envoys from larger cities. The Poles and Prussians argued that "Pomerania from time immemorial belonged to Poland, pointing out Slavic names in Pomerania, the Slavic language of inhabitants", the "tax of St. Peter" paid by Pomerania, and that Pomerania belonged to the Polish Diocese of Włocławek. They also strongly emphasized that Prussians of their own will asked for the incorporation of Prussia into Poland. They also tried to prove that even eastern Prussia was, in times past, tied in some way to Poland. The Teutonic Knights questioned all the arguments and past papal judgments. Instead, they strongly underlined that Poland had officially resigned all claims to Pomerania and Culmerland, and also pointed to the emperor's statement of 1453 when he forbade all opposition in Prussia. Hanseatic mediators proposed a ceasefire for 20 years, but this was refused. The Poles again proposed moving the Teutonic Order to Podolia, which was also rejected. Unofficially, the Poles unsuccessfully proposed leaving the Teutonic Order in Sambia as Polish vassals. Finally, the Poles demanded at least Pomerelia, Culmerland, Marienburg, and Elbing, and when this was rejected too, negotiations broke down.
The Battle of Świecino (Schwetz), where the excellent Teutonic commander Fritz Raweneck was killed, changed the course of the war. After that battle the Poles, supported by Ulrich Czerwonka, released from Bohemian imprisonment, were able to take the offensive. On 27 July 1463, Dunin began the siege of Mewe. Because of the great strategic importance of the city and castle, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order sent reinforcements. The Teutonic army, under commanders von Plauen, von Zinnenberg, and the grand master, gathered in Stargard. On 15 September 1463, 44 ships of the Teutonic navy were destroyed by 30 ships from Danzig and Elbing in the Battle of Zatoka Świeża. Soon after the battle, von Zinnenberg, with approval of the Teutonic Order, made a treaty with Poland, withdrawing from the war but retaining in his possession a few castles in Culmerland. Mewe capitulated on 1 January 1464.
The Teutonic Knights began to have serious financial problems. Every year they received less money from the Holy Roman Empire. Their mercenaries, the core of the Teutonic army, were not paid and refused to make any serious offensives. At the same time the armies of Poland and the Prussian Confederation (mainly Danzig) were continuing their offensive.
Dunin continued on the offensive, capturing more and more castles. Masovians, enraged by Teutonic raids, organised a levée en masse and captured the castle of Soldau (Działdowo), but again the king had to leave Poland for Lithuania, and financial problems stopped further advances. This caused another round of negotiations between representatives of the Prussian estates, Poland and the Teutonic Order in 1465, which were again unsuccessful.
In 1466 the Prince-Bishop of Warmia, Paul von Legensdorf, decided to join the Polish forces and declare war on the Teutonic Knights. Polish forces under Dunin were finally also able to capture Konitz on 28 September 1466.
The Polish successes caused the exhausted Teutonic Order to seek new negotiations, which were well documented by the chronicler Jan Długosz. The new mediator was Pope Paul II. With help from the papal legate, Rudolf of Rüdesheim, the Second Peace of Thorn was signed on 10 October 1466. Western Prussia became an autonomous Polish province, later known as Royal Prussia; the Bishopric of Warmia also came under the crown of Poland. Eastern Prussia remained under the control of the Teutonic Knights, although it became a vassal of the Polish king. The Grand Master received the title of Senator of the Polish kingdom. The treaty was signed by the papal legate. "Both sides agreed, that although the Pope's approval was not necessary, they would ask him to confirm the treaty so as to ensure it". The treaty was later disputed by Pope Paul II and Emperor Frederick III. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_prime_ministers_of_Great_Britain_and_the_United_Kingdom | Timeline of prime ministers of Great Britain and the United Kingdom | This is a graphical timeline of prime ministers of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from when the first prime minister of Great Britain in the modern sense, Robert Walpole, took office in 1721, until the present day.
From 1801 until 1922, British prime ministers also held the office for the whole of Ireland.
== Great Britain ==
== United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ==
== United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ==
== Combined timeline ==
== Career-based timeline ==
This timeline shows most of the early life, the political career and death of each prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1846. The first prime minister was Robert Walpole in the early 18th century (Dickinson 1973).
Unlike countries where the leader is elected directly to the highest political office of a separate executive, the prime minister must first establish a political career in the UK Parliament and typically serves many years in the House of Commons before becoming prime minister, and in some cases for many years afterwards.
Since the Marquess of Salisbury in 1895, all time in parliamentary service before being prime minister has been in the House of Commons, apart from Sir Alec Douglas-Home's period as a member of the Government while in the House of Lords (1951–63; though he was previously the elected member for Lanark, 1931–1945). After becoming prime minister, Douglas-Home returned to the Commons by winning a by-election on the recess death of MP Gilmour Leburn.
Uniquely, Cameron's brief parliamentary activity as Foreign Secretary from November 2023 to July 2024 was served while a member of the House of Lords.
=== Key ===
Each dark coloured bar denotes the time spent as prime minister
A light colour denotes time spent in Parliament before or after serving as prime minister
A grey colour bar denotes the time the prime minister spent outside the House of Commons or the entire Parliament, either before or after their political career
=== Notable moments since 1800 ===
two separate periods in office: Russell, Palmerston, Disraeli, MacDonald, Churchill, Wilson
three separate periods in office: Derby, Salisbury, Baldwin
four separate periods in office: Gladstone
crossed the floor: Palmerston, Derby, Gladstone, Churchill (twice)
died in office: Canning, Palmerston, Perceval (assassinated)
died less than six months after leaving office: Portland, Campbell-Bannerman, Law, Chamberlain
left Parliament on leaving office: Russell, Baldwin, Blair
lived for more than twenty years after leaving the House of Commons: Macmillan, Douglas-Home, Thatcher, Major
less than twenty years in Parliament before being prime minister: Baldwin, Chamberlain, Wilson, Major, Blair, Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss, Sunak, Starmer
more than twenty years in Parliament after being prime minister: Rosebery, Balfour, Lloyd George, Heath
served as prime minister after an interruption to their parliamentary career: MacDonald, Churchill, Macmillan (twice), Douglas-Home, Johnson
served as prime minister for two monarchs: Walpole, Newcastle, Liverpool, Wellington, Melbourne, Peel, Salisbury, Asquith, Churchill, Truss
served as prime minister for three monarchs: Baldwin
served as prime minister for less than two months: Truss
over 65 years of age when first appointed: Palmerston, Campbell-Bannerman, Aberdeen, Chamberlain, Grey, Churchill
under 45 years of age when first appointed: Goderich, Blair, Addington, Cameron, Sunak, Liverpool
=== Timeline === |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cameron#Filmography | James Cameron#Filmography | James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker and deep-sea explorer. His films combine cutting-edge film technology with classical filmmaking techniques and have grossed over $10 billion worldwide, making him the second-highest-grossing film director of all time. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, Cameron has received numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, as well as nominations for six British Academy Film Awards.
Born and raised in Ontario, Cameron moved to California aged 17 and enrolled at Fullerton Community College. Beginning his career with the short film Xenogenesis (1978), he first gained recognition for writing and directing the science fiction action film The Terminator (1984). He had further success with Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), and True Lies (1994), as well as the Avatar franchise (2009–present). He directed, wrote, co-produced, and co-edited the historical romance epic Titanic (1997), winning Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Film Editing.
Three of Cameron's films—Avatar (2009), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) and Titanic—are amongst the top four highest-grossing films of all time. He directed the first film to gross over $1 billion, the first two films to gross over $2 billion each, is the only director to have had three films gross over $2 billion each, and is the first director to have four consecutive feature films gross over $1 billion each. The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and Titanic have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Cameron also co-founded the production companies Lightstorm Entertainment, Digital Domain, and Earthship Productions. In 2010, Time named Cameron one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
In addition to filmmaking, he is a National Geographic explorer-in-residence and has produced many documentaries on deep-ocean exploration, including Ghosts of the Abyss (2003) and Aliens of the Deep (2005). Cameron has also contributed to underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies, and helped create the new digital 3D Fusion Camera System. In 2012, he became the first person to complete a solo descent to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of Earth's ocean, in the Deepsea Challenger submersible. He is also an environmentalist and runs several sustainability businesses.
== Early life and education ==
James Francis Cameron was born on August 16, 1954, in Kapuskasing, Ontario, to Philip Cameron, an electrical engineer, and Shirley (née Lowe), an artist and nurse. He is the first of five children, with two brothers and two sisters. His paternal great-great-great-grandfather emigrated from Balquhidder, Scotland, in 1825. Cameron spent summers on his grandfather's farm in Southern Ontario. He attended Stamford Collegiate in Niagara Falls, Ontario. At age 17, Cameron and his family moved from Chippawa, Ontario to Brea, California. He attended Sonora High School and then moved to Brea Olinda High School. Classmates recalled that he was not a sportsman but instead enjoyed building things that "either went up into the air or into the deep".
After high school, Cameron enrolled at Fullerton College, a community college, in 1973 to study physics. He switched subjects to English, but left the college at the end of 1974. Cameron worked odd jobs, including as a truck driver and a high school janitor. He drank beer, frequently consumed cannabis and LSD, and wrote in his free time. During this period, he learned about special effects by reading other students' work on "optical printing, or front screen projection, or dye transfers, anything that related to film technology" at the University of Southern California library. After the excitement of seeing Star Wars in 1977, Cameron quit his job as a truck driver to enter the film industry.
== Career ==
=== 1978–1989: Early career and breakthrough ===
Cameron's directing career began in 1978. After borrowing money from a consortium of dentists, he learned to direct, write and produce his first short film, Xenogenesis (1978), with a friend. Learning as he went, Cameron said he felt like a doctor doing his first surgical procedure. He then served as a production assistant for Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979). While educating himself about filmmaking techniques, Cameron started a job as a miniature model maker at Roger Corman Studios. He was soon employed as an art director for the science-fiction film Battle Beyond the Stars (1980). He carried out the special effects for John Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981), served as production designer for Galaxy of Terror (1981), and consulted on the design for Android (1982).
Cameron was hired as the visual effects director for the sequel to Piranha (1978), titled Piranha II: The Spawning in 1982. The original director, Miller Drake, left the project due to creative differences with producer Ovidio Assonitis. Shot in Rome, Italy, and on Grand Cayman Island, the film gave Cameron the opportunity to become director for a major film for the first time. Cameron later said that it did not feel like his first film due to power-struggles with Assonitis. Upon release of Piranha II: The Spawning, critics were not impressed; author Tim Healey called it "a marvellously bad movie which splices clichés from every conceivable source".
In 1982, inspired by John Carpenter's horror film Halloween (1978), as well as a nightmare about an invincible robot hit-man sent from the future to assassinate him, Cameron wrote the script for The Terminator (1984), a sci-fi action film about a cyborg sent from the future to carry out a lethal mission. Cameron wanted to sell the script so that he could direct the film. While some film studios expressed interest in the project, many executives were unwilling to let a new and unfamiliar director make the film. Gale Anne Hurd, a colleague and founder of Pacific Western Productions, agreed to buy Cameron's script for one dollar, on the condition that Cameron direct the film. He convinced the president of Hemdale Pictures to make the film, with Cameron as director and Hurd as a producer. Lance Henriksen, who starred in Piranha II: The Spawning, was considered for the lead role, but Cameron decided that Arnold Schwarzenegger was more suitable as the cyborg villain due to his bodybuilder appearance. Henriksen was given a smaller role instead. Michael Biehn and Linda Hamilton also joined the cast. The Terminator was a box office success, exceeding expectations set by Orion Pictures, and earning over $78 million worldwide. George Perry of the BBC praised Cameron's direction, writing "Cameron laces the action with ironic jokes, but never lets up on hinting that the terror may strike at any moment". In 2008, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In 1984, Cameron was hired to write a sequel to First Blood; it was rewritten by Sylvester Stallone and released as Rambo: First Blood Part II. Cameron was then hired to write and direct a sequel to Alien (1979), a science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott. Like the original, the sequel Aliens (1986) featured Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley. Aliens follows Ripley as she helps a group of marines fight off extraterrestrials. Despite conflicts with cast and crew during production, and having to replace one of the lead actors—James Remar with Michael Biehn—Aliens was a box office success, generating over $130 million worldwide. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards in 1987; Best Actress, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score and Best Sound. It won awards for Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects. In addition, Weaver and the film made the cover of Time in July 1986.
After Aliens, Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd decided to make The Abyss, a story about oil-rig workers who discover strange intelligent life in the ocean. Based on an idea which Cameron had conceived of during high school, the film was initially budgeted at $41 million, although it ran considerably over this amount. It starred Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Michael Biehn. The production process began in the Cayman Islands and in South Carolina, in two huge water tanks "reclaimed from" an unfinished nuclear power plant. The cast and crew recall Cameron's dictatorial behavior, and the filming of water scenes which were mentally and physically exhausting. Upon the film's release, The Abyss was praised for its special effects, and earned $90 million at the worldwide box office. The Abyss received four Academy Award nominations, and won Best Visual Effects.
=== 1990–1999: Stardom and acclaim ===
In 1990, Cameron co-founded the firm Lightstorm Entertainment with collaborator Lawrence Kasanoff. In 1991, Cameron served as executive producer for Point Break (1991), directed by Kathryn Bigelow. After the success of The Terminator, there were discussions for a sequel, and by the late 1980s, Mario Kassar of Carolco Pictures secured the rights to the sequel, allowing Cameron to begin production of the film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton reprise their roles. The story follows on from Terminator, depicting a new villain (T-1000), with shape-shifting abilities who hunts for Sarah Connor's son, John (Edward Furlong). Cameron cast Robert Patrick as T-1000 because of his lean and thin appearance—a sharp contrast to Schwarzenegger. Cameron explained: "I wanted someone who was extremely fast and agile. If the T-800 is a human Panzer tank, then the T-1000 is a Porsche". Terminator 2 was one of the most expensive films to be produced, costing at least $94 million ($222 million in 2025). Despite the challenging use of computer-generated imagery (CGI), the film was completed on time and released on July 3, 1991. Terminator 2 broke box office records (including the opening weekend record for an R-rated film), earning over $200 million in North America and being the first to earn over $300 million worldwide (respectively over $473 million and $709 million in 2025). It won four Academy Awards: Best Makeup, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects. It also received nominations for Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing.
In subsequent years, Cameron planned to do a third Terminator film, but plans never materialized. The rights to the Terminator franchise were eventually purchased by Kassar from a bankruptcy sale of Carolco's assets. Cameron moved on to other projects and, in 1993, co-founded Digital Domain, a visual effects production company. In 1994, Cameron and Schwarzenegger reunited for their third collaboration, True Lies, a remake of the 1991 French comedy La Totale!. The story depicts an American secret agent who leads a double life as a married man, whose wife believes he is a computer salesman. The film co-stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Eliza Dushku and Tom Arnold. Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment signed a deal with 20th Century Fox for the production of True Lies. Budgeted at a minimum of $100 million, the film earned $146 million in the United States and Canada. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and Curtis won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. It was during the production of True Lies that he would first meet Jon Landau, who at the time oversaw the film's production for Fox. In July 2024, Cameron stated that he "lured" Landau away from Fox to Lightstorm.
In 1995, Cameron co-produced Strange Days, a science fiction thriller. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow and co-written by Jay Cocks, Strange Days was critically and financially unsuccessful. In 1996, Cameron reunited with the cast of Terminator 2 to film T2 3-D: Battle Across Time, an attraction at Universal Studios Florida, and in other parks around the world.
His next major project was Titanic (1997), an epic about the RMS Titanic, which sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg. With a production budget of $200 million, at the time it was the most expensive film ever made. Starting in 1995, Cameron took several dives to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to capture footage of the wreck, which would later be used in the film. A replica of the ship was built in Rosarito Beach and principal photography began in September 1996. Titanic made headlines before its release, for being over-budget and exceeding its schedule. In a radical departure from Cameron's previous work, his completed screenplay depicts two star-crossed lovers, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, from different social classes who fall in love amid the backdrop of the ship's tragedy. The supporting cast includes Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Gloria Stuart, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Victor Garber, Danny Nucci, David Warner and Bill Paxton. The film was also Cameron's first large-scale production with Landau as a co-producer.
After months of delay, Titanic premiered on December 19, 1997. The film received strong critical acclaim and became the highest-grossing film of all time, holding this position for twelve years, until Cameron's Avatar beat the record in 2010. The costumes and sets were praised, and The Washington Post considered the CGI graphics to be spectacular. Titanic received a record-tying fourteen nominations (tied with All About Eve in 1950) at the 1998 Academy Awards. It won eleven of the awards, tying the record for most wins with 1959's Ben-Hur (now also tied with 2003's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) including: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Original Score and Best Original Song. Upon receiving Best Picture, Cameron and producer Jon Landau asked for a moment of silence to remember the 1,500 people who died when the ship sank. Film critic Roger Ebert praised Cameron's storytelling, writing: "It is flawlessly crafted, intelligently constructed, strongly acted, and spellbinding". Authors Kevin Sandler and Gaylyn Studlar wrote in 1999 that the romance, historical nostalgia and James Horner's music contributed to the film's cultural phenomenon. In 2017, on its 20th anniversary, Titanic became Cameron's second film to be selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
After the huge success of Titanic, Cameron kept a low profile. In 1998, he and his brother, John, formed Earthship Productions, to stream documentaries about the deep sea, one of Cameron's interests. Again during 1998, Cameron considered doing a large-scale technological/religious film by an unknown writer, but after three tries was forced to personally pass on the project "due to his secular nature." Cameron had also planned to make a film about Spider-Man, a project developed by Menahem Golan of Cannon Films. Columbia hired David Koepp to adapt Cameron's ideas into a screenplay, but due to various disagreements, Cameron abandoned the project. In 2002, Spider-Man was released with the screenplay credited solely to Koepp.
=== 2000–2009: Established career ===
In 2000, Cameron made his debut in television and, with Charles H. Eglee, co-created Dark Angel, a television series influenced by cyberpunk, biopunk, contemporary superheroes and third-wave feminism. Dark Angel starred Jessica Alba as Max Guevara, a genetically enhanced super-soldier created by a secretive organization. While the first season was moderately successful, the second season did less well, which led to its cancellation.
In 2002, Cameron served as producer on the 2002 film Solaris, a science fiction drama directed by Steven Soderbergh. The film gained mixed reviews and failed at the box office. Keen to make documentaries, Cameron directed Expedition: Bismarck, about the German Battleship Bismarck. In 2003, he directed Ghosts of the Abyss, a documentary about RMS Titanic which was released by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, and designed for 3D theaters. Cameron told The Guardian his intention for filming everything in 3D. In 2005, Cameron co-directed Aliens of the Deep, a documentary about the various forms of life in the ocean. He also starred in Titanic Adventure with Tony Robinson, another documentary about the Titanic shipwreck. In 2006, Cameron co-created and narrated The Exodus Decoded, a documentary exploring the Biblical account of the Exodus. In 2007, Cameron and fellow director Simcha Jacobovici, produced The Lost Tomb of Jesus. It was broadcast on Discovery Channel on March 4, 2007; the documentary was controversial for arguing that the Talpiot Tomb was the burial place of Jesus of Nazareth.
By the mid-2000s, Cameron returned to directing and producing his first mainstream film since Titanic. Cameron had displayed interest in making Avatar (2009) and Alita: Battle Angel (2019) as early as June 2005, with both films to be shot using 3D technology. He wanted to make Alita: Battle Angel first, followed by Avatar, but switched the order in February 2006. Although Cameron had written an 80-page treatment for Avatar in 1995, Cameron stated that he wanted the necessary technology to improve before starting production. Avatar, with the story line set in the mid-22nd century, had an estimated budget in excess of $300 million. The cast includes Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez and Sigourney Weaver. It was composed with a mix of live-action footage and computer-generated animation, using an advanced version of the motion capture technique, previously used by director Robert Zemeckis in The Polar Express. Cameron intended Avatar to be 3D-only but decided to adapt it for conventional viewing as well.
Intended for release in May 2009, Avatar premiered on December 18, 2009. This delay allowed more time for post-production and the opportunity for theaters to install 3D projectors. Avatar broke several box office records during its initial theatrical run. It grossed $749.7 million in the United States and Canada and more than $2.74 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time in the United States and Canada, surpassing Titanic. It was the first film to earn more than $2 billion worldwide. Avatar was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won three: Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects. In July 2010, an extended theatrical re-release generated an additional $33.2 million worldwide (equivalent to $46,480,000 in 2024) at the box office. In his mixed review, Sukhdev Sandhu of The Telegraph complimented the 3D, but opined that Cameron "should have been more brutal in his editing". That year, Vanity Fair reported that Cameron's earnings were US$257 million, making him the highest earner in Hollywood. As of 2022, Avatar and Titanic hold the achievement for being the first two of the six films in history to gross over $2 billion worldwide. As with Titanic, Landau would greatly assist Cameron as the co-producer of the Avatar films as well.
=== 2010–present: Continued work and prospective projects ===
In June 2010, Cameron met with officials of the Environmental Protection Agency to discuss possible solutions to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It was reported that he offered his assistance to help stop the oil well from leaking. He is a member of the NASA Advisory Council and he worked with the space agency to build cameras for the Curiosity rover sent for Mars. NASA launched the rover without Cameron's technology due to a lack of time during testing. He has expressed interest in a project about Mars, stating: "I've been very interested in the Humans to Mars movement ... and I've done a tremendous amount of personal research for a novel, a miniseries, and a 3D film." Cameron is a member of the Mars Society, a non-profit organization lobbying for the colonization of Mars. Cameron endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for the 2016 United States presidential election.
In 2011, Cameron served as an executive producer for Sanctum, a disaster-survival film about a cave diving expedition which turns deadly. Although receiving mixed reviews, the film earned a fair $108 million at the worldwide box office. Cameron re-investigated the sinking of RMS Titanic with eight experts in a 2012 TV documentary special, Titanic: The Final Word with James Cameron, which premiered on April 8 on the National Geographic channel. In the feature, the experts revised the CGI animation of the sinking conceived in 1995. In March 2010, Cameron announced that Titanic would be converted and re-released in 3D to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the tragedy. On March 27, 2012, Titanic 3D premiered at London's Royal Albert Hall. He also served as executive producer of Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away and Deepsea Challenge 3D in 2012 and 2014, respectively.Cameron starred in the 2017 documentary Atlantis Rising, with collaborator Simcha Jacobovici. The pair goes on an adventure to explore the existence of the city of Atlantis. The programme aired on January 29 on National Geographic. Next, Cameron produced and appeared in a documentary about the history of science fiction. James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction, the six-episodic series was broadcast on AMC in 2018. The series featured interviews with guests including Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Christopher Nolan. He stated "Without Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, there wouldn't have been Ray Bradbury or Robert A. Heinlein, and without them, there wouldn't be [George] Lucas, [Steven] Spielberg, Ridley Scott or me".
Alita: Battle Angel was finally released in 2019, after being in parallel development with Avatar. Written by Cameron and friend Jon Landau, the film was directed by Robert Rodriguez and produced by Cameron. The film is based on a 1990s Japanese manga series Battle Angel Alita, depicting a cyborg who cannot remember anything of her past life and tries to uncover the truth. Produced with similar techniques and technology as in Avatar, the film starred Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley and Keean Johnson. The film premiered on January 31, 2019, to generally positive reviews and $404 million (equivalent to $487,500,000 in 2024) at the worldwide box office. In her review, Monica Castillo of RogerEbert.com called it "an awe-inspiring jump for [Rodriguez]" and "a visual bonanza", despite the bulky script. Cameron then returned to the Terminator franchise as producer and writer for Tim Miller's Terminator: Dark Fate (2019).
In August 2013, Cameron announced plans to direct three sequels to Avatar simultaneously, for release in December 2016, 2017, and 2018. However, the release dates were adjusted due to Cameron's other priorities, with Avatar 3, 4 and 5 to be released, respectively, on December 20, 2024, December 18, 2026, and December 22, 2028. Deadline Hollywood estimated that the budget for these would be over $1 billion. Avatar 2 (later given the subtitle The Way of Water) and Avatar 3 (later given the subtitle Fire and Ash) began simultaneous production in Manhattan Beach, California on August 15, 2017. Principal photography began in New Zealand on September 25, 2017. Parts of Avatar 4 were also filmed during this time. Cameron stated in a 2017 interview: "Let's face it, if Avatar 2 and 3 don't make enough money, there's not going to be a 4 and 5". Avatar: The Way of Water had its world premiere in London on December 6, 2022. It became the highest-grossing film released in 2022, and as of 2023 stood as the 3rd highest-grossing film of all time, behind only Avatar and Avengers: Endgame, and just ahead of Titanic.
Lightstorm Entertainment bought the film rights to the Taylor Stevens novel The Informationist, a thriller set in Africa with Cameron planning to direct. In 2010, he indicated he would adapt the Charles R. Pellegrino book The Last Train from Hiroshima, which is about the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Cameron met with survivor Tsutomu Yamaguchi before his death in 2010. In 2024, Deadline Hollywood confirmed that Cameron had purchased the rights of not only The Last Train from Hiroshima, but also of Pellegrino's forthcoming Ghosts of Hiroshima, to make an "uncompromising theatrical epic motion picture" titled Last Train From Hiroshima about a Japanese man who survives Hiroshima's bombing at the height of World War II only to then take a train to Nagasaki's bombing, which he will shoot as soon as the Avatar sequels' production permits. Feeling that he and Pellegrino owe Yamaguchi for handing the baton of his personal story to them so they could pass his unique and harrowing experience to future generations, Cameron was assisted by the Avatar sequels co-writer Shane Salerno and Pellegrino, who previously served as Cameron's science consultant on Titanic and Avatar.
In 2025, Cameron announced that Lightstorm Entertainment had acquired the rights to Joe Abercrombie's novel The Devils and that he would begin working on a screenplay for a film based on the novel after completion of Avatar: Fire and Ash. In November 2025, Cameron directed Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), a concert film documenting Billie Eilish's Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour.
=== Deep-sea and space exploration ===
Cameron has experience with deep-sea exploration, in part because of his work on The Abyss, Titanic, and Avatar: The Way of Water and his childhood fascination with shipwrecks. He has contributed to advancements in underwater filming and remotely operated vehicles, and helped develop the 3D Fusion Camera System. In 2011, Cameron became a National Geographic explorer-in-residence. In this role, on March 7, 2012, he dived five miles deep to the bottom of the New Britain Trench with the Deepsea Challenger. 19 days later, Cameron reached the Challenger Deep, the deepest part of the Mariana Trench. He spent more than three hours exploring the ocean floor, becoming the first to accomplish the trip alone. During his dive to the Challenger Deep, he discovered new species of sea cucumber, squid worm and a giant single-celled amoeba. He was preceded by unmanned dives in 1995 and 2009, as well as by Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh, the first men to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench aboard the bathyscaphe Trieste in 1960.
In the aftermath of the Titan submersible implosion, Cameron said he was "struck by the similarity" between the submersible's implosion and the events that resulted in the Titanic disaster. He noted that both disasters seemed preventable, and were caused indirectly by someone deliberately ignoring safety warnings from others. Cameron criticized the company OceanGate and its late CEO Stockton Rush for their choice of carbon-fibre composite construction of the pressure vessel, saying it has "no strength in compression" when subject to the immense pressures at depth. Cameron said that pressure hulls should be made out of contiguous materials such as steel, titanium, ceramic, or acrylic, and that the wound carbon fibre of Titan's hull had seemed like a bad idea to him from the beginning. He stated that it was long known that composite hulls were vulnerable to microscopic water ingress, delamination, and progressive failure over time. He also criticized Rush's real-time monitoring of the hull as an inadequate solution that would do little to prevent an implosion. Cameron expressed regret for not being more outspoken about these concerns before the accident, and criticized what he termed "false hopes" being presented to the victims' families; he and his colleagues realized early on that for communication and tracking (the latter housed in a separate pressure vessel, with its own battery) to be lost simultaneously, the cause was almost certainly a catastrophic implosion.
In 2016, Premier Exhibitions, owner of many RMS Titanic artifacts, filed for bankruptcy. Cameron supported the UK's National Maritime Museum and National Museums Northern Ireland decision to bid for the artifacts, but they were acquired by an investment group before a formal bid took place.
Cameron also expressed a strong interest in visiting the space stations Mir and International Space Station (ISS). He spent the summer of 2000 in Moscow getting ready for a potential trip to space, and was offered an opportunity to go by NASA. However, the trip did not include a visit to the space station, so he declined the offer as it did not align with his terms. The shuttle flight he turned down was the tragic Space Shuttle Columbia. Cameron attended the memorial service for the victims of the disaster.
== Legal issues ==
In June 2013, British artist Roger Dean filed a copyright complaint against Cameron, seeking damages of $50 million (equivalent to $66,200,000 in 2024). The lawsuit stated that Cameron used and referenced Dean's designs in AVATAR, accusing the filmmaker of "wilful and deliberate copying, dissemination and exploitation" of Dean's original images. The case was dismissed by US district judge Jesse Furman in 2014.
== Personal life ==
Cameron has been married five times. He was married to Sharon Williams from 1978 to 1984. A year after he and Williams divorced, Cameron married film producer Gale Anne Hurd, a close collaborator for his 1980s films. They divorced in 1989. Soon after separating from Hurd, Cameron met the director Kathryn Bigelow, whom he wed in 1989; they divorced in 1991. Cameron then began a relationship with Linda Hamilton, the lead actress in The Terminator series. Their daughter was born in 1993. Cameron married Hamilton in 1997. Amid speculation of an affair between Cameron and actress Suzy Amis, Cameron and Hamilton separated after two years of marriage, with Hamilton receiving a settlement of $50 million. He married Amis, his fifth wife, in 2000. They have one son and two daughters together.
Cameron applied for American citizenship in 2004, but withdrew his application after George W. Bush won the presidential election. Cameron resided in the United States, but after filming Avatar in New Zealand, Cameron bought a home and a farm there in 2012. He divided his time between Malibu, California and New Zealand until 2020, after which he sold his Malibu home and decided to live in New Zealand permanently. He said in August 2020: "I plan to make all my future films in New Zealand, and I see the country having an opportunity to demonstrate to the international film industry how to safely return to work. Doing so with Avatar [sequels] will be a beacon that, when this is over [COVID-19 pandemic], will attract more production to New Zealand and continue to stimulate the screen industry and the economy for years." In February 2025, Cameron was planning to formally become a New Zealand citizen. He was formally granted New Zealand citizenship at a ceremony on August 13, 2025.
Cameron is an atheist; he formerly associated himself with agnosticism, a stance he said he had come to see as "cowardly atheism." Since 2011, he is vegan. Cameron met close friend Guillermo del Toro on the production of his 1993 film, Cronos. In 1997, del Toro's father Federico was kidnapped in Guadalajara and Cameron gave del Toro more than $1 million (equivalent to $1,790,000 in 2024) in cash to pay a ransom and have his father released. Cameron had been friends with Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet for over 25 years before the latter's death.
Cameron joined the board of directors of AI company Stability AI in September 2024.
== Filmmaking style ==
=== Themes ===
Cameron's films are often based on themes which explore the conflicts between intelligent machines and humanity or nature, dangers of corporate greed, strong female characters, and a romance subplot. Cameron has further stated in an interview with The Talks, "All my movies are love stories". Both Titanic and Avatar are noted for featuring star-crossed lovers. The Avatar franchise also explores themes like family dynamics and grief. Characters suffering from emotionally intense and dramatic environments in the sea wilderness are explored in The Abyss and Titanic. The Terminator series amplifies technology as an enemy which could lead to devastation of mankind. Similarly, Avatar views tribal people as an honest group, whereas a "technologically advanced imperial culture is fundamentally evil". The danger of nuclear war, as featured in The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgement Day and in his forthcoming Last Train From Hiroshima film, has been one of Cameron's fears since he watched the Cuban Missile Crisis unfold when he was eight years old.
=== Method ===
Cameron is regarded as an innovative filmmaker in the industry, with a classical filmmaking style, and a reputation of being not easy to work for. Radio Times critic John Ferguson described Cameron as "the king of hi-tech thrillers". Dalin Rowell of /Film stated: "Known for his larger-than-life creations and unique filmmaking style, director James Cameron is in a league all of his own. With his genre-spanning work, lofty ambitions, and unrestrained energy, Cameron has carved out a name for himself in Hollywood as an artist willing to do anything to see his vision come true." Rebecca Keegan, author of The Futurist: The Life and Films of James Cameron, describes Cameron as "comically hands-on", and as someone who would try to do every job on the set. Andrew Gumbel of The Independent says Cameron "is a nightmare to work with. Studios fear his habit of straying way over schedule and over budget. He is notorious on set for his uncompromising and dictatorial manner, as well as his flaming temper". Author Alexandra Keller writes that Cameron is an egomaniac, obsessed with vision, but praises his "technological ingenuity" at creating a "visceral viewing experience".
According to Ed Harris, who starred in Cameron's film The Abyss, Cameron behaved in an autocratic manner. Orson Scott Card, who novelized The Abyss, stated that Cameron "made everyone around him miserable, and his unkindness did nothing to improve the film in any way. Nor did it motivate people to work faster or better". Harris later said: "I like Jim. He's an incredibly talented, intelligent guy", adding that "it was always good to see him" in later years. Speaking of her experience on Titanic, Kate Winslet said that she admired Cameron, but "there were times I was genuinely frightened of him". Describing him as having "a temper like you wouldn't believe", she had said she would not work with him again unless it was "for a lot of money". Despite this, Winslet and Cameron still looked for future projects and Winslet was eventually cast in Avatar: The Way of Water. Her co-star Leonardo DiCaprio told Esquire: "When somebody felt a different way on the set, there was a confrontation. He lets you know exactly how he feels", but complimented Cameron, "he's of the lineage of John Ford. He knows what he wants his film to be." Sam Worthington, who starred in Avatar, said that if a mobile phone rang during filming, Cameron would "nail it to the wall with a nail gun". Composer James Horner was also not immune to Cameron's demands; he recalls having to write music in a short time frame for Aliens. After the experience, Horner did not work with Cameron for a decade. In 1996, they reconciled their friendship and Horner produced the soundtracks for Titanic and Avatar.
Despite this reputation, Sigourney Weaver has praised Cameron's perfectionism and attention to detail, saying: "He really does want us to risk our lives and limbs for the shot, but he doesn't mind risking his own". In 2015, Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis both applauded Cameron in an interview. Curtis remarked: "He can do every other job [than acting]. I'm talking about every single department, from art direction to props to wardrobe to cameras, he knows more than everyone doing the job". Curtis also said Cameron "loves actors", while Weaver referred to Cameron as "so generous to actors" and a "genius". Michael Biehn, a frequent collaborator, also praised Cameron, saying he "is a really passionate person. He cares more about his movies than other directors care about their movies", adding, "I've never seen him yell at anybody". Biehn acknowledged that Cameron is "not real sensitive when it comes to actors and their trailers, and waiting for actors to come to the set". Worthington commented: "He demands excellence. If you don't give it to him, you're going to get chewed out. And that's a good thing". When asked in 2012 about his reputation, Cameron dryly responded: "I don't have to shout any more, because the word is out there already".
In 2021, while giving a MasterClass during a break from his work on the Avatar sequels, Cameron acknowledged his past demanding behaviour, opining that if he could go back in time, he would improve the working relationship with his cast and crew members by being less autocratic, thinking of himself as a "tinpot dictator"; Cameron stated that when he visited one of Ron Howard's sets, he was "dumbfounded" at how much time Howard took to compliment his crew, aspiring to become "his inner Ron Howard".
=== Influence ===
Cameron's work has had an impact in the Hollywood film industry. The Avengers (2012), directed by Joss Whedon, was inspired by Cameron's approach to action sequences. Whedon also admires Cameron's ability for writing heroic female characters such as Ellen Ripley of Aliens, adding that he is "the leader and the teacher and the Yoda". Director Michael Bay idolizes Cameron and was convinced by him to use 3D cameras for filming Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011). Cameron's approach to 3D inspired Baz Luhrmann during the production of The Great Gatsby (2013). Other directors that have been inspired by Cameron include Peter Jackson, Neill Blomkamp, and Xavier Dolan.
When asked how Cameron uses technology in the Avatar films in a way that allow them to remain appealing to future generations without appearing dated, Cameron replied:
"I think people use the term technology, but really, I think it's our desire to create a kind of dreamlike reality that seems very lucid and very real and doesn't look like other movies. So, it's really about creating that journey, and I think everything conspires within that. It's not just the technology we use to capture the actors, for example, or to do the CG finish on it. It's all those things, but it's also the performance, it's the design, it's the music, it's the 3D. It's all of those things working together, kind of symphonically, to create a unique experience that you, as an audience member, feel is worth turning off your streaming, leaving the house, going to a place where you don't have control, and just going on that ride and having it come at you."
Cameron advises modern filmmakers to not replace actors with artificial intelligence, reasoning that while actors may be expensive, they are not generic but idiosyncratic. Cameron instead prescribes the use of artificial intelligence to be limited to beginners' previsualization, and that filmmakers should spend at least a year studying acting, citing his experiences with Sigourney Weaver and Zoe Saldaña as the reasons why he trusts actors.
== Filmography ==
== Awards and recognition ==
Cameron received the inaugural Ray Bradbury Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1992 for Terminator 2: Judgment Day. In recognition of "a distinguished career as a Canadian filmmaker", Carleton University awarded Cameron the honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts on June 13, 1998. Cameron received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1998, presented by Awards Council member George Lucas. He also received an honorary doctorate in 1998 from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, for his accomplishments in the international film industry. In 1998, Cameron attended a convocation to receive an honorary degree from Ryerson University, Toronto. The university awards its highest honor to those who have made extraordinary contributions in Canada or internationally. A year later, Cameron received the honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from California State University, Fullerton. He accepted the degree at the university's summer annual commencement exercise.
Cameron's work has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; as one of the few directors to have won three Academy Awards in a single year. For Titanic, he won Best Director, Best Picture (shared with Jon Landau) and Best Film Editing (shared with Conrad Buff and Richard A. Harris). In 2009, he was nominated for awards in Best Film Editing (shared with John Refoua and Stephen E. Rivkin, Best Director and Best Picture for Avatar. Cameron has won two Golden Globes: Best Director for Titanic and Avatar.
In recognition of his contributions to underwater filming and remote vehicle technology, University of Southampton awarded Cameron the honorary degree of doctor of the university in July 2004. Cameron accepted the award at the National Oceanography Centre. In 2008, Cameron received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame and a year later, received the 2,396th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On February 28, 2010, Cameron was honored with a Visual Effects Society (VES) Lifetime Achievement Award. In June 2012, Cameron was inducted to The Science Fiction Hall of Fame at the Museum of Pop Culture for his contribution to the science fiction and fantasy field. Cameron collaborated with Walt Disney Imagineering and served as a creative consultant on Pandora – The World of Avatar, an Avatar-themed land at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida which opened to the public on May 27, 2017. A species of frog, Pristimantis jamescameroni, was named after Cameron for his work in promoting environmental awareness and advocacy of veganism.
In 2010, Time magazine named Cameron one of the 100 most influential people in the world. That same year, he was ranked at the top of the list in The Guardian Film Power 100 and in 30th place in New Statesman's list of "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010". In 2013, Cameron received the Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public, which is annually awarded by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In 2019, Cameron was appointed as a Companion of the Order of Canada by Governor General Julie Payette, giving him the Post Nominal Letters "CC" for life.
In 2020, Cameron was the subject of the second season of the Epicleff Media dramatic podcast Blockbuster. The audio drama, created and narrated by Emmy Award-winning journalist and filmmaker Matt Schrader, chronicles Cameron's life and career (leading up to the creation and release of Titanic), and stars actor Ross Marquand in the lead voice role as Cameron.
Cameron was appointed as an Officer of the Legion of Honour in February 2025, the highest and most prestigious order of merit in France. He will officially be presented with the award at the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, where he will be one of the guests of honour.
In 2026 he was named a recipient of the Governor General's Performing Arts Award. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_popes | List of popes | This chronological list of the popes of the Catholic Church corresponds to that given in the Annuario Pontificio under the heading "I Sommi Pontefici Romani" (The Roman Supreme Pontiffs), excluding those that are explicitly indicated as antipopes. Published every year by the Roman Curia, the Annuario Pontificio no longer identifies popes by regnal number, stating that it is impossible to decide which pope represented the legitimate succession at various times. The 2001 edition of the Annuario Pontificio introduced "almost 200 corrections to its existing biographies of the popes, from St Peter to John Paul II". The corrections concerned dates, especially in the first two centuries, birthplaces and the family name of one pope.
The term pope (Latin: papa, lit. 'father') is used in several churches to denote their high spiritual leaders (for example Coptic pope). This title is usually used in English to refer to the head of the Catholic Church. The Catholic pope uses various titles by tradition, including Summus Pontifex, Pontifex Maximus, and Servus servorum Dei. Each title has been added by unique historical events, and unlike other papal prerogatives, is not incapable of modification.
Hermannus Contractus may have been the first historian to number the popes continuously. His list ends in 1049 with Leo IX as number 154. Several changes were made to the list during the 20th century. Christopher was considered a legitimate pope for a long time but was removed due to how he obtained the papacy. Pope-elect Stephen was listed as Stephen II until the 1961 edition, when his name was removed. The decisions of the Council of Pisa (1409) were reversed in 1963 in a reinterpretation of the Western Schism, extending Gregory XII's pontificate to 1415 and classifying rival claimants Alexander V and John XXIII as antipopes.
A significant number of these popes have been recognized as saints, including 48 out of the first 50 consecutive popes, and others are in the sainthood process. Of the first 31 popes, 28 died as martyrs.
== Chronological list of popes ==
=== 1st millennium ===
==== 1st century ====
The chronology of the early popes is heavily disputed. The first ancient lists of popes were not written until the late 2nd century, after the monarchical episcopate had already developed in Rome. These first lists combined contradictory traditions, and even the succession of the first popes is disputed. The first certain dates are AD 222 and 235, the elections of Urban I and Anterus. The years given for the first 30 popes follow the work of Richard Adelbert Lipsius, which often show a 3-year difference with the traditional dates given by Eusebius of Caesarea. These are also the dates used by the Catholic Encyclopedia.
==== 2nd century ====
==== 3rd century ====
==== 4th century ====
==== 5th century ====
==== 6th century ====
==== 7th century ====
==== 8th century ====
==== 9th century ====
==== 10th century ====
=== 2nd millennium ===
==== 11th century ====
==== 12th century ====
==== 13th century ====
==== 14th century ====
==== 15th century ====
==== 16th century ====
==== 17th century ====
==== 18th century ====
==== 19th century ====
==== 20th century ====
=== 3rd millennium ===
==== 21st century ====
== Religious orders ==
Fifty-one popes and six antipopes (in italics) have been members of religious orders, including 12 members of third orders. They are listed by order as follows:
== Numbering of popes ==
Regnal numbers follow the usual convention for European monarchs. Antipopes are treated as pretenders, and their numbers are reused by those considered to be legitimate popes. However, there are anomalies in the numbering of the popes. Several numbers were mistakenly increased in the Middle Ages because the records were misunderstood. Several antipopes were also kept in the sequence, either by mistake or because they were previously considered to be true popes. (As a note, the first pope who chooses a unique name is not identified by an ordinal, only assuming a number after a second Pope takes that same name: like how Francis thus far is only referred to as "Francis", but when there is a second one, they will be (respectively) "Francis I" and "Francis II". John Paul I is conspicuous as the only exception: having personally chosen to be called "John Paul the First" from the very beginning of his pontificate; which is merely a footnote given his short reign and the fact that he was followed immediately by John Paul II.)
Alexander: Antipope Alexander V (1409–1410) was listed in the Annuario Pontificio as a legitimate pope until the 20th century, when the Pisan popes were reclassified as antipopes. There had already been three more Alexanders by then, so there is now a gap in the numbering sequence.
Benedict: Antipope Benedict X (1058–1059) was kept in the numbering sequence.
Boniface: Antipope Boniface VII (974 and 984–985) was kept in the numbering sequence.
Donus: The name has only been used by one pope. The apocryphal Pope Donus II resulted from confusion between the Latin word dominus (lord) and the name Donus.
Felix: Antipope Felix II (356–357) was kept in the numbering sequence.
John: The numbering of the Popes John is particularly confused. In the modern sequence, they are identified by the numbers they used during their reigns.
Antipope John XVI (997–998) was kept in the numbering sequence.
Pope John XXI (1276–1277) chose to skip the number XX, believing that there had been another Pope John between XIV and XV. In reality, John XIV had been counted twice.
By the 16th century, the numbering error had been conflated with legends about a female Pope Joan, whom some authors called John VIII. She was never listed in the Annuario Pontificio.
Antipope John XXIII (1410–1415) was listed in the Annuario Pontificio as a legitimate pope until the 20th century. After the Pisan popes were classified as antipopes, Pope John XXIII (1958–1963) chose to reuse the number, citing "twenty-two [sic] Johns of indisputable legitimacy".
Martin: Pope Martin I (649–655) is followed by Martin IV (1281–1285). Due to the similarity between the Latin names Marinus and Martinus, Marinus I and Marinus II were mistakenly considered to be Martin II and III.
Stephen: Pope-elect Stephen (752) died before being consecrated. He was previously known as Stephen II, but the Vatican removed him from the official list of popes in 1961. The remaining Stephens are now numbered Pope Stephen II (752–757) to Pope Stephen IX (1057–1058). |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatland,_Wyoming | Wheatland, Wyoming | Wheatland is a town in and the county seat of Platte County in southeastern Wyoming, United States. The population was 3,588 at the 2020 census.
== History ==
Before the late 19th century, the area around the future site of Wheatland was a flat, arid landscape with desert-like vegetation. In 1883 local rancher and judge Joseph M. Carey, along with Horace Plunkett, John Hoyt, Morton Post, Francis E. Warren, William Irvine, and Andrew Gilchrist, established the Wyoming Development Company. The company hoped to irrigate in the Wheatland Flats and profit from new development.
By the fall of 1883 an irrigation system was constructed on the Wheatland flats including a 2,380 foot long tunnel to divert water for irrigation into Bluegrass Creek and the first two of the system's canals. The Cheyenne and Northern Railway line reached the Wheatland flats in July 1887, eventually extending to the Wyoming Central Railway at Wendover. The line was eventually sold to the Colorado and Southern Railway, controlled by the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, and operated at Wheatland station. Lots in the town of Wheatland were auctioned in 1894. By 1915 many farms were established in the irrigation district and the population of the flats was 5,277.
In 1911 Platte County was created from a portion of Albany County, and Wheatland was selected as the county seat. The Platte County Courthouse was built in Wheatland in 1917.
The Wheatland Irrigation District is still the largest privately owned irrigation system in the country.
== Geography ==
Wheatland is located at 42°3′14″N 104°57′34″W (42.053917, –104.959460).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.10 square miles (10.62 km2), all land.
== Demographics ==
=== 2010 census ===
As of the census of 2010, there were 3,627 people, 1,657 households, and 974 families living in the town. The population density was 884.6 inhabitants per square mile (341.5/km2). There were 1,879 housing units at an average density of 458.3 per square mile (177.0/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 95.1% White, 0.1% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 2.1% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.4% of the population.
There were 1,657 households, of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.0% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.2% were non-families. 37.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.78.
The median age in the town was 45.4 years. 20.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.6% were from 25 to 44; 28.3% were from 45 to 64; and 22.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.
=== 2000 census ===
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,548 people, 1,539 households, and 980 families living in the town. The population density was 837.6 people per square mile (323.1/km2). There were 1,764 housing units at an average density of 416.4 per square mile (160.6/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.00% White, 0.31% African American, 0.68% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 1.89% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.54% of the population.
There were 1,539 households, out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.3% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $35,208, and the median income for a family was $42,623. Males had a median income of $34,940 versus $20,185 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,069. About 6.9% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.9% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.
== Climate ==
Wheatland experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with cold, dry winters and hot, wetter summers.
== Education ==
Public education in the town of Wheatland is provided by Platte County School District #1. Campuses serving the town include Libbey Elementary School (grades K–2), West Elementary School (grades 3–5), Wheatland Middle School (grades 6–8), and Wheatland High School (grades 9–12).
Wheatland has a public library, a branch of the Platte County Public Library System.
== Transport ==
=== Highways ===
I-25 - bypasses on the west.
US 87 - north-south route through Wheatland.
WYO 310 (Hightower Rd.)
WYO 312 (Ferguson Rd.)
WYO 316 (Antelope Gap Rd.)
WYO 320 (No. Wheatland Hwy.)
=== Transit ===
Intercity bus service to the city is provided by Express Arrow.
=== Air Transport ===
Wheatland is served by Phifer Airfield just east of town on State Route 316 (Gilchrist St./Antelope Gap Rd.). However, the field has no direct commercial service, residents can choose between Western Nebraska Regional Airport, Casper–Natrona County International Airport, and Cheyenne Regional Airport.
=== Railroads ===
Wheatland is the home of the historical Wheatland station, then operated by Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf Railway. The station is not open today for revenue service, though the tracks through Wheatland are currently owned and used by Berkshire Hathaway's BNSF Railway after a series of acquisitions which gave BNSF the Wheatland assets formerly operated by Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf. BNSF currently has small offices located in Wheatland.
== Arts and culture ==
Wheatland hosts the annual Platte County Fair & Rodeo, usually held the second full week of August, at the fairgrounds on the east edge of town at Front Street and Antelope Gap Road.
The horse Steamboat, the model for the bucking horse and rider motif on the Wyoming license plate, was stabled near Wheatland in a barn owned and maintained as a historical structure by Mike and Linda Holst. Steamboat is also the logo for the University of Wyoming.
== Notable people ==
Deborah Alden, member of the Wyoming House of Representatives
Benjamin N. Bellis (1924–2019), United States Air Force Lieutenant General
Casey Bramlet, NFL quarterback
Freckles Brown (1921–1987), Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world champion bull rider
Edward Bryant (1945–2017), science fiction writer, fantasy author
Jim Geringer (born 1944), former governor of Wyoming
Robert Mills Grant (1926–2012), rancher and Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1983 to 1992
Jeremy Haroldson, pastor, member of the Wyoming House of Representatives
Floyd Shaman (1935–2005), sculptor
Irving W. Twiford (1898–1988), member of the Wyoming House of Representatives
Dennis Utter (1939–2011), Nebraska state legislator
Charles Hoskinson (born 1987), founder of Cardano (blockchain platform), co-founder of Ethereum |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Craft_(film) | The Craft (film) | The Craft is a 1996 American teen supernatural horror film directed by Andrew Fleming from a screenplay by Peter Filardi and Fleming and a story by Filardi. The film stars Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, and Rachel True as four outcast teenage girls at a Los Angeles parochial high school who pursue witchcraft for their own gain and experience negative repercussions.
The Craft was theatrically released in the United States on May 3, 1996, by Sony Pictures Releasing. It received mixed reviews from critics but was a surprise hit nonetheless, earning $6.7 million in its opening weekend and $55.6 million worldwide, against a budget of $15 million.
The Craft was nominated for the Saturn Awards for Best Horror Film and for Best Supporting Actress (Balk), and won the MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (Balk and Tunney). In the years since its release, the film has gained a cult following. A sequel, The Craft: Legacy, was released on October 28, 2020.
== Plot ==
Sarah Bailey, a troubled teenager with unusual abilities, moves from San Francisco to Los Angeles with her father and stepmother. At her new school, she befriends a trio of outcast girls rumored to be witches. Bonnie Harper bears burn scars, Nancy Downs lives in a trailer with her mother and abusive stepfather, and Rochelle Zimmerman, a black student, endures racist bullying from a group of white girls. The girls worship a powerful earth deity they call Manon.
Popular jock Chris Hooker shows interest in Sarah, which she reciprocates. When Bonnie sees Sarah levitating a pencil in class, the outcasts become convinced that she is "the fourth" they need to complete their coven—representing the Four Elements—and make them all-powerful. While walking home from school, the girls are approached by a vagrant who had earlier frightened Sarah with a snake when she moved in (by the incident with Home invasion and the father defend Sarah with Fire iron). As he chases her, he is struck and killed by a car. The girls believe their combined will caused the accident, strengthening their bond. It is also revealed that Sarah once attempted suicide.
After a date with Chris, Sarah is devastated when he spreads a false rumor that they had sex. Seeking revenge or change, each girl casts a spell: Sarah places a love spell on Chris, Rochelle curses her bully Laura Lizzie, Bonnie wishes for beauty, and Nancy asks for power. The spells succeed—Chris becomes obsessed with Sarah, Bonnie's scars miraculously heal, Laura's hair begins to fall out, and Nancy's stepfather dies of a heart attack, allowing her and her mother to collect his life insurance and move into a luxurious high-rise apartment.
Drunk on power, Nancy urges the others to join her in a ritual called Invocation of the Spirit, despite warnings from Lirio, the owner of a local occult shop and practicing witch. During the ritual, Nancy is struck by lightning. The next morning, she is seen walking on water, surrounded by beached sharks and other dead sea creatures. In the days that follow, Nancy becomes increasingly unstable and reckless, endangering herself and others.
The spells soon bring unintended consequences: Bonnie grows vain and cruel, Rochelle is disturbed to find Laura traumatized by her baldness, and Chris's obsession turns violent. When Sarah rejects his advances, Chris attempts to rape her. To punish him, Nancy uses a glamour spell to impersonate Sarah and tries to seduce him at a party. The real Sarah intervenes, but when Chris realizes Nancy's deception, he accuses her of jealousy. Furious, Nancy kills him by throwing him out a window.
Sarah attempts a binding spell to stop Nancy from causing more harm, but it fails, and the coven turns against her. They invade her dreams, conjure swarms of insects, and make her believe her family has died in a plane crash, driving her toward suicide. Overcoming her fear, Sarah successfully invokes the spirit herself, healing and empowering her. She uses her magic to terrify Bonnie and Rochelle with mirror illusions—Bonnie's face re-scarred, Rochelle's hair falling out—before defeating and binding Nancy, rendering her harmless.
Later, Bonnie and Rochelle visit Sarah, hoping to reconcile. She rejects them, telling them that Manon stripped their powers because they abused them. Scoffing, they claim Sarah must have lost hers too—until she conjures a lightning storm and nearly crushes them with a falling tree branch. She warns them not to end up like Nancy, who has been committed to a psychiatric hospital, delusional and restrained, insisting she can fly.
== Cast ==
== Production ==
The concept for The Craft came from a collaboration between producer Douglas Wick, who wanted to create a film about the high school experience blended with witchcraft, and screenwriter Peter Filardi, who extensively researched the topic and wrote the initial draft. Andrew Fleming was hired to direct and produce the final version of the screenplay.
Eighty-five actresses screen-tested for the four main roles, including Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson and Alicia Silverstone. Rachel True and Fairuza Balk were the first to be cast in their respective roles. The character of Rochelle was re-written to be black when True was cast, and a racism subplot was incorporated as the character's major conflict. Robin Tunney was initially cast in the role of Bonnie, but the producers decided she would be better in the starring role of Sarah, which she was persuaded to accept despite preferring the former. Neve Campbell, the most well known of the four actresses for her role on Party of Five, was then cast as Bonnie. Tunney had shaved her head for her role in Empire Records and had to wear a wig throughout filming.
Production enlisted a practicing Wiccan named Pat Devin to act as an on-set advisor for the film. She wrote the incantations used and ensured that the treatment of the Wiccan subject-matter was as accurate and respectful as possible.
Filming began on May 1, 1995, and wrapped on July 19, 1995. Shooting took place throughout Los Angeles, including the Los Angeles International Airport, Sunset Boulevard, and Broadway. Verdugo Hills High School was the setting for the fictional Catholic school, St. Benedict's Academy; production designer Marek Dobrowolski added different religious statues throughout the building and the grounds. Sarah's home in the film was a two-story Spanish mansion and the interiors were built on a soundstage at Culver City Studios. The occult bookstore was shot at the El Adobe Marketplace in Hollywood Boulevard. The room was repainted and enhanced and occult icons such as candles, stigmas, religious statues, masks, and tribal dolls were added for effect. Jensen's Recreation Center in Echo Park was chosen to avoid overuse of frequently seen Los Angeles locations. During filming, an unrelated accident occurred in which a child was injured; the production's medic saw this and called paramedics. The makeshift altar was set in Wood Ranch, a location that Dobrowolski called the hardest to find. Dobrowolski wanted to avoid manicured parks like Griffith Park. The beach summoning took place at Leo Carrillo State Park, which was chosen because its crest made it seem less visually boring.
The makeup effects were designed and created by Tony Gardner and his special effects company Alterian, Inc., which also created the beached sharks for the film.
== Soundtrack ==
The Craft: Music from the Motion Picture was released on April 30, 1996, by Columbia Records on CD and cassette, one month before the film's official theatrical release in the United States. The soundtrack contains a collection of songs, to suit the theme of the movie, from various artists including Heather Nova, Letters to Cleo, and Spacehog. Nova's version of "I Have the Touch", originally performed by Peter Gabriel, which featured during the end credits of the film, was exclusively included on the soundtrack, and is not available as a single, or on any of Nova's albums, nor does she perform the song in concert. The tracks in film, titled "Sick Child", "Fallin'" and "Scorn", performed by Siouxsie and the Banshees, Connie Francis and Portishead, respectively, were omitted from the soundtrack due to copyright issues from their record labels. However, they were only included in the film as part of an arrangement with PolyGram Film & Television Licensing. An uncredited bonus track, "Bells, Books, and Candles", composed by Graeme Revell for the film's score, was included on the soundtrack.
A follow-up soundtrack, The Original Motion Picture Score, was released on June 18, 1996, from Varèse Sarabande, and contained the film's score which was entirely composed and produced by Graeme Revell.
=== Track listing ===
== Release ==
The Craft was theatrically released in the United States on May 3, 1996, by Columbia Pictures.
=== Home media ===
The film was released on VHS and DVD on July 22, 1997, and rereleased on a special edition DVD on September 12, 2000. The film debuted on the Blu-ray format for the first time on October 13, 2009.
The film was given a special collector's edition on March 12, 2019, by Shout Factory. Though the new collection of special features was praised, the disc received negative reviews for not remastering the image and simply porting over the old scan from the 2009 disc.
The film was re-released by Shout Factory on 4K UHD on May 17, 2022, for the film's 25th Anniversary. The film was given a fresh new 4K scan from the original camera negative.
== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
The film opened at number one at the North American box office, making US$6,710,995. The movie was a sleeper hit, which Columbia attributed to teenagers and young women, who responded to its themes. According to Box Office Mojo, The Craft is the 11th-highest-grossing film since 1980 dealing with the genre of witches.
=== Critical reception ===
The film received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, 57% of 60 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The site's consensus reads: "The Craft's campy magic often overrides the feminist message at the film's core, but its appealing cast and postmodern perspective still cast a sporadic spell". Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 55 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
Emanuel Levy of Variety described it as "a neatly crafted film that begins most promisingly as a black comedy a la Heathers, but gradually succumbs to its tricky machinery of special effects". Roger Ebert also felt the film was mired in excessive special effects, but praised the performances of the four leads, as did Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle. Stephen Holden of The New York Times echoed other reviews, praising the first half of the film as a "celebration of adolescent nonconformity and female independence", but criticized the last half as a "heavy-handed sermon about karma" with "garish" special effects. Rita Kempley of The Washington Post called it "a brew of Hawthorne, Heathers and Hollywood hocus-pocus" that was nonetheless a "bubbling mess of a movie" that "leaves us more bothered than bewitched".
The film was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Horror Film and Fairuza Balk for Best Supporting Actress. Balk and Tunney also won the MTV Movie Award for Best Fight.
== Legacy ==
The film is often labeled a "cult classic" and has acquired a loyal fan base and social media presence. Matthew Jacobs and Julia Brucculieri of the Huffington Post, writing in 2016, praised The Craft for departing from clichés of the teen movie genre and incorporating darker themes, saying it became "part of the '90s teen canon and a cult classic of its own merit." Kristen Yoonsoo Kim of Complex magazine praised the relevance of the film 20 years later, saying it "feels much more progressive than many of the movies that come out today" and calling the viewing of the film "a rite of passage" for young women. Angelica Jade Bastién of Vulture wrote, "The Craft earned a generation of devoted fans because of how it charts the friendship between these four girls — its tentative beginnings, the joys of its strength, and its ultimate downfall," and singled out "Fairuza Balk's fierce performance ... [as] perhaps The Craft's greatest legacy ... She's a beguiling and fearsome portrait of female anger."
In 2013, three of the main actresses, with the exception of Fairuza Balk, reunited for a special Halloween screening of the film at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
The Craft served as an inspiration for the 2013 song "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry.
The film can briefly be seen during the end credits of the Marvel Television series Agatha All Along.
== Sequel ==
A straight-to-DVD sequel was in the works, but it was terminated. In May 2016, Sony Pictures announced that a sequel of The Craft was in development and it would be written and directed by Leigh Janiak. The announcement of the sequel spawned negative reactions from fans of the original film.
In March 2019, it was announced that the development of the sequel had been taken over by Jason Blum and his Blumhouse Productions company, and it was also announced that the film would be distributed by Columbia Pictures. Zoe Lister-Jones signed on to write the script and direct the film with filming scheduled to begin in July 2019. Daniel Casey later joined the production as screenwriter. In June 2019, Cailee Spaeny was cast as one of the leads. In September 2019, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone and Zoey Luna were cast for the remaining three lead roles. In October 2019, David Duchovny joined the cast in an undisclosed role. Later, Michelle Monaghan joined the film in an undisclosed role. Two more casting announcements were made in October 2019, also in undisclosed roles, Nicholas Galitzine and Julian Grey. Filming began on October 22, 2019.
In late September 2020, Sony released an official trailer and announced that instead of a theatrical release, the film would be released on demand everywhere on October 28, 2020. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squad_number_(association_football) | Squad number (association football) | Squad numbers are used in association football to identify and distinguish players who are on the field. Numbers very soon became a way to also indicate position, with starting players being assigned numbers 1–11. However, there is no fixed rule; numbers may be assigned to indicate position, alphabetically by name, according to a player's whim, randomly, or in any other way. In the modern game they are often influenced by the players' favourite numbers and other less technical reasons, as well as using "surrogates" for a number that is already in use. However, numbers 1–11 are often still worn by players of the previously associated position.
As national leagues adopted squad numbers and game tactics evolved over the decades, numbering systems evolved separately in each football scene, and so different countries have different conventions. Still, there are some numbers that are universally agreed upon being used for a particular position, because they are quintessentially associated with that role.
For instance, "1" is frequently used by the starting goalkeeper, as the goalkeeper is the first player in a line-up. "9" is usually worn by strikers, also known as centre-forwards, who hold the most advanced offensive position on the pitch, and are often the highest scorers in the team. "10" is one of the most emblematic squad numbers in football, due to the sheer number of football legends that have worn the number 10 shirt; playmakers, second strikers, and attacking midfielders have worn this number.
== History ==
=== First use of numbers ===
The first record of numbered jerseys in football date back to 1911, with Australian teams Sydney Leichardt and HMS Powerful being the first to use squad numbers on their backs. One year later, numbering in football would be ruled as mandatory in New South Wales.
The next recorded use was on 23 March 1914 when the English Wanderers, a team of amateur players from Football League clubs, played Corinthians at Stamford Bridge, London. This was Corinthians' first match after their FA ban for joining the Amateur Football Association was rescinded. Wanderers won 4–2.
In South America, Argentina was the first country with numbered shirts. It was during the Scottish team Third Lanark tour to South America of 1923, they played a friendly match v a local combined team ("Zona Norte") on 10 June. Both squads were numbered from 1–11.
On 30 March 1924, saw the first football match in the United States with squad numbers, when the Fall River F.C. played St. Louis Vesper Buick during the 1923–24 National Challenge Cup, although only the local team wore numbered shirts.
The next recorded use in association football in Europe was on 25 August 1928 when The Wednesday played Arsenal and Chelsea hosted Swansea Town at Stamford Bridge. Numbers were assigned by field location:
Goalkeeper
Right full back (right side centre back)
Left full back (left side centre back)
Right half back (right side defensive midfield)
Centre half back (centre defensive midfield)
Left half back (left side defensive midfield)
Outside right (right winger)
Inside right (attacking midfield)
Centre forward
Inside left (attacking midfield)
Outside left (left winger)
In the first game at Stamford Bridge, only the outfield players wore numbers (2–11). The Daily Express (p. 13, 27 August 1928) reported, "The 35,000 spectators were able to give credit for each bit of good work to the correct individual, because the team were numbered, and the large figures in black on white squares enabled each man to be identified without trouble." The Daily Mirror ("Numbered Jerseys A Success", p. 29, 27 August 1928) also covered the match: "I fancy the scheme has come to stay. All that was required was a lead and London has supplied it." When Chelsea toured Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil at the end of the season in the summer of 1929, they also wore numbered shirts, earning the nickname "Los Numerados" ("the numbered") from locals.
A similar numbering criterion was used in the 1933 FA Cup Final between Everton and Manchester City. Nevertheless, it was not until the 1939–40 season when The Football League ruled that squads had to wear numbers for each player.
Early evolutions of formations involved moving specific positions; for example, moving the centre half back to become a defender rather than a half back. Their numbers went with them, hence central defenders wearing number 5, and remnants of the system remain. For example, in friendly and championship qualifying matches England, when playing the 4–4–2 formation, generally number their players (using the standard right to left system of listing football teams) four defenders – 2, 5, 6, 3; four midfielders – 7, 4, 8, 11; two forwards – 10, 9. This system of numbering can also be adapted to a midfield diamond with the holding midfielder wearing 4 and the attacking central midfielder wearing 8. Similarly, the Swedish national team number their players: four defenders – 2, 3, 4, 5; four midfielders – 7, 6, 8, 9; two forwards – 10, 11.
The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the first FIFA competition to see squad numbers for each players, but persistent numbers would not be issued until the 1954 World Cup, where each man in a country's 22-man squad wore a specific number from 1 to 22 for the duration of the tournament.
=== Evolution ===
In 1993, The Football Association (The FA) switched to persistent squad numbers, abandoning the mandatory use of 1–11 for the starting line-up. The first league event to feature this was the 1993 Football League Cup Final between Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday, and it became standard in the FA Premier League the following season, along with names printed above the numbers. Charlton Athletic were among the ten Football League clubs who chose to adopt squad numbers for the 1993–94 season (with squad numbers assigned to players in alphabetical order according to their surname), before reverting to 1–11 shirt numbering a year later.
Squad numbers became optional in the three divisions of the Football League at the same time, but only 10 out of 70 clubs used them. One of those clubs, Brighton & Hove Albion, issued 25 players with squad numbers but reverted to traditional 1–11 numbering halfway through the season. In the Premier League, Arsenal temporarily reverted to the old system halfway through that same season, but reverted to the new numbering system for the following campaign. Most European top leagues adopted the system during the 1990s. The Football League made squad numbers compulsory for the 1999–2000 season, and the Football Conference followed suit for the 2002–03 season.
The traditional 1–11 numbers have been worn on occasions by English clubs since their respective leagues introduced squad numbers. Premier League clubs often used the traditional squad numbering system when competing in domestic or European cups, often when their opponents still made use of the traditional squad numbering system. This included Manchester United's Premier League clash with Manchester City at Old Trafford on 10 February 2008, when 1950s style kits were worn as part of the Munich air disaster's 50th anniversary commemorations.
Players may now wear any number, as long as it is unique within their squad, between 1 and 99.
In continental Western Europe this can generally be seen:
Goalkeeper
Right Back
Left Back
Central Defensive/Holding Midfielder
Centre Back (or Sweeper, if used)
Centre Back
Right Attacking Midfielder/Winger
Central/Box-to-Box Midfielder
Striker
Attacking Midfielder/Playmaker
Left Attacking Midfielder/Winger
This changes from formation to formation, although the defensive number placement generally remains the same. The use of inverted wingers now sees traditional right wingers (the number 7s, like Cristiano Ronaldo) on the left and traditional left wingers (the number 11s, like Gareth Bale) on the right.
== Numbering by country ==
=== Argentina ===
Argentina developed its numeration system independently from the rest of the world. This was because until the 1960s, Argentine football developed more or less isolated from the evolution brought by English, Italian and Hungarian coaches, owing to technological limitations at the time in communications and travelling with Europe, lack of information as to keeping up with news, lack of awareness and/or interest in the latest innovations, and strong nationalism promoted by the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (for example, back then Argentines playing in Europe were banned from playing in the Argentine national team).
The first formation used in Argentine football was the 2–3–5 and, until the 1960s, it was the sole formation employed by Argentine clubs and the Argentina national football team, with only very few exceptions like River Plate's La Máquina from the 1940s that used 3–2–2–3. It was not until the mid 1960s in the national team, with Argentina winning the Taça das Nações (1964) using 3–2–5, and the late 1960s, for clubs, with Estudiantes winning the treble of the Copa Libertadores (1968, 1969, 1970) using 4–4–2, that Argentine football adopted European formations on major scale, and mirrored its counterparts on the other side of the Atlantic.
While the original 2–3–5 formation used the same numbering system dictated by the English clubs in 1928, subsequent changes were developed independently.
The basic formation to understand the Argentine numbering system is the 4–3–3 formation, used by the coach César Menotti for the team that won the 1978 World Cup. The squad numbers are:
1 Goalkeeper
4 Right Back
2 First Centre Back / Sweeper
5 Second Centre Back / Stopper
3 Left Back
8 Right Midfielder
6 Central Defensive Midfielder
10 Left Midfielder
7 Right Winger
11 Left Winger
9 Striker
=== Brazil ===
In Brazil, the 4–2–4 formation was developed independently from Europe, thus leading to a different numbering – here shown in the 4–3–3 formation to stress that in Brazil, number ten is midfield:
1 Goleiro (Goalkeeper)
2 Lateral Direito (right wingback)
3 Zagueiro Direito (right centre back) or Beque Central (centre back) "STOPPER"
4 Zagueiro Esquerdo (left centre back) or Quarto Zagueiro (the "Quarterback", almost the same as a centre back) "SWEEPER"
6 Lateral Esquerdo (left wingback)
5 Primeiro Volante ("Rudder" or "mobile", the defensive midfielder)
8 Segundo Volante (central midfielder) or Meia Armador (playmaker)
10 Meia Atacante (attacking midfielder) or Meia Esquerda (left midfielder, generally more offensive than the right one)
7 Ponta Direita (right winger) or Meia Direita (right midfielder)
9 Centroavante (centre-forward/striker)
11 Ponta Esquerda (left winger) or Segundo Atacante (secondary striker)
When in 4–2–4, number 10 passes to the Ponta de Lança (striker), and 4–4–2 formations get this configuration: four defenders – 2 (right wingback), 4, 3, 6 (left wingback); four midfielders – 5 (defensive), 8 ("second midfielder"), similar to a central midfielder), 7, 10 (attacking); two strikers – 9, 11
=== France ===
Numbered jerseys first appeared in 1948, when France played against Italy on 4 April 1948 at Stade de Colombes, where the French team sported numbers on their jerseys (except for the keeper).
Until 2022, players were required to be registered between numbers 1–30, with 1 and 16 reserved for goalkeepers and 33 left empty for extra signings. If a further goalkeeper had to be registered, they were allocated the number 40. Since the 2022–23 Ligue 1 season, players may now wear any number between 1 and 99 without restriction.
=== Hungary ===
In Eastern Europe, the defence numbering is slightly different. The Hungarian national team under Gusztáv Sebes switched from a 2–3–5 formation to 3–2–5. So the defence numbers were 2 to 4 from right to left thus making the right back (2), centre back (3) and the left back (4). Since the concept of a flat back four the number (5) has become the other centre back.
=== Italy ===
Numbers on the jerseys were adopted in Serie A during the 1939-40 season, on 17 September 1939.
In 1995, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) also switched to persistent squad numbers for Serie A and Serie B (second division), abandoning the mandatory use of 1–11 for the starting lineup. After some years during which players had to wear a number between 1–24, now they can wear any number between 1–99 without restrictions. Notably, Chievo Verona had the goalkeeper Cristiano Lupatelli wearing number 10 from 2001 to 2003 and midfielder Jonathan de Guzman wearing number 1 in 2016.
FIGC banned the use of the number 88 on kits in 2023 due to its anti-semitic connections; the announcement was made following several instances of neo-Nazi fans using the number.
=== Spain ===
While Real Madrid was the first team to sport jersey numbers in the home 1947-48 match against Atlético Madrid on 23 November 1947, it was in the 1948-49 season that numbered jerseys would become commonplace in La Liga.
Since the 1995-96 season, in the Spanish La Liga, players in the A-squad (maximum 25 players, including a maximum of three goalkeepers) must wear a number between 1–25. Goalkeepers must wear 1, 13 or 25. When players from the reserve team are selected to play for the first team, they are given squad numbers between 26 and 50.
=== United Kingdom ===
Players are not generally allowed to change their number during a season, although a player may change number if they change clubs mid-season. Players may change squad numbers between seasons; this often happens when a player's role in the first team increases or diminishes. Occasionally, when a player has two loan spells at the same club in a single season (or returns as a permanent signing after an earlier loan), an alternative number is needed if the original number has been reassigned.
A move from a high number to a low one may be an indication that the player is likely to be a regular starter for the coming season, particularly after at least one preceding season of increased first team opportunities. An example is Celtic's Scott McDonald, who, after the departure of former number 7 Maciej Żurawski, was given the number, a move down from 27. Another example is Steven Gerrard, who wore number 28 (his number in the academy) during his debut 1998–99 season, then switched to 17 in 2000–01. In 2004–05, after Emile Heskey left Liverpool, Gerrard then changed his number again to 8. Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane changed his number from 37 for the 2013–14 season to 18 for the 2014–15 season when he became one of the club's first-choice strikers after Jermain Defoe was sold and the number 18 was vacated. Kane then switched to the number 10 for the 2015–16 season after Emmanuel Adebayor left the club and the number was vacated. Manchester City's Sergio Agüero also did a similar switch in shirt number, from number 16 in 2014–15 to number 10 in 2015–16, a number he took over from Edin Džeko following his loan departure to Roma. During the 1990s, David Beckham wore a different shirt number for Manchester United in four consecutive seasons. He was assigned the number 28 shirt for the 1993–94 season and retained it for the 1994–95 season, before switching to the number 24 shirt for the 1995–96 season, when he established himself as a regular player. He then switched to the number 10 shirt for the 1996–97 season, and following the retirement of Eric Cantona at the end of that season, he switched to the number 7 shirt for the 1997–98 season, with new signing Teddy Sheringham taking the number 10 shirt.
Some players keep the number they start their career at a club with, such as Chelsea defender John Terry, who wore the number 26 during his long spell at the club. On occasion, players have moved numbers to accommodate a new player; for example, Chelsea midfielder Yossi Benayoun handed new signing Juan Mata the number 10 shirt, and changed to the number 30, which doubles his "lucky" number 15, or when Edinson Cavani had to swap his number 7 for 21 after the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United in 2021. Upon signing for Everton in 2007, Yakubu refused the number 9 shirt and asked to be assigned number 22, setting this number as a goal-scoring target for his first season, which he ultimately fell one goal short of achieving.
In a traditional 4–4–2 system in the UK, the squad numbers 1–11 would usually have been:
1 Goalkeeper
2 Right-back
3 Left-back
4 Central midfielder (more defensive)
5 Centre back
6 Centre back
7 Right winger
8 Central midfielder (more attacking/box-to-box)
9 Striker (usually a target player)
10 Second striker (usually a fast poacher)
11 Left winger
However, even before the introduction of squad numbers in 1993, there were many exceptions to this rule. For example, at Liverpool, the number 7 was typically associated with the team's attacking midfielder or second striker (Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, Peter Beardsley).
In a more modern 4–2–3–1 system, the numbering will typically be arranged like this:
1 Goalkeeper
2 Right-back
3 Left-back
4 Central midfielder (more defensive)
5 Centre-back
6 Centre-back
7 Right winger
8 Central midfielder (box-to-box)
9 Striker
10 Central midfielder (more attacking)
11 Left winger
Higher-level clubs have a tendency to field reserve and fringe players in the EFL Cup, as well as dead rubber matches towards the end of the season, so high squad numbers are not uncommon. Nico Yennaris wore 64 for Arsenal in the competition on 26 September 2012 in a match against Coventry City and on 24 September 2014, again in the League Cup, Manchester City forward José Ángel Pozo wore the number 78 shirt in a match against Sheffield Wednesday. In a quarter-final tie on 17 December 2019, Liverpool player Tom Hill became the first player in English football history to wear the number 99 shirt in a competitive match. In The Football League, the number 55 has been worn by Ade Akinbiyi for Crystal Palace, and Dominik Werling for Barnsley.
When Sunderland signed Cameroonian striker Patrick Mboma on loan in 2002, he wanted the number 70 to symbolize his birth year of 1970. The Premier League refused, however, and he wore the number 7 instead.
==== England ====
In England, in a now traditional 4–4–2 formation, the standard numbering is usually: 2 (right fullback), 5 and 6 (centre backs), 3 (left fullback); 4 (defensive midfielder), 7 (right midfielder), 8 (central/attacking midfielder), 11 (left midfielder); 10 (second/support striker), 9 (striker). This came about based on the traditional 2–3–5 system. Where the 2 fullbacks retained the numbers 2, 3. Then of the halves, 4 was kept as the central defensive midfielder, while 5 and 6 were moved backward to be in the central of defence. 7 and 11 stayed as the wide attacking players, whilst 8 dropped back a little from inside forward to a (sometimes attacking) midfield role, and 10 stayed as a second striker in support of a number 9. The 4 is generally the holding midfielder, as through the formation evolution it was often used for the sweeper or libero position. This position defended behind the central defenders, but attacked in front – feeding the midfield. It is generally not used today, and developed into the holding midfielder role.
When substitutions were introduced to the game in 1965, the substitute typically took the number 12; when a second substitute was allowed, they wore 14. Players were not compelled to wear the number 13 if they were superstitious.
=== United States and Canada ===
North American professional association football club follows a model similar to that of European clubs, with the exception that many American and Canadian clubs do not have "reserve squads", and thus do not assign higher numbers to those players.
Most American and Canadian clubs have players numbered from 1 to 30, with higher numbers being reserved for second and third goalkeepers. In the USL First Division (since merged into the current USL Championship) and Major League Soccer (MLS), there were only 20 outfield players wearing squad numbers higher than 30 on the first team in the 2009 season, suggesting that the traditional model has been followed.
In 2007, MLS club LA Galaxy retired the former playing number of Cobi Jones, number 13, becoming the first MLS team to do so. Jones allowed Jermaine Jones to wear the number in 2017.
On 4 July 2011, MLS club Real Salt Lake retired the former playing number of coach Jason Kreis, number 9, although Kreis requested that the decision be reversed eight years later because of its traditional positional usage and prestige.
On 30 July 2016, National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Chicago Red Stars retired Lori Chalupny's number 17. On 22 June 2019, NWSL club Washington Spirit retired Joanna Lohman's number 15.
== Goalkeeper numbering ==
The first-choice goalkeeper is usually assigned the number 1 shirt as they are the first player in a line-up.
The second-choice goalkeeper wears, on many occasions, shirt number 12, which is the first shirt of the second line up, or number 13. In the past, when it was permitted to assign five substitute players in a match, the goalkeeper would also often wear the number 16, the last shirt number in the squad. Later on, when association football laws changed and it was permitted to assign seven substitute players, second-choice goalkeepers often wore the number 18. In A-League Men, second-choice goalkeepers mostly wear number 20, based on that competition having a 20-man regulated "first team" squad size.
In international tournaments (such as FIFA World Cup or continental cups) each team must list a squad of 26 players, wearing shirts numbered 1 through 26. Thus, in this case, third-choice goalkeepers often wear the number 26, or the number 23, which was the previous number of players allowed in a squad until 2021. Prior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, only 22 players were permitted in international squads; therefore, the third goalkeeper was often allocated the number 22 jersey in previous tournaments.
The move to a fixed number being assigned to each player in a squad was initiated for the 1954 World Cup where each man in a country's 22-man squad wore a specific number for the duration of the tournament. As a result, the numbers 12 to 22 were assigned to different squad players, with no resemblance to their on-field positions. This meant that a team could start a match not necessarily fielding players wearing numbers one to eleven. Although the numbers one to eleven tended to be given to those players deemed to be the "first choice line-up", this was not always the case for a variety of reasons – a famous example was Johan Cruyff, who insisted on wearing the number 14 shirt for the Netherlands.
In the 1958 World Cup, the Brazilian Football Confederation forgot to send the player numbers list to the event organization. However, the Uruguayan official Lorenzo Villizzio assigned random numbers to the players. The goalkeeper Gilmar received the number 3, and Garrincha and Zagallo wore opposite winger numbers, 11 and 7, while Pelé was randomly given the number 10, for which he became famous.
Argentina defied convention by numbering their squads for the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups alphabetically, resulting in outfield players (not goalkeepers) wearing the number 1 shirt (although Diego Maradona was given out-of-sequence number 10 in both 1982 and 1986, while Mario Kempes in 1982 and Jorge Valdano in 1986 were allowed to use number 11). In 1974 Argentina also used the alphabetical system, but only to line players and goalkeepers Daniel Carnevali and Ubaldo Fillol wore traditional goalkeeping numbers 1 and 12 respectively. England used a similar alphabetical scheme for the 1982 World Cup, but retained the traditional numbers for the goalkeepers (1, 13 and 22) and the team captain (7), Kevin Keegan. In the 1990 World Cup, Scotland assigned squad numbers according to the number of international matches each player had played at the time (with the exception of goalkeeper Jim Leighton, who was assigned an out-of-sequence number 1): Alex McLeish, who was the most capped player, wore number 2, whereas Robert Fleck and Bryan Gunn, who only had one cap each, wore numbers 21 and 22, respectively. In a practice that ended after the 1998 World Cup, Italy gave low squad numbers to defenders, medium to midfielders, and high ones to forwards, while numbers 1, 12 and 22 were assigned to goalkeepers. In July 2007, a FIFA document issuing regulations for the 2010 World Cup finally stated that the number 1 jersey must be issued to a goalkeeper.
Before the 2002 World Cup, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) attempted to retire the number 10 in honour of Maradona by submitting a squad list of 23 players for the tournament, listed 1 through 24, with the number 10 omitted. FIFA rejected Argentina's plan, with the governing body's president Sepp Blatter suggesting the number 10 shirt be instead given to the team's third-choice goalkeeper, Roberto Bonano. The AFA ultimately submitted a revised list with Ariel Ortega, originally listed as number 23, as the number 10.
In early era of Chinese football, number 0 was often assigned to a substitute goalkeeper. At least four goalkeepers had been recorded wearing number 0 on field during the early years of professional league of China: Zhao Lei from Sichuan Quanxing, Wang Zhenjie from August 1, Li Jiming from Tianjin Lifei and Li Yun from Shanghai Yuyuan.
== Unusual or notable numbers ==
Hicham Zerouali was allowed to wear the number 0 in 2000 for Scottish Premier League club Aberdeen after the fans nicknamed him "Zero". The number was outlawed the following season.
Outfield players have occasionally worn the number 1, including Pedro Araya Toro from Chile at the 1966 FIFA World Cup, Dutchman Ruud Geels at the 1974 FIFA World Cup, and Argentines Norberto Alonso and Osvaldo Ardiles at the 1978 and 1982 FIFA World Cups. all based on squad numbers being allocated on alphabetical order (although coach Rinus Michels made an exception in 1974 for Johan Cruyff wearing number 14), At club level, there were the likes of Pantelis Kafes for Olympiacos and AEK Athens; Charlton Athletic's Stuart Balmer in the 1990s; Sliema Wanderers' David Carabott in 2005–06; Partizan's Simon Vukčević in 2004–05; Beşiktaş's Daniel Pancu in 2005–06; Atlético Mineiro's Diego Souza in 2010; and Barnet player-manager Edgar Davids in 2013–14.
In 2001, Argentinian goalkeeper Sergio Vargas wore number 188 for Universidad de Chile as part of a commercial agreement with telecommunications brand Telefónica CTC Chile. However, the number was not allowed in international competitions, in which Vargas was forced to wear number 1.
Italian goalkeeper Cristiano Lupatelli wore number 10 while playing for Chievo Verona, between 2001 and 2003. Lupatelli himself admitted that he did it as part of a bet he made with friends.
In 2004, Porto goalkeeper Vítor Baía became the first player to wear 99 in the final of a major European competition, donning the kit in the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final.
During the 1990s and early 2000s, number 58 was somewhat common among players based in or native to western Mexico, especially the city of Guadalajara. It started as a publicity stunt by radio station XEAV-AM (580 AM), branded as Canal 58. Some notable players to use number 58 were Jared Borgetti, Juan Pablo Rodríguez, Carlos Turrubiates, Eric Wynalda, Hugo Norberto Castillo, Darío Franco, Carlos María Morales, Osmar Donizete, and Benjamín Galindo.
Also in Mexico, midfielder Marcelino Bernal typically wore number 6. When he signed with UNAM Pumas he used number 66. Right Back Defender Jorge Rodriguez was issued jersey number 9 while playing for Mexico in the 1995 King Fahd Cup, although almost universally it is the team’s main striker who wears number 9. Argentinian midfielder Antonio Mohamed asked for number 38 while playing for Irapuato, after years of wearing number 11 (3+8). From 2000 to 2002 Argentinian goalkeeper Luis Alberto Islas was issued number 5 while playing for Club Leon.
During the late 2010’s and the 2020 decade, it has been common to see young players from Liga Mx debut using 3-digit numbers on their back, such is the case of Diego Lainez who made his debut for Club America with number 340. In later tournaments he switched to number 20.
Chilean striker Marco Olea wore number 111 for Universidad de Chile during the 2005 season. Originally wearing number 11, he decided to give his number to Marcelo Salas upon his arrival to the club.
Parma goalkeeper Luca Bucci wore the numbers 7 (2005–06) and 5 (2006–07 and 2007–08).
Iván Zamorano wore number "1+8", or number 18 with a plus symbol between the two digits, for Internazionale from 1997 to 2000, after his number 9 was given to Ronaldo.
Derek Riordan was given squad number 01 by Hibernian in the 2008–09 season. Number 10 had already been taken by Colin Nish, and none of the club's goalkeepers had been allocated number 1.
In 2008, Milan's three new signings each chose a number indicating the year of his birth: 76 (Andriy Shevchenko, born 1976; he wore number 7 in his previous stint in the club), 80 (Ronaldinho, born 1980) and 84 (Mathieu Flamini, born 1984).
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) once required players to keep the same squad numbers throughout the qualification rounds for the AFC Asian Cup, resulting in players with squad numbers of 100 or higher, most notably the number 121 worn by Thomas Oar of Australia in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualifier match against Indonesia.
Gary Hooper wore shirt number 88 at Celtic as his number 10 was already taken and 88 is the year (1988) he was born in. "88" (1888) is also the year Celtic played their first game. The season after Hooper signed, new signing Victor Wanyama chose the number 67 to honour the Lisbon Lions, Celtic's European Cup winning team of 1967.
Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa wore the number 8 shirt for the Belgian club Standard Liège in his first season at the club. According to this status, his paternal surname "Ochoa" is similar to the Spanish word for "8" (ocho), which means literally "eight". He also wore the number 6 in his second stint for Club America in his first season at the club, as his traditional number 13 was taken by Leonel López. He chose the number 6 because that was the date his niece was born, and it was the day he signed for Club America.
When Róger Guedes signed for Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, he chose the number 123. He chose this because the numbers go 1, 2, 3..., because he has been wearing 23 for years and now that he has a son he wants to begin a new chapter of his life, which includes a new number, but still wants to retain some connection, and also because Fagner Conserva Lemos was already wearing the 23. On substitution boards, it will show 12 or 23 and someone will tell Guedes that he is going on/off.
When Andrés Iniesta left FC Barcelona in 2018, a special "#Infinit8Iniesta" shirt was released. Although Iniesta never wore it in a match, it was sold to fans. The number on the back, instead of 8, was an infinity symbol (∞).
Mario Balotelli wore the number 45 across several stints at Inter Milan, Manchester City, Liverpool, A.C. Milan and FC Sion. Originally, he received the squad number at Inter Milan prior to his first four matches there as youngsters at the club were assigned the squad numbers 36 to 50, explaining that he had joked that "four plus five is nine" and that he "ended up scoring a goal in all four of those matches and brought him luck". The number stuck with Balotelli after his move to Manchester City in 2010, swapping the squad number 9 with youngster Greg Cunningham, who had the squad number 45. This continued after his first stint at A.C. Milan, continuing to his move to Liverpool and then his second move to A.C. Milan on loan. However, he resorted to the squad number 9 for his stints at OGC Nice, Olympique de Marseille, and his first stint at Adana Demirspor, before going back to 45 at FC Sion. However, after FC Sion were relegated, Balotelli moved back to Adana Demirspor and chose the squad number 99.
Phil Foden wears number 47 for Manchester City in memory of his late grandfather, who died at the age of 47.
Juan Mata wears the number 64 to honour the birth year of his parents, doing so since signing for Vissel Kobe in 2023
Since 2015, Elliot Lee has been wearing the number 38 in memory of his friend Dylan Tombides.
=== Commemorative numbers ===
Jesús Arellano, when playing for Club de Futbol Monterrey, wore the number 400 in 1996 to celebrate the city's 400th anniversary.
Brazilian Goiás goalkeeper Harlei wore number 400 in a match in 2006, to celebrate his 400th match for the team.
Brazilian Santos goalkeeper Fábio Costa wore number 300 in a match in 2008 to celebrate his 300th match for the team.
Andreas Herzog wore the number 100 on his 100th match for the Austrian national team, a friendly against Norway, as he was the first Austrian player to have 100 caps.
James Beattie of Everton and Steven Gerrard of Liverpool both wore the double-digit 08 instead of the single-digit 8 in the Merseyside derby on 25 March 2006, after approval from the Premier League, to commemorate the City of Liverpool becoming the European Capital of Culture for 2008.
Tugay Kerimoğlu wore the number 94 on his 94th and final cap for Turkey against Brazil in 2007.
Rubén Sosa wore number 100 for the 100th Anniversary of Nacional on 14 May 1999.
In 1999, Pablo Bengoechea wore number 108 for the 108th Anniversary of Peñarol.
During his record-breaking 618th game for São Paulo, Rogério Ceni wore number 618, the highest number ever worn in professional football until 2015.
During his last match, number 100, for the Danish national team, Martin Jørgensen wore shirt number 100.
During his record-breaking 100th cap for South Africa, Aaron Mokoena wore shirt number 100.
In 2011, Vasco da Gama's heroes Felipe and Juninho Pernambucano wore the number 300—in different matches—to celebrate their 300th matches for the club.
Vasco captain Juninho Pernambucano wore the number 114 against Clássico dos Gigantes rivals Fluminense for the 114th anniversary of the club in 2012.
Goalkeeper Victor of Atlético Mineiro wore the 2019 shirt in July 2015 celebrating his contract renewal until 2019.
In 2021, Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo wore number 22 in a friendly match against Bolivia, as a tribute to former goalkeeper Mario Osbén, who died a few days before the match. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_of_Elon_Musk | Wealth of Elon Musk | Elon Musk is the wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$676 billion as of February 2026, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and $852 billion according to Forbes, primarily from his ownership stakes in SpaceX and Tesla.
Having been first listed on the Forbes Billionaires List in 2012, around 75% of Musk's wealth was derived from Tesla stock in November 2020, although he describes himself as "cash poor". According to Forbes, he became the first person in the world to achieve a net worth of $300 billion in 2021; $400 billion in December 2024; $500 billion in October 2025; $600 billion in mid-December 2025; $700 billion later that month; and $800 billion in February 2026.
In November 2025, a Tesla pay package worth potentially $1 trillion for Musk was approved, which he is to receive over 10 years if he meets specific goals.
== History ==
Elon Musk made $175.8 million when PayPal was sold to eBay in October 2002. He was first listed on the Forbes Billionaires List in 2012, with a net worth of $2 billion.
Musk paid $455 million in taxes on $1.52 billion of income between 2014 and 2018. According to ProPublica, Musk paid no federal income taxes in 2018. He stated his 2021 tax bill was estimated at $12 billion based on his sale of $14 billion worth of Tesla stock.
Musk has repeatedly described himself as "cash poor", and has "professed to have little interest in the material trappings of wealth". In May 2020, he pledged to sell almost all physical possessions. Musk has defended his wealth by saying he is accumulating resources for humanity's outward expansion to space.
At the start of 2020, Musk had a net worth of $27 billion. By the end of the year his net worth had increased by $150 billion, mostly driven by his ownership of around 20% of Tesla stock. During this period, Musk's net worth was often volatile. For example, it dropped $16.3 billion on September 8, the largest single-day plunge in Bloomberg Billionaires Index's history at the time. In November of that year, Musk passed Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg to become the third-richest person in the world; a week later he passed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to become the second-richest.
In January 2021, Musk, with a net worth of $285 billion, surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to become the richest person in the world. Bezos reclaimed the top spot the following month. On September 27, 2021, after Tesla stock surged, Forbes announced that Musk had a net worth of over $190 billion, and was the richest person in the world. In November 2021, Musk became the first person to have a net worth of more than $300 billion.
On December 30, 2022, due to declining stock values in Tesla, Musk had lost $100 billion from his net worth, the first person in history to do so, which was recognized by Guinness World Records in January 2023.
In December 2022, Bernard Arnault's net worth surpassed Musk's, causing Musk to become the second-wealthiest individual. Musk reclaimed the title in June 2023. In January 2024, Musk became the second-wealthiest person in the world again after Bernard Arnault's net worth overtook his, but Musk's net worth soon overtook Arnault's again. In March 2024, Bezos briefly superseded Musk as the richest person in the world.
Musk's net worth surged after the 2024 United States presidential election, and in December 2024, he became the first person to have a net worth of more than $400 billion.
A primary customer, the federal government of the United States has signed contracts worth $20 billion with SpaceX as of November 2024.
Musk's association with the second Trump administration received backlash, resulting in his net worth dropping by $126 billion between December 2024 and March 2025.
On September 10, 2025, Larry Ellison's net worth briefly surpassed Musk's, causing Musk to become the second-wealthiest person in the world.
=== Sources of wealth ===
Around 75% of Musk's wealth was derived from Tesla stock in November 2020, a proportion that fell to about 37% as of December 2022, after selling nearly $40 billion in company shares since late 2021. Musk does not receive a salary from Tesla; he agreed with the board in 2018 to a compensation plan that ties his personal earnings to Tesla's valuation and revenue. The deal stipulated that Musk only received the compensation if Tesla reached certain market values. It was the largest such deal ever done between a CEO and a company board. In the first award, given in May 2020, he was eligible to purchase 1.69 million Tesla shares (about 1% of the company) at below-market prices, which was worth about $800 million.
In January 2024, Delaware Judge Kathaleen McCormick ruled in a 2018 lawsuit that Musk's $55 billion pay package from Tesla be rescinded. McCormick called the compensation granted by the company's board "an unfathomable sum" that was unfair to shareholders. In response to the ruling, Musk posted on X: "Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware." A re-ratification shareholders' vote passed in mid-June 2024, although much follow-up litigation is expected, including a lawsuit filed by a Tesla investor beforehand that alleged Musk employed "coercive tactics" to move the vote in his favor. The Delaware Supreme Court overturned McCormick's decision in December 2025, restoring Musk's compensation package and awarding $1 in nominal damages.
== Management ==
Musk's wealth is managed by his family office called Excession LLC, formed in 2016 and run by Jared Birchall.
=== Musk Foundation ===
== Giving ==
According to the biographer Walter Isaacson, Musk has little interest in philanthropy. He believes that he can do more for humanity by leaving his money in his companies and pursuing the goals of sustainable energy, space exploration and AI safety with them. The Musk Foundation has been criticized for both its selection of recipients of donations and a relatively low payout ratio. In 2021 and 2022, the Musk Foundation awarded less than 5% of its assets in donations, after its assets grew to several billion dollars. This means that it fell short of the legal minimum donation required to maintain its tax-exempt status. The Guardian criticized the fact that the foundation financed various projects of Musk and his family members, although this is not unusual for billionaires and wealthy donors. The New York Times concluded that through 2022, about half of the Musk Foundation's grants went to organizations "tied" to Musk, one of his employees, or one of his companies. Musk's philanthropy would be "largely self-serving." In one instance, after Musk challenged World Food Programme director David Beasley to draft a plan to use money of Musk's that Beasley said could end world hunger, Musk instead donated the $6 billion in question to his own foundation after Beasley's plan showed that the money could only feed 42 million people for just one year.
=== Education ===
Musk has asserted that declining birth rates pose an existential threat to humanity and in 2021 donated $10 million to the University of Texas at Austin to research the potential risks.
In December 2023, tax records revealed that Musk had donated $100 million to a new foundation, "The Foundation", set up to create a primary and secondary school focused on teaching science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects. The foundation included plans to expand the project to the university level accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In 2022, Musk allocated Tesla, Inc. stock valued at $2.2 billion to The Foundation.
=== Technology ===
In 2015, Musk donated $10 million to the nonprofit Future of Life Institute, an organization focused on challenges posed by advanced technologies.
=== Politics ===
According to the Wall Street Journal, Musk donated $50 million in the fall of 2022 to Citizens for Sanity, a political action committee (PAC) aligned with the policies of Donald Trump.
In 2023, Musk donated $10 million to the Ron DeSantis 2024 presidential campaign.
In 2024, Musk supported the Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign, creating America PAC and donating $270 million to it. He also gave $20.5 million to pro-Trump RBG PAC. His donations in the 2024 election cycle totaled more than $291 million, the most of any donor. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesticus_purpurascens | Lesticus purpurascens | Lesticus purpurascens is a species of ground beetle in the subfamily Pterostichinae. It was described by Straneo in 1959. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Palace_Dinosaurs | Crystal Palace Dinosaurs | The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs are a series of sculptures of dinosaurs and other extinct animals in the London borough of Bromley's Crystal Palace Park. Commissioned in 1852 to accompany the Crystal Palace after its move from the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, they were unveiled in 1854 as the first dinosaur sculptures in the world. The models, inaccurate by modern standards, were designed and sculpted by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins under the scientific direction of Sir Richard Owen, representing the latest scientific knowledge at the time. The models, also known as the Geological Court or Dinosaur Court, were classed as Grade II listed buildings from 1973, extensively restored in 2002, and upgraded to Grade I listed in 2007.
The models represent 15 genera of extinct animals, only three of which are true dinosaurs. They are from a wide range of geological ages, and include true dinosaurs, ichthyosaurs, and plesiosaurs mainly from the Mesozoic era, and some mammals from the more recent Cenozoic era. The models are notable for representing inaccuracies of early palaeontology, the result of improperly reconstructed fossils and the state of science in the 19th century; the Iguanodon and Megalosaurus models are particularly erroneous.
== History ==
Following the closure of the Great Exhibition in October 1851, Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace was bought and moved to Penge Place atop Sydenham Hill, South London, by the newly formed Crystal Palace Company. The grounds that surrounded it were then extensively renovated and turned into a public park with ornamental gardens, replicas of statues and two new man-made lakes. As part of this renovation, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins was commissioned to build the first-ever life-sized models of extinct animals. He had originally planned to just re-create extinct mammals before deciding on building dinosaurs as well, which he did with advice from Sir Richard Owen, a celebrated anatomist and palaeontologist of the time who coined the word Dinosauria (meaning "Terrible Reptile" or "Fearfully Great Reptile").
Hawkins set up a workshop on site at the park and built the models there. The dinosaurs were built full-size in clay, from which a mould was taken allowing cement sections to be cast. The larger sculptures are hollow with a brickwork interior. There was also a limestone cliff to illustrate different geological strata. The sculptures and the geological displays were originally called "the Geological Court", an extension of the set of exhibits made for the park that reconstructed historic art, including the Renaissance, Assyrian, and Egyptian Courts.
The models were displayed on three islands acting as a rough timeline, the first island for the Palaeozoic era, a second for the Mesozoic, and a third for the Cenozoic. The models were given more realism by making the water level in the lake rise and fall, revealing different amounts of the dinosaurs. To mark the launch of the models, Hawkins held a dinner on New Year's Eve 1853 inside the mould of one of the Iguanodon models.
Hawkins benefited greatly from the public's reaction to the dinosaurs, which was so strong it allowed for the sale of sets of small versions of the dinosaur models, priced at £30 for educational use. The building of the models however proved to be costly (totally £13,729), and in 1855, the Crystal Palace Company cut Hawkins's funding. Several planned models were never made, while those half finished were scrapped, despite protest from sources including the Sunday newspaper, The Observer.
Hawkins later worked on a "Palaeozoic Museum" in New York's Central Park, an American equivalent to the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs. In May 1871 many of the exhibits in Hawkins' workshop were destroyed by vandals and their fragments buried, possibly including elements of the original Elasmosaurus skeleton, which the American palaeontologist Edward Drinker Cope had loaned to Hawkins for preparation at the time.
With progress in palaeontology, the reputation of the Crystal Palace models declined. In 1895, the American fossil hunter Othniel Charles Marsh scorned the dinosaurs' friends as doing them a great injustice, and spoke negatively of the models. The models and the park fell into disrepair as the years went by, a process aided by the fire that destroyed the Crystal Palace itself in 1936, and the models became obscured by overgrown foliage. A full restoration of the animals was carried out in 1952 by Victor H.C. Martin, at which time the mammals on the third island were moved to less well-protected locations in the park, where they were exposed to wear and tear. The limestone cliff was blown up in the 1960s.
In 2001, the display was totally renovated. The destroyed limestone cliff was completely replaced using 130 large blocks of Derbyshire limestone, many weighing over 1 tonne (0.98 long tons; 1.1 short tons), rebuilt according to a small model made from the same number of polystyrene blocks. Fibreglass replacements were created for the missing sculptures, and badly damaged parts of the surviving models were recast. For example, some of the animals' legs had been modelled in lead, fixed to the bodies with iron rods; the iron had rusted, splitting the lead open.
The models and other elements of Crystal Palace Park were classed as Grade II listed buildings from 1973. The models were extensively restored in 2001, and upgraded to Grade I listed in 2007.
In 2018, the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs ran a crowd funding campaign to build a permanent bridge to Dinosaur Island. The bridge was designed by Tonkin Liu with engineering by Arup. The bridge swings on a pivot so it can be parked when not in use, to prevent unauthorised access. It was installed in January 2021.
In May 2021, the nose and mouth of the Megalosaurus sculpture was given an emergency renovation, after it had fallen off the previous year. Twenty-two new teeth and a 'prosthetic jaw' were installed on the sculpture. The renovation was funded by a grant from the Cultural Recovery Fund and fundraising from Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs.
== The Dinosaur Park ==
Fifteen genera of extinct animals, not all dinosaurs, are represented in the park. At least three other genera (Dinornis, a mastodon, and Glyptodon) were planned, and Hawkins began to build at least the mastodon before the Crystal Palace Company cut his funding in 1855. An inaccurate map of the time shows planned locations of the Dinornis and mastodon.
=== Palaeozoic era ===
The Palaeozoic era is represented in the park by the model rock exposure showing a succession of beds, namely the Carboniferous (including Coal Measures and limestone) and Permian.
Crystal Palace's two Dicynodon models are based on incomplete Permian fossils found in South Africa, along with Owen's guess that they were similar to turtles. No evidence has been found to suggest Dicynodon had protective shells.
=== Mesozoic era ===
The Mesozoic era is represented in the park by the model rock exposure showing a succession of beds, namely the Jurassic and Cretaceous, by models of dinosaurs and other animals known from mesozoic fossils, and by suitable vegetation – both living plants and models.
Curiously, it is Hylaeosaurus, from the Cretaceous of England, not Iguanodon, that most resembles the giant iguana stereotype of early ideas of dinosaurs. The Hylaeosaurus in reality is much like Ankylosaurus – smallish quadrupedal herbivore with a knobbled armoured back and spines along its sides. Hawkins's depiction is of a large Iguana-like beast with long sharp spines along its back, which Owen noted were "accurately given in the restoration [by Hawkins, to Owen's instructions, but] necessarily at present conjectural".
The Ichthyosaurus models are based on Triassic or Jurassic fossils from Europe. Though the three ichthyosaurs are partly in water, they are implausibly shown basking on land like seals. Owen supposed they resembled crocodiles or plesiosaurs. Better fossil evidence shows that they have more in common with sharks and dolphins, having a dorsal fin and fish-like tail, whereas in Hawkins's models the tail is a flat protuberance from a straight backbone. A further discrepancy is that the models' eyes have exposed bony scleral rings, Owen conjecturing that with such large eyes they had "great powers of vision, especially in the dusk". They became one of the three mascots of Crystal Palace Park, along with the Iguanodon and Megalosaurus (although ichthyosaurs are not dinosaurs). Coincidentally, the models more closely resemble more basic ichthyosaurs such as Cymbospondylus.
The Iguanodon models represent fossils from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of Europe. Gideon Mantell sketched the original fossil, found in Sussex in 1822 by his wife, Mary Ann Mantell, as like a long slender lizard climbing a branch (on four legs), balancing with a whiplike tail; lacking a skull, he conjectured that the thumb bone was a nose horn. The nose horn in particular is used repeatedly in popular textbooks and documentaries about dinosaurs to make fun of Victorian inaccuracies; actually, even in 1854, Owen commented "the horn [is] more than doubtful".
Three Labyrinthodon models were made for Crystal Palace, based on Owen's guess that, being amphibian in lifestyle, the Triassic animals might have resembled frogs; he named them Batrachia, from the Greek 'Batrachios', frog. One is smooth skinned and is based on the species "Labyrinthodon salamandroides" (Mastodonsaurus jaegeri); the other two were based on "Labyrinthodon pachygnathus" (Cyclotosaurus pachygnathus). Casts of Chirotherium footprints that Owen thought were made by the animals were included in the ground around the models.
Gigantic and visually impressive, the Megalosaurus became one of the park's three 'mascot dinosaurs' along with the Iguanodon and (less so) the Ichthyosaurs. Working from fragmentary evidence from Jurassic fossils found in England, consisting mainly of a hip and femur (thigh bone), with a rib and a few vertebrae, Owen conjectured the animal was quadrupedal; palaeontologists now believe it to have been bipedal (standing like Tyrannosaurus rex). The first suggestion that some dinosaurs might have been bipedal came in 1858, just too late to influence the model.
When the models were built, only skulls of the Cretaceous fossil Mosasaurus had been discovered in the Netherlands, so Hawkins only built the head and back of the animal. He submerged the model deep in the lake, leaving the body unseen and undefined. The Mosasaurus at Crystal Palace is positioned in an odd place near the secondary island that was originally a waterfall, and much of it is not visible from the lakeside path.
The three Plesiosaurus models represents three species of marine reptile, P. macrocephalus, P. dolichoderius and P. hawkinsii, from the Jurassic of England. Two of them have implausibly-flexible necks.
Owen noted that the Pterodactylus fossils from the Jurassic of Germany had scales, not feathers, and while "somewhat bird-like" they had conical teeth, suggesting they were predatory. The two surviving models are perched on a rock outcrop; there were originally two more 'pterodactyls of the Oolite'. The surviving models represent Pterodactylus cuvieri (= Cimoliopterus cuvieri), whereas the two other lost pterodactyl models represent Pterodactylus bucklandi (= Dolicorhamphus bucklandi). The latter species was poorly known based on fossil remains and explains why their designs were more based on Pterodactylus antiquus.
Owen correctly identified Teleosaurus as similar to gharials, being slender Jurassic Crocodilians with very long thin jaws and small eyes, inferring from the sediment in which they were found that they were "more strictly marine than the crocodile of the Ganges [the gharial]."
=== Cenozoic era ===
Anoplotherium commune is an extinct mammal species from the late Eocene to earliest Oligocene epochs, first found near Paris. Hawkins's models draw on Owen's speculation about its camel-like appearance. Three models were made, forming a small herd. Hawkins seemingly closely followed George Cuvier's reconstructions of A. commune, giving it short or naked hair following Cuvier's view that its anatomy implied an aquatic lifestyle. Hawkins deviated from Cuvier by making it look more camel-like with small lips, small and rounded ears, a sloping skull, and four toes on each foot. These errors are the result of Hawkins' overreliance on camelids as an analogue for anoplotheriids. Anoplotherium is today thought to have used its robust build and long tail for bipedal browsing.
Confusion between whether the A. commune sculptures were of A. gracile (= Xiphodon gracilis) is common, resulting from 19th-century guidebooks listing both species as present on the Tertiary Island. A. gracile was another fossil species studied by Cuvier; it was later determined to be of a distinct genus Xiphodon. Today, the sculptures of the three animals are confirmed to be of A. commune, but the "Megaloceros" fawn has been identified as a misplaced statue of A. gracile. An 1854 illustration reveals that there were once four A. gracile sculptures, three of which were lost and one of which remains. The body of the sculpture appears more heavily inspired by camelids than A. commune with a gracile muscle build.
Megaloceros giganteus or Irish Elk is a species from the Pliocene to Pleistocene epochs in Eurasia. Hawkins built four Megaloceros sculptures, two male and two female. One sculpture of a doe was lost, leaving just three sculptures today. The adult male's antlers were made from actual fossil antlers, long since replaced. Moved from the third island, they had fallen into disrepair as they were easily reached by vandals. With their original but fragile antlers, the Irish Elks were the most accurate of the Cenozoic models; since they are of recent geological age (dying out 11,000 years ago), Hawkins was able to model them on living deer.
The giant ground sloth Megatherium is from the Pliocene to Pleistocene epochs in South America, where Charles Darwin had excavated some fossils in 1835. The model was built hugging a live tree which subsequently grew and broke the model's arm. The arm was replaced and later the tree died. The model depicts the sloth as having a short trunk like a tapir, something the real animal never had. This model used to be in the children's zoo which has now been demolished.
The models of Palaeotherium represent an extinct Eocene mammal thought by Georges Cuvier to be tapir-like. Three species were represented by each individual sculpture: the small-size P. minor (= Plagiolophus minor), the medium-size P. medium, and the largest and most robust-appearing P. magnum, all of which were studied by Cuvier. They have suffered the most wear and tear of all of the models, and the standing model no longer looked much like the original made by Hawkins. During the 1960s these models were lying discarded in the bushes about fifty yards from the original site and, prior to the 2002 restoration, they were in such bad shape that they were removed and put into store. Some sources state that these models were added at a later date, but an Illustrated London News illustration of Hawkins's workshop shows them in the background. A replica of P. magnum was commissioned by the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs and built by palaeoartist Bob Nicholls, and unveiled to the public on 2 July 2023.
Models of the "fearfully great bird" Dinornis of New Zealand (extinct by 1500 AD), and of the extinct elephant-like Mastodon (or Deinotherium of the Miocene and Pliocene of Eurasia and Africa), were planned for the 'Tertiary Islands' but not completed.
== In culture ==
Charles Dickens's 1853 novel, Bleak House, begins with a description of muddy streets, whose primordial character is emphasised by a dinosaur in the streets of London:
"Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill."
In H. G. Wells's 1905 novel Kipps, Kipps and Ann visit Crystal Palace and sit "in the presence of the green and gold Labyrinthodon that looms so splendidly above the lake" to discuss their future. There is a brief description of the dinosaurs and their surroundings and the impact they have on the characters. Several of E. Nesbit's children's books feature the Crystal Palace dinosaur sculptures coming to life, including The Enchanted Castle (1907). The 1932 novel Have His Carcase, by Dorothy L. Sayers, has the character Lord Peter Wimsey mention the "antediluvian monsters" of the Crystal Palace. Ann Coates's 1970 children's book Dinosaurs Don't Die, illustrated by John Vernon Lord, tells the story of a young boy who lives near Crystal Palace Park and discovers that Hawkins' models come to life; he befriends one of the Iguanodon and names it 'Rock' and they visit the Natural History Museum.
The travel writer Paul Theroux mentions the dinosaurs in his 1989 novel My Secret History. The novel's narrator, Andre Parent, accidentally learns of his wife's infidelity when his young son, Jack, reveals that he has visited the dinosaurs in the company of his mother's 'friend' during Andre's prolonged absence gathering material for a travel book. The title story in Penelope Lively's 1991 novel Fanny and the Monsters is about a Victorian girl who visits the Crystal Palace dinosaurs and becomes fascinated by prehistoric creatures.
George Baxter, a pioneer of colour printing, made a well-known engraving which imagines Crystal Palace, set in its landscaped grounds with tall fountains and the dinosaurs in the foreground, before the 1854 opening.
In 2022 the dinosaurs featured in the documentary Seeking The First Dinosaur Hunters in which presenters Greg and Felicity use them to help tell the story of early palaeontologists and how their finds helped to shape the statues.
In 2023, Historic England created three-dimensional photogrammetric models of the 29 sculptures. The models can be viewed online. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_Disaster_Tour | Pop Disaster Tour | The Pop Disaster Tour was a concert tour co-headlined by American rock bands Blink-182 and Green Day. It began in Bakersfield, California on April 17, 2002, and concluded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 17. Set largely at arenas and outdoor amphitheatres, it encompassed 47 shows across the United States and Canada.
The tour came at a moment of peak popularity for pop-punk in the early aughts, and paired together its biggest names for a single tour. Despite sharing roots in California's punk scene, Blink-182 and Green Day differed significantly in their influences and approach. Their rumored rivalry made headlines, and the tour was conceived partly as a way to push back against that perception. The tour is notable for the onstage competition that developed between the two groups. Though billed a co-headlining affair—with both bands receiving equal billing—Blink-182 closed each evening.
While the bands generally got along, Blink's attempt at humor fell flat with critics, who often preferred Green Day's superior set. The Pop Disaster Tour as a whole grossed nearly $20 million. Support acts included Jimmy Eat World, Simple Plan, Saves the Day, and Kut U Up. The behind-the-scenes antics of the bands and their crews were captured in the documentary Riding in Vans with Boys (2003).
== Background ==
The Pop Disaster Tour teamed up two of pop-punk’s biggest acts: Blink-182 and Green Day. Although both bands hailed from California and were part of its punk scene, their backgrounds were distinctly different. Green Day, nearly a decade older, were rooted in the Bay Area's politically influenced culture. Blink-182, by contrast, embraced SoCal irreverence and earned a reputation as a more radio-friendly act. By the early 2000s, their respective fortunes had reversed—Green Day was in a commercial slump, and were preparing to release their greatest hits compilation. Blink, on the other hand, were enjoying their most profitable period, with their most recent LP, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, becoming the first punk album to hit number one. Given their age, Green Day had obtained a reputation as "elder statesmen" of the pop-punk scene. These comparisons fueled a perceived rivalry in the press.
To challenge that perception, Blink-182 proposed a joint tour. Modeled after the famous Monsters of Rock festivals, the concept was essentially a "Monsters of Punk" tour. Early reports of the showdown were confirmed by spokespeople in January 2002, and the bands formally announced the tour in a joint appearance on MTV's TRL the next month. MTV sponsored the outing, alongside the newly released Xbox. Blink-182 were quick to offer praise for their forebears, acknowledging their impact: "They were a huge inspiration for us", Blink bassist Mark Hoppus said. Green Day, instead, frequently distanced themselves from their offspring. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong declined an idea to cover each other’s songs, telling Rolling Stone he didn’t see much common ground between the two bands.
Support bands included Jimmy Eat World, riding the mainstream success of Bleed American (2001), alongside rising acts Simple Plan, Saves the Day and Kut U Up. Kut U Up became known for their wild backstage antics, which were captured in the 2003 film Riding in Vans with Boys. The film was conceived by the Blink duo of Hoppus and guitarist Tom DeLonge, who brought in Matt Beauchesne—also behind their The Urethra Chronicles II documentary—to direct. It was intended as "a social experiment" to document what happens when an ordinary band spends two months touring with two of rock's biggest bands.
== Controversy ==
While the mood behind the scenes was mostly jovial, the tour is infamous for the tensions it created between the two bands. Although marketed as a co-headlining tour, Green Day effectively played the role of opener ("we closed every show for a reason", Hoppus said). In his memoir, Fahrenheit-182, Hoppus suggests Green Day employed subtle tactics to assert dominance—such as a clause in their contract requiring them to perform only after sunset. Hoppus contends that Green Day would refuse to go on unless it was completely dark, and despite the delay, perform their full set. It put Blink in the position of having to shorten their setlist instead, due to curfew laws in some municipalities. Similarly, although pyrotechnics were initially planned just for Blink’s set, Green Day ended up using them as well. "I got the sense that Green Day fucking hated that they’d been reduced to opening for us", Hoppus said.
The musicianship between the two bands was more marked side-by-side. In a press release, Hoppus had jokingly predicted these comparisons, saying Blink planned to use "a bunch of fire and cool lights to distract people from our poor musical performance". However, the joke didn’t land with critics, who left unimpressed with Blink's headlining set. In a later interview, Green Day's Tré Cool acknowledged they had only committed to the tour as an opportunity to regain their status as a technically superior live act. Green Day's producer, Rob Cavallo, played a key role in developing the plan, emphasizing that their strength lay in their live performances: "Basically the idea was to blow Blink-182 off the stage every night", he confirmed. Cool claimed that "we heard they were going to quit the tour because they were getting smoked so badly [...] We didn't want them to quit the tour. They're good for filling up the seats up front."
For the most part, however, the bands got along well. Hoppus fondly remembered Armstrong bringing his family along for the ride, while Travis Barker held onto a bass gifted by Mike Dirnt—still displayed in his studio years later. Hoppus would later concede in his memoir that Green Day delivered the stronger performances and that the challenge ultimately pushed Blink to improve. Green Day went on to write their 2004 rock opera American Idiot, which revitalized their career and solidified their place in rock history. The rivalry, however, has persisted: Blink-182 has repeatedly invited Green Day to tour together again, but each time, they refused to..
== Set list ==
== Tour dates ==
== Reception ==
Many reviewers were unimpressed with Blink-182's headlining set following Green Day. "Sometimes playing last at a rock show is more a curse than a privilege […] Pity the headliner, for instance, that gets blown off the stage by the band before it. Blink-182 endured that indignity Saturday at the Shoreline Amphitheatre", a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle wrote in 2002. "Blink came off as simply chaotic, tiring and convoluted noise [...] their trademark gross-out comedy on stage was surprisingly toned down throughout the performance – perhaps ashamed to seem juvenile following Green Day", wrote Tony Ding of The Michigan Daily. In his book Nobody Likes You: Inside the Turbulent Life, Times and Music of Green Day, author Marc Spitz compared Blink-182 headlining a tour with Green Day to "Frank Sinatra, Jr. headlining over Frank Sinatra."
The Pop Disaster Tour as a whole grossed nearly $20 million from 45 shows. Pop Disaster was the first concert for many future pop-punk stars, including Spencer Smith from Panic! at the Disco, and Jack Barakat of All Time Low, who remarked that it "changed [his] life forever".
== Personnel == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens | Charles Dickens | Charles John Huffam Dickens ( ; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and journalist. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read today.
Born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school at age 12 to work in a boot-blacking factory when his father John was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. After three years, he returned to school before beginning his literary career as a journalist. Dickens edited a weekly journal for 20 years; wrote 15 novels, 5 novellas, hundreds of short stories and nonfiction articles; lectured and performed readings extensively; was a tireless letter writer; and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education and other social reforms.
Dickens's literary success began with the 1836 serial publication of The Pickwick Papers, a publishing phenomenon—thanks largely to the introduction of the character Sam Weller in the fourth episode—that sparked Pickwick merchandise and spin-offs. Within a few years, Dickens had become an international literary celebrity, famous for his humour, satire and keen observation of character and society. His novels, most of them published in monthly or weekly instalments, pioneered the serial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publication. Cliffhanger endings in his serial publications kept readers in suspense. The installment format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audience's reaction, and he often modified his plot and character development based on such feedback. For example, when his wife's podiatrist expressed distress at the way Miss Mowcher in David Copperfield seemed to reflect her own disabilities, Dickens improved the character with positive features. His plots were carefully constructed and he often wove elements from topical events into his narratives. Masses of the illiterate poor would individually pay a halfpenny to have each new monthly episode read to them, opening up and inspiring a new class of readers.
His 1843 novella A Christmas Carol remains especially popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every creative medium. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1853 novel Bleak House, a satire on the judicial system, helped support a reformist movement that culminated in the 1870s legal reform in England. A Tale of Two Cities (1859; set in London and Paris) is regarded as his best-known work of historical fiction. The most famous celebrity of his era, he undertook, in response to public demand, a series of public reading tours in the later part of his career. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social or working conditions, or comically repulsive characters.
== Early life ==
Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on 7 February 1812 at 1 Mile End Terrace (now 393 Commercial Road), Landport in Portsea Island (Portsmouth), Hampshire, the second of eight children of Elizabeth Dickens (née Barrow; 1789–1863) and John Dickens (1785–1851). His father was a clerk in the Royal Navy Pay Office and was temporarily stationed in the district. He asked Christopher Huffam, rigger in the Royal Navy and head of an established firm, to act as godfather to Charles. Huffam is thought to be the inspiration for Paul Dombey, the owner of a shipping company in Dickens's novel Dombey and Son (1848).
In January 1815 John Dickens was called back to London, and the family moved to Norfolk Street, Fitzrovia. When Charles was four they relocated to Sheerness and thence to Chatham, Kent, where he spent his formative years until the age of 11. His early life seems to have been idyllic, though he thought himself a "very small and not-over-particularly-taken-care-of boy".
Charles spent time outdoors, but also read voraciously, including the picaresque novels of Tobias Smollett and Henry Fielding, as well as Robinson Crusoe and Gil Blas. He read and re-read The Arabian Nights and the Collected Farces of Elizabeth Inchbald. Aged seven, he first saw Joseph Grimaldi—the father of modern clowning—perform at the Star Theatre in Rochester, Kent. He later imitated Grimaldi's clowning on several occasions, and would also edit the Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi. He retained poignant memories of childhood, helped by an excellent memory of people and events, which he used in his writing. His father's brief work as a clerk in the Navy Pay Office afforded him a few years of private education, first at a dame school and then at a school run by William Giles, a dissenter, in Chatham.
This period came to an end in June 1822, when John Dickens was recalled to Navy Pay Office headquarters at Somerset House and the family (except for Charles, who stayed behind to finish his final term at school) moved to Camden Town in London. The family had left Kent amidst rapidly mounting debts and, living beyond his means, John Dickens was forced by his creditors into the Marshalsea debtors' prison in Southwark, London in 1824. His wife and youngest children joined him there, as was the practice at the time. Charles, then 12 years old, boarded with Elizabeth Roylance, a family friend, at 112 College Place, Camden Town. Mrs Roylance was "a reduced impoverished old lady, long known to our family", whom Dickens later immortalised, "with a few alterations and embellishments", as "Mrs Pipchin" in Dombey and Son. Later, he lived in a back-attic in the house of an agent for the Insolvent Court, Archibald Russell, "a fat, good-natured, kind old gentleman ... with a quiet old wife" and lame son, in Lant Street in Southwark. They provided the inspiration for the Garlands in The Old Curiosity Shop.
On Sundays—with his sister Frances, free from her studies at the Royal Academy of Music—he spent the day at the Marshalsea. Dickens later used the prison as a setting in Little Dorrit. To pay for his board and to help his family, Dickens was forced to leave school and work ten-hour days at Warren's Blacking Warehouse, on Hungerford Stairs, near the present Charing Cross railway station, where he earned six shillings a week pasting labels on pots of boot blacking. The strenuous and often harsh working conditions made a lasting impression on Dickens and later influenced his fiction and essays, becoming the foundation of his interest in the reform of socio-economic and labour conditions, the rigours of which he believed were unfairly borne by the poor. He later wrote that he wondered "how I could have been so easily cast away at such an age". As he recalled to John Forster (from Life of Charles Dickens):
The blacking-warehouse was the last house on the left-hand side of the way, at old Hungerford Stairs. It was a crazy, tumble-down old house, abutting of course on the river, and literally overrun with rats. Its wainscoted rooms, and its rotten floors and staircase, and the old grey rats swarming down in the cellars, and the sound of their squeaking and scuffling coming up the stairs at all times, and the dirt and decay of the place, rise up visibly before me, as if I were there again. The counting-house was on the first floor, looking over the coal-barges and the river. There was a recess in it, in which I was to sit and work. My work was to cover the pots of paste-blacking; first with a piece of oil-paper, and then with a piece of blue paper; to tie them round with a string; and then to clip the paper close and neat, all round, until it looked as smart as a pot of ointment from an apothecary's shop. When a certain number of grosses of pots had attained this pitch of perfection, I was to paste on each a printed label, and then go on again with more pots. Two or three other boys were kept at similar duty down-stairs on similar wages. One of them came up, in a ragged apron and a paper cap, on the first Monday morning, to show me the trick of using the string and tying the knot. His name was Bob Fagin; and I took the liberty of using his name, long afterwards, in Oliver Twist.
When the warehouse was moved to Chandos Street in the smart, busy district of Covent Garden, the boys worked in a room in which the window gave onto the street. Small audiences gathered and watched them at work—in Dickens's biographer Simon Callow's estimation, the public display was "a new refinement added to his misery".
A few months after his imprisonment, John Dickens's mother, Elizabeth Dickens, died and bequeathed him £450. On the expectation of this legacy, Dickens was released from prison. Under the Insolvent Debtors Act, Dickens arranged for payment of his creditors, and he and his family left the Marshalsea, for the home of Mrs Roylance.
Charles's mother, Elizabeth Dickens, did not immediately support his removal from the boot-blacking warehouse. This influenced Dickens's view that a father should rule the family and a mother find her proper sphere inside the home: "I never afterwards forgot, I never shall forget, I never can forget, that my mother was warm for my being sent back." His mother's failure to request his return was a factor in his dissatisfied attitude towards women.
Righteous indignation stemming from his own situation and the conditions under which working-class people lived became major themes of his works, and it was this unhappy period in his youth to which he alluded in his favourite and most autobiographical novel, David Copperfield: "I had no advice, no counsel, no encouragement, no consolation, no assistance, no support, of any kind, from anyone, that I can call to mind, as I hope to go to heaven!"
Dickens was eventually sent to the Wellington House Academy in Camden Town, where he remained until March 1827, having spent about two years there. He did not consider it to be a good school: "Much of the haphazard, desultory teaching, poor discipline punctuated by the headmaster's sadistic brutality, the seedy ushers and general run-down atmosphere, are embodied in Mr Creakle's Establishment in David Copperfield."
Dickens worked at the law office of Ellis and Blackmore, attorneys, of Holborn Court, Gray's Inn, as a junior clerk from May 1827 to November 1828. He was a gifted mimic and impersonated those around him: clients, lawyers and clerks. Captivated with London's theatre scene, he went to theatres obsessively: he claimed that for at least three years he went to the theatre every day. His favourite actor was Charles Mathews and Dickens learnt his "monopolylogues" (farces in which Mathews played every character) by heart. Then, having learned Thomas Gurney's system of shorthand in his spare time, he left to become a freelance reporter. A distant relative, Thomas Charlton, was a freelance reporter at Doctors' Commons and Dickens was able to share his box there to report the legal proceedings for nearly four years.
In 1830 Dickens met his first love, Maria Beadnell, thought to have been the model for the character Dora in David Copperfield. Maria's parents disapproved of the courtship and ended the relationship by sending her to school in Paris.
== Career ==
=== Journalism and writing ===
In 1832, at the age of 20, Dickens was energetic and increasingly self-confident. He enjoyed mimicry and popular entertainment, lacked a sense of what he wanted to become, and yet knew he wanted fame. Drawn to the theatre—he became an early member of the Garrick Club—he landed an acting audition at Covent Garden, where the manager George Bartley and the actor Charles Kemble were to see him. Dickens prepared meticulously and decided to imitate the comedian Charles Mathews, but ultimately he missed the audition because of a cold. Before another opportunity arose, he had set out on his career as a writer.
In 1833 Dickens submitted his first story, "A Dinner at Poplar Walk", to the London periodical Monthly Magazine. His uncle William Barrow offered him a job on The Mirror of Parliament and he worked in the House of Commons for the first time early in 1832. He rented rooms at 15 Buckingham Street and later at Furnival's Inn and worked as a political journalist, reporting on Parliamentary debates, and he travelled across Britain to cover election campaigns for the Morning Chronicle.
His journalism, in the form of sketches in periodicals, formed his first collection of pieces, published in 1836: Sketches by Boz—Boz being a family nickname he employed as a pseudonym for some years. Dickens apparently adopted it from the nickname 'Moses', which he had given to his youngest brother Augustus Dickens, after a character in Oliver Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield. When pronounced by anyone with a head cold, "Moses" became "Boses"—later shortened to Boz.
Dickens's name was considered "queer" by a contemporary critic, who wrote in 1849: "Mr Dickens, as if in revenge for his own queer name, does bestow still queerer ones upon his fictitious creations". Dickens contributed to and edited journals throughout his literary career. In January 1835, the Morning Chronicle launched an evening edition, under the editorship of the Chronicle's music critic, George Hogarth. Hogarth invited him to contribute Street Sketches and Dickens became a regular visitor to his Fulham house—excited by Hogarth's friendship with Walter Scott (whom Dickens greatly admired) and enjoying the company of Hogarth's three daughters, Georgina, Mary and 19-year-old Catherine.
Dickens made rapid progress professionally and socially. He began a friendship with William Harrison Ainsworth, the author of the highwayman novel Rookwood (1834), whose bachelor salon in Harrow Road had become the meeting place for a set that included Daniel Maclise, Benjamin Disraeli, Edward Bulwer-Lytton and George Cruikshank. All these became his friends and collaborators, with the exception of Disraeli, and he met his first publisher, John Macrone, at the house.
The success of Sketches by Boz led to a proposal from publishers Chapman and Hall for Dickens to supply text to match Robert Seymour's engraved illustrations in a monthly letterpress. Seymour committed suicide after the second instalment and Dickens, who wanted to write a connected series of sketches, hired "Phiz" to provide the engravings (which were reduced from four to two per instalment) for the story. The resulting story became The Pickwick Papers and, although the first few episodes were not successful, the introduction of the Cockney character Sam Weller in the fourth episode (the first to be illustrated by Phiz) marked a sharp climb in its popularity. The final instalment sold 40,000 copies. On the impact of the character, The Paris Review stated in 2015, "arguably the most historic bump in English publishing is the Sam Weller Bump." A publishing phenomenon, John Sutherland, Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London, called The Pickwick Papers "[t]he most important single novel of the Victorian era". The unprecedented success led to numerous spin-offs and merchandise including Pickwick cigars, playing cards, china figurines, Sam Weller puzzles, Weller boot polish and joke books.
The Sam Weller Bump testifies not merely to Dickens's comic genius but to his acumen as an "authorpreneur", a portmanteau he inhabited long before The Economist took it up. For a writer who made his reputation crusading against the squalor of the Industrial Revolution, Dickens was a creature of capitalism; he used everything from the powerful new printing presses to the enhanced advertising revenues to the expansion of railroads to sell more books. Dickens ensured that his books were available in cheap bindings for the lower orders as well as in morocco-and-gilt for people of quality; his ideal readership included everyone from the pickpockets who read Oliver Twist to Queen Victoria, who found it "exceedingly interesting".
On its impact on mass culture, Nicholas Dames in The Atlantic writes, "'Literature' is not a big enough category for Pickwick. It defined its own, a new one that we have learned to call 'entertainment'." In November 1836 Dickens accepted the position of editor of Bentley's Miscellany, a position he held for three years, until he fell out with the owner. In 1836, as he finished the last instalments of The Pickwick Papers, he began writing the beginning instalments of Oliver Twist—writing as many as 90 pages a month—while continuing work on Bentley's and also writing four plays, the production of which he oversaw. Oliver Twist, published in 1838, became one of Dickens's better known stories and was the first Victorian novel with a child protagonist.
On 2 April 1836, after a one-year engagement, and between episodes two and three of The Pickwick Papers, Dickens married Catherine Thomson Hogarth (1815–1879), the daughter of George Hogarth, editor of the Evening Chronicle. They were married in St Luke's Church, Chelsea, London. After a brief honeymoon in Chalk in Kent, the couple returned to lodgings at Furnival's Inn. The first of their ten children, Charles, was born in January 1837 and a few months later the family set up home in Bloomsbury at 48 Doughty Street, London (on which Charles had a three-year lease at £80 a year) from 25 March 1837 until December 1839. Dickens's younger brother Frederick and Catherine's 17-year-old sister Mary Hogarth moved in with them. Dickens became very attached to Mary, and she died in his arms after a brief illness in 1837. Unusually for Dickens, as a consequence of his shock, he stopped working, and he and Catherine stayed at a little farm on Hampstead Heath for a fortnight. Dickens idealised Mary; the character he fashioned after her, Rose Maylie, he found he could not now kill, as he had planned, in his fiction, and, according to Ackroyd, he drew on memories of her for his later descriptions of Little Nell and Florence Dombey. His grief was so great that he was unable to meet the deadline for the June instalment of The Pickwick Papers and had to cancel the Oliver Twist instalment that month as well. The time in Hampstead was the occasion for a growing bond between Dickens and John Forster to develop; Forster soon became his unofficial business manager and the first to read his work.
His success as a novelist continued. The young Queen Victoria read both Oliver Twist and The Pickwick Papers, staying up until midnight to discuss them. Nicholas Nickleby (1838–39), The Old Curiosity Shop (1840–41) and, finally, his first historical novel, Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty, as part of the Master Humphrey's Clock series (1840–41), were all published in monthly instalments before being made into books. Dickens's biographer Peter Ackroyd has called Barnaby Rudge "one of Dickens's most neglected, but most rewarding, novels". The poet Edgar Allan Poe read Barnaby Rudge, and the novel's talking raven, Grip, who Dickens named after his own talking pet raven Grip, inspired in part Poe's 1845 poem "The Raven". Three ravens of the Tower of London have been named after Grip, the latest in 2012 to mark the bicentenary of Dickens's birth.
In the midst of all his activity during this period, there was discontent with his publishers and John Macrone was bought off, while Richard Bentley signed over all his rights in Oliver Twist. Other signs of a certain restlessness and discontent emerged; in Broadstairs he flirted with Eleanor Picken, the young fiancée of his solicitor's best friend and one night grabbed her and ran with her down to the sea. He declared they were both to drown there in the "sad sea waves". She finally got free, and afterwards kept her distance. In June 1841, he precipitously set out on a two-month tour of Scotland and then, in September 1841, telegraphed Forster that he had decided to go to America. His weekly periodical Master Humphrey's Clock ended, though Dickens was still keen on the idea of the weekly magazine, an appreciation that had begun with his childhood reading of Samuel Johnson's The Idler and the 18th-century magazines Tatler and The Spectator.
Dickens was perturbed by the return to power of the Tories, whom he described as "people whom, politically, I despise and abhor." He had been tempted to stand for the Liberal Party in Reading, but decided against it due to financial straits. He wrote three anti-Tory verse satires ("The Fine Old English Gentleman", "The Quack Doctor's Proclamation" and "Subjects for Painters") which were published in The Examiner.
=== First visit to the United States ===
On 22 January 1842, Dickens and his wife arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, aboard the RMS Britannia during their first trip to the United States and Canada. At this time Georgina Hogarth, another sister of Catherine, joined the Dickens household, now living at Devonshire Terrace, Marylebone to care for the young family they had left behind. She remained with them as housekeeper, organiser, adviser and friend until Dickens's death in 1870. Dickens modelled the character of Agnes Wickfield after Georgina and Mary.
He described his impressions in a travelogue, American Notes for General Circulation. In it Dickens includes a powerful condemnation of slavery which he had attacked as early as The Pickwick Papers, correlating the emancipation of the poor in England with the abolition of slavery abroad citing newspaper accounts of runaway slaves disfigured by their masters. In spite of the abolitionist sentiments gleaned from his trip to America, some modern commentators have pointed out inconsistencies in Dickens's views on racial inequality. For instance, he has been criticised for his subsequent acquiescence in Governor Edward John Eyre's harsh crackdown during the 1860s Morant Bay rebellion in Jamaica and his failure to join other British progressives in condemning it. From Richmond, Virginia, Dickens returned to Washington, D.C., and started a trek westwards, with brief pauses in Cincinnati and Louisville, Kentucky, to St. Louis. While there he expressed a desire to see an American prairie before returning east. A group of 13 men then set out with Dickens to visit Looking Glass Prairie, a trip 30 miles into Illinois.
During his American visit, Dickens spent a month in New York City, giving lectures, raising the question of international copyright laws and the pirating of his work in America. He persuaded a group of 25 writers, headed by Washington Irving, to sign a petition for him to take to the US Congress, but the press were generally hostile to this, saying that he should be grateful for his popularity and that it was mercenary to complain about his work being pirated.
The popularity he gained caused a shift in his self-perception according to the critic Kate Flint, who writes that he "found himself a cultural commodity, and its circulation had passed out his control", causing him to become interested in and delve into themes of public and personal personas in the next novels. She writes that he assumed a role of "influential commentator", publicly and in his fiction, evident in his next few books. His trip to the US ended with a trip to Canada—Niagara Falls, Toronto, Kingston, Ontario, and Montreal—where he appeared on stage in light comedies.
=== Return to England ===
Soon after his return to England, Dickens began work on the first of his Christmas stories, A Christmas Carol, written in 1843, which was followed by The Chimes in 1844 and The Cricket on the Hearth in 1845. Of these, A Christmas Carol was most popular and, tapping into an old tradition, did much to promote a renewed enthusiasm for the joys of Christmas in Britain and America. The seeds for the story became planted in Dickens's mind during a trip to Manchester to witness the conditions of the manufacturing workers there. This, along with scenes he had recently witnessed at the Field Lane Ragged School, caused Dickens to resolve to "strike a sledge hammer blow" for the poor. As the idea for the story took shape and the writing began in earnest, Dickens became engrossed in the book. He later wrote that as the tale unfolded he "wept and laughed, and wept again" as he "walked about the black streets of London fifteen or twenty miles many a night when all sober folks had gone to bed".
Between 1843 and 1844 Martin Chuzzlewit, the last of his picaresque novels, was serialised. It includes the character of Sarah Gamp, a nurse who is dissolute, sloppy and generally drunk, and also features one of the first literary private detective characters, Mr Nadgett. After living briefly in Italy (1844), Dickens travelled to Switzerland (1846), where he began work on Dombey and Son (1846–48).
At about this time, he was made aware of a large embezzlement at the firm where his brother, Augustus, worked (John Chapman & Co). It had been carried out by Thomas Powell, a clerk, who was on friendly terms with Dickens and who had acted as mentor to Augustus when he started work. Powell was also an author and poet and knew many of the famous writers of the day. After further fraudulent activities, Powell fled to New York and published a book called The Living Authors of England with a chapter on Charles Dickens, who was not amused by what Powell had written. One item that seemed to have annoyed him was the assertion that he had based the character of Paul Dombey (Dombey and Son) on Thomas Chapman, one of the principal partners at John Chapman & Co. Dickens immediately sent a letter to Lewis Gaylord Clark, editor of the New York literary magazine The Knickerbocker, saying that Powell was a forger and thief. Clark published the letter in the New-York Tribune and several other papers picked up on the story. Powell began proceedings to sue these publications and Clark was arrested. Dickens, realising that he had acted in haste, contacted John Chapman & Co to seek written confirmation of Powell's guilt. Dickens did receive a reply confirming Powell's embezzlement, but once the directors realised this information might have to be produced in court, they refused to make further disclosures. Owing to the difficulties of providing evidence in America to support his accusations, Dickens eventually made a private settlement with Powell out of court.
==== Philanthropy ====
Angela Burdett Coutts, heir to the Coutts banking fortune, approached Dickens in May 1846 about setting up a home for the redemption of fallen women of the working class. Coutts envisioned a home that would replace the punitive regimes of existing institutions with a reformative environment conducive to education and proficiency in domestic household chores. After initially resisting, Dickens eventually founded the home, named Urania Cottage, in the Lime Grove area of Shepherd's Bush, which he managed for ten years, setting the house rules, reviewing the accounts and interviewing prospective residents. Emigration and marriage were central to Dickens's agenda for the women on leaving Urania Cottage, from which it is estimated that about 100 women graduated between 1847 and 1859.
==== Religious views ====
As a young man, Dickens expressed a distaste for certain aspects of organised religion. In 1836, in a pamphlet titled Sunday Under Three Heads, he defended the people's right to pleasure, opposing a plan to prohibit games on Sundays. "Look into your churches—diminished congregations and scanty attendance. People have grown sullen and obstinate, and are becoming disgusted with the faith which condemns them to such a day as this, once in every seven. They display their feeling by staying away [from church]. Turn into the streets [on a Sunday] and mark the rigid gloom that reigns over everything around."
Dickens honoured the figure of Jesus Christ. He is regarded as a professing Christian. His son, Henry Fielding Dickens, described him as someone who "possessed deep religious convictions". In the early 1840s, he had shown an interest in Unitarian Christianity and Robert Browning remarked that "Mr Dickens is an enlightened Unitarian." Professor Gary Colledge has written that he "never strayed from his attachment to popular lay Anglicanism". Dickens authored a work called The Life of Our Lord (1846), a book about the life of Christ, written with the purpose of sharing his faith with his children and family. In a scene from David Copperfield, Dickens echoed Geoffrey Chaucer's use of Luke 23:34 from Troilus and Criseyde (Dickens held a copy in his library), with G. K. Chesterton writing, "among the great canonical English authors, Chaucer and Dickens have the most in common."
Dickens disapproved of Catholicism and 19th-century evangelicalism, seeing both as extremes of Christianity and likely to limit personal expression, and was critical of what he saw as the hypocrisy of religious institutions and philosophies like spiritualism, all of which he considered deviations from the true spirit of Christianity, as shown in the book he wrote for his family in 1846. While Dickens advocated equal rights for Catholics in England, he strongly disliked how individual civil liberties were often threatened in countries where Catholicism predominated and referred to the Catholic Church as "that curse upon the world." Dickens also rejected the Evangelical conviction that the Bible was the infallible word of God. His ideas on Biblical interpretation were similar to the Liberal Anglican Arthur Penrhyn Stanley's doctrine of "progressive revelation". Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoyevsky referred to Dickens as "that great Christian writer".
== Middle years ==
In December 1845 Dickens took up the editorship of the London-based Daily News, a liberal paper through which Dickens hoped to advocate, in his own words, "the Principles of Progress and Improvement, of Education and Civil and Religious Liberty and Equal Legislation." Among the other contributors Dickens chose to write for the paper were the radical economist Thomas Hodgskin and the social reformer Douglas William Jerrold, who frequently attacked the Corn Laws. Dickens lasted only ten weeks on the job before resigning due to a combination of exhaustion and frustration with one of the paper's co-owners.
A Francophile, Dickens often holidayed in France and, in a speech delivered in Paris in 1846 in French, called the French "the first people in the universe". During his visit to Paris, Dickens met the French literati Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, Eugène Scribe, Théophile Gautier, François-René de Chateaubriand and Eugène Sue. In early 1849 Dickens started to write David Copperfield. It was published between 1849 and 1850. In Dickens's biography, Life of Charles Dickens (1872), John Forster wrote of David Copperfield, "underneath the fiction lay something of the author's life". It was Dickens's personal favourite among his novels, as he wrote in the preface to the 1867 edition. His collection of letters, of which more than 14,000 are known, covered a wide range of subject-matter. Letters during this period included a correspondence with Mary Tyler, dated 6 November 1849, on the comedic merits of Punch and Judy, a puppet show dominated by the anarchic clowning of Mr. Punch, and his review of the Great Exhibition, the first in a series of world's fairs, which he attended at Hyde Park, London, in 1851. After the First Opium War Dickens viewed China through a lens of both mockery and fear, alluding to the Western "yellow peril" stereotype. During his visit to the Great Exhibition, he scorned Chinese exhibits as symbols of stagnation, labelling them a "glory of yellow jaundice", writing progress was hindered by the isolationist approach of the Qing dynasty with "China, shutting itself up, as far as possible, within itself."
In late 1851, Dickens moved into Tavistock House where he wrote Bleak House (1852–53), Hard Times (1854) and Little Dorrit (1855–57). A work incorporating Gothic elements such as the depiction of London as a murky city swathed in fog, Bleak House is credited with introducing urban fog to the novel, which would become a frequent characteristic of urban Gothic literature and film. Reflecting the public enthusiasm for dinosaurs that first developed in Victorian England, the opening of Bleak House contains an early mention of dinosaurs in literature: "it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill".
While at Tavistock Dickens indulged in amateur theatricals, and he worked closely with the novelist and playwright Wilkie Collins. In 1856, his income from writing allowed him to buy Gads Hill Place in Higham, Kent. As a child Dickens had walked past the house and dreamt of living in it. The area was also the scene of some of the events of William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1 and this literary connection pleased him. During this time Dickens was also the publisher, editor and a major contributor to the journals Household Words (1850–1859) and All the Year Round (1858–1870), with both titles deriving from a Shakespearean quotation. The journals contained a mix of fiction and non-fiction, and dealt with aspects in the culture. For example, the latter included Dickens's assessment of Madame Tussauds, a wax museum established in Baker Street in 1835, which he called "something more than an exhibition, it is an institution." In 1854, at the behest of Sir John Franklin's widow Lady Jane, Dickens viciously attacked Arctic explorer John Rae in Household Words for his report to the Admiralty, based on interviews with local Inuit, that the members of Franklin's lost expedition had resorted to cannibalism. These attacks would later be expanded on his 1856 play The Frozen Deep, a collaboration with Wilkie Collins, which satirises Rae and the Inuit. Twentieth-century archaeology work in King William Island later confirmed that the members of the Franklin expedition resorted to cannibalism.
In 1855, when Dickens's good friend the Liberal MP Austen Henry Layard formed an Administrative Reform Association to demand significant reforms of Parliament, Dickens joined and volunteered his resources in support of Layard's cause. With the exception of Lord John Russell, who was the only leading politician in whom Dickens had any faith and to whom he later dedicated A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens believed that the political aristocracy and their incompetence were the death of England. When he and Layard were accused of fomenting class conflict, Dickens replied that the classes were already in opposition and the fault was with the aristocratic class. Dickens used his pulpit in Household Words to champion the Reform Association. He also commented on foreign affairs, declaring his support for Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini, helping raise funds for their campaigns and stating that "a united Italy would be of vast importance to the peace of the world, and would be a rock in Louis Napoleon's way," and that "I feel for Italy almost as if I were an Italian born." Dickens also published dozens of writings in Household Words supporting vaccination, including multiple laudations for the vaccine pioneer Edward Jenner.
Following the Indian Mutiny of 1857, Dickens joined in the widespread criticism of the East India Company for its role in the event, but reserved his fury for Indians, wishing that he was the commander-in-chief in India so that he would be able to "do my utmost to exterminate the Race upon whom the stain of the late cruelties rested."
In 1857 Dickens hired professional actresses for The Frozen Deep, which he and his protégé Wilkie Collins had written. Dickens fell in love with one of the actresses, Ellen Ternan, and this passion was to last the rest of his life. In 1858, when Dickens was 45 and Ternan 18, divorce would have been scandalous for someone of his fame. After publicly accusing Catherine of not loving their children and suffering from "a mental disorder"—statements that disgusted his contemporaries, including Elizabeth Barrett Browning—Dickens attempted to have Catherine institutionalised. When his scheme failed, they separated. Catherine left, never to see her husband again, taking with her one child. Her sister Georgina, who stayed at Gads Hill, raised the other children.
During this period, whilst pondering a project to give public readings for his own profit, Dickens was approached through a charitable appeal by Great Ormond Street Hospital to help it survive its first major financial crisis. His "Drooping Buds" essay in Household Words earlier on 3 April 1852 was considered by the hospital's founders to have been the catalyst for the hospital's success. Dickens, whose philanthropy was well-known, was asked by his friend, the hospital's founder Charles West, to preside over the appeal, and he threw himself into the task, heart and soul. Dickens's public readings secured sufficient funds for an endowment to put the hospital on a sound financial footing; one reading on 9 February 1858 alone raised £3,000.
After separating from Catherine, Dickens undertook a series of popular and remunerative reading tours which, together with his journalism, were to absorb most of his creative energies for the next decade, in which he was to write only two novels. His first reading tour, lasting from April 1858 to February 1859, consisted of 129 appearances in 49 towns throughout England, Scotland and Ireland. Dickens's continued fascination with the theatrical world was written into the theatre scenes in Nicholas Nickleby, and he found an outlet in public readings. In 1866, he undertook a series of public readings in England and Scotland, with more the following year in England and Ireland.
Other works soon followed, including A Tale of Two Cities (1859) and Great Expectations (1861), which were resounding successes. Set in London and Paris, A Tale of Two Cities is his best-known work of historical fiction and includes the famous opening sentence "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." It is regularly touted as one of the best-selling novels of all time. Themes in Great Expectations include wealth and poverty, love and rejection, and the eventual triumph of good over evil.
In early September 1860, in a field behind Gads Hill, Dickens made a bonfire of most of his correspondence; he spared only letters on business matters. Since Ellen Ternan also destroyed all of his letters to her, the extent of the affair between the two remains speculative. In the 1930s, Thomas Wright recounted that Ternan had unburdened herself to a Canon Benham and gave currency to rumours they had been lovers. Dickens's daughter, Kate Perugini, stated that the two had a son who died in infancy to biographer Gladys Storey in an interview before the former's death in 1929. Storey published her account in Dickens and Daughter, though no contemporary evidence was given. On his death, Dickens settled an annuity on Ternan which made her financially independent. Claire Tomalin's book The Invisible Woman argues that Ternan lived with Dickens secretly for the last 13 years of his life. The book was turned into a play, Little Nell, by Simon Gray, and a 2013 film. During the same period, Dickens furthered his interest in the paranormal, becoming one of the early members of The Ghost Club in London. In Christmas Eve of 1862, a theatrical production of his novella, The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain, saw the first public demonstration of "Pepper's ghost"—a method of projecting the illusion of a ghost into a theatre (named after its developer John Henry Pepper)—which caused a sensation among those in attendance at the Regent Street theatre.
In June 1862 he was offered £10,000 for a reading tour of Australia. He was enthusiastic, and even planned a travel book, The Uncommercial Traveller Upside Down, but ultimately decided against the tour. Two of his sons, Alfred D'Orsay Tennyson Dickens and Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens, migrated to Australia, Edward becoming a member of the Parliament of New South Wales as Member for Wilcannia between 1889 and 1894.
== Later life ==
On 9 June 1865, while returning from Paris with Ellen Ternan, Dickens was involved in the Staplehurst rail crash in Kent. The train's first seven carriages plunged off a cast iron bridge that was under repair and ten passengers were killed. The only first-class carriage to remain on the track—which was left hanging precariously off the bridge—was the one in which Dickens was travelling. For three hours before rescuers arrived, Dickens tended and comforted the wounded and the dying with a flask of brandy and a hat refreshed with water. Before leaving, he remembered the unfinished manuscript for Our Mutual Friend, and he returned to his carriage to retrieve it.
Dickens later used the experience of the crash as material for his short ghost story, "The Signal-Man", in which the central character has a premonition of his own death in a rail crash. He also based the story on several previous rail accidents, such as the Clayton Tunnel rail crash in Sussex of 1861. Dickens managed to avoid an appearance at the inquest to avoid disclosing that he had been travelling with Ternan and her mother, which would have caused a scandal. After the crash, Dickens was nervous when travelling by train and would use alternative means when available. In 1868 he wrote, "I have sudden vague rushes of terror, even when riding in a hansom cab, which are perfectly unreasonable but quite insurmountable." Dickens's son, Henry, recalled, "I have seen him sometimes in a railway carriage when there was a slight jolt. When this happened he was almost in a state of panic and gripped the seat with both hands."
=== Second visit to the United States ===
While he contemplated a second visit to the United States, the outbreak of the Civil War in America in 1861 delayed his plans. On 9 November 1867, over two years after the war, Dickens set sail from Liverpool for his second American reading tour. Landing in Boston, he devoted the rest of the month to a round of dinners with such notables as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and his American publisher, James T. Fields. In early December, the readings began. He performed 76 readings, netting £19,000, from December 1867 to April 1868. Dickens shuttled between Boston and New York, where he gave 22 readings at Steinway Hall. Although he had started to suffer from what he called the "true American catarrh", he kept to a packed schedule, even managing to squeeze in some sleighing in Central Park.
During his travels, he saw a change in the people and the circumstances of America. His final appearance was at a banquet the American Press held in his honour at Delmonico's on 18 April, when he promised never to denounce America again. By the end of the tour Dickens could hardly manage solid food, subsisting on champagne and eggs beaten in sherry. On 23 April he boarded the Cunard liner Russia to return to Britain, barely escaping a federal tax lien against the proceeds of his lecture tour.
=== Farewell readings ===
In 1868–69 Dickens gave a series of "farewell readings" in England, Scotland and Ireland, beginning on 6 October. He managed, of a contracted 100 readings, to give 75 in the provinces, with a further 12 in London. As he pressed on he was affected by giddiness and fits of paralysis. He had a stroke on 18 April 1869 in Chester. He collapsed on 22 April 1869, in Preston, Lancashire; on doctor's advice, the tour was cancelled. After further provincial readings were cancelled, he began work on his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Described as a "dark and gothic" tale, his unfinished novel focuses on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a drug-addicted choirmaster. It was fashionable in the 1860s to 'do the slums' and, in company, Dickens visited opium dens in Shadwell in the East End of London, where he witnessed an elderly addict called "Laskar Sal", who formed the model for "Opium Sal" in Edwin Drood.
After Dickens regained enough strength, he arranged, with medical approval, for a final series of readings to partly make up to his sponsors what they had lost due to his illness. There were 12 performances, on 11 January to 15 March 1870; the last at 8:00pm at St James's Hall, London. Though in grave health by then, he read A Christmas Carol and The Trial from Pickwick. On 2 May, he made his last public appearance at a Royal Academy banquet in the presence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, paying a special tribute on the death of his friend the illustrator Daniel Maclise.
=== Death ===
On 8 June 1870 Dickens had another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness. The next day, he died at Gads Hill Place, aged 58. His biographer Claire Tomalin has suggested Dickens was actually in Peckham when he had had the stroke and his mistress Ellen Ternan and her maids had him taken back to Gads Hill so that the public would not know the truth about their relationship. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner", he was laid to rest in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads:
To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world.
A letter from Dickens to the Clerk of the Privy Council in March indicates he had been offered and accepted a baronetcy, which was not gazetted before his death. His last words were "On the ground" in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down. On Sunday, 19 June 1870, five days after Dickens was buried in the Abbey, Dean Arthur Penrhyn Stanley delivered a memorial elegy, lauding "the genial and loving humorist whom we now mourn", for showing by his own example "that even in dealing with the darkest scenes and the most degraded characters, genius could still be clean, and mirth could be innocent". Pointing to the fresh flowers that adorned the novelist's grave, Stanley assured those present that "the spot would thenceforth be a sacred one with both the New World and the Old, as that of the representative of literature, not of this island only, but of all who speak our English tongue."
In his will, drafted more than a year before his death, Dickens left the care of his £80,000 estate (£8,000,000 in 2023) to his long-time colleague John Forster and his "best and truest friend" Georgina Hogarth who, along with Dickens's two sons, also received a tax-free sum of £8,000 (equivalent to £800,000 in 2023). He confirmed his wife Catherine's annual allowance
of £600 (£60,000 in 2023). He bequeathed £19 19s (£2,000 in 2023) to each servant in his employment at the time of his death.
== Literary style ==
Dickens's approach to the novel is influenced by various things, including the picaresque novel tradition, melodrama and the novel of sensibility. According to Ackroyd, other than these, perhaps the most important literary influence on him was derived from the fables of The Arabian Nights. Satire and irony are central to the picaresque novel. Comedy is also an aspect of the British picaresque novel tradition of Laurence Sterne, Henry Fielding and Tobias Smollett. Fielding's Tom Jones was a major influence on the 19th-century novelist including Dickens, who read it in his youth and named a son Henry Fielding Dickens after him. Influenced by Gothic fiction—a literary genre that began with The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole—Dickens incorporated Gothic imagery, settings and plot devices in his works. Victorian gothic moved from castles and abbeys into contemporary urban environments: in particular London, such as Dickens's Oliver Twist and Bleak House. The jilted bride Miss Havisham from Great Expectations is one of Dickens's best-known gothic creations; living in a ruined mansion, her bridal gown effectively doubles as her funeral shroud.
No other writer had such a profound influence on Dickens as William Shakespeare. On Dickens's veneration of Shakespeare, Alfred Harbage wrote in A Kind of Power: The Shakespeare-Dickens Analogy (1975) that "No one is better qualified to recognise literary genius than a literary genius". Regarding Shakespeare as "the great master" whose plays "were an unspeakable source of delight", Dickens's lifelong affinity with the playwright included seeing theatrical productions of his plays in London and putting on amateur dramatics with friends in his early years. In 1838, Dickens travelled to Stratford-upon-Avon and visited the house in which Shakespeare was born, leaving his autograph in the visitors' book. Dickens would draw on this experience in his next work, Nicholas Nickleby (1838–39), expressing the strength of feeling experienced by visitors to Shakespeare's birthplace: the character Mrs Wititterly states, "I don't know how it is, but after you've seen the place and written your name in the little book, somehow or other you seem to be inspired; it kindles up quite a fire within one."
Dickens's writing style is marked by a profuse linguistic creativity. Satire, flourishing in his gift for caricature, is his forte. An early reviewer compared him to the artist and social critic Hogarth for his keen practical sense of the ludicrous side of life, though his acclaimed mastery of varieties of class idiom may in fact mirror the conventions of contemporary popular theatre. Dickens worked intensively on developing arresting names for his characters that would reverberate with associations for his readers and assist the development of motifs in the storyline, giving what one critic calls an "allegorical impetus" to the novels' meanings. To cite one of numerous examples, the name Mr Murdstone in David Copperfield conjures up twin allusions to murder and stony coldness. His literary style is also a mixture of fantasy and realism. His satires of British aristocratic snobbery—he calls one character the "Noble Refrigerator"—are often popular. Comparing orphans to stocks and shares, people to tug boats or dinner-party guests to furniture are just some of Dickens's acclaimed flights of fancy. On his ability to elicit a response from his works, the English screenwriter Sarah Phelps writes, "He knew how to work an audience and how to get them laughing their heads off one minute or on the edge of their seats and holding their breath the next. The other thing about Dickens is that he loved telling stories and he loved his characters, even those horrible, mean-spirited ones."
The author worked closely with his illustrators, supplying them with a summary of the work at the outset and thus ensuring that his characters and settings were exactly how he envisioned them. He briefed the illustrator on plans for each month's instalment so that work could begin before he wrote them. Marcus Stone, illustrator of Our Mutual Friend, recalled that the author was always "ready to describe down to the minutest details the personal characteristics, and ... life-history of the creations of his fancy". Dickens employs Cockney English in many of his works, denoting working-class Londoners. Cockney grammar appears in terms such as ain't, and consonants in words are frequently omitted, as in 'ere (here) and wot (what). An example of this usage is in Oliver Twist. The Artful Dodger uses cockney slang which is juxtaposed with Oliver's 'proper' English, when the Dodger repeats Oliver saying "seven" with "sivin".
=== Characters ===
Dickens's biographer Claire Tomalin regards him as the greatest creator of character in English fiction after Shakespeare. Dickensian characters are amongst the most memorable in English literature, especially so because of their typically whimsical names. The likes of Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Jacob Marley and Bob Cratchit (A Christmas Carol); Oliver Twist, The Artful Dodger, Fagin and Bill Sikes (Oliver Twist); Pip, Miss Havisham, Estella and Abel Magwitch (Great Expectations); Sydney Carton, Charles Darnay and Madame Defarge (A Tale of Two Cities); David Copperfield, Uriah Heep and Mr Micawber (David Copperfield); Daniel Quilp and Nell Trent (The Old Curiosity Shop), Samuel Pickwick and Sam Weller (The Pickwick Papers); and Wackford Squeers (Nicholas Nickleby) are so well known as to be part and parcel of popular culture, and in some cases have passed into ordinary language: a scrooge, for example, is a miser or someone who dislikes Christmas festivity.
His characters were often so memorable that they took on a life of their own outside his books. "Gamp" became a slang expression for an unwieldy umbrella from the character Mrs Gamp because she always carries one, and "Pickwickian", "Pecksniffian" and "Gradgrind" all entered dictionaries due to Dickens's original portraits of such characters who were, respectively, quixotic, hypocritical and vapidly factual. Sam Weller, the character that made Dickens famous, became known for his Wellerisms—one-liners that turn proverbs on their heads. Many were drawn from real life: Mrs Nickleby is based on his mother, although she did not recognise herself in the portrait, just as Mr Micawber is constructed from aspects of his father's 'rhetorical exuberance'; Harold Skimpole in Bleak House is based on James Henry Leigh Hunt; his wife's dwarfish chiropodist recognised herself in Miss Mowcher in David Copperfield. Perhaps Dickens's impressions on his meeting with Hans Christian Andersen informed the delineation of Uriah Heep (a term synonymous with sycophant).
Virginia Woolf maintained that "we remodel our psychological geography when we read Dickens" as he produces "characters who exist not in detail, not accurately or exactly, but abundantly in a cluster of wild yet extraordinarily revealing remarks". T. S. Eliot wrote that Dickens "excelled in character; in the creation of characters of greater intensity than human beings". One "character" vividly drawn throughout his novels is London itself. Dickens described London as a magic lantern, inspiring the places and people in many of his novels. From the coaching inns on the outskirts of the city to the lower reaches of the Thames, all aspects of the capital—Dickens's London—are described over the course of his body of work. Walking the streets (particularly around London) formed an integral part of his writing life, stoking his creativity. Dickens was known to regularly walk at least a dozen miles (19 km) per day, and once wrote, "If I couldn't walk fast and far, I should just explode and perish."
=== Autobiographical elements ===
Authors frequently draw their portraits of characters from people they have known in real life. David Copperfield is regarded by many as a veiled autobiography of Dickens. The scenes of interminable court cases and legal arguments in Bleak House reflect Dickens's experiences as a law clerk and court reporter, and in particular his direct experience of the law's procedural delay during 1844 when he sued publishers in Chancery for breach of copyright. Dickens's father was sent to prison for debt, and this became a common theme in many of his books, with the detailed depiction of life in the Marshalsea prison in Little Dorrit resulting from Dickens's own experiences of the institution. Lucy Stroughill, a childhood sweetheart, may have affected several of Dickens's portraits of girls such as Little Em'ly in David Copperfield and Lucie Manette in A Tale of Two Cities.
Dickens may have drawn on his childhood experiences, but he was also ashamed of them and would not reveal that this was where he gathered his realistic accounts of squalor. Very few knew the details of his early life until six years after his death, when John Forster published a biography on which Dickens had collaborated. Though Skimpole brutally sends up Leigh Hunt, some critics have detected in his portrait features of Dickens's own character, which he sought to exorcise by self-parody.
=== Episodic writing ===
A pioneer of the serial publication of narrative fiction, Dickens wrote most of his major novels in monthly or weekly instalments in journals such as Master Humphrey's Clock and Household Words, later reprinted in book form. These instalments made the stories affordable and accessible, with the audience more evenly distributed across income levels than before. His instalment format inspired a narrative that he would explore and develop throughout his career, and the regular cliffhangers made each new episode widely anticipated. When The Old Curiosity Shop was being serialised, American fans waited at the docks in New York harbour, shouting out to the crew of an incoming British ship, "Is little Nell dead?" Dickens was able to incorporate this episodic writing style but still end up with a coherent novel at the end. He wrote, "The thing has to be planned for presentation in these fragments, and yet for afterwards fusing together as an uninterrupted whole."
Another important impact of Dickens's episodic writing style resulted from his exposure to the opinions of his readers and friends. His friend Forster had a significant hand in reviewing his drafts, an influence that went beyond matters of punctuation; he toned down melodramatic and sensationalist exaggerations, cut long passages (such as the episode of Quilp's drowning in The Old Curiosity Shop), and made suggestions about plot and character. It was he who suggested that Charley Bates should be redeemed in Oliver Twist. Dickens had not thought of killing Little Nell and it was Forster who advised him to entertain this possibility as necessary to his conception of the heroine. When in 1863 the Jewish English reader Eliza Davis wrote to rebuke him for having "encouraged a vile prejudice against the despised Hebrew" with the character of Fagin in Oliver Twist, Dickens halted the second printing of the novel and made some changes to the original 1837 text. He also created a group of sympathetic Jewish characters in his next novel, Our Mutual Friend, published 1864–1865.
At the helm in popularising cliffhangers and serial publications in Victorian literature, Dickens's influence can also be seen in television soap operas and film series, with The Guardian stating that "the DNA of Dickens's busy, episodic storytelling, delivered in instalments and rife with cliffhangers and diversions, is traceable in everything." His serialisation of his novels also drew comments from other writers. In the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson's novel The Wrecker, Captain Nares, investigating an abandoned ship, remarked: "See! They were writing up the log," said Nares, pointing to the ink-bottle. "Caught napping, as usual. I wonder if there ever was a captain yet that lost a ship with his log-book up to date? He generally has about a month to fill up on a clean break, like Charles Dickens and his serial novels."
=== Social commentary ===
Dickens's novels were, among other things, works of social commentary. Simon Callow states, "From the moment he started to write, he spoke for the people, and the people loved him for it." He was a fierce critic of the poverty and social stratification of Victorian society. In a New York address, he expressed his belief that "Virtue shows quite as well in rags and patches as she does in purple and fine linen". Dickens's second novel, Oliver Twist (1839), shocked readers with its images of poverty and crime: it challenged middle class polemics about criminals, making impossible any pretence to ignorance about what poverty entailed. Today, Dickensian is a term applied to insanitary social conditions or grim institutions akin to those denounced by Dickens in his work, with the Oxford professor Peter Conrad writing, "Dickens, like Banksy, writes blackly prophetic graffiti on the wall."
At a time when Britain was the major economic and political power of the world, Dickens highlighted the life of the forgotten poor and disadvantaged within society. Through his journalism he campaigned on specific issues—such as sanitation and the workhouse—but his fiction probably demonstrated its greatest prowess in changing public opinion in regard to class inequalities. He often depicted the exploitation and oppression of the poor and condemned the public officials and institutions that not only allowed such abuses to exist, but flourished as a result. His most strident indictment of this condition is in Hard Times (1854), Dickens's only novel-length treatment of the industrial working class. In this work, he uses vitriol and satire to illustrate how this marginalised social stratum was termed "Hands" by the factory owners; that is, not really "people" but rather only appendages of the machines they operated. His writings inspired others, in particular journalists and political figures, to address such problems of class oppression. For example, the prison scenes in The Pickwick Papers are claimed to have been influential in having the Fleet Prison shut down. Karl Marx asserted that Dickens "issued to the world more political and social truths than have been uttered by all the professional politicians, publicists and moralists put together". George Bernard Shaw even remarked that Great Expectations was more seditious than Marx's Das Kapital. The exceptional popularity of Dickens's novels, even those with socially oppositional themes (Bleak House, 1853; Little Dorrit, 1857; Our Mutual Friend, 1865), not only underscored his ability to create compelling storylines and unforgettable characters, but also ensured that the Victorian public confronted issues of social justice that had commonly been ignored. Bleak House, a satire of protracted legal cases with Jarndyce and Jarndyce—a fictional long-running Chancery case which has been cited by courts as a symbol of a legal case that interminably drags on—the central plot of the novel, helped support a judicial reform movement that culminated in the enactment of legal reform in England in the 1870s.
It has been argued that his technique of flooding his narratives with an 'unruly superfluity of material' that, in the gradual dénouement, yields up an unsuspected order, influenced the organisation of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species.
=== Literary techniques ===
Dickens is often described as using idealised characters and highly sentimental scenes to contrast with his caricatures and the ugly social truths he reveals. The story of Nell Trent in The Old Curiosity Shop (1841) was received as extremely moving by contemporary readers but viewed as ludicrously sentimental by Oscar Wilde. "One must have a heart of stone to read the death of little Nell", he said in a famous remark, "without dissolving into tears ... of laughter." G. K. Chesterton stated, "It is not the death of little Nell, but the life of little Nell, that I object to", arguing that the maudlin effect of his description of her life owed much to the gregarious nature of Dickens's grief, his "despotic" use of people's feelings to move them to tears in works like this.
The question as to whether Dickens belongs to the tradition of the sentimental novel is debatable. Valerie Purton, in her book Dickens and the Sentimental Tradition, sees him continuing aspects of this tradition, and argues that his "sentimental scenes and characters [are] as crucial to the overall power of the novels as his darker or comic figures and scenes", and that "Dombey and Son is [ ... ] Dickens's greatest triumph in the sentimentalist tradition". The Encyclopædia Britannica online comments that, despite "patches of emotional excess", such as the reported death of Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol (1843), "Dickens cannot really be termed a sentimental novelist".
In Oliver Twist, Dickens provides readers with an idealised portrait of a boy so inherently and unrealistically good that his values are never subverted by either brutal orphanages or coerced involvement in a gang of young pickpockets. While later novels also centre on idealised characters (Esther Summerson in Bleak House and Amy Dorrit in Little Dorrit), this idealism serves only to highlight Dickens's goal of poignant social commentary. Dickens's fiction, reflecting what he believed to be true of his own life, makes frequent use of coincidence, either for comic effect or to emphasise the idea of providence. For example, Oliver Twist turns out to be the lost nephew of the upper-class family that rescues him from the dangers of the pickpocket group. Such coincidences are a staple of 18th-century picaresque novels, such as Henry Fielding's Tom Jones, which Dickens enjoyed reading as a youth.
== Reputation ==
Dickens was the most popular novelist of his time, and remains one of the best-known and most-read of English authors. His works have never gone out of print, and have been adapted continually for the screen since the invention of cinema, with at least 200 motion pictures and television adaptations based on Dickens's works documented. Many of his works were adapted for the stage during his own lifetime—early productions included The Haunted Man which was performed in the West End's Adelphi Theatre in 1848—and, as early as 1901, the British silent film Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost was made by Walter R. Booth. Contemporaries such as the publisher Edward Lloyd cashed in on Dickens's popularity with cheap imitations of his novels, resulting in his own popular 'penny dreadfuls'.
Dickens created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest British novelist of the Victorian era. From the beginning of his career in the 1830s, his achievements in English literature were compared to those of Shakespeare. Dickens's literary reputation, however, began to decline with the publication of Bleak House in 1852–53. Philip Collins calls Bleak House "a crucial item in the history of Dickens's reputation". Reviewers and literary figures during the 1850s, 1860s and 1870s, saw a "drear decline" in Dickens, from a writer of "bright sunny comedy ... to dark and serious social commentary". The Spectator called Bleak House "a heavy book to read through at once ... dull and wearisome as a serial"; Richard Simpson, in The Rambler, characterised Hard Times as "this dreary framework"; Fraser's Magazine thought Little Dorrit "decidedly the worst of his novels". All the same, despite these "increasing reservations amongst reviewers and the chattering classes, 'the public never deserted its favourite'". Dickens's popular reputation remained unchanged, sales continued to rise, and Household Words and later All the Year Round were highly successful.
As his career progressed, Dickens's fame and the demand for his public readings were unparalleled. In 1868, The Times wrote, "Amid all the variety of 'readings', those of Mr Charles Dickens stand alone." A Dickens biographer, Edgar Johnson, wrote: "It was [always] more than a reading; it was an extraordinary exhibition of acting that seized upon its auditors with a mesmeric possession." The author David Lodge called him the "first writer to be an object of unrelenting public interest and adulation". Juliet John backed the claim for Dickens "to be called the first self-made global media star of the age of mass culture". The word "celebrity" first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1851, and the BBC states "Charles Dickens was one of the first figures to be called one". Comparing his reception at public readings to those of a contemporary pop star—the BBC compared his reception in the US to the Beatles—The Guardian states, "People sometimes fainted at his shows. His performances even saw the rise of that modern phenomenon, the 'speculator' or ticket tout (scalpers)—the ones in New York City escaped detection by borrowing respectable-looking hats from the waiters in nearby restaurants."
Among fellow writers, there was a range of opinions on Dickens. William Wordsworth thought him a "very talkative, vulgar young person", adding he had not read a line of his work, while the novelist George Meredith (1828–1909) found Dickens "intellectually lacking". In 1888 Leslie Stephen commented in the Dictionary of National Biography that "if literary fame could be safely measured by popularity with the half-educated, Dickens must claim the highest position among English novelists". Anthony Trollope's Autobiography famously declared Thackeray, not Dickens, to be the greatest novelist of the age. However, both Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoyevsky were admirers. Dostoyevsky commented: "We understand Dickens in Russia, I am convinced, almost as well as the English, perhaps even with all the nuances. It may well be that we love him no less than his compatriots do. And yet how original is Dickens, and how very English!" Tolstoy referred to David Copperfield as his favourite book, and he later adopted the novel as "a model for his own autobiographical reflections". The French writer Jules Verne called Dickens his favourite writer, writing his novels "stand alone, dwarfing all others by their amazing power and felicity of expression". Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh was inspired by Dickens's novels in several of his paintings, such as Vincent's Chair, and in an 1889 letter to his sister stated that reading Dickens, especially A Christmas Carol, was one of the things that was keeping him from committing suicide. Oscar Wilde generally disparaged his depiction of character, while admiring his gift for caricature. Henry James denied him a premier position, calling him "the greatest of superficial novelists": Dickens failed to endow his characters with psychological depth, and the novels, "loose baggy monsters", betrayed a "cavalier organisation". Joseph Conrad described his own childhood in bleak Dickensian terms, noting he had "an intense and unreasoning affection" for Bleak House dating back to his boyhood. The novel influenced his own gloomy portrait of London in The Secret Agent (1907). Virginia Woolf had a love-hate relationship with Dickens, finding his novels "mesmerizing" while reproving him for his sentimentalism and a commonplace style.
Around 1940–41, the attitude of the literary critics began to warm towards Dickens—led by George Orwell in Inside the Whale and Other Essays (March 1940), Edmund Wilson in The Wound and the Bow (1941) and Humphry House in Dickens and His World. However, even in 1948, F. R. Leavis, in The Great Tradition, asserted that "the adult mind doesn't as a rule find in Dickens a challenge to an unusual and sustained seriousness"; Dickens was indeed a great genius, "but the genius was that of a great entertainer", though he later changed his opinion with Dickens the Novelist (1970, with Q. D. (Queenie) Leavis): "Our purpose", they wrote, "is to enforce as unanswerably as possible the conviction that Dickens was one of the greatest of creative writers". In 1944 the Soviet film director and film theorist Sergei Eisenstein wrote an essay on Dickens's influence on cinema, such as cross-cutting—where two stories run alongside each other, as seen in novels such as Oliver Twist.
In the 1950s, "a substantial reassessment and re-editing of the works began, and critics found his finest artistry and greatest depth to be in the later novels: Bleak House, Little Dorrit and Great Expectations—and (less unanimously) in Hard Times and Our Mutual Friend". Dickens was among the favourite authors of Roald Dahl; the best-selling children's author would include three of Dickens's novels among those read by the title character in his 1988 novel Matilda. In 2005, Paul McCartney, an avid reader of Dickens, named Nicholas Nickleby his favourite novel. On Dickens he states, "I like the world that he takes me to. I like his words; I like the language", adding, "A lot of my stuff—it's kind of Dickensian." The screenwriter Jonathan Nolan's screenplay for The Dark Knight Rises (2012) was inspired by A Tale of Two Cities, with Nolan calling the depiction of Paris in the novel "one of the most harrowing portraits of a relatable, recognisable civilisation that completely folded to pieces". On 7 February 2012, the 200th anniversary of Dickens's birth, Philip Womack wrote in The Telegraph: "Today there is no escaping Charles Dickens. Not that there has ever been much chance of that before. He has a deep, peculiar hold upon us".
== Legacy ==
Museums and festivals celebrating Dickens's life and works exist in many places with which Dickens was associated. These include the Charles Dickens Museum in London, the historic home where he wrote Oliver Twist, The Pickwick Papers and Nicholas Nickleby; and the Charles Dickens' Birthplace Museum in Portsmouth, the house in which he was born. The original manuscripts of many of his novels, as well as printers' proofs, first editions and illustrations from the collection of Dickens's friend John Forster are held at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Dickens's will stipulated that no memorial be erected in his honour—"I conjure to my friends on no account to make me the subject of any monument, memorial or testimonial whatsoever. I rest my claims to the remembrance of my country upon my published works". Nonetheless, a life-size bronze statue of Dickens entitled Dickens and Little Nell, cast in 1890 by Francis Edwin Elwell, stands in Clark Park in the Spruce Hill neighbourhood of Philadelphia, United States. Another life-size statue of Dickens is located at Centennial Park in Sydney, Australia. In 1960 a bas-relief sculpture of Dickens, notably featuring characters from his books, was commissioned from the sculptor Estcourt J Clack to adorn the office building built on the site of his former home at 1 Devonshire Terrace, London. In 2014, a life-size statue was unveiled near his birthplace in Portsmouth on the 202nd anniversary of his birth; this was supported by his great-great-grandsons, Ian and Gerald Dickens.
A Christmas Carol is most probably his best-known story, with frequent new adaptations. It is also the most-filmed of Dickens's stories, with many versions dating from the early years of cinema. According to the historian Ronald Hutton the current state of the observance of Christmas is largely the result of a mid-Victorian revival of the holiday spearheaded by A Christmas Carol. Dickens catalysed the emerging Christmas as a family-centred festival of generosity, in contrast to the dwindling community-based and church-centred observations, as new middle-class expectations arose. Its archetypal figures (Scrooge, Tiny Tim, the Christmas ghosts) entered into Western cultural consciousness. "Merry Christmas", a prominent phrase from the tale, was popularised following the appearance of the story. The term Scrooge became a synonym for miser, and his exclamation "Bah! Humbug!'", a dismissal of the festive spirit, likewise gained currency as an idiom. The Victorian-era novelist William Makepeace Thackeray called the book "a national benefit, and to every man and woman who reads it a personal kindness".
Dickens was commemorated on the £10 note issued by the Bank of England that circulated between 1992 and 2003. His portrait appeared on the reverse of the note accompanied by a scene from The Pickwick Papers. The Charles Dickens School is a high school in Broadstairs, Kent. A theme park, Dickens World, was open in Chatham from 2007 to 2016. To celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth in 2012, the Museum of London held the UK's first major exhibition on the author in 40 years. From September 2011 to February 2012, the Morgan Library & Museum in New York celebrated him with its exhibition Charles Dickens at 200 with manuscripts, photographs, and original illustrations.
In 2002 Dickens was number 41 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. American literary critic Harold Bloom placed Dickens among the greatest Western writers of all time. In the 2003 UK survey The Big Read carried out by the BBC, five of Dickens's books were named in the Top 100.
Actors who have portrayed Dickens on screen include Anthony Hopkins, Derek Jacobi, Simon Callow, Dan Stevens and Ralph Fiennes, the latter playing him in The Invisible Woman (2013) which depicts Dickens's alleged secret love affair with Ellen Ternan which lasted for thirteen years until his death in 1870.
Dickens and his publications have appeared on a number of postage stamps in countries including: the United Kingdom (1970, 1993, 2011 and 2012 issued by the Royal Mail—their 2012 collection marked the bicentenary of Dickens's birth), the Soviet Union (1962), Antigua, Barbuda, Botswana, Cameroon, Dubai, Fujairah, Saint Lucia and the Turks and Caicos Islands (1970), Saint Vincent (1987), Nevis (2007), Alderney, Gibraltar, Jersey and Pitcairn Islands (2012), Austria (2013) and Mozambique (2014). In 1976 a crater on the planet Mercury was named in his honour.
In November 2018 it was reported that a previously lost portrait of a 31-year-old Dickens, by Margaret Gillies, had been found in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Gillies was an early supporter of women's suffrage and had painted the portrait in late 1843 when Dickens, aged 31, wrote A Christmas Carol. It was exhibited, to acclaim, at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1844. The Charles Dickens Museum is reported to have paid £180,000 for the portrait.
== Works ==
Dickens published 15 major novels, several novellas, a large number of short stories (including a number of Christmas-themed stories), a handful of plays and several non-fiction books.
=== Novels and novellas ===
Most of Dickens's work was initially published in serial form, either weekly in magazines or monthly in free-standing instalments, then reprinted in standard book formats.
The Pickwick Papers (The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club; monthly serial, April 1836 to November 1837). Novel.
Oliver Twist (The Adventures of Oliver Twist; monthly serial in Bentley's Miscellany, February 1837 to April 1839). Novel.
Nicholas Nickleby (The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby; monthly serial, April 1838 to October 1839). Novel.
The Old Curiosity Shop (weekly serial in Master Humphrey's Clock, April 1840 to November 1841). Novel.
Barnaby Rudge (Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty; weekly serial in Master Humphrey's Clock, February to November 1841). Novel.
Martin Chuzzlewit (The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit; monthly serial, January 1843 to July 1844). Novel.
A Christmas Carol (A Christmas Carol in Prose: Being a Ghost-story of Christmas; 1843). Novella.
The Chimes (The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells That Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year In; 1844). Novella.
The Cricket on the Hearth (The Cricket on the Hearth: A Fairy Tale of Home; 1845). Novella.
Dombey and Son (Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son: Wholesale, Retail and for Exportation; monthly serial, October 1846 to April 1848). Novel.
The Battle of Life (The Battle of Life: A Love Story; 1846). Novella.
The Haunted Man (The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain: A Fancy for Christmas-time; 1848). Novella.
David Copperfield (The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery [Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any Account]; monthly serial, May 1849 to November 1850). Novel.
Bleak House (monthly serial, March 1852 to September 1853). Novel.
Hard Times (Hard Times: For These Times; weekly serial in Household Words, 1 April 1854, to 12 August 1854). Novel.
Little Dorrit (monthly serial, December 1855 to June 1857). Novel.
A Tale of Two Cities (weekly serial in All the Year Round, 30 April 1859, to 26 November 1859). Novel.
Great Expectations (weekly serial in All the Year Round, 1 December 1860 to 3 August 1861). Novel.
Our Mutual Friend (monthly serial, May 1864 to November 1865). Novel.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood (monthly serial, April 1870 to September 1870). Novel. Left unfinished due to Dickens's death. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_French_Open | 2016 French Open | The 2016 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 115th edition of the French Open and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros from 22 May to 5 June and consisted of events for professional players in singles, doubles and mixed doubles play. Junior and wheelchair players also took part in singles and doubles events.
Novak Djokovic won the men's singles in the 2016 edition. Stan Wawrinka was the defending champion in men's singles, but he lost to Andy Murray in the semifinals. Serena Williams was the defending champion in the women's singles, but she lost to Garbiñe Muguruza in the final.
Roger Federer withdrew before the tournament to avoid "unnecessary [fitness] risk", making this tournament the first Grand Slam he missed since the 1999 US Open. Furthermore, nine-time champion Rafael Nadal withdrew during the tournament due to injury, for the first time in his French Open career.
Novak Djokovic's victory at this tournament in his 20th Grand Slam final completed his career Grand Slam of all four major tournaments, the eighth man to do so in singles and the fifth since the start of the Open Era (after Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal). Djokovic also achieved a non-calendar year Grand Slam, becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four major titles at once. The victory by Garbiñe Muguruza was her first Grand Slam win in her second Grand Slam final.
== Tournament ==
The 2016 French Open was the 115th edition of the French Open and was held at Stade Roland Garros in Paris.
The tournament was run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and was part of the 2016 ATP World Tour and the 2016 WTA Tour calendars under the Grand Slam category. The tournament consisted of men's and women's singles and doubles draws as well as a mixed doubles event.
There were singles and doubles events for both boys and girls (players under 18), and singles and doubles events for men's and women's wheelchair tennis players as part of the UNIQLO tour under the Grand Slam category. The tournament was played on clay courts and took place over a series of 22 courts, including the three main showcourts, Court Philippe Chatrier, Court Suzanne Lenglen and Court 1.
== Points and prize money ==
=== Points distribution ===
The ranking points awarded for each event are shown below.
==== Senior points ====
=== Prize money ===
The total prize money for the tournament was €32,017,500, an increase of 14% compared to the previous edition. The winners of both the men's and women's singles title received €2,000,000, an increase of €200,000 compared to 2015.
* per team
== Singles players ==
2016 French Open – Men's singles
2016 French Open – Women's singles
== Day-by-day summaries ==
== Singles seeds ==
The following are the seeded players and notable players who withdrew from the event. Seedings are based on ATP and WTA rankings as of 16 May 2016. Rank and points before are as of 23 May 2016.
An * in pink signifies the player is out of the event.
=== Men's singles ===
==== Withdrawn players ====
=== Women's singles ===
† The player did not qualify for the tournament in 2015. Accordingly, points for her 16th best result are deducted instead.
==== Withdrawn players ====
== Doubles seeds ==
=== Mixed doubles ===
1 Rankings are as of 16 May 2016.
== Main draw wildcard entries ==
The following players were given wildcards to the main draw based on internal selection and recent performances.
=== Mixed doubles ===
Virginie Razzano / Vincent Millot
Pauline Parmentier / Julien Benneteau
Chloé Paquet / Benoît Paire (withdrew to focus on other events)
Alizé Lim / Paul-Henri Mathieu
Alizé Cornet / Jonathan Eysseric
Mathilde Johansson / Tristan Lamasine
== Main draw qualifiers ==
== Protected ranking ==
The following players were accepted directly into the main draw using a protected ranking:
== Champions ==
=== Seniors ===
==== Men's singles ====
Novak Djokovic def. Andy Murray, 3–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–4
==== Women's singles ====
Garbiñe Muguruza def. Serena Williams, 7–5, 6–4
==== Men's doubles ====
Feliciano López / Marc López def. Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan, 6–4, 6–7(6–8), 6–3
==== Women's doubles ====
Caroline Garcia / Kristina Mladenovic def. Ekaterina Makarova / Elena Vesnina, 6–3, 2–6, 6–4
==== Mixed doubles ====
Martina Hingis / Leander Paes def. Sania Mirza / Ivan Dodig, 4–6, 6–4, [10–8]
=== Juniors ===
==== Boys' singles ====
Geoffrey Blancaneaux def. Félix Auger-Aliassime, 1–6, 6–3, 8–6
==== Girls' singles ====
Rebeka Masarova def. Amanda Anisimova, 7–5, 7–5
==== Boys' doubles ====
Yshai Oliel / Patrik Rikl def. Chung Yun-seong / Orlando Luz, 6–3, 6–4
==== Girls' doubles ====
Paula Arias Manjón / Olga Danilović def. Olesya Pervushina / Anastasia Potapova, 3–6, 6–3, [10–8]
=== Wheelchair events ===
==== Wheelchair men's singles ====
Gustavo Fernández def. Gordon Reid, 7–6(7–4), 6–1
==== Wheelchair women's singles ====
Marjolein Buis def. Sabine Ellerbrock, 6–3, 6–4
==== Wheelchair men's doubles ====
Shingo Kunieda / Gordon Reid def. Michaël Jérémiasz / Stefan Olsson, 6–3, 6–2
==== Wheelchair women's doubles ====
Yui Kamiji / Jordanne Whiley def. Jiske Griffioen / Aniek van Koot, 6–4, 4–6, [10–6]
=== Other events ===
==== Legends under 45 doubles ====
Juan Carlos Ferrero / Carlos Moyá def. Sébastien Grosjean / Fabrice Santoro, 6–4, 6–4
==== Legends over 45 doubles ====
Sergi Bruguera / Goran Ivanišević def. Yannick Noah / Cédric Pioline, 6–3, 7–6(7–2)
==== Women's legends doubles ====
Lindsay Davenport / Martina Navratilova def. Conchita Martínez / Nathalie Tauziat, 6–3, 6–2
== Withdrawals ==
The following players were accepted directly into the main tournament, but withdrew with injuries, suspensions or personal reasons.
† – not included on entry list
‡ – withdrew from entry list before qualifying began
@ – withdrew from entry list after qualifying began
§ – withdrew from main draw
During the tournament
Men's singles
Rafael Nadal
== Retirements == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_It_as_It_Lays_(film) | Play It as It Lays (film) | Play It as It Lays is a 1972 American drama film directed by Frank Perry from a screenplay by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Didion. The film stars Tuesday Weld and Anthony Perkins, who previously starred together in the 1968 film Pretty Poison.
== Plot ==
Former model Maria Wyeth, who comes from a Nevada town with a population of 28, is now a successful actress. Unhappily married to, and separated from, temperamental producer Carter Lang, she is also chronically depressed and institutionalized.
Reflecting back on what brought her to the asylum, Maria recalls driving around Los Angeles in her yellow Chevrolet Corvette and spending time with her closest friend, B.Z. Mendenhall, an unhappy man who is gay. Maria has a brain-damaged daughter, Kate, who is being kept in a sanitarium at the insistence of Carter, who resents Maria's visiting the girl so frequently. Maria's secret desire is to live somewhere with Kate and find some kind of joy in life together.
Maria has been having an affair with Les Goodwin, a screenwriter. When she tells Carter that she's pregnant with Goodwin's child, he demands that she get an abortion. Maria goes to Las Vegas and has a fling with a mob-connected lawyer, Larry Kulik. She later returns to L.A. and has a one-night stand with Johnny Waters, a television star who needs to watch his own show on TV in order to get in the mood for sex.
Bored and depressed, Maria steals Johnny's car and speeds off. When she is stopped by police, drugs are found in the car and she is placed under arrest. With her spirits at an all-time low, Maria returns to Las Vegas and finds that B.Z. is equally unhappy. When B.Z. swallows a handful of pills and washes them down with vodka, Maria, rather than calling for help, cradles him and watches him die.
Back at the asylum, a psychiatrist asks Maria why she keeps on playing when she knows what “nothing” (nihilism) really means. She replies, "Why not?"
== Cast ==
== Reception ==
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars and praised the two leads' performances: "What makes the movie work so well on this difficult ground is, happily, easy to say: It has been well-written and directed, and Tuesday Weld and Anthony Perkins are perfectly cast as Maria and her friend B.Z. The material is so thin (and has to be) that the actors have to bring the human texture along with them. They do, and they make us care about characters who have given up caring for themselves."
Molly Haskell of The Village Voice was less enthusiastic, stating that she had "a hard time remembering [the film]."
Vincent Canby of The New York Times found the screenplay and direction "banal", but effused praise for the performances of Weld and Perkins, writing, "The film is beautifully performed by Tuesday Weld as Maria and Anthony Perkins as B.Z., but the whole thing has turned soft." Critic John Simon described Play it as it Lays as "a very bad movie."
Tuesday Weld was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama at the 30th Golden Globe Awards in 1972.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 64% of 11 critics' reviews are positive. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melville_Fuller | Melville Fuller | Melville Weston Fuller (February 11, 1833 – July 4, 1910) was an American politician, attorney, and jurist who served as the eighth chief justice of the United States from 1888 until his death in 1910. Staunch conservatism marked his tenure on the Supreme Court, exhibited by his tendency to support unfettered free enterprise and to oppose broad federal power. He wrote major opinions on the federal income tax, the Commerce Clause, and citizenship law, and he took part in important decisions about racial segregation and the liberty of contract. Those rulings often faced criticism in the decades during and after Fuller's tenure, and many were later overruled or abrogated. The legal academy has generally viewed Fuller negatively, although a revisionist minority has taken a more favorable view of his jurisprudence.
Born in Augusta, Maine, Fuller established a legal practice in Chicago after graduating from Bowdoin College. A Democrat, he became involved in politics, campaigning for Stephen A. Douglas in the 1860 presidential election. During the Civil War, he served a single term in the Illinois House of Representatives, where he opposed the policies of President Abraham Lincoln. Fuller became a prominent attorney in Chicago and was a delegate to several Democratic National Conventions. He declined three separate appointments offered by President Grover Cleveland before accepting the nomination to succeed Morrison Waite as chief justice. Despite some voicing objections over his political past, Fuller was confirmed by the Senate in 1888. He served as chief justice until his death in 1910, gaining a reputation for collegiality and able administration.
Fuller's jurisprudence was conservative, focusing strongly on states' rights, limited federal power, and economic liberty. His majority opinion in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895) ruled a federal income tax to be unconstitutional; the Sixteenth Amendment later superseded the decision. Fuller's opinion in United States v. E. C. Knight Co. (1895) narrowly interpreted Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause, limiting the reach of the Sherman Act and making government prosecution of antitrust cases more difficult. In Lochner v. New York (1905), Fuller agreed with the majority that the Constitution forbade states from enforcing wage-and-hour restrictions on businesses, contending that the Due Process Clause prevents government infringement on one's liberty to control one's property and business affairs. Fuller joined the majority in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), in which the Court articulated the doctrine of separate but equal and upheld Jim Crow laws. He argued in the Insular Cases that residents of the territories are entitled to constitutional rights, but he dissented when, in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), the majority ruled in favor of birthright citizenship.
Many of Fuller's decisions did not stand the test of time. His views on economic liberty were squarely rejected by the Court during the New Deal era, and the Plessy opinion was unanimously reversed in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Fuller's historical reputation has been generally unfavorable, with many scholars arguing that he was overly deferential to corporations and the wealthy. While a resurgence of conservative legal thought has brought Fuller new defenders, an increase in racial awareness has also led to new scrutiny of his vote in Plessy. In 2021, Kennebec County commissioners voted unanimously to remove a statue of Fuller from public land with the aim of dissociating the county from racial segregation.
== Early life ==
Melville Weston Fuller was born on February 11, 1833, in Augusta, Maine, the second son of Frederick Augustus Fuller and his wife, Catherine Martin (née Weston). His maternal grandfather, Nathan Weston, served on the Supreme Court of Maine, and his paternal grandfather was a probate judge. His father practiced law in Augusta. Three months after Fuller was born, his mother sued successfully for divorce on grounds of adultery; she and her children moved into Judge Weston's home. In 1849, the sixteen-year-old Fuller enrolled at Bowdoin College, from which he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1853. He studied law in an uncle's office before spending six months at Harvard Law School. While he did not receive a degree from Harvard, his attendance made him the first chief justice to have received formal academic legal training. Fuller was admitted to the Maine bar in 1855 and clerked for another uncle in Bangor. Later that year, he moved back to Augusta to become the editor of The Age, Maine's primary Democratic newspaper, in partnership with another uncle. Fuller was elected to Augusta's common council in March 1856, serving as the council's president and as the city solicitor.
== Early career ==
In 1856, Fuller left Maine for Chicago, Illinois. The city presented Fuller, a steadfast Democrat, with greater opportunities and a more favorable political climate. In addition, a broken engagement likely encouraged him to leave his hometown. Fuller accepted a position with a local law firm, and he also became involved in politics. Although Fuller opposed slavery, he considered it an issue for the states rather than the federal government. He supported the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed Kansas and Nebraska to determine the slavery issue themselves. Fuller opposed both abolitionists and secessionists, arguing instead for compromise. He campaigned for Stephen A. Douglas both in his successful 1858 Senate campaign against Abraham Lincoln and in his unsuccessful bid against Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election.
When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Fuller supported military action against the Confederacy. However, he opposed the Lincoln Administration's handling of the war, and he decried many of Lincoln's actions as unconstitutional. Fuller was elected as a Democratic delegate to the failed 1862 Illinois state constitutional convention. He helped develop a gerrymandered system for congressional apportionment, and he joined his fellow Democrats in supporting provisions that prohibited African-Americans from voting or settling in the state. He also advocated for court reform and for banning banks from printing of paper money. Although the convention adopted many of his proposals, voters rejected the proposed constitution in June 1862.
In November 1862, Fuller was narrowly elected to a seat in the Illinois House of Representatives as a Democrat. He held his seat from 1863 until 1865. During this time, the majority-Democrat legislature clashed with Republican governor Richard Yates and opposed the wartime policies of President Lincoln. Fuller spoke in opposition to the Emancipation Proclamation, arguing that it violated state sovereignty. He supported the Corwin Amendment, which would have prevented the federal government from outlawing slavery. Fuller opposed Lincoln's decision to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, believing it violated civil liberties. Yates ultimately adjourned the legislature over the vehement objections of Fuller and the Democrats. The frustrated Fuller never sought legislative office again, although he continued taking part in Democratic party politics.
Fuller maintained a successful legal practice, arguing on behalf of many corporations and businessmen. He represented the city of Chicago in a land dispute with the Illinois Central Railroad. In 1869, he took on what became his most significant case: defending Chicago clergyman Charles E. Cheney, whom the Episcopal Church was attempting to remove because he disagreed with church teaching on baptismal regeneration. Believing the ecclesiastical court to be biased against Cheney, Fuller filed suit in the Cook County Superior Court, arguing that Cheney possessed a property right in his position. The Superior Court agreed and entered an injunction against the ecclesiastical court's proceedings. On appeal, the Supreme Court of Illinois reversed the injunction, holding that the civil courts could not review church disciplinary proceedings. The ecclesiastical court found Cheney guilty, but he refused to leave his pulpit. The matter returned to the courts, where Fuller argued that only the local congregation had the right to remove Cheney. The Supreme Court of Illinois ultimately agreed, holding that the congregation's property was not under the purview of Episcopal Church leadership. Fuller's defense of Cheney garnered him national prominence.
Beginning in 1871, Fuller also litigated before the Supreme Court of the United States, arguing numerous cases. His legal practice involved many areas of law, and he became one of Chicago's most highly paid lawyers. He remained involved in the politics of the Democratic Party, serving as a delegate to the party's national conventions in 1872, 1876, and 1880. Fuller supported a strict construction of the U.S. Constitution. He firmly opposed the printing of paper money, and he spoke out against the Supreme Court's 1884 decision in Juilliard v. Greenman upholding Congress's power to issue it. He was a supporter of states' rights and generally advocated for limited government. Fuller strongly supported President Grover Cleveland, a fellow Democrat, who agreed with many of his views. Cleveland successively attempted to appoint Fuller to chair the United States Civil Service Commission, to serve as Solicitor General, and to be a United States Pacific Railway Commissioner, but Fuller declined each nomination.
== Nomination to Supreme Court ==
On March 23, 1888, Chief Justice Morrison Waite died, creating a Supreme Court vacancy for President Cleveland to fill. The Senate was narrowly under Republican control, so it was necessary for Cleveland to nominate someone who could obtain bipartisan support. Cleveland also sought to appoint a candidate who was sixty years of age or younger, since an older nominee would likely be unable to serve for very long. He considered Vermont native Edward J. Phelps, the ambassador to the United Kingdom, but the politically influential Irish-American community, which viewed him as an Anglophile, opposed him. Furthermore, the sixty-six-year-old Phelps was thought to be too old for the job, and the Supreme Court already had one justice from New England. Senator George Gray was considered, but appointing him would create a vacancy in the closely divided Senate. Cleveland eventually decided that he wanted to appoint someone from Illinois, both for political reasons and because the court had no justices from the Seventh Circuit, which included Illinois. Fuller, who had become a confidant of Cleveland, encouraged the President to appoint John Scholfield, who served on the Illinois Supreme Court. Cleveland offered the position to Scholfield, but he declined, apparently because his wife was too rustic for urban life in Washington, D.C. Fuller was considered because of the efforts of his friends, many of whom had written letters to Cleveland in support of him. At fifty-five years old, Fuller was young enough for the position, and Cleveland approved of his reputation and political views. In addition, Illinois Republican senator Shelby Cullom expressed support, convincing Cleveland that Fuller would likely receive bipartisan support in the Senate. Cleveland thus offered Fuller the nomination, which he accepted reluctantly. Fuller was formally nominated on April 30.
Public reaction to Fuller's nomination was mixed: Some newspapers lauded his character and professional career, while others criticized his comparative obscurity and his lack of experience in the federal government. The nomination was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Vermont Republican George F. Edmunds. Edmunds was displeased that his friend Phelps had not been appointed, so he delayed committee action and endeavored to sink Fuller's nomination. The Republicans seized upon Fuller's time in the Illinois Legislature, when he had opposed many of Lincoln's wartime policies. They portrayed him as a Copperhead – an anti-war Northern Democrat – and published a tract claiming that "[t]he records of the Illinois legislature of 1863 are black with Mr. Fuller's unworthy and unpatriotic conduct". Some Illinois Republicans, including Lincoln's son Robert, came to Fuller's defense, arguing that his actions were imprudent but not an indicator of disloyalty. Fuller's detractors claimed he would reverse the Supreme Court's ruling in the recent legal-tender case of Juilliard; his defenders replied he would be faithful to precedent. Vague allegations of professional improprieties were levied, but an investigation failed to substantiate them. The Judiciary Committee took no action on the nomination, and many believed that Edmunds was attempting to hold it off until after the 1888 presidential election. Cullom demanded an immediate vote, fearing that delay on Fuller's nomination could harm Republicans' prospects of winning Illinois. The committee reported the nomination without recommendation on July 2, 1888.
The full Senate took up Fuller's nomination on July 20. Several prominent Republican senators, including William M. Evarts of New York, William Morris Stewart of Nevada, and Edmunds, spoke against the nomination, arguing that Fuller was a disloyal Copperhead who would misinterpret the Reconstruction Amendments and roll back the progress made by the Civil War. Illinois's two Republican senators, Cullom and Charles B. Farwell defended Fuller's actions and character. Cullom read an anti-Lincoln speech that Phelps, Edmunds's choice for the position, had given. He accused Edmunds of hypocrisy and insincerity, saying he was simply resentful that Phelps had not been chosen. The Democratic senators did not participate in the debate, aiming to let the Republicans squabble among themselves. When the matter came to a vote, Fuller was confirmed 41 to 20, with 15 absences. Ten Republicans, including Republican National Committee chair Matthew Quay and two senators from Fuller's home state of Maine, joined the Democrats in supporting Fuller's nomination. Fuller took the judicial oath on October 8, 1888, formally becoming Chief Justice of the United States.
== Chief justice ==
Fuller served twenty-two years as chief justice, remaining in the center chair until his death in 1910. Although he lacked legal genius, his potent administrative skills made him a capable manager of the court's business. Hoping to increase the Court's collegiality, Fuller introduced the practice of the justices' shaking hands before their private conferences. He successfully maintained more-or-less cordial relationships among the justices, many of whom had large egos and difficult tempers. His collegiality notwithstanding, Fuller presided over a divided court: the justices split 5–4 sixty-four times during his tenure, more often than in subsequent years. Fuller himself, however, wrote few dissents, disagreeing with the majority in only 2.3 percent of cases. Fuller was the first chief justice to lobby Congress directly in support of legislation, successfully urging the adoption of the Circuit Courts of Appeals Act of 1891. The act established intermediate appellate courts, which reduced the Supreme Court's substantial backlog and allowed it to decide cases in a timely manner. As chief justice, Fuller was generally responsible for assigning the authorship of the court's majority opinions. He tended to use this power modestly, often assigning major cases to other justices while retaining duller ones for himself. According to legal historian Walter F. Pratt, Fuller's writing style was "nondescript"; his opinions were lengthy and contained numerous quotations. Justice Felix Frankfurter opined that Fuller was "not an opinion writer whom you read for literary enjoyment", while the scholar G. Edward White characterized his style as "diffident and not altogether successful".
In 1893, Cleveland offered to appoint Fuller to be secretary of state. He declined, saying he enjoyed his work as chief justice and contending that accepting a political appointment would harm the Supreme Court's reputation for impartiality. Remaining on the Court, he accepted a seat on an 1897 commission to arbitrate the Venezuelan boundary dispute, and he served ten years on the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Fuller's health declined after 1900, and scholar David Garrow suggests that his "growing enfeeblement" inhibited his work. In what biographer Willard King calls "[p]erhaps the worst year in the history of the Court" – the term from October 1909 to May 1910 – two justices died and one became fully incapacitated; Fuller's weakened state compounded the problem. Fuller died that July. President William Howard Taft nominated Associate Justice Edward Douglass White to replace him.
== Jurisprudence ==
Fuller's jurisprudence is generally identified as conservative. He favored states' rights over federal power, attempting to prevent the national government from asserting broad control over economic matters. Yet he was also skeptical of the states' powers: he agreed with the concept of substantive due process and used it to strike down state laws that, in his view, unduly encroached upon the free market. Fuller took no interest in preventing racial inequality, although his views on other civil rights issues were less definitive. Much of Fuller's jurisprudence has not stood the test of time: many of his decisions have been reversed by Congress or overruled by later Supreme Court majorities. Summarizing Fuller's views of the law, scholar Irving Schiffman wrote in 1969 that "he was a conservative, laissez-faire Justice, less reactionary than some of his brethren, more compassionate than others, but a spokesman for what now seems a far-off and bygone judicial age".
=== Federal power ===
==== Income tax ====
According to legal scholar Bernard Schwartz, Fuller's most noteworthy decision was his 1895 opinion in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. In 1894, Congress passed the Wilson–Gorman Tariff Act, which contained a rider that levied a two-percent tax on incomes exceeding $4,000 a year. Since it imposed the nation's first peacetime income tax, this provision was deeply controversial, provoking acrimonious debate along geographic, societal, and political lines. Its challengers took the tax to court, where they argued that it was a direct tax that had not been apportioned evenly among the states, in violation of a provision of the Constitution. (In practice, apportioning income tax by state would be impossible, so a ruling on this basis would doom federal income taxes.) When the matter reached the Supreme Court, it unexpectedly agreed with the challengers and, by a 5–4 vote, struck down the income tax. The majority opinion, written by Fuller, held that the Framers intended the term "direct tax" to include property and that income was itself a form of property. Fuller thus ruled the entire act to be unconstitutional. The decision provoked withering criticism from each of the four dissenters, including a paroxysm of ire by Justice John Marshall Harlan that one scholar characterized as "one of the most spectacular displays ever staged by a member of the Court". Harlan wrote that the decision "strikes at the very foundation of national authority", while Justice Henry Billings Brown opined it "approaches the proportion of a national calamity". Each dissenter decried the majority's perceived infidelity to precedent.
The Pollock decision was distinctly unpopular. Much of the public questioned whether Fuller's constitutional analysis was truly in good faith: many felt that the Court was more committed to protecting the wealthy than to following any particular legal philosophy. Former Oregon governor Sylvester Pennoyer even called for the impeachment of the justices in the majority. While the public outcry soon waned, support for a federal income tax grew substantially in subsequent years. The Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1913, abrogated Pollock by allowing Congress to levy income taxes without apportionment; it marked only the third time in American history that a Supreme Court decision was reversed via constitutional amendment. However, the Supreme Court has never formally overruled Pollock's reasoning; to the contrary, Chief Justice John Roberts cited it in the 2012 Affordable Care Act case National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius. Law professor Erik M. Jensen noted in 2014 that most legal academics agree that Pollock was "obviously dead wrong"; scholar Calvin H. Johnson called the decision "a terrible example of judicial bad behavior" that should be "reverse[d] in full". Jensen takes a minority position, agreeing with Pollock and extending it to argue for the unconstitutionality of flat taxes and wealth taxes. In any event, Fuller's Pollock opinion remains relevant in contemporary public policy.
==== Interstate commerce ====
Fuller was suspicious of attempts to assert broad federal power over interstate commerce. Questions about the scope of Congress's Commerce Clause authority commonly arose in the context of the Sherman Act, a major 1890 federal antitrust law. In the first such case, United States v. E. C. Knight Co. (1895), Fuller led the Court in limiting the federal government's powers. The Department of Justice had filed suit under the Sherman Act against the American Sugar Refining Company, arguing that it was a monopoly because it controlled over ninety percent of the American sugar refining market. Writing for an eight-justice majority, Fuller concluded Congress could not proscribe such monopolies because they only implicated manufacturing and thus did not fall under the Commerce Clause. Stating that "[c]ommerce succeeds to manufacture and is not a part of it," he maintained that the sugar-refining trust had no direct impact on interstate commerce. Fuller feared that a broader interpretation of the Commerce Clause would impinge upon states' rights, and he thus held the Sugar Trust could only be broken up by the states in which it operated. The case displays Fuller's tendency to support a limited federal government. The legal academy generally views Knight as an unduly restrictive interpretation of the Commerce Clause, although legal scholar Richard Epstein has argued that it aligns with founding-era precedents. The Court's expansive Commerce Clause decisions during the New Deal period essentially abrogated Knight.
Fuller participated in several other major antitrust cases. In the 1904 case of Northern Securities Co. v. United States, a majority broke up the Northern Securities Company, a railroad holding company, believing it to be a monopoly. Fuller dissented, joining opinions written by Justices Edward Douglass White and Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. The dissenters argued that simply holding stock in a company did not count as interstate commerce, and so they would have held that the Sherman Act did not apply to holding companies. The justices were unanimous in Swift & Co. v. United States (1905), which gave the Court's blessing to antitrust enforcement against meat-packing companies. Although meat-packing did not directly involve interstate commerce, the Court held that the Commerce Clause still applied because the meat products would eventually be sold across state lines. Citing Swift and other cases, legal historian James W. Ely has argued that Fuller was not opposed to federal antitrust laws per se, but only to expansive readings of the Commerce Clause. In another antitrust case, Loewe v. Lawlor (1908), Fuller wrote for a unanimous Court that labor unions were subject to the Sherman Act. The ruling was commonly thought to evince antipathy toward organized labor. Its broad interpretation of the antitrust laws appeared difficult to reconcile with Knight, and law professor David P. Currie wrote that the apparent contradiction "suggests that [Fuller] may not have been guided exclusively by neutral legal principles".
Fuller's attempts to limit the national government's power did not always meet with the support of his fellow justices. He dissented from the Court's 1903 decision in Champion v. Ames, in which five justices upheld a federal ban on transporting lottery tickets across state lines. In his opinion, Fuller demurred that the majority's reasoning gave Congress "the absolute and exclusive power to prohibit the transportation of anything or anybody from one state to another. He feared that the law violated the principles of federalism and states' rights protected by the Tenth Amendment. The ruling in Ames was among the first to grant the federal government a de facto police power to protect the welfare of the public. It proved a historically significant step toward expanding congressional authority, and legal scholar John Semonche wrote that by resisting it, Fuller "sought to put his finger in the dike". The chief justice also dissented in McCray v. United States, a 1904 case that approved the use of the federal taxing power for regulatory purposes. McCray effectively allowed Congress to regulate intrastate commercial activity by simply levying taxes on it; the decision curtailed Fuller's opinion in Knight and showed his support for federalism could not always garner the support of a majority of the Court.
=== Substantive due process ===
Fuller's tenure on the Supreme Court, in the words of Schiffman, "witnessed the final passing of judicial tolerance of legislative experimentation and the final acceptance of the doctrine of substantive due process". Soon after his arrival on the Court, the chief justice began joining with his colleagues to gradually erode the states' powers to regulate economic activity. In Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co. v. Minnesota (1890), for instance, Fuller and five other justices voted to strike down the railroad rates set by a Minnesota commission. The ruling held that the Due Process Clause contained a substantive component that subjected the states' regulatory decisions to judicial review. With Fuller's support, the Court in Allgeyer v. Louisiana (1897) unanimously expanded that component, concluding the Due Process Clause protected a right to enter into contracts. Allgeyer was the first case in the Court's history in which a state law was struck down on freedom-of-contract grounds, and its implications stretched well beyond the insurance context in which it arose. According to Semonche, the decision heralded a "new and sweeping" interpretation of the Due Process Clause "that would haunt the Justices and American society for the next four decades".
The era of substantive due process reached its zenith in the 1905 case of Lochner v. New York. Lochner involved a New York law that capped hours for bakery workers at sixty hours a week. In a decision widely viewed to be among the Supreme Court's worst, a five-justice majority held the law to be unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause. The opinion, written by Justice Rufus W. Peckham and joined by Fuller, maintained that the liberty protected by that clause included a right to enter labor contracts without being subject to unreasonable governmental regulation. Peckham rejected the state's argument that the law was intended to protect workers' health, citing the "common understanding" that baking was not unhealthy. He maintained that bakers could protect their own health, arguing that the law was in fact a labor regulation in disguise. In a now-famous dissent, Justice Holmes accused the majority of substituting its own economic opinions for the requirements of the Constitution. Most scholars agree that the majority in Lochner engaged in judicial activism, substituting its own views for those of the democratically elected branches of government. The Fuller Court was not exclusively hostile to labor regulation: in Muller v. Oregon (1908), for example, it unanimously upheld an Oregon law capping women's working hours at ten hours a day. Nonetheless, Fuller's decision to join the majority in the Lochner case, which the Court ultimately abandoned in West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish (1937), is a major reason for the low estimation in which history has held him.
=== Judicial authority ===
Because of his support for property rights, Fuller favored a broad conception of the judicial role, endorsing doctrinal developments that expanded the federal courts' power to issue injunctions. In the case of In re Debs (1895), for instance, Fuller and his fellow justices bolstered the judiciary's authority to enjoin deprivations of public rights. The case stemmed from an 1894 strike by the American Railway Union against the Pullman Company. A Chicago federal court issued an injunction against the union's leaders, ordering them to stop facilitating the strike. Union president Eugene V. Debs and other union officials defied the order, and the court sentenced them to prison for contempt. Debs challenged the conviction before the Supreme Court, but it unanimously denied him relief. Broadly construing the federal government's powers, the Court held the judicial branch had the power to enjoin anything that obstructed interstate commerce. The Debs case opened the door to injunctions in labor cases, and it substantially expanded the courts' equitable authority. The case of Ex parte Young (1908) similarly demonstrated Fuller's support for extending the courts' ability to issue injunctions. The case involved the Eleventh Amendment, which proscribes the federal courts from hearing lawsuits brought against states. In Young, Fuller and seven other justices endorsed a way to sidestep that prohibition: suing an official of the state instead of the state itself. The landmark decision aided the Fuller Court in its quest to strike down state economic regulations, but its reasoning has permitted the federal judiciary to hear challenges to state laws in a wide variety of other contexts. Although some modern scholars have criticized the ruling in Young, attorney Rochelle Bobroff noted in 2009 that it "remains one of the most powerful tools to compel states to comply with federal law". Ely characterized the decision as "a milestone in the Fuller Court's transformation of federal judicial power", and legal historian Edward A. Purcell Jr. said that it "helped create a newly powerful and activist federal judiciary that emerged at the turn of the twentieth century and continued to operate into the twenty-first".
Fuller wrote the majority opinion in United States v. Shipp (1909), a singular decision in which the justices insisted that the authority of the Court be heeded. A Tennessee court sentenced Ed Johnson, an African-American man, to death for rape. His attorneys petitioned the Supreme Court for relief, arguing that racial bias had tainted the jury pool and that the threat of mob violence made the venue unfair. The Court agreed to issue a stay of execution, which prevented the death sentence from being carried out pending a ruling on Johnson's appeal. But John Shipp, the sheriff, removed almost all the guards from Johnson's prison, allowing a lynch mob to enter the jail and kill Johnson. Shipp, his deputies, and members of the mob were charged with contempt of court on the basis that they had spurned the Court's stay order. In the only criminal trial conducted in the Supreme Court's history, the justices sat as a jury to determine the defendants' guilt. Fuller, writing for a five-justice majority, found Shipp and several other defendants guilty of contempt. In his opinion, the chief justice wrote Shipp had "not only made the work of the mob easy, but in effect aided and abetted it", acting "in utter disregard of this court's mandate and in defiance of this court's orders". While the decision did not signal a sudden benevolence toward civil rights claims, Mark Curriden and Leroy Phillips write it constituted "the only proactive step the U.S. Supreme Court has ever taken to combat mob rule directly and demand that the public respect its authority and the authority of the rule of law".
=== Race ===
In the words of legal scholar John V. Orth, Fuller "preside[d] comfortably over a Court that turned a blind eye to racial injustice". In the infamous case of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), he joined six of his colleagues in upholding a Louisiana law that required the racial segregation of railroad passengers. The majority opinion, penned by Justice Brown, rejected the claim that the law violated the Equal Protection Clause, maintaining instead that "separate but equal" distinctions were constitutional. Citing "the nature of things", the majority asserted that equal protection did not require the "commingling" of blacks and whites. Brown also argued that the Louisiana law did not suggest that blacks were inferior, stating that it was based on "the established usages, customs and traditions of the people". Justice Harlan dissented, using in the process the now-famous phrase "Our Constitution is color-blind." The Plessy decision placed the Court's imprimatur on Jim Crow laws. It instituted a half-century of what Louis H. Pollak called "humiliation-by-law", which continued until the Court reversed course in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Fuller's decision to join the majority in Plessy has contributed significantly to his poor historical reputation.
The Fuller Court was no more liberal in other cases involving race: to the contrary, it curtailed even the limited progress toward equality made under Fuller's predecessors. For instance, Fuller joined the unanimous majority in Williams v. Mississippi (1898), which rejected a challenge to poll taxes and literacy tests that in effect disenfranchised Mississippi's African-American population. Even though a lower court had admitted the arrangement was intended "to obstruct the exercise of suffrage by the negro race", the Supreme Court refused to strike it down, reasoning that the provisions passed constitutional muster because they did not explicitly single out African-Americans. The Williams majority distanced itself from the Court's previous ruling in Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886), in which the Waite Court had struck down a law that, while neutral on its face, discriminated against a racial minority. In a 2021 book, Vernon Burton and Armand Derfner characterized Williams as one "of the most disgraceful decisions in Supreme Court history", writing it "abandoned Yick Wo" and "erased the Fifteenth Amendment".
Fuller was among the seven justices who joined the majority opinion in Berea College v. Kentucky (1908), a segregation case in which the Court refused to apply its freedom-of-contract principles in defense of racial equality. The decision involved the Commonwealth of Kentucky's Day Law, which required private colleges to segregate their students. In its challenge to the statute, Berea College cited Lochner and other similar cases to argue the law was "an arbitrary interference with the rights of the people in the conduct of their private business and in the pursuit of their ordinary occupations". Such reasoning seemed likely to persuade the Court, given its history of striking down laws that interfered with the business decisions of private entities. But the justices were not convinced, upholding the law on the basis that, because corporations had no right to be granted a charter, states could impose otherwise unconstitutional restrictions on them. Again dissenting, Justice Harlan criticized the law's infringement on the economic-freedom principles that the Court had articulated in other cases. The majority's reasoning stood in conspicuous conflict with its support for corporate rights in other contexts and Donald Lively wrote the ruling "illuminated the evolving duality of Fourteenth Amendment standards".
=== Citizenship, immigration, and the territories ===
As a result of the Spanish–American War, the United States took control of Puerto Rico and the Philippines, raising knotty legal issues about their status under the Constitution. The Supreme Court addressed these disputes in a series of rulings in the so-called Insular Cases. In Downes v. Bidwell (1901), a fractured Court ruled 5–4 that the people living in the territories were not entitled to the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Fuller, writing for the four dissenters, argued that Congress had no power to hold the territories "like a disembodied shade" free from all constitutional limits. He contended that the Constitution could not tolerate unrestricted congressional power over the territories, writing that it rejected that proposition in a way "too plain and unambiguous to permit its meaning to be thus influenced". Fuller's opinion was in line both with his strict-constructionist views and his party's opposition to American imperialism. While the Court has never adopted Fuller's position, scholars such as Juan R. Torruella have argued that it correctly interpreted the Constitution.
Fuller joined the majority in another of the Insular Cases: DeLima v. Bidwell (1901). The Court held – again by a 5–4 vote – that Puerto Rico did not constitute a foreign country for purposes of federal tariff law. Put together, Downes and DeLima meant that the territories were neither domestic nor foreign under American law. The Court was similarly unclear in Gonzales v. Williams (1904). In a unanimous opinion by Fuller, the Justices ruled that Puerto Ricans were not aliens under federal law, but they refused to decide whether the people of Puerto Rico were American citizens. In Late Corporation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. United States (1890), a case involving Congress's power over the Utah Territory, a six-justice majority upheld an anti-polygamy law that dissolved the charter of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and seized its property. Fuller penned a dissent, in which he maintained that Congress had no authority to order the confiscation of property. Rejecting the majority's broader interpretation of federal power, Fuller expressed fear that the decision would afford Congress "absolute power" over the denizens of the territories. Ultimately, Fuller's position was vindicated: Congress later passed a joint resolution restoring the church's property.
Fuller was rarely amenable to the claims of Chinese immigrants. In the 1889 Chinese Exclusion Case, for instance, he joined Justice Stephen Field's opinion that unanimously rejected a challenge to the Chinese Exclusion Act. Although treaties with China allowed for immigration, the Court held that Congress was not bound by them, ruling that the Act abrogated all treaty obligations to the contrary. In Fong Yue Ting v. United States (1893), a majority held Congress had total authority over aliens and that they could be expelled on any basis. Three justices, including Fuller, dissented, arguing that aliens were at least entitled to some Constitutional protections. According to Ely, Fuller's dissent shows that he "occasionally demonstrated concern over civil liberties". But he also dissented in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), in which the Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment ensured birthright citizenship – automatic citizenship for all children born on American soil. Writing for himself and Justice Harlan, Fuller claimed Chinese aliens were not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States because they retained allegiance to the Chinese emperor. Based on that fact, he concluded their children had no claim to American citizenship. The Wong Kim Ark decision has taken on additional significance as prominent Republican politicians, including Donald Trump, have called for the reversal of birthright citizenship.
== Personal life ==
Fuller was married twice, first to Calista Reynolds, whom he wed in 1858. They had two children before she died of tuberculosis in 1864. Fuller remarried in 1866, wedding Mary Ellen Coolbaugh, the daughter of William F. Coolbaugh. The couple had an additional eight children, and they remained married until her death in 1904. A member of the Chicago Literary Club, Fuller was interested in poetry and other forms of literature; his personal library held over six thousand books.
During his confirmation, Fuller's mustache produced what law professor Todd Peppers called "a curious national anxiety". No Chief Justice had ever before had a mustache, and numerous newspapers debated the propriety of Fuller's facial hair. The New York Sun praised it as "uncommonly luxuriant and beautiful", while the Jackson Standard quipped that "Fuller's mustache is a good quality for a Democratic politician—it shuts his mouth." After Fuller's confirmation, the Sun switched course: it denounced his "deplorable moustaches", speculating they would distract attorneys and "detract from the dignity" of the Court. The column triggered further debate in the nation's newspapers, with much of the press coming to Fuller's defense. The commentary notwithstanding, Fuller kept the mustache.
== Death ==
While at his summer home in Sorrento, Maine, Fuller died on July 4, 1910, of a heart attack. Upon hearing of his death, President Taft praised Fuller as "a great judge"; Theodore Roosevelt said "I admired the Chief Justice as a fearless and upright judge, and I was exceedingly attached to him personally." James E. Freeman, who later served as the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, conducted the funeral service. Fuller was buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.
== Legacy ==
Fuller's time on the Supreme Court has often been roundly criticized or overlooked altogether. His support of the widely execrated Plessy and Lochner decisions has been particularly responsible for his low historical reputation. Many Fuller Court decisions were later overruled; its positions on economic regulation and labor fared particularly poorly. Fuller's rulings were often favorable to corporations, and some scholars have claimed that the Fuller Court was biased towards big business and against the working class. Fuller wrote few consequential majority opinions, leading Yale professor John P. Frank to remark that "[i]f the measure of distinction is influence on the life of our own times, Fuller's score is as close to zero as any man's could be who held his high office so long". In addition, as William Rehnquist – himself a chief justice – noted, Fuller's more assertive colleagues Holmes and Harlan overshadowed him in the eyes of history. Yet the Fuller Court's jurisprudence was also a key source of the legal academy's criticism. Asserting that its justices "ignored the Fundamental Law", Princeton professor Alpheus T. Mason argued that "[t]he tribunal Fuller headed was a body dominated by fear—the fear of populists, of socialists, and communists, of numbers, majorities and democracy".
However, the growth of conservative legal thought in the late 20th century has brought Fuller new supporters. A 1993 survey of judges and legal academics found that Fuller's reputation, while still categorized as "average", had risen from the level recorded in a 1970 assessment. In a 1995 book, James W. Ely argued that the traditional criticisms of the Fuller Court are flawed, maintaining that its decisions were based on principle instead of partisanship. He noted that Fuller and his fellow justices rendered rulings that generally conformed with contemporaneous public opinion. Both Bruce Ackerman and Howard Gillman defended the Fuller Court on similar grounds, arguing that the justices' decisions fit in with the era's zeitgeist. Lawrence Reed of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy wrote in 2006 that Fuller was "a model Chief Justice", favorably citing his economic jurisprudence. While these revisionist ideas have become influential in the scholarly academy, they have not attained universal support: many academics continue to favor more critical views of the Fuller Court. Yale professor Owen M. Fiss, himself sympathetic to the revisionists' views, noted in 1993 that "by all accounts", the Fuller Court "ranks among the worst". In a 1998 review of Ely's book, law professor John Cary Sims argued that Fuller and his fellow justices failed to fulfill their obligation to go "against the prevailing political winds" instead of simply deferring to the majority. George Skouras, writing in 2011, rejected the ideas of Ely, Ackerman, and Gillman, agreeing instead with the Progressive argument that the Fuller Court favored corporations over vulnerable Americans. Fuller's legacy came under substantial scrutiny amidst racial unrest in 2020, with many condemning him for his vote in Plessy.
=== Statue ===
In 2013, a statue of Fuller, donated by a cousin, was installed on the lawn in front of Augusta's Kennebec County Courthouse. With Black Lives Matter protests and other attention in 2020, focus on the Plessy decision led to debate about the appropriateness of the statue's placement. In August 2020, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court requested that the statue be removed, citing Plessy. Kennebec County commissioners held a public hearing in December; a majority of participants favored the statue's removal. In February 2021, the county commissioners voted unanimously to move the statue from county property, citing a desire to dissociate the county from racial segregation. Commissioners appointed a committee to identify a new home for the statue. In April 2021, the original donor offered to take the statue back, agreeing to pay the costs for removing it. County commissioners accepted the offer later that month; they agreed that the statue could remain in front of the courthouse for up to a year while the original donor attempted to find a new location where it can be displayed. In February 2022, the statue was removed and placed in storage. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=Polytrichum+piliferum&title=Special:Search&profile=advanced&fulltext=1&ns0=1 | https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=Polytrichum+piliferum&title=Special:Search&profile=advanced&fulltext=1&ns0=1 | |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rock_(film) | The Rock (film) | The Rock is a 1996 American action thriller film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, and written by David Weisberg, Douglas S. Cook and Mark Rosner. It stars Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris, with supporting roles played by Michael Biehn, William Forsythe, David Morse, and John Spencer. The plot follows a former SAS captain (Connery) and an FBI chemist (Cage), who attempt to disarm missiles from a rogue group of Force Recon Marines who have taken control of the former prison on Alcatraz Island.
The Rock was dedicated to the memory of Simpson, who died five months before its release. It was released by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution through the Hollywood Pictures label on June 7, 1996. It received generally positive reviews and was nominated for Best Sound at the 69th Academy Awards. It earned over $335 million at the box office on a production budget of $75 million, becoming the fourth highest-grossing film of 1996. The Rock was remade in India in 2003 as Qayamat: City Under Threat.
The Rock was the basis for false descriptions of the Iraqi chemical weapons program. Britain's Secret Intelligence Service was led to believe Saddam Hussein was continuing to produce weapons of mass destruction by a false agent who based his reports on The Rock, according to the Chilcot Inquiry.
== Plot ==
After many failed attempts to get his fallen men the recognition they deserved via the proper channels and fed up with the U.S. Government's underhanded tactics, USMC Brigadier General Francis Hummel and his rogue group of Force Recon Marines, including his loyal subordinate Major Tom Baxter, steal 15 rockets filled with lethal VX gas from a U.S. Navy facility. The next day, they seize control of the former prison on Alcatraz Island, taking the tourists and guards hostage. Hummel contacts the FBI and threatens to launch the rockets at the San Francisco Bay Area unless the government pays him a lump sum of $100 million, most of which will be donated to the families of the men who died during his command but were never compensated.
The Department of Defense and the FBI both attempt to retake Alcatraz by infiltrating the old tunnel system beneath the island, with Navy SEALs led by Commander Anderson. They recruit FBI chemical weapons specialist Stanley Goodspeed to join them and disarm the rockets safely. With no knowledge of the architecture of the tunnels, FBI Director Womack reluctantly calls on the aid of the imprisoned John Mason, a former British MI6 and SAS operative and the only man to escape Alcatraz after he stole a microfilm created by J. Edgar Hoover containing classified U.S. information. Mason refused to reveal the microfilm's location after being captured, knowing he would be killed and was imprisoned without trial. Mason agrees after signing a pardon that clears his record, though Womack destroys it shortly thereafter.
Mason escapes and leads the FBI on a car chase, causing a rampage through the city before being caught by Goodspeed when he meets with his estranged daughter, Jade. At the command center, Mason negotiates to join the team heading to Alcatraz. The team infiltrates the prison, but Hummel's men are alerted to their presence and ambush them in the shower room. Hummel tries to convince Anderson to surrender, but the zealous Captain Frye and Captain Darrow deliberately cause a shootout that kills Anderson and his team. Mason and Goodspeed manage to evade them. Believing the mission to be a failure, Mason prepares to leave until Goodspeed reveals the truth about the VX, explaining that Mason's daughter and his pregnant fiancée, Carla (who came to San Francisco despite Goodspeed telling her to stay home), would be killed as well.
Mason works together with Goodspeed to disable twelve rockets and kill several Marines. After Hummel threatens to execute a hostage, Mason surrenders to stall him while Goodspeed disables another rocket before also being captured. They escape from their cells, but Mason, having assessed Hummel as a soldier who has no intention of killing innocents, leaves, with Goodspeed continuing on his own. Caught and held at gunpoint, Goodspeed is forced to surrender, but Mason saves him, convinced that Goodspeed's unborn child needs its father.
As the ransom deadline passes, Frye and Darrow pressure Hummel into firing a rocket, but he redirects it to detonate in the sea. Hummel explains the rockets were a bluff and that he never intended to kill anyone. Realizing they will not be paid, Frye and Darrow convince the remaining soldiers to mutiny against Hummel and Baxter. Baxter is killed, and Hummel is mortally wounded, but he tells Goodspeed the location of the last rocket.
With the SEALs dead, the government attempts to launch a secondary measure: an airstrike aimed at destroying Alcatraz with experimental thermite plasma bombs, which will neutralize the gas but kill everyone on the island. Goodspeed and Mason kill the remaining Marines before Goodspeed launches green flares, a signal that the attack be aborted; one of the bombs is already dropped at the back of the island, and the blast throws Goodspeed into the bay, but Mason saves him.
Goodspeed confirms the mission's success to Womack but claims Mason was killed in the explosion before telling Mason that Womack shredded his pardon. The pair part ways amicably, with Goodspeed telling Mason where the fake papers and money are. Mason suggests that Goodspeed attend a church in Kansas where he kept the microfilm. Sometime later, Goodspeed and his newly wedded wife, Carla, recover the microfilm from the church, which apparently contains information on the truth behind the JFK assassination.
== Cast ==
Uncredited members of the cast include Stuart Wilson as General Al Kramer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; David Marshall Grant as White House Chief of Staff Hayden Sinclair; Philip Baker Hall as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; Xander Berkeley as FBI technician Lonner; and Stanley Anderson as the President of the United States. Moreover, Luenell Campbell features as a tourist in a jail cell.
Other actors in smaller roles include Todd Louiso as FBI agent Marvin Isherwood, David Bowe as Dr. Ling, Howard Platt as Louis Lindstrom, John Laughlin as General Peterson, Harry Humphries as Admiral Johansson, Willie Garson as Francis Reynolds, Anthony Clark as Paul the hairdresser, Tom Towles as an Alcatraz park ranger, and Anthony Guidera and Jim Caviezel as F-18 pilots.
Members of Hummel's USMC unit are played by Raymond Cruz (uncredited) as Sergeant Rojas, Jim Maniaci as Private Scarpetti, Greg Collins as Private Gamble, Brendan Kelly as Private Cox, and Steve Harris as Private McCoy. Dennis Chalker (Dando) and Marshall R. Teague (Reigert) play members of Anderson's SEAL team.
== Production ==
=== Writing and pre-production ===
Jonathan Hensleigh participated in writing the script, which became the subject of a dispute with the Writers Guild of America. The spec script (by David Weisberg and Douglas Cook) was reworked by several writers, but other than the original team, Mark Rosner was the only one granted official credit by guild arbitration. The rule is that the credited writing team must contribute 50% of the final script (effectively limiting credits to the screenplay's initial authors, plus one re-write team). Despite his work on the script, Hensleigh was not credited in the film. Michael Bay wrote an open letter of protest, in which he criticized the arbitration procedure as a "sham" and a "travesty". He said Hensleigh had worked closely with him and should have received screen credit.
British screenwriting team Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais were brought in at Sean Connery's request to rewrite his lines, but ended up altering much of the film's dialogue. Quentin Tarantino and Aaron Sorkin were also uncredited script doctors.
=== Casting ===
At one point, Arnold Schwarzenegger was to have played the role of Goodspeed. Schwarzenegger turned the role down because he did not like the script.
=== Filming ===
Most of The Rock was shot on location in the Alcatraz Prison on Alcatraz Island. As it is governed by the National Park Service, it was not possible to close Alcatraz, and much of the filming had to accommodate tour parties. The scene in which FBI Director Womack is thrown off the balcony was filmed on location at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. The filming led to numerous calls to the hotel by people who saw a man dangling from the balcony. The closing scene was shot outside the Sacred Heart Mission Church in Saticoy, California.
The Rock was Bay's first film shot in a widescreen 2.39:1 aspect ratio, via Super 35. On the commentary track for the Criterion Collection DVD of Armageddon, Bay recalls not liking the format, due to the quality of the release prints, and did not touch the format again until Bad Boys II, at which point the digital intermediate process was available.
There were tensions during shooting between Bay and Walt Disney Studios executives who were supervising the production. On the commentary track for the Criterion Collection DVD, Bay recalls a time when he was preparing to leave the set for a meeting with the executives when he was approached by Connery in golfing attire. Connery, who also produced the film, asked Bay where he was going, and when Bay explained he had a meeting with the executives, Connery asked if he could accompany him. When Bay arrived in the conference room, the executives were surprised when they saw Connery behind him. According to Bay, Connery stood up for Bay and insisted that he was doing a good job and should be left alone.
== Music ==
The soundtrack to The Rock was released on the same day as the film, June 7, 1996, by Hollywood Records. Hans Zimmer and his longtime collaborator Nick Glennie-Smith were the principal composers, while Harry Gregson-Williams was the score producer, with additional music composed by Don Harper, Steven M. Stern and Gregson-Williams. The film represents the first collaboration between Zimmer and Bay, the composer would write and/or produce the scores for many of Bay’s films moving forward.
== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
For its opening weekend, The Rock grossed $25 million, beating out Mission: Impossible to reach the number one spot. Upon opening, it surpassed Dick Tracy to achieve the highest opening weekend for a live-action Disney film. It would be overtaken by The Cable Guy during its second weekend, earning $18.5 million with a 26.2% decline. The film would hold well in its third weekend, collecting $14.3 million and ranking third behind Eraser and Disney's own The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Produced on a $75 million budget, The Rock grossed a total of $134 million in the U.S. and Canada and $201 million elsewhere, for a worldwide total of $335 million. It was the seventh-highest-grossing film for the U.S. box office in 1996, and the fourth highest-grossing U.S. film worldwide that year.
=== Critical response ===
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 68% based on 74 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "For visceral thrills, it can't be beat. Just don't expect The Rock to engage your brain." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert awarded the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, praising it as "a first-rate, slam-bang action thriller with a lot of style and no little humor". Todd McCarthy of Variety gave the film a positive review, commenting "The yarn has its share of gaping holes and jaw-dropping improbabilities, but director Michael Bay sweeps them all aside with his never-take-a-breath pacing." Richard Corliss, writing for Time, wrote: "Slick, brutal and almost human, this is the team-spirit action movie Mission: Impossible should have been." David Sterritt of Christian Science Monitor said, "The filmmakers got suckered by their own high-tech effects, turning a potentially clever entertainment into yet another barrage of violence, vulgarity, and excess."
=== Accolades ===
The Rock won several minor awards, including 'Best On-Screen Duo' for Connery and Cage at the MTV Movie Awards. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound (Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Keith A. Wester).
The film was selected for a limited edition DVD release by the Criterion Collection, a distributor of primarily arthouse films it categorizes as "important classic and contemporary films" and "cinema at its finest". In an essay supporting the selection of The Rock, Roger Ebert, who was strongly critical of most of Bay's later films, gave the film 3 1/2 out of four stars, calling it "an action picture that rises to the top of the genre because of a literate, witty screenplay and skilled craftsmanship in the direction and special effects."
In 2014, Time Out polled several film critics, directors, actors and stunt actors to list their top action films. The Rock was listed at 74th place on the list. In 2019, Tom Reimann from Collider ranked The Rock as Bay's best film and "a perfect snapshot of the height of 90s action movies".
== Iraqi chemical weapons program ==
In September 2002, MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove said the agency had acquired information from a new source revealing that Iraq was stepping up production of chemical and biological warfare agents. The source, who was said to have "direct access", claimed senior staff were working seven days a week while the regime was concentrating a great deal of effort on the production of anthrax. Dearlove told the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), Sir John Scarlett, that they were "on the edge of (a) significant intel breakthrough" which could be the "key to unlock" Iraq's weapons programme.
However, it was noticed that the agent's description of glass containers, not typically used for chemical munitions, resembled the nerve gas inaccurately depicted in glass beads or spheres in The Rock. By February 2003 – a month before the invasion of Iraq – MI6 concluded that their source had been lying "over a period of time" but failed to inform No 10 or others, even though Prime Minister Tony Blair had been briefed on this intelligence. According to The Independent, the false claims of weapons of mass destruction were the justification for UK's entering the war.
Screenwriter David Weisberg said, "What was so amazing was anybody in the poison gas community would immediately know that this was total bullshit – such obvious bullshit". Weisberg said he was unsurprised a desperate agent might resort to films for inspiration, but dismayed that authorities "didn't do apparently the most basic fact-checking or vetting of the information. If you'd just asked a chemical weapons expert, it would have been immediately obvious it was ludicrous." Weisberg said he had had some "funny emails" after the report, but he felt "it's not a nice legacy for the film." "It's tragic that we went to war," he concluded.
== Unproduced sequel ==
Director Michael Bay said he had an idea for a follow-up to The Rock that never developed past the concept that would have involved Goodspeed and Mason being chased by the government, due to Goodspeed's possession of the microfilm. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_(United_States_coin) | Quarter (United States coin) | The quarter, formally known as the quarter dollar, is a coin in the United States valued at 25 cents, representing one-quarter of a dollar. Adorning its obverse is the profile of George Washington, while its reverse design has undergone frequent changes since 1998. Since its initial production in 1796, the quarter dollar has held a significant place in American numismatics, with consistent production since 1831.
It has a diameter of 0.955 inch (24.26 mm) and a thickness of 0.069 inch (1.75 mm). Its current version is composed of two layers of cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) clad on a core of pure copper. With the cupronickel layers comprising 1/3 of total weight, the coin's overall composition is therefore 8.33% nickel, 91.67% copper. Its weight is 0.1823 troy oz. or 0.2000 avoirdupois oz. (5.670 grams).
== Designs before 1932 ==
The choice of a quarter-dollar as a denomination, as opposed to the 1⁄5 or the 20-cent piece that is more common elsewhere, originated with the practice of dividing Spanish milled dollars into eight wedge-shaped segments, which gave rise to the name "piece of eight" for that coin. "Two bits" (that is, two eighths of a piece of eight) is a common nickname for a quarter.
From 1796 the quarter was minted with 0.2377 oz. (6.739 g) of 89.24% fine silver (0.2121 oz. [6.014 g] fine silver), revised to 90% fine silver from 1838 to 1964. It weighed 0.2357 oz. (6.682 g) from 1838, 0.2194 oz. (6.22 g) from 1853, and 0.2204 oz. (6.25 g) from 1873 to 1964. Six designs, five regular and one commemorative, have been issued until 1930:
Draped Bust 1796–1807
Draped Bust, Small Eagle 1796
Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle 1804–1807
Capped Bust 1815–1838
Capped Bust (Large Size), With Motto 1815–1828
Capped Bust (Small Size), No Motto 1831–1838
Seated Liberty 1838–1891
Seated Liberty, No Motto 1838–1865
Seated Liberty, With Motto 1866–1891
Barber 1892–1916
Isabella quarter commemorative 1893
Standing Liberty 1916–1930
Standing Liberty (Type 1) 1916–1917 (featured an image of Liberty with one of her breasts exposed)
Standing Liberty (Type 2 or Type 2a) 1917–1924
Standing Liberty (Type 3 or Type 2b) 1925–1930
== Washington quarter ==
The original version of the Washington quarter issued from 1932 to 1998 and was briefly stopped in 1933, but continued the following year. The coin was designed by sculptor John Flanagan. The obverse depicted George Washington facing left, with "Liberty" above the head, the date below, and "In God We Trust" in the left field. The reverse depicted an eagle with wings outspread perched on a bundle of arrows framed below by two olive branches.
It was minted in 0.2204 oz. (6.25 g) of 90% fine silver until 1964, when rising silver prices forced the change into the present-day cupronickel-clad-copper composition, which was also called the "Johnson Sandwich" after then-president Lyndon B. Johnson.
As of 2011, it cost 11.14 cents to produce each coin.
Regular issue Washington quarters:
Silver quarters, 1932 & 1934–1964
Clad composition quarter, 1965–1998
50 State quarters, 1999–2008
District of Columbia and United States Territories quarters, 2009
America the Beautiful quarters, 2010–2021
Washington Crossing the Delaware, 2021
American Women quarters, 2022–2025
Semiquincentennial quarters, 2026
Youth Sports quarters, 2027–2030
Commemorative and bullion issue Washington quarters:
United States Bicentennial coinage quarter in clad & 40% silver, 1975–1976 (all were dated 1776–1976)
Silver proof set quarter, 1992–1998
America the Beautiful silver bullion coins in 5-ounce silver, 2010–2021
=== US states and territories quarters, 1999–2009 ===
In 1999, the 50 State quarters program of circulating commemorative quarters began. These have a modified Washington obverse and a different reverse for each state, ending the former Washington quarter's production completely. On January 23, 2007, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 392 extending the state quarter program one year to 2009, to include the District of Columbia and the five inhabited U.S. territories: Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The bill passed through the Senate, and was signed into legislation by President George W. Bush as part of Pub. L. 110–161: the Consolidated Appropriations Act (text) (PDF), on December 27, 2007. The typeface used in the state quarter series varies a bit from one state to another, but is generally derived from Albertus.
=== America the Beautiful quarters, 2010–2021 ===
On June 4, 2008, the America's Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008, H.R. 6184, was introduced to the House of Representatives. On December 23, 2008, President Bush signed the bill into law as Pub. L. 110–456 (text) (PDF). The America the Beautiful quarters program began in 2010 and ended in 2021, lasting 11 years and depicting a natural or historic site for each state and territory.
=== 2021: Return of the original obverse, new legislation ===
Following the conclusion of the America the Beautiful quarter series in 2021, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had the option of ordering a second round of 56 quarters, but did not do so by the end of 2018 as required in the 2008 legislation.
The quarter's design for 2021 therefore reverted to Flanagan's original obverse design, paired with a new reverse rendition of Washington crossing the Delaware River on the night of December 25, 1776. In October 2019, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) met to consider designs, with the final choice made by Mnuchin. On December 25, 2020, the Mint announced the successful design, by Benjamin Sowards as sculpted by Michael Gaudioso. This quarter was released into circulation on April 5, 2021, and was minted until the end of 2021.
The Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020 (Pub. L. 116–330 (text) (PDF)) established three new series of quarters for the next decade. From 2022 to 2025, the Mint may produce up to five coins each year featuring prominent American women, with a new obverse design of Washington. In 2026, there will be up to five designs representing the United States Semiquincentennial. From 2027 to 2030, the Mint may produce up to five coins each year featuring youth sports. The obverse will also be redesigned in 2027, and even after 2030 is still to depict Washington.
=== American Women Quarters ===
The American Women Quarters Program allowed for the issue up to five new reverse designs each year from 2022 to 2025 featuring the accomplishments and contributions made in various fields by women to American history and development. The obverse features Laura Gardin Fraser's portrait of George Washington originally intended for the first Washington quarter in 1932.
=== Semiquincentennial coins ===
As part of the United States Semiquincentennial celebration, five new quarter designs are planned to be issued in 2026. The designs celebrate the Mayflower Compact, the American Revolutionary War, the United States Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Gettysburg Address.
=== Collecting silver Washington quarters ===
The "silver series" of Washington quarters spans from 1932 to 1964; during many years in the series it will appear that certain mints did not mint Washington quarters for that year. No known examples of quarters were made in 1933, San Francisco abstained in 1934 and 1949, and stopped after 1955, until it resumed in 1968 by way of making proofs. Denver did not make quarters in 1938. Proof examples from 1936 to 1942 and 1950 to 1967 were struck at the Philadelphia Mint; in 1968, proof production was shifted to the San Francisco Mint. The current rarities for the Washington quarter "silver series" are:
Branch mintmarks are D = Denver, S = San Francisco. Coins without mintmarks were all made at the main Mint in Philadelphia. This listing is for business strikes, not proofs:
1932-D
1932-S
1934 – with Doubled Die Obverse (DDO)
1935-D
1936-D
1937 – with Doubled Die Obverse (DDO)
1937-S
1938-S
1939-S
1940-D
1942-D – with Doubled Die Obverse (DDO)
1943 – with Doubled Die Obverse (DDO)
1943-S – with Doubled Die Obverse (DDO)
1950-D/S Over mintmark (coin is a 1950-D, with underlying S mintmark)
1950-S/D Over mintmark (coin is a 1950-S, with underlying D mintmark)
The 1940-D, 1936-D and the 1935-D coins, as well as many others in the series, are considerably more valuable than other quarters. This is not due to their mintages, but rather because they are harder to find in high grades (a situation referred to as "condition rarity"). Many of these coins are worth only melt value in low grades. Other coins in the above list are expensive because of their extremely low mintages, such as the 1932 Denver and San Francisco issues. The overstruck mintmark issues are also scarce and expensive, especially in the higher grades; even so they may not have the same popularity as overdates found in pre-Washington quarter series.
The 1934 Philadelphia strike appears in two versions: one with a light motto [for "In God We Trust"], which is the same as that used on the 1932 strikings, and the other a heavy motto seen after the dies were reworked. Except in the highest grades, the difference in value between the two is minor.
The mint mark on the coin is located on the reverse beneath the wreath on which the eagle is perched, and will either carry the mint mark "D" for the Denver Mint, "S" for the San Francisco Mint, or be blank if minted at the Philadelphia Mint.
=== Collecting clad Washington quarters ===
The copper-nickel clad Washington quarter was first issued in 1965 and as part of the switch, the Denver mintmark was added in 1968, which did not reappear on any US coin denomination until 1968. For the first three years of clad production, in lieu of proof sets, specimen sets were specially sold as "Special Mint Sets" minted at the San Francisco mint in 1965, 1966, and 1967 (Deep Cameo versions of these coins are highly valued because of their rarity).
Currently, there are few examples in the clad series that are valued as highly as the silver series but there are certain extraordinary dates or variations. The deep cameo versions of proofs from 1965 to 1971 and 1981 Type 2 are highly valued because of their scarcity, high grade examples of quarters from certain years of the 1980s (such as 1981–1987) because of scarcity in high grades due to high circulation and in 1982 and 1983 no mint sets were produced making it harder to find mint state examples, and any coin from 1981 to 1994 graded in MS67 is worth upwards of $1000.
The mint mark on the coin is currently located on the obverse at the bottom right hemisphere under the supposed date. In 1965–1967 cupro-nickel coins bore no mint mark; quarters minted in 1968–1979 were stamped with a "D" for the Denver mint, an "S" for the San Francisco mint (proof coins only), or blank for Philadelphia. Starting in 1980, the Philadelphia mint was allowed to add its mint mark to all coins except the one-cent piece. Twenty-five-cent pieces minted from 1980 onwards are stamped with "P" for the Philadelphia mint, "D" for the Denver mint, or "S" for San Francisco mint.
Until 2012 the "S" mint mark was used only on proof coins, but beginning with the El Yunque (Puerto Rico) design in the America the Beautiful quarters program, the US Mint began selling (at a premium) uncirculated 40-coin rolls and 100-coin bags of quarters with the San Francisco mint mark. These coins were not included in the 2012 or later uncirculated sets or the three-coin ATB quarter sets (which consisted of an uncirculated "P" and "D" and proof "S" specimen) and no "S" mint-marked quarters are being released into circulation, so that mintages will be determined solely by direct demand for the "S" mint-marked coins.
In 2019, the West Point Mint released two million of each of the five designs that year with a "W" mint mark for general circulation, in a move intended to spur coin collecting. This was continued in 2020, which turned out to be the final year of the "W" mint marked quarters as no quarters with the mint mark have been produced since. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Shipley | Jenny Shipley | Dame Jennifer Mary Shipley (née Robson; born 4 February 1952) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 36th prime minister of New Zealand from 1997 to 1999. She was the first female prime minister of New Zealand, and the first woman to lead the National Party.
Shipley was born in Gore, Southland. She grew up in rural Canterbury, and attended Marlborough Girls' College and the Christchurch College of Education. Before entering politics, she worked as a schoolteacher and was involved with various community organisations. Shipley was elected to Parliament at the 1987 election, winning the Ashburton electorate (later renamed Rakaia). When the National Party returned to power in 1990, she was appointed to Cabinet under Jim Bolger. Shipley subsequently served as Minister of Social Welfare (1990–1996), Minister for Women's Affairs (1990–1996), Minister of Health (1993–1996), and Minister of Transport (1996–1997).
Shipley chafed at the government's slow pace, and in December 1997 convinced her National colleagues to support her as leader. Bolger resigned as Prime Minister rather than face being voted out, and Shipley was elected as his replacement unopposed. She inherited an uneasy coalition with New Zealand First, led by Winston Peters. The coalition was dissolved in August 1998, but Shipley was able to remain in power with the aid of Mauri Pacific, a NZ First splinter group. At the 1999 election, her government was defeated by the Labour Party, led by Helen Clark. Shipley continued as Leader of the Opposition until October 2001. Shipley involved herself with business and charitable interests since leaving politics, and is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders. She was found liable for $9 million for her role in the financial failure of Mainzeal, a construction company.
== Early life ==
Born in Gore, New Zealand, Shipley was one of four sisters. Her father was Rev. Leonard Cameron Robson, a Presbyterian minister. After attending Marlborough Girls' College, she qualified in 1971 as a teacher through the Christchurch College of Education and taught in New Zealand primary schools until 1976. In 1973 she married Burton Shipley and settled in Ashburton.
== Member of Parliament ==
Having joined the National Party in 1975, Shipley successfully stood in Ashburton, a safe National seat in the country areas surrounding Christchurch, in the 1987 election. Entering parliament at age 35, she was one of parliament's youngest members.
=== Cabinet minister ===
Shipley rose quickly in the National caucus. In February 1990, while still in her first term, party leader Jim Bolger named her the party's spokeswoman on social welfare. When Bolger led the National Party to victory in the 1990 general election, Shipley was reelected in Rakaia, essentially a reconfigured Ashburton. She became Minister of Social Welfare, and also served as Minister for Women's Affairs (1990–1996).
In her role as Minister of Social Welfare, Shipley presided over sharp cutbacks to state benefits. Later, when she became Minister of Health in 1993, she caused further controversy by attempting to reform the public health service, introducing an internal market. National won another term at the 1996 election, but was forced into a coalition with New Zealand First. Shipley left the Women's Affairs portfolio and took on several others, including responsibility for state-owned enterprises and transport.
In 1993, Shipley was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal.
== Prime Minister (1997–1999) ==
Shipley grew increasingly frustrated and disillusioned with the cautious pace of the National-led government under Jim Bolger, and with what she saw as the disproportionate influence of New Zealand First. She began gathering support to replace Bolger in mid-1997. Later that year, while Bolger attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Shipley convinced a majority of her National Party colleagues to back her bid for the leadership. When Bolger returned to New Zealand, he discovered that Shipley had enough support in the party room to oust him. Facing an untenable situation, he resigned, and Shipley was unanimously elected to succeed him. As leader of the governing party, she became Prime Minister on 8 December 1997. On 21 May 1998 Shipley was appointed to the Privy Council, and was given the right to the style The Right Honourable for life.
Despite continued economic growth, the Shipley government became increasingly politically unstable. In particular, the relationship between National and New Zealand First deteriorated. While Bolger had been able to maintain good relations with New Zealand First and with its leader, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, the alliance became strained after Shipley rose to power. Finally, on 14 August 1998, Shipley sacked Peters from Cabinet.
Shipley was nicknamed "the perfumed steamroller," when she first became prime minister. During a later interview with Guyon Espiner, Shipley stated that female politicians were labelled differently in the media; she uses the example that male politicians are called bold where female politicians are called vindictive; although she notes that this is an observation, not something that hurts her personally. Shipley's ascension to the leadership marked a shift to the right politically with subtle returns to the neo-liberal policies of the first term of the Bolger government. This was labelled by some commentators (usually critically) as "Jennycide", a portmanteau of "Jenny" and "genocide".
Shipley, along with the New Zealand Tourism Board, backed the quasi-national emblem of the silver fern on a black background as a possible alternative flag, along the lines of the Canadian flag, but she took pains to publicly dissociate herself from Bolger's support for republicanism. As the debate continued in 1999, the Princess Royal visited New Zealand, and Shipley stated, "I am an unashamed royal supporter, along with many New Zealanders". However, the debate was muted by the controversy surrounding Tourism Board contracts going to the public-relations firm Saatchi & Saatchi, whose World CEO Kevin Roberts, also an advocate of the silver fern flag, was a good friend of Shipley.
The APEC Summit was hosted in Auckland in September 1999. Shipley met with the President of the United States, Bill Clinton, in one of only two state visits to New Zealand by a US president.
Shipley was the first Prime Minister to attend the gay and lesbian Hero Parade, being the first National Party leader to seek to make electoral overtures to the gay and lesbian voting public. She advocated lowering the alcohol purchase age from 20 to 18 and achieved this in 1999. This was part of her expressed desire to expand the traditional National Party voting base.
Shipley became a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an international network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers.
== Defeat and resignation ==
Shipley led the National Party into the 1999 election, hoping to become the first woman to be elected prime minister in her own right. However, she was defeated by the Labour Party, also led by a woman, Helen Clark. This election was a significant moment in history for New Zealand as it was the first New Zealand election in which the leaders of both major parties were women.
Shipley served as the Leader of the Opposition until October 2001, when Bill English took over as National Party leader. She retired from Parliament in January 2002.
In the 2003 New Year Honours, Shipley was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services as a Member of Parliament.
== Health ==
Shipley suffered a heart attack in 2000, leading to an emergency angioplasty procedure. She made modifications to her lifestyle and lost weight, though she was diagnosed with diabetes in 2004. She underwent gastric bypass surgery in late 2007.
== Life after politics ==
After leaving politics, Shipley involved herself with business and charitable interests. In 2007, she joined the financial services firm Source Sentinel, and from 2009 to 2018 was chair of the Genesis Energy Limited board. As of 2012, she was on the board of the New Zealand branch of the state-owned China Construction Bank. She resigned from the Bank's Board after being prosecuted for her role in the collapse of construction company Mainzeal.
=== Prosecution for insolvency of Mainzeal ===
In December 2012, Shipley resigned from the board of directors of Mainzeal Property & Construction (MPCL), which went into receivership on 6 February 2013. At mid-day on 5 February 2013 she was one of four independent directors who resigned from the board of Mainzeal Group Ltd. MPCL and Mainzeal Group Limited are part of the Richina group, controlled and majority owned by Yan Ci Lang (also known as Richard Yan). Mainzeal went into liquidation on 28 February 2013, owing some NZ$110 million. In May 2015, the receiver of Mainzeal, BDO, filed a civil lawsuit against the former Mainzeal directors, including Shipley, for an alleged breach of directors' duties. In February 2019, the High Court of New Zealand found that the Mainzeal directors had breached their duty to avoid reckless trading and assessed their total liability at NZ$36 million, of which Shipley's share was assessed at NZ$6 million. Within a week of the Court delivering its verdict, Shipley resigned from her Chair of the China Construction Bank New Zealand. An appeal against this judgment was filed along with a counter claim brought by the original plaintiffs for a vastly higher award against the Directors. Both appeals failed. In August 2023 New Zealand's Supreme Court upheld the long-contested judgements, determining "“Mainzeal was balance sheet insolvent from 2005, albeit this was not apparent from its financial statements” and ordered the four directors, of whom Shipley was one, to pay $39.8m together with interest, although the liability of Shipley is limited to $6.6m plus interest.
=== Honours ===
Shipley accepted redesignation as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit on 14 August 2009, following the reintroduction of titular honours by the Fifth National Government.
=== Reality TV Appearances ===
Also in 2009, Shipley appeared on an episode of the television reality/travel show Intrepid Journeys, where she visited Namibia. She later started a charity to help a school she came across on that trip called the Namibian Educational Trust.
Shipley chaired Global Women NZ until 2015, and was replaced as Patron of the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre by Graeme Dingle in 2019, and was the New Zealand National Heart Foundation's campaign "Go Red for Women". |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_(musical) | Wicked (musical) | Wicked (known in full as Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz) is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is loosely based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire, which itself was based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and its 1939 film adaptation. Set in the Land of Oz before and after Dorothy Gale's arrival from Kansas, the musical explores the complex relationship between Elphaba Thropp and Glinda Upland — the future Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good — as they are tested by their contrasting perspectives, shared love interest, and reactions to the Wizard's corrupt rule, culminating in Elphaba's tragic fall.
Produced by Universal Stage Productions with producers Marc Platt, Jon B. Platt and David Stone, director Joe Mantello and choreographer Wayne Cilento, the original production of Wicked premiered on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre in October 2003, after completing pre-Broadway tryouts at San Francisco's Curran Theatre in May and June of that year. Its original stars included Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero, and Joel Grey as the Wizard. Despite mixed reviews, the production won three Tony Awards and seven Drama Desk Awards, while its original cast album received a Grammy Award.
Long-running productions of Wicked include a West End production at the Apollo Victoria Theatre that has played over 7,407 performances, as well as multiple North American tours since 2005. The musical has broken several weekly box-office records around the world; in January 2011, the Broadway, London, and North American touring productions simultaneously broke their records for the highest weekly gross. In the final week of 2024, the Broadway production became the first to earn over US$5 million in a single week. Wicked surpassed $1 billion in total Broadway revenue in 2016, joining The Phantom of the Opera and The Lion King as the only shows to do so, and surpassed The Phantom of the Opera by 2017 to become Broadway's second-highest grossing musical, trailing only The Lion King.
A two-part film adaptation was directed by Jon M. Chu and starred Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Ariana Grande as Glinda, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard. The first part, featuring extended cameos by Menzel and Chenoweth, was released on November 22, 2024, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture among numerous other accolades. The second part, Wicked: For Good, was released on November 21, 2025.
== Inception and development ==
Composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz discovered Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West while on vacation and saw its potential for a dramatic adaptation. However, Maguire had released the rights to Universal Pictures, which had planned to develop a live-action feature film. In 1998, Schwartz persuaded Maguire to release the rights to a stage production while also making what Schwartz himself called an "impassioned plea" to Universal producer Marc Platt to realize Schwartz's own intended adaptation. Persuaded, Platt signed on as joint producer of the project with Universal and David Stone.
The novel, described as a political, social, and ethical commentary on the nature of good and evil, takes place in the Land of Oz, in the years surrounding Dorothy's arrival. The story centers on Elphaba, a misunderstood, smart, and fiery girl with emerald-green skin, who grows up to become the Wicked Witch of the West, and Galinda, the beautiful, blonde, popular girl who grows up to become Glinda the Good. The story presents events, characters, and situations adapted from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and its 1939 film adaptation. The novel addresses some serious and dark adult themes, including sexual assault, political unrest, infidelity, racism and the role of religion in society. It prompts the reader to think about what it really is to be "Wicked", and whether good intentions with bad results are the same as bad intentions with bad results. Schwartz considered how best to condense the novel's dense and complicated plot into a sensible script. To this end, he collaborated with writer Winnie Holzman to develop the outline of the plot over the course of a year, while meeting with producer Marc Platt to refine the structural outline of the show, creating an original stage piece rather than a strict adaptation of Maguire's work.
While the draft followed Maguire's idea of retelling the story of the 1939 film from the perspective of its main villain, the storyline of the stage adaptation "goes far afield" from the novel. Holzman observed in an interview with Playbill that: "It was [Maguire's] brilliant idea to take this hated figure and tell things from her point of view, and to have the two witches be roommates in college, but the way in which their friendship develops—and really the whole plot—is different onstage." Schwartz justified the deviation, saying: "Primarily we were interested in the relationship between Galinda—who becomes Glinda—and Elphaba... the friendship of these two women and how their characters lead them to completely different destinies." Other major plot modifications include Fiyero's appearance as the Scarecrow, Elphaba's survival at the end, Nessarose using a wheelchair instead of being born without arms, Boq having a continuing love interest for Glinda and eventually becoming the Tin Woodman instead of Nick Chopper, cutting Elphaba's years in the Vinkus, the deletion of Liir's birth, Fiyero not having a wife and children, Doctor Dillamond being fired instead of being murdered, and Madame Morrible going to prison instead of dying.
The book, lyrics, and score for the musical were developed through a series of readings. In these developmental workshops, Kristin Chenoweth, the actress whom Schwartz had in mind while writing the character, joined the project as Glinda. Stephanie J. Block played Elphaba in the workshops (she played Elphaba in the first national tour and later as a Broadway cast replacement) before Idina Menzel was cast in the role in late 2002. Earlier that year, the creators recruited New York producer Stone, who began planning the Broadway production. Joe Mantello was engaged as director and Wayne Cilento as choreographer, while designer Eugene Lee created the set and visual style for the production inspired by W. W. Denslow's original illustrations for Baum's novels and Maguire's concept of the story being told through a giant clock. Costume designer Susan Hilferty created a "twisted Edwardian" style in building more than 200 costumes, while lighting designer Kenneth Posner used more than 800 lights to give each of the 54 distinct scenes and locations "its own mood". By April 2003, the show was in rehearsals.
Following the out-of-town tryout in San Francisco in May and June 2003, which received mixed critical reception, the creative team made extensive changes before its transfer to Broadway. Holzman recalled:
Stephen [Schwartz] wisely had insisted on having three months to rewrite in-between the time we closed in San Francisco and when we were to go back into rehearsals in New York. That was crucial; that was the thing that made the biggest difference in the life of the show. That time is what made the show work.
Elements of the book were rewritten, while several songs underwent minor changes. "Which Way is the Party?", the introductory song to the character Fiyero, was replaced by "Dancing Through Life". Concern existed that Menzel's Elphaba "got a little overshadowed" by Chenoweth's Glinda, with San Francisco Chronicle critic Robert Hurwitt writing, "Menzel's brightly intense Elphaba the Wicked Witch [needs] a chance of holding her own alongside Chenoweth's gloriously, insidiously bubbly Glinda." As a result, the creative team set about making Elphaba "more prominent". In making the Broadway revisions, Schwartz recalled, "It was clear there was work to be done and revisions to be made in the book and the score. The critical community was, frankly, very helpful to us."
== Synopsis ==
=== Act One ===
The citizens of Oz are celebrating the death of the Wicked Witch of the West. Glinda the Good Witch appears and reminisces about their past, beginning with the troubled childhood of the Witch (born Elphaba Thropp) after her mother had an affair and her father, the Governor of Munchkinland, disowned her when she was born with green skin ("No One Mourns the Wicked").
Flashing back many years earlier, Elphaba arrives at Shiz University with her younger paraplegic sister Nessarose, where she is ostracized for her green skin and sarcastic personality ("Dear Old Shiz"). The school's headmistress, Madame Morrible, assigns Elphaba to room with the popular Galinda Upland. Recognizing Elphaba's magical potential, Morrible decides to privately tutor Elphaba in sorcery ("The Wizard and I"), making Galinda intensely jealous. The two girls soon come to loathe each other ("What Is This Feeling?"). Meanwhile, Dr. Dillamond, the only animal professor at Shiz, informs Elphaba of a conspiracy to stop all animals from speaking ("Something Bad").
A roguish prince, Fiyero, begins attending Shiz and arranges a party for his fellow students. Galinda becomes immediately enamored with him, and convinces her admirer, the Munchkin Boq, to take Nessarose to the party instead so that she can go with Fiyero. At Nessarose's urging, Elphaba asks Morrible to begin teaching Galinda sorcery. When Elphaba is mocked at the party for wearing an ugly hat Galinda gave her as a practical joke, Galinda has a change of heart and decides to dance with Elphaba ("Dancing Through Life"). In their room, the girls finally bond and Galinda gives Elphaba a makeover ("Popular"). The next day, Dillamond tells the class he has been dismissed. His human replacement showcases a cage, a new invention in Oz designed to stop animals from speaking. Elphaba, furious, frees the lion cub imprisoned within it and escapes with Fiyero. They share a private moment, but Elphaba laments that Fiyero has chosen Galinda ("I'm Not That Girl").
Morrible tells Elphaba that the Wizard of Oz wants to meet her, and she goes with Galinda, who changes her name to Glinda in honor of Dillamond (who mispronounced her name as such), to the Emerald City ("One Short Day"). The two meet the Wizard and are surprised to discover his mortal nature ("A Sentimental Man"). Morrible appears and announces she is the Wizard's new press secretary. After being tricked into enchanting the Wizard's monkey servants to painfully sprout wings, Elphaba deduces that the Wizard is behind the suppression of animals and is a fraud who uses parlor tricks and lies to stay in power. Elphaba flees his chambers, declaring against Glinda's wishes that she must do what is right. Though empathetic, Glinda refuses to leave with Elphaba, and the two friends bid farewell before Elphaba enchants a broom to fly away from the Emerald City, vowing to fight the Wizard with all of her power ("Defying Gravity").
=== Act Two ===
Years later, Elphaba has become known as the Wicked Witch of the West for her opposition to the Wizard's regime, while Glinda has been positioned by Madame Morrible as the Wizard's spokesperson. Fiyero, now Captain of the Wizard's Guard and unwitting fiance to Glinda, hopes to find Elphaba ("Thank Goodness").
Elphaba visits Nessarose, who is now the governor of Munchkinland following their father's death and has removed the Munchkins' few rights to prevent Boq from leaving her. Feeling guilty, Elphaba enchants Nessa's silver shoes to allow her to walk, but Boq takes this as proof that Nessarose no longer needs him and attempts to leave her for Glinda. An infuriated Nessarose attempts to cast a love spell on him, but pronounces the incantation wrong and shrinks his heart instead. Elphaba tries to save him, but can only transform him into a tin man who does not need a heart to live ("The Wicked Witch of the East"). Boq flees as Nessarose blames Elphaba.
Elphaba returns to the Emerald City to free the Wizard's monkey servants, but the Wizard discovers her. He once again tries to convince Elphaba to work with him, explaining he is an ordinary man who became revered by the citizens of Oz ("Wonderful"), and voluntarily frees the monkeys. Elphaba is won over until she discovers a caged Dillamond, who has lost the ability to speak, and vows to continue her fight against the Wizard. Fiyero helps Elphaba escape and decides to leave with her. Glinda is heartbroken and privately laments that Fiyero always loved Elphaba ("I'm Not That Girl (Reprise)"). Glinda convinces the Wizard and Morrible of a way to lure Elphaba out of hiding: by spreading a rumor that Nessarose is in danger. Unbeknownst to Glinda, Morrible and the Wizard decide a mere rumor would not fool Elphaba, and Morrible proposes "a change in the weather."
Hidden in the forest, Elphaba and Fiyero confess their love for each other ("As Long as You're Mine"), but their moment is shattered when Elphaba senses that Nessarose is in danger. Her premonition is correct; a house has fallen from a tornado and crushed her sister to death. Elphaba is distraught and furious that Glinda has given Nessarose's enchanted shoes to the house's occupant, Dorothy Gale, and the two get into a physical fight that the Wizard's guards eventually break up. Fiyero arrives and allows Elphaba to escape, but gets captured. At Kiamo Ko castle, Elphaba casts a spell to try to save Fiyero; presuming him dead, she laments that she will never be seen as good and finally embraces her reputation as the Wicked Witch of the West ("No Good Deed").
As the Citizens of Oz declare war on Elphaba ("March of the Witch Hunters"), Glinda realizes that Morrible summoned the tornado that killed Nessarose and is horrified, but Morrible reminds her that she has been complicit in all of Morrible and the Wizard's plans to further her own goal of becoming a powerful figure in Oz. Meanwhile, Elphaba, crazed with grief, has captured Dorothy to try to obtain Nessarose's shoes. Glinda arrives to warn Elphaba of her danger. Elphaba accepts that she must surrender, and the two friends embrace for the last time before sharing a tearful goodbye ("For Good"). Glinda watches from the shadows as Dorothy throws a bucket of water on Elphaba, melting her and leaving only her hat and a bottle of Green Elixir that had belonged to her mother.
Glinda confronts the Wizard with the elixir, which he recognizes as his own; he was the man Elphaba's mother had an affair with, and thus her biological father. The Wizard leaves Oz at Glinda's orders, leaving her in charge, and she arrests Morrible for her role in Nessarose's death. Meanwhile, Fiyero (now a Scarecrow as the result of Elphaba's spell) arrives at Kiamo Ko, where Elphaba emerges from a trap door, having faked her death. Elphaba and Fiyero depart Oz together, as Glinda informs everyone that the Wicked Witch is dead before reluctantly joining Oz in celebrating ("Finale").
== Casts ==
=== Original casts ===
=== Notable replacements ===
==== Broadway (2003–present) ====
Elphaba: Shoshana Bean, Eden Espinosa, Ana Gasteyer, Julia Murney, Stephanie J. Block, Kerry Ellis, Marcie Dodd, Nicole Parker, Dee Roscioli, Mandy Gonzalez, Teal Wicks, Jackie Burns, Willemijn Verkaik, Lindsay Mendez, Caroline Bowman, Rachel Tucker, Jennifer DiNoia, Jessica Vosk, Lindsay Pearce, Talia Suskauer, Alyssa Fox, Mary Kate Morrissey, Lencia Kebede
Glinda: Jennifer Laura Thompson, Megan Hilty, Kate Reinders, Kendra Kassebaum, Annaleigh Ashford, Alli Mauzey, Erin Mackey, Katie Rose Clarke, Chandra Lee Schwartz, Jenni Barber, Kara Lindsay, Carrie St. Louis, Amanda Jane Cooper, Ginna Claire Mason, McKenzie Kurtz, Alexandra Socha, Allie Trimm
Fiyero: Kristoffer Cusick, Taye Diggs, Joey McIntyre, Sebastian Arcelus, Aaron Tveit, Kevin Kern, Andy Karl, Kyle Dean Massey, Richard H. Blake, Derek Klena, Justin Guarini, Ashley Parker Angel, Curt Hansen, Ryan McCartan, Jordan Litz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Sean McCourt, George Hearn, Ben Vereen, David Garrison, Lenny Wolpe, P. J. Benjamin, Tom McGowan, Fred Applegate, Peter Scolari, Kevin Chamberlin, Michael McCormick, Cleavant Derricks, John Dossett, Brad Oscar
Madame Morrible: Rue McClanahan, Carol Kane, Jayne Houdyshell, Miriam Margolyes, Rondi Reed, Mary Testa, Michele Lee, Judy Kaye, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Isabel Keating, Nancy Opel, Alexandra Billings, Michele Pawk, Donna McKechnie
Nessarose: Jenna Leigh Green Catherine Charlebois, Kelli Barrett, Arielle Jacobs, Gizel Jiménez
Boq: Randy Harrison, Robb Sapp, Alex Brightman, Etai Benson, Taylor Trensch, Robin de Jesús
Doctor Dillamond: Sean McCourt, Steven Skybell, Timothy Britten Parker, K. Todd Freeman, Michael Genet, Martin Moran, Jamie Jackson, Clifton Davis
==== 1st US National Tour (2005–2015) ====
Elphaba: Eden Espinosa, Julia Murney, Shoshana Bean, Victoria Matlock, Carmen Cusack, Donna Vivino, Jackie Burns, Dee Roscioli, Nicole Parker, Alison Luff, Emma Hunton, Jennifer DiNoia
Glinda: Megan Hilty, Katie Rose Clarke, Chandra Lee Schwartz, Amanda Jane Cooper, Alli Mauzey, Patti Murin, Jenn Gambatese, Gina Beck
Fiyero: Kristoffer Cusick, Sebastian Arcelus, Richard H. Blake, Kyle Dean Massey
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Lee Wilkof, Lenny Wolpe, P. J. Benjamin, Stuart Zagnit, Fred Applegate
Madame Morrible: Carole Shelley, Alma Cuervo, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Kim Zimmer, Alison Fraser
Nessarose: Deedee Magno Hall
==== West End (2006–present) ====
Elphaba: Kerry Ellis, Alexia Khadime, Rachel Tucker, Louise Dearman, Willemijn Verkaik, Jennifer DiNoia, Emma Hatton, Alice Fearn, Lucie Jones, Emma Kingston
Glinda: Dianne Pilkington, Louise Dearman, Gina Beck, Savannah Stevenson, Suzie Mathers, Sophie Evans, Lucy St. Louis, Zizi Strallen
Fiyero: Oliver Tompsett, Lee Mead, Mark Evans, Matt Willis, Ben Freeman, Oliver Savile, Bradley Jaden, David Witts, Alistair Brammer
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Nigel Planer, Desmond Barrit, Clive Carter, Sam Kelly, Tom McGowan, Mark Curry, Martin Ball, Andy Hockley, Gary Wilmot, Michael Fenton Stevens, Michael Matus
Madame Morrible: Miriam Margolyes, Susie Blake, Harriet Thorpe, Julie Legrand, Louise Plowright, Liza Sadovy, Anita Dobson, Kim Ismay, Sophie-Louise Dann
Nessarose: Caroline Keiff, Natalie Anderson
Doctor Dillamond: Paul Clarkson, Steven Pinder, Chris Jarman
==== Melbourne/Australian tour (2008–2015) ====
Elphaba: Jemma Rix, Pippa Grandison
Glinda: Suzie Mathers
Fiyero: David Harris
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Bert Newton, Reg Livermore, Simon Gallaher
Madame Morrible: Geraldine Turner
==== 2nd US National Tour (2009–present) ====
Elphaba: Vicki Noon, Jennifer DiNoia, Alyssa Fox, Jessica Vosk, Mary Kate Morrissey, Jackie Burns, Talia Suskauer, Lauren Samuels
Glinda: Jeanna de Waal, Kara Lindsay, Carrie St. Louis, Amanda Jane Cooper, Ginna Claire Mason, Erin Mackey
Fiyero: Ashley Parker Angel
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: John Bolton, Cleavant Derricks, Fred Applegate, Paul Kreppel, Don Amendolia, Stuart Zagnit
Madame Morrible: Judy Kaye, Isabel Keating, Alma Cuervo, Natalie Venetia Belcon
Nessarose: Catherine Charlebois
==== 1st UK/Ireland tour (2013–2015) ====
Elphaba: Ashleigh Gray
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz/Doctor Dillamond: Steven Pinder
== Musical numbers ==
== Music and recordings ==
=== Music analysis ===
The score of Wicked is heavily thematic, bearing in some senses more resemblance to an opera than a traditional musical score. While many musical scores employ new motifs and melodies for each song with little overlap, Schwartz integrated a handful of leitmotifs throughout the production. Some of these motifs indicate irony—for example, when Glinda presents Elphaba with a "ghastly" hat in "Dancing Through Life", the score reprises a theme from "What Is This Feeling?" a few scenes earlier.
Two musical themes in Wicked run throughout the score. Although Schwartz rarely reuses motifs or melodies from earlier works, the first—Elphaba's theme—came from The Survival of St. Joan, on which he worked as musical director. "I always liked this tune a lot and I never could figure out what to do with it," he remarked in an interview in 2004. The chord progression that he first penned in 1971 became a major theme of the show's orchestration. By changing the instruments that carry the motif in each instance, Schwartz enables the same melody to convey different moods. In the overture, the tune is carried by the orchestra's brass section, with heavy percussion. The result is, in Schwartz' own words, "like a giant shadow terrorizing you." When played by the piano with some electric bass in "As Long as You're Mine", however, the same chord progression becomes the basis for a romantic duet. And with new lyrics and an altered bridge, the theme forms the core of the song "No One Mourns the Wicked" and its reprises.
Schwartz uses the "Unlimited" theme as the second major motif running through the score. Although not included as a titled song, the theme appears as an interlude in several of the musical numbers. In a tribute to Harold Arlen, who wrote the score for the 1939 film adaptation, the "Unlimited" melody incorporates the first seven notes of the song "Over the Rainbow." Schwartz included it as an inside joke: According to copyright law, when you get to the eighth note, then people can come and say, 'Oh you stole our tune.' And of course obviously it's also disguised in that it's completely different rhythmically. And it's also harmonized completely differently.... It's over a different chord and so on, but still it's the first seven notes of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'. Schwartz further obscured the motif's origin by setting it in a minor key in most instances. This also creates contrast in the songs in which it forms a part, for example in "Defying Gravity", which is written primarily in the key of D-flat major. In the song "The Wicked Witch of the East", however, when Elphaba finally uses her powers to let her sister walk, the "Unlimited" theme is played in a major key.
=== Recordings ===
A cast recording of the original Broadway production was released on December 16, 2003, by Universal Music. All of the songs featured on stage are present on the recording with the exception of "The Wizard and I (Reprise)", "A Sentimental Man (Reprise)" and "The Wicked Witch of the East". The short reprise of "No One Mourns the Wicked" that opens Act II is attached to the beginning of "Thank Goodness". The music was arranged by Stephen Oremus, who was also the conductor and musical director, and James Lynn Abbott, with orchestrations by William David Brohn. The recording received the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album in 2005 and was certified platinum by the RIAA on November 30, 2006. The album was certified double platinum on November 8, 2010. A fifth-anniversary special edition of the original Broadway cast recording was released on October 28, 2008, with a bonus CD including tracks from the Japanese and German cast recordings, "Making Good"—a song later replaced by "The Wizard and I"—sung by Stephanie J. Block with Schwartz at the piano, "I'm Not That Girl" by Kerry Ellis (featuring Brian May on guitar), Menzel's dance mix of "Defying Gravity" and "For Good" sung by LeAnn Rimes and Delta Goodrem.
A German recording of the Stuttgart production was released on December 7, 2007, featuring a track listing and arrangements identical to those of the Broadway recording. The Japanese cast recording was released on July 23, 2008, featuring the original Tokyo cast. It is notable for being the first (and so far the only) Cast Album of the show that includes Glinda's Finale dialogue.
== Productions ==
=== Original Broadway production (2003–present) ===
Wicked officially opened on June 10, 2003, at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, after previews began on May 28. The cast included Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Robert Morse as the Wizard, Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero, Michelle Federer as Nessarose, Carole Shelley as Madame Morrible, John Horton as Doctor Dillamond, and Kirk McDonald as Boq. Stephanie J. Block, who originally read the role of Elphaba during the show's workshop stage, was Menzel's understudy during tryouts, but left before the show moved to Broadway. She would then lead the 1st National Tour opposite Kendra Kassebaum as Glinda. The tryout closed on June 29, 2003, and after extensive retooling, the musical began previews on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre on October 8, 2003, and made its official premiere on October 30. Most of the original production team and cast members remained with the show. Principal casting changes included Joel Grey as the Wizard, William Youmans as Doctor Dillamond and Christopher Fitzgerald as Boq.
On March 12, 2020, the show temporarily suspended production due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Performances resumed on September 14, 2021, with Lindsay Pearce as Elphaba and Ginna Claire Mason as Glinda. Chenoweth made a pre-curtain speech before the grand reopening of the show.
=== North American productions (2005–present) ===
On March 31, 2005, the first national tour of Wicked (called the "Emerald City Tour" by the producers) started in Toronto, Ontario, and went on to visit numerous cities throughout the United States and Canada. The original touring cast included Kendra Kassebaum as Glinda, Stephanie J. Block as Elphaba, Derrick Williams as Fiyero, Jenna Leigh Green as Nessarose, Carol Kane as Madame Morrible, Timothy Britten Parker as Doctor Dillamond, Logan Lipton as Boq, and David Garrison as the Wizard. The tour concluded at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles on March 15, 2015, after 4,160 performances, with Jennifer DiNoia as Elphaba and Chandra Lee Schwartz as Glinda.
Following a limited engagement of the first national tour from April 29 to June 2005, a sit-down production of Wicked opened at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago immediately following the tour, using the original set of the tour. The cast included Ana Gasteyer as Elphaba, Kate Reinders as Glinda, Rondi Reed as Madame Morrible, Kristoffer Cusick as Fiyero, Telly Leung as Boq, Heidi Kettenring as Nessarose and Gene Weygandt as the Wizard. The production closed on January 25, 2009, after 1,500 performances with Dee Roscioli as Elphaba and Annaleigh Ashford as Glinda.
An open-ended production also appeared in Los Angeles, California, at the Pantages Theatre. Performances began on February 10, 2007, with an official opening on February 21. The cast included Megan Hilty as Glinda, Eden Espinosa as Elphaba, Carol Kane as Madame Morrible, Timothy Britten Parker as Doctor Dillamond, Jenna Leigh Green as Nessarose, Adam Wylie as Boq, Kristoffer Cusick as Fiyero, and John Rubinstein as the Wizard. The show closed on January 11, 2009, with the same leads, after 791 performances and 12 previews.
A San Francisco production of Wicked officially opened February 6, 2009, at SHN's Orpheum Theatre. The cast included Teal Wicks as Elphaba, Kendra Kassebaum as Glinda, Nicolas Dromard as Fiyero, Carol Kane as Madame Morrible, David Garrison as the Wizard, Deedee Magno Hall as Nessarose, Tom Flynn as Doctor Dillamond, and Eddy Rioseco as Boq. The production closed on September 5, 2010, with Marcie Dodd as Elphaba and Alli Mauzey as Glinda, after 660 performances and 12 previews.
The second national tour of Wicked (called the "Munchkinland Tour") began on 12 March 2009 at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in Fort Myers, Florida. The original cast starred Marcie Dodd as Elphaba, Heléne Yorke as Glinda, Colin Donnell as Fiyero, and Tom McGowan as the Wizard. The production was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed performances on August 3, 2021, with Talia Suskauer as Elphaba, Allison Bailey as Glinda and Curt Hansen as Fiyero. The production celebrated its 5,000th performance on July 30, 2022.
=== London (2006–present) ===
The original West End (London) production began previews at the Apollo Victoria Theatre on September 7, 2006, with an opening night on September 27. The show celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2016 with a special curtain call featuring former West End cast members. The British production was tailored slightly for a British audience, including minor creative changes to dialogue, choreography and special effects. A majority of them were later incorporated into all productions of Wicked, including the Broadway production and the two US national tours.
The London production reunited the show's original creative team. Original London cast members included the return of Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Helen Dallimore as Glinda, Miriam Margolyes as Madame Morrible, Adam Garcia as Fiyero, Martin Ball as Doctor Dillamond, James Gillan as Boq, Katie Rowley Jones as Nessarose and Nigel Planer as the Wizard. After her limited engagement, which ended on December 30, 2006, Menzel was succeeded on January 1, 2007, by Kerry Ellis, who became the first British actress to play Elphaba.
The production suspended performances on March 16, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It resumed performances on September 15, 2021, in time for the production's 15th anniversary. Sophie Evans reopened the show in the role of Glinda and left when the cast changed on January 30, 2022. Helen Woolf returned from maternity leave then and Lucie Jones took over as Elphaba.
The musical became the ninth-longest-running show in West End history during its 7,407th performance on November 1, 2025.
=== UK/Ireland tours (2013–2025) ===
Wicked began its first UK/Ireland tour on September 12, 2013, at the Palace Theatre in Manchester. It then toured the UK and Ireland before concluding the run in Salford on July 25, 2015.
A second UK/Ireland tour began in December 2017, opening at the Theater 11 in Zurich, then making it first official UK/Ireland Tour stop in January 2018 at the Bristol Hippodrome. The tour ended at the Palace Theatre in Manchester in January 2019. The cast included Amy Ross as Elphaba, Helen Woolf as Glinda, Aaron Sidwell as Fiyero, and Steven Pinder as the Wizard/Doctor Dillamond.
A third UK/Ireland tour began on 7 December 2023 at the Edinburgh Playhouse, in Edinburgh where it played to 14 January 2024. It then toured the UK and Ireland before ending its run at the Palace Theatre in Manchester in January 2025. Laura Pick returned to lead the tour as Elphaba with Sarah O'Connor as Glinda and Carl Man as Fiyero. Simeon Truby played the Wizard/Dillamond with Donna Berlin as Madame Morrible, Jed Berry as Boq and Megan Gardiner as Nessarose.
=== Mexican production (2013–2015) ===
In 2013, for Wicked 10th anniversary, the first Spanish adaptation of the show was announced to open in Mexico City, with book and lyrics fully translated by Marco Villafán, titled Wicked, la historia jamás contada de las brujas de Oz. Ana Cecilia Anzaldúa and Danna Paola were alternating in the role of Elphaba with Cecilia de la Cueva as Glinda. Danna Paola made her stage debut becoming the youngest actress to ever portray Elphaba, at just 18 years old. The show was produced by OCESA Teatro, and opened on 17 October 2013 at the Teatro Telcel, closing in January 2015.
In late August 2024, with the release of the new Wicked movie, it was announced that Danna and de la Cueva would dub the speaking and singing voices of Elphaba and Glinda respectively, in Spanish, reprising the roles they both played on stage in 2013.
=== German productions (2007–2011; 2021–2022) ===
Renamed Wicked: Die Hexen von Oz (Wicked: The Witches of Oz), the German production of Wicked began previews on November 1, 2007, and opened on November 15, at the Palladium Theater in Stuttgart. Willemijn Verkaik played Elphaba and Lucy Scherer Glinda. The show was produced by Stage Entertainment and closed on January 29, 2010, transferring to Oberhausen where previews began at the Metronom Theater on March 5, 2010, with an opening night of March 8. Joana Fee Würz took over the role of Glinda. The show closed on September 2, 2011.
On September 5, 2021, a brand new production of Wicked opened at the Neue Flora Theatre in Hamburg, produced by Stage Entertainment again, which previously had presented the show in Stuttgart, Oberhausen, and The Hague. Vajèn van den Bosch and Jeannine Wacker were cast as Elphaba and Glinda respectively.
=== Australian and New Zealand productions ===
An Australian production of the show officially opened on July 12, 2008, with previews commencing June 27 at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne.
Amanda Harrison was originally cast as Elphaba, with Lucy Durack as Glinda. The original cast consisted of Rob Mills as Fiyero, Anthony Callea as Boq, Rob Guest as the Wizard, Maggie Kirkpatrick as Madame Morrible, Penny McNamee as Nessarose and Rodney Dobson as Doctor Dillamond. Guest unexpectedly died of a stroke months into the Melbourne season, with the role being taken up by Bert Newton.
Closing in Melbourne August 9, 2009, the show transferred to Sydney's Capitol Theatre. Previews began on September 5, 2009, with the official opening on September 12. Shortly into the run, Harrison was forced to leave the role of Elphaba due to an illness, so current standby Jemma Rix and Australian theatre veteran Pippa Grandison began to share the role, each appearing in four shows per week. Eventually, it was confirmed that Harrison would not be returning to the cast.
Closing in Sydney September 26, 2010, the production then embarked on a national Australian tour starting at the QPAC Lyric Theatre in Brisbane. After a two-week delay due to the Queensland floods, performances began January 25, 2011, and ran until April 2. Rix became the sole lead Elphaba with David Harris joining as the new Fiyero. The touring production then moved to the Festival Centre in Adelaide, running from April 14 until June 4, 2011, with the final leg of the tour playing the Burswood Theatre in Perth, from June 19 to September 11, 2011, after three years of performances in Australia.
The show made its premiere in New Zealand in 2013, with previews taking place on September 17, and official opening night on September 21. The Auckland run concluded on November 24, 2013, where it played the Civic Theatre. The cast then moved on to the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila on a limited run from January 22 through March 9, 2014.
At the time of the Wicked's 10th Anniversary on Broadway (2013), the show announced it would return to Australia for a commemorative national tour, beginning in Melbourne on May 10, 2014. Durack returned as Glinda, and Rix as Elphaba. The final cast included Mathers (who had returned once Durack announced her pregnancy) as Glinda, Rix as Elphaba, Steve Danielsen as Fiyero, Simon Gallaher as the Wizard, Edward Grey as Boq, Emily Cascarino as Nessarose, Glen Hogstrom as Doctor Dillamond and original cast member Maggie Kirkpatrick as Madame Morrible. After seven years and close to 2,000 performances across 8 different cities internationally, Wicked closed indefinitely at the Burswood Theatre in Perth on June 28, 2015.
In 2023, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the original Broadway production the show returned to Australia once again, to the Sydney Lyric Theatre where it opened on September 7. The cast included Sheridan Adams as Elphaba, Courtney Monsma as Glinda, Robyn Nevin as Madame Morrible, Todd McKenney as the Wizard, Liam Head as Fiyero, Adam Murphy as Dr. Dillamond, Shewit Belay as Nessarose, and Kurtis Papadinis as Boq. In October 2023, it was announced that the production would return to the Regent Theatre in Melbourne opening on March 7. In March 2024, the production announced that they would then be transferring to the QPAC Lyric Theatre in Brisbane in September 2024 and in May 2024, they confirmed that it would tour to the Crown Theatre in Perth from December 2024. In August 2024, it was announced that following the conclusion of the Australian tour in late January 2025, the production will transfer to Singapore at the Sands Theatre in Marina Bay opening from March 19, 2025.
=== International tour (2016–2018) ===
Wicked's international tour opened on July 13, 2016, at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford, England. Jacqueline Hughes starred as Elphaba, with Carly Anderson as Glinda and Bradley Jaden as Fiyero. Alongside them Steven Pinder as the Wizard and Doctor Dillamond and Kim Ismay as Madame Morrible. Bradford was the only UK stop of the tour, which then performed in Singapore and in other cities worldwide. Jodie Steele was standby for Elphaba in this production.
=== Other international productions ===
A full Japanese production of Wicked by the Shiki Theatre Company opened in Tokyo, Japan, on June 17, 2007, and subsequently moved to Osaka, Fukoka and Nagoya, before closing in Sapporo on November 6, 2016. To celebrate their 70th anniversary, the company produced a Japanese revival of the show from October 2023 to January 2024. An Asian tour began at Singapore's Grand Theater on December 6, 2011, with Australian actresses Suzie Mathers as Glinda and Jemma Rix as Elphaba. It closed on October 6, 2012.
A Dutch-language production began previews at the Circustheater in The Hague on October 26, 2011, and was produced by Joop van den Ende Theaterproducties/Stage Entertainment. Official opening took place on November 6. Willemijn Verkaik reprised her role of Elphaba from the German productions, becoming the first actress to play the role in two different languages. The first Korean-language production began performances in Seoul on November 22, 2013. It ran at the Charlotte Theater until October 5, 2014. In November 2015, the company "Time For Fun", a leading company in the entertainment market in Latin America, announced the first Portuguese adaptation of the musical to open in Brazil. The show debuted in March 2016 at the Renault Theatre in São Paulo and is performed on the largest stage that the musical has been mounted on yet. The production closed on December 18, 2016..
At the end of 2020, while all Wicked productions worldwide were halted due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, a third Korean production of the show was announced on November 14. The show started previews in Seoul's Blue Square Theater three months later on February 12, 2021, and was the first Wicked performance worldwide after the COVID-19 shutdown. The production opened on February 16, 2021, and played until May 2, 2021. It then transferred to Busan's Dream Theater, where it ran from May 20, 2021, until its closing date on June 27, 2021.
=== Non-replica productions ===
A condensed thirty-minute adaptation of Wicked played at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan in 2006. Australian actress Jemma Rix was once again part of the original cast of the show, alternating the role of Elphaba with Jillian Giaachi and Taylor Jordan. The show opened on July 12, 2006, and featured the preliminary storyline of Act 1 but the characters of Fiyero, Madame Morrible, Boq, Nessarose and Doctor Dillamond were absent, with considerable changes in the show's sets and costumes. The production closed on January 11, 2011.
Another new staging opened at the City Theatre in Helsinki, Finland, on August 26, 2010. Directed by Hans Berndtsson and choreographed by Rebecca Evanne, the cast included Maria Ylipää as Elphaba and Anna-Maija Tuokko as Glinda.
The second European production ran in Copenhagen, Denmark from January 12 until May 29, 2011, and was presented by Det Ny Teater. It starred Maria Lucia Heiberg Rosenberg as Elphaba and Annette Heick as Glinda.
A revival in Brazil had a limited run, starting March 9, 2023, at the Santander Theater, in São Paulo, produced by Atelier de Cultura. Lead actresses from the 2016 run Myra Ruiz and Fabi Bang reprised their roles as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. Their co-stars included Tiago Barbosa as Fiyero,Marcelo Médici as The Wizard, Diva Menner as Madame Morrible, Cleto Baccic as Doctor Dillamond, Nayara Venancio as Nessarose and Dante Paccola as Boq. Ruiz and Bang voiced Elphaba and Glinda in the dubbing for the 2024 film adaptation of the show.
A Swedish production premiered on September 16, 2023, at the Gothenburg opera house, starring Anna Salonen as Glinda and Feline Andersson as Elphaba; the production is directed by Samuel Harjanne with translations done by Calle Norlén.
A new Danish production starred Johanne Milland as Glinda and Nanna Rossen as Elphaba. It opened September 16, 2024 at Fredericia Musicalteater. The production transferred to the Tivoli Concert Hall from October 11 until 19 before returning to Fredericia Musicalteater for the remainder of its run. The production also starred Diluckshan Jeyaratnam as Fiyero, Anders Gjellerup Koch as The Wizard, Cecilie Thiim as Madame Morrible, Christian Lund as Dr. Dillamond, Marie Louise Hansen as Nessarose, and Jens Kau Wahlers Nielsen as Boq.
Two days ahead of the release of the movie adaptation, a Norwegian production was announced, set to premiere at Folketeateret, Oslo in March 2025. It will be the first Norwegian production of the musical and a replica production of 2024 Danish production. Norwegian singer Alexandra Rotan has been cast as Glinda.
On March 18, 2025, a new Brazilian production opened at Teatro Renault. Ruiz and Bang once again reprised their roles as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. They were joined by Hipólyto as Fiyero, Baccic as the Wizard, Karin Hils as Madame Morrible, Arízio Magalhães as Doctor Dillamond, Luisa Bresser as Nessarose and Thadeu Torres as Boq.
On April 5, 2025, the first Polish production opened at ROMA Musical Theatre with Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman in the audience, starring Natalia Krakowiak as Elphaba, Anna Federowicz as Glinda, Marcin Franc as Fiyero, Damian Aleksander as The Wizard, Katarzyna Walczak as Madame Morrible, Joanna Gorzała as Nessarose, Karol Jankiewicz as Boq and Wojciech Dmochowski as Doctor Dillamond. The production was director by Wojciech Kępczyński and the translation done by Michał Wojnarowski. There are seven performances a week and it is an open-ended run.
A Spanish-language production officially opened on October 8, 2025 at the Nuevo Teatro Alcalá in Madrid, Spain, starring Cristina Picos as Elphaba and Cristina Llorente as Glinda.
On October 3, 2025, the first Austrian production opened at The Stadttheater Baden, starring Laura Panzeri as Elphaba, Vanessa Heinz as Glinda, Timotheus Hollweg as Fiyero, Beppo Binder as Dr. Dillamond, Anna Rosa Döller as Nessarose, Jens Emmert as Boq (renamed "Moq"), Maya Hakvoort as Madame Morrible (renamed "Madame Akaber"), with Mark Seibert and Andreas Lichtenberger sharing the role of The Wizard.
The first Hungarian production of the show is set to be premiered in the Szeged Open Air Theatre in the 14th of August, 2026. The production will be directed by Vajk Szente.
== Reception ==
=== Awards and nominations ===
The original Broadway production of Wicked was nominated for ten Tony Awards in 2004, including Best Musical, Book, Orchestrations, Original Score, Choreography, Costume Design, Lighting Design, Scenic Design while receiving two nominations for Best Actress – for Menzel and Chenoweth. Menzel won the Best Actress award, and the show also won the Award for Best Scenic Design and Best Costume Design, notably losing Best Book, Original Score and ultimately Best Musical to Avenue Q. The same year, the show also won 6 Drama Desk Awards out of 11 nominations, including Outstanding Musical, Book, Director, and Costume Design.
Subsequent productions have received awards and nominations as well. The West End production received five Laurence Olivier Award nominations, including Best Director, Best Set Design and Best Costume Design and later won the Audience Award for Most Popular Show at the 2010 and 2015 Olivier Awards. The original Australian production received six Helpmann Awards out of 12 nominations, including Best Musical. Wicked was named the Best Musical of the Decade by Entertainment Weekly magazine and hailed "a cultural phenomenon" by Variety magazine. While not technically an "award", the character of Elphaba was named 79th on Entertainment Weekly's list of The 100 Greatest Characters of the Past 20 Years.
=== Critical reception ===
In its out-of-town tryout in San Francisco, audience reaction was generally positive, and although critics tended to compliment the aesthetic and spectacle of the show, they disparaged the book, score, and choreography. Dennis Harvey of Variety praised the production as "sleekly directed", "snazzily designed", and "smartly cast", but disliked its "mediocre" book, "trite" lyrics, and "largely generic" music. Karen D'Souza of the San Jose Mercury News wrote that "style over substance is the real theme in this Emerald City".
The Broadway production opened on October 30, 2003, to mixed reviews. However, Chenoweth and Menzel received acclaim for their performances. Richard Zoglin of Time wrote: "If every musical had a brain, a heart and the courage of Wicked, Broadway really would be a magical place." Elysa Gardner of USA Today described it as "the most complete, and completely satisfying, new musical I've come across in a long time". Conversely, Ben Brantley in the New York Times loved the production but panned the show itself, calling it a "sermon" that "so overplays its hand that it seriously dilutes its power", with a "generic" score. He noted that Glinda is such a showy role that the audience ends up rooting for her rather than the "surprisingly colorless" Elphaba, who is "nominally" the hero. Despite these mixed reviews, interest in Wicked spread quickly by word-of-mouth, leading to record-breaking success at the box office. Speaking to The Arizona Republic in 2006, Schwartz said, "What can I say? Reviews are reviews.... I know we divided the critics. We didn't divide the audience, and that's what counts."
The West End production opened to a slightly more upbeat response. The majority of critics have appreciated the spectacle of the lavish production, and the "powerhouse" performances of actors in the roles of the two witches. However, contemporaries have characterized the production as overblown, occasionally preachy, and suffering from more hype than heart. Although Charles Spencer of The Daily Telegraph described it as "at times... a bit of a mess," he praised Holzman's script, described Kenneth Posner's lighting design as "magical" and lauded Menzel's Elphaba and Helen Dallimore's Glinda. Michael Billington of The Guardian gave it three out of five stars and remarked on the competence of all the lead actors; however, he complained that Wicked was "all too typical of the modern Broadway musical: efficient, knowing and highly professional but more like a piece of industrial product than something that genuinely touches the heart or mind." Paul Taylor of The Independent called the topical political allegory "well-meaning but also melodramatic, incoherent and dreadfully superficial" and criticized the acting, songs and book, concluding that "the production manages to feel at once overblown and empty".
A review of a Chinese production in the Shanghai Review of Books was very favorable.
=== Commercial reception ===
Since its opening in 2003, the original Broadway production of Wicked has broken the house record at the Gershwin Theatre twenty times. It regularly grosses in excess of $1.6 million each week, making it one of the most lucrative productions on Broadway. With a $14 million capitalization, the Broadway production took 15 months to break even, earning back its initial investment by December 21, 2004. In its first year, it grossed more than $56 million. In the week ending January 1, 2006, Wicked broke the record, previously held by the musical The Producers, for the highest weekly box office gross in Broadway history, earning $1,610,934. It has gone on to break its own record numerous times, reaching $1,715,155 in November 2006, $2,086,135 for the week ending November 29, 2009 and over $2.2 million in the week ending January 2, 2011. In the first week of 2012, the Broadway production broke a record again, earning $2.7 million. In the final weekend of 2013, Wicked became the first musical to gross $3 million in one week.
Wicked's productions across North America and abroad have been equally financially successful. The Los Angeles production took the local weekly gross record, again from a performance of The Producers, bringing in $1,786,110 in the week ending March 4, 2007, with records also set in Chicago ($1,418,363), and St Louis ($2,291,608), to bring the collective gross of the seven worldwide productions to a world record-breaking $11.2 million. A new suite of records were set over Christmas 2010, with house records broken in San Francisco ($1,485,692), Providence ($1,793,764) and Schenectady ($1,657,139) as well as Broadway, bringing the musical's one-week gross in North America alone to $7,062,335.
Wicked played to more than 2 million visitors in Chicago with a gross of over $200 million, making it the highest-grossing show in Chicago history by June 2007. With an opening-week gross of $1,400,000, it continually set records and became the longest-running Broadway musical in Chicago history. Producer David Stone told Variety, "we thought it [the Chicago production] would run 18 months, then we'd spend a year in Los Angeles and six months in San Francisco... but sales stayed so strong that the producers created another road show and kept the show running in Chicago." The Los Angeles production grossed over $145 million and was seen by more than 1.8 million patrons. Over the 672 performances of the San Francisco production, Wicked sold over 1 million tickets with a cumulative gross of over $75 million. While its Broadway production welcomed its 5 millionth audience member on September 29, 2010.
Although West End theatres do not publish audited weekly grosses, the West End production of Wicked said it had set the record for highest one-week gross in December 2006, taking £761,000 in the week ending December 30. On June 23, 2008, the producers reported that over 1.4 million people had seen the London production, and grosses had topped £50 million. The same reports stated that the show had consistently been one of the two highest-grossing shows in the West End. For the week commencing December 27, 2010, the London production grossed £1,002,885, the highest single-week gross in West End theatre history, with over 20,000 people attending the nine performances of Wicked that week. The Melbourne production broke Australian box-office records, selling 24,750 tickets in three hours during pre-sales and grossing over $1.3 million on the first business day after its official opening. On April 27, 2009, the production passed the milestone of 500,000 patrons. When it transferred to Sydney, the production broke "all previous weekly box office records for a musical at the Capitol Theatre, grossing $1,473,775.70 in one week during October 2009.
By seats sold on Broadway, Wicked ranks third of all time. The show celebrated its 7,486th performance on Broadway on April 11, 2023 (the show's 20th anniversary year), surpassing Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats as the fourth-longest-running Broadway show in history. Several other productions have also reached milestones such as the West End show in London, reaching 6512 performances on 22 September 2023, the North American tour surpassing 4,160 performances and the Australian run of the show, that reached 1,000 performances.
=== Marketing and promotion ===
The success of the Broadway production has led to the development of an auxiliary show for purposes of marketing and promotion titled Behind the Emerald Curtain. It was created by Sean McCourt—an original Broadway production cast member who played the Elphaba's father and understudied both the Wizard and Doctor Dillamond—and Anthony Galde, who was a long-running swing in the Broadway company from 2004 to 2012. The tour features a ninety-minute behind-the-scenes look at the props, masks, costumes and sets used in the show, and includes a question-and-answer session with the cast members. The tour also featured in the Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago sit-down productions, and were each run by different long-serving cast members of the show. The tour provides a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into putting on the show every day. Participants get a first-hand account of what it is like to be a part of the massive production that Wicked is. To create Elphaba's green skin, 40 pots of the commercially available MAC Chromacake landscape green make-up are used per year. It is water-based for easy removal.
== Legacy and anniversary tributes ==
=== A Very Wicked Halloween (2018) ===
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the musical's premiere on Broadway, NBC aired a concert special, A Very Wicked Halloween: Celebrating 15 Years on Broadway, on October 29, 2018. Taped live from the Marquis Theatre in New York, the event was hosted by original stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth and featured performances of the musical's songs by its current Broadway company, alongside Ariana Grande (who eventually portrayed Glinda in the films), Pentatonix, Adam Lambert, and Ledisi.
=== Wicked in Concert (2021) ===
PBS aired a Wicked concert special, once again hosted by Menzel and Chenoweth, on August 29, 2021. Performers included Cynthia Erivo (who eventually portrayed Elphaba in the films), Ariana DeBose, Gavin Creel, Ali Stroker, Amber Riley, Mario Cantone, Jennifer Nettles, Stephanie Hsu, Alex Newell, Isaac Cole Powell and Gabrielle Ruiz.
== Parodies ==
=== Twisted ===
In July 2013, the StarKid Productions musical Twisted premiered in a limited run at Chicago's Greenhouse Theatre. The musical is a satirized retelling of the 1992 Disney animated film Aladdin from the point of view of its villain, Jafar, much like how Wicked retold the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
=== Wicked Frozen ===
In November 2014, the parody musical Wicked Frozen premiered at The People's Improv Theatre in New York City, satirizing both the musical Wicked and the 2013 Walt Disney Animation Studios film Frozen. Time Out magazine described Wicked Frozen, "Like an ice capade infused with psychedelic drugs, this musical parody of Wicked and Frozen goes wild to hit every mark a fan could desire."
== Film adaptation ==
A film adaptation of Wicked had been discussed since 2004. In July 2010, it was reported that J. J. Abrams, James Mangold, Ryan Murphy, and Rob Marshall were under consideration to direct. By July 2012, Universal Studios was reported to be producing the film, with Stephen Daldry as director and Winnie Holzman, who wrote the musical's book, to pen the screenplay. Universal announced in 2016 that the film would be released in theaters on December 20, 2019, with Daldry still attached to direct, and the script to be co-written by the musical's creators, Holzman and Schwartz. In May 2017, Schwartz stated that the film would feature "at least two" new songs. On August 31, 2018, Universal put the film on hold, due to production scheduling, and gave the film adaptation of Cats, which became a box office bomb, the release date formerly held by the film. On February 8, 2019, Universal announced a new release date of December 22, 2021, for the Wicked film.
On April 1, 2020, Universal put the film on hold once again due to Universal shifting release dates amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and gave Sing 2 the 2021 release date. On October 20, 2020, it was announced that Daldry had left the production due to scheduling conflicts. In February 2021, Deadline reported that Jon M. Chu had signed on to direct the film adaptation. In July 2021, Schwartz stated that filming would begin in late 2021 in Georgia, but filming was later postponed to March 2022 and again to June 2022. In November 2021, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were cast as Glinda and Elphaba respectively, with Jonathan Bailey confirmed to have been cast as Fiyero a year later. Production was originally set to begin in mid 2022 in the United Kingdom.
In April 2022, it was announced the film would be released in two parts, the first on November 22, 2024, and the second on November 21, 2025. Chu explained that it "became impossible to wrestle the story of 'Wicked' into a single film without doing some real damage to it", so he made the decision to make two movies, to allow for more time to get to know the characters and not make any omissions from the source material.
The first film received praise from critics and was an immediate commercial success, earning the highest worldwide opening weekend for a film based on a stage musical since Les Misérables (2012) and later surpassing Mamma Mia! (2008) to become the highest-grossing musical film adaptation of all time. It also became the first musical film to win Best Film at the National Board of Review since Moulin Rouge! (2001), as well as the first fantasy film to win the award. At the 97th Academy Awards, it earned ten nominations (including Best Picture) and won two awards for Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.
== In popular culture ==
The success of Wicked has made several of the show's songs popular and has resulted in references to the show, characters, and songs in popular culture. The Broadway production has been featured in episodes of television programs, including Brothers & Sisters, Rules of Engagement, and The War at Home. For filming purposes, the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles doubled for the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway in Ugly Betty in the episode "Something Wicked This Way Comes" in which Betty, the show's protagonist, goes to see Wicked on a date. Wicked is also mentioned in the South Park episode "Broadway Bro Down", where Randy takes his wife Sharon to Denver to watch the performance in order for him to get oral sex in return, as he heard the play arouses women into giving "blowjobs".
"Defying Gravity" is featured in the Glee episode "Wheels," where Rachel (Lea Michele) and Kurt (Chris Colfer) sing it separately in a competition for the lead solo from the first season. It was featured again in "100", the hundredth episode in the series.
The satiric musical The Book of Mormon also openly nods to Wicked, particularly in the song "You and Me (But Mostly Me)", presenting two rivals-to-friends and notably ending with Elder Price holding a tune reminding of the famous ending of Elphaba's "Defying Gravity". The Oscar-winning song "Let It Go" from the successful 2013 Disney feature film Frozen, that also won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, had been compared to "Defying Gravity" due to its similar theme and similar singing style, and was sung by the original Elphaba, Idina Menzel. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Wildlife_Species_at_Risk_(Canada)#Amphibians | List of Wildlife Species at Risk (Canada)#Amphibians | As of November 2024, the List of Wildlife Species at Risk has more than 600 entries for Canadian wildlife species considered at varying risks of extinction, including 301 classified as endangered species, 147 threatened species, 200 special concern, and 23 extirpated (no longer existing in the wild in Canada, but exists elsewhere). About 65 percent of Canada's resident species are considered "Secure". More than 30 wildlife species have become extinct in the wild since the arrival of European settlers.
The Government of Canada maintains a list of all plant and animal species, or designatable units (DUs) thereof, federally recognized as special concern, threatened, endangered, extirpated, and extinct in Canada under Schedule I of the Species at Risk Act (SARA).
== SARA Schedule ==
Species listed on SARA Schedule I receive federal legal protections under the act, including the protection of individuals, populations, and their habitat from harm. Listing on Schedule I of the act also mandates the formation of a species recovery team and strategy. The addition of species or DUs to Schedule I is done annually by the Minister of the Environment, based on formal assessment recommendations by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), an independent committee of wildlife experts and scientists. COSEWIC assessments and IUCN designations by themselves are not to be confused with actual Schedule I listings as both of the former have no formal legal status in Canada.
== Mammals ==
=== Extirpated mammals ===
Eschrichtius robustus — grey whale (Atlantic population)
Mustela nigripes — black-footed ferret
Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus — Atlantic walrus (northwest Atlantic population)
=== Endangered mammals ===
Balaenoptera borealis — sei whale (Pacific population)
Balaenoptera musculus — blue whale
Dipodomys ordii — Ord's kangaroo rat
Eubalaena glacialis — North Atlantic right whale
Gulo gulo — wolverine (eastern population)
Hyperoodon ampullatus — northern bottlenose whale (Scotian Shelf population)
Marmota vancouverensis — Vancouver Island marmot
Martes americana atrata — American marten (Newfoundland population)
Orcinus orca — orca or killer whale (Pacific southern resident population)
Rangifer tarandus caribou — woodland caribou (Atlantic/Gaspésie population)
Scapanus townsendii — Townsend's mole
Sorex bendirii — Pacific water shrew
Taxidea taxus jacksoni — American badger; jacksoni subspecies
Taxidea taxus jeffersonii — American badger; jeffersonii subspecies
Vulpes velox — swift fox
=== Threatened mammals ===
Antrozous pallidus — pallid bat
Balaenoptera physalus (Pacific population) — fin whale
Bison bison athabascae — wood bison
Enhydra lutris — sea otter
Delphinapterus leucas (St. Lawrence Estuary population) — beluga whale
Mustela haidarum — Haida ermine
Megaptera novaeangliae (North Pacific population) — humpback whale
Orcinus orca (northeast Pacific transient population) — killer whale
Orcinus orca (northeast Pacific northern resident population) — killer whale
Rangifer tarandus caribou (boreal population) — woodland caribou
Rangifer tarandus caribou (southern mountain population) — woodland caribou
Urocyon cinereoargenteus — grey fox
=== Mammals of special concern ===
Balaena mysticetus (Bering–Chukchi–Beaufort population) — bowhead whale
Balaenoptera physalus (Atlantic population) — fin whale
Canis lycaon — eastern wolf
Enhydra lutris — sea otter
Cynomys ludovicianus — black-tailed prairie dog
Eschrichtius robustus (eastern North Pacific population) — grey whale
Euderma maculatum — spotted bat
Eumetopias jubatus — Steller sea lion
Microtus pinetorum — woodland vole
Orcinus orca (Northeast Pacific offshore population) — killer whale
Phocoena phocoena (Pacific Ocean population) — harbour porpoise
Rangifer tarandus caribou (northern mountain population) — woodland caribou
Scalopus aquaticus — eastern mole
Sylvilagus nuttallii nuttallii — Nuttall's cottontail, nuttallii subspecies
Ursus maritimus — polar bear
== Birds ==
=== Extirpated birds ===
Tympanuchus cupido — greater prairie-chicken
=== Endangered birds ===
Ammodramus henslowii — Henslow's sparrow
Athene cunicularia — burrowing owl
Centrocercus urophasianus urophasianus — greater sage-grouse, urophasianus subspecies
Charadrius melodus circumcinctus — piping plover, circumcinctus subspecies
Charadrius melodus melodus — piping plover, melodus subspecies
Charadrius montanus — mountain plover
Colinus virginianus — northern bobwhite
Dendroica kirtlandii — Kirtland's warbler
Empidonax virescens — Acadian flycatcher
Eremophila alpestris strigata — horned lark, strigata subspecies
Grus americana — whooping crane
Icteria virens auricollis (British Columbia population) — yellow-breasted chat, auricollis subspecies
Lanius ludovicianus migrans — loggerhead shrike, migrans subspecies
Loxia curvirostra percna — red crossbill, percna subspecies
Megascops kennicottii macfarlanei — western screech-owl, macfarlanei subspecies
Numenius borealis — Eskimo curlew
Oreoscoptes montanus — sage thrasher
Picoides albolarvatus — white-headed woodpecker
Pooecetes gramineus affinis — vesper sparrow, affinis subspecies
Protonotaria citrea — prothonotary warbler
Rallus elegans — king rail
Sphyrapicus thyroideus — Williamson's sapsucker
Sterna dougallii — roseate tern
Strix occidentalis caurina — spotted owl, caurina subspecies
Tyto furcata (eastern population) — American barn owl
=== Threatened birds ===
Accipiter gentilis laingi — northern goshawk, laingi subspecies
Aegolius acadicus brooksi — northern saw-whet owl, brooksi subspecies
Anthus spragueii — Sprague's pipit
Brachyramphus marmoratus — marbled murrelet
Falco peregrinus anatum — peregrine falcon, anatum subspecies
Ixobrychus exilis — least bittern
Lanius ludovicianus excubitorides — loggerhead shrike, excubitorides subspecies
Phoebastria albatrus — short-tailed albatross
Puffinus creatopus — pink-footed shearwater
Riparia riparia - bank swallow
Rhodostethia rosea — Ross' gull
Vermivora chrysoptera — golden-winged warbler
Wilsonia citrina — hooded warbler
=== Birds of special concern ===
Bucephala islandica (eastern population) — Barrow's goldeneye
Coturnicops noveboracensis — yellow rail
Dendroica cerulea — cerulean warbler
Falco peregrinus pealei — peregrine falcon, pealei subspecies
Histrionicus histrionicus (eastern population) — harlequin duck
Icteria virens virens — yellow-breasted chat, virens subspecies
Megascops kennicottii kennicottii — western screech-owl, kennicottii subspecies
Melanerpes lewis — Lewis' woodpecker
Numenius americanus — long-billed curlew
Otus flammeolus — flammulated owl
Pagophila eburnea — ivory gull
Passerculus sandwichensis princeps — Savannah sparrow, princeps subspecies
Rhynchophanes mccownii — thick-billed longspur
Seiurus motacilla — Louisiana waterthrush
Synthliboramphus antiquus — ancient murrelet
Tyto furcata (western population) — American barn owl
== Reptiles ==
=== Extirpated reptiles ===
Actinemys marmorata — Pacific pond turtle
Crotalus horridus — timber rattlesnake
Phrynosoma douglasii — pygmy short-horned lizard
Pituophis catenifer catenifer — Pacific gophersnake
=== Endangered reptiles ===
Chrysemys picta bellii (Pacific Coast population) — western painted turtle
Clemmys guttata — spotted turtle
Coluber constrictor foxii — blue racer
Contia tenuis — sharp-tailed snake
Dermochelys coriacea — leatherback seaturtle
Emydoidea blandingii (Nova Scotia population) — Blanding's turtle
Eumeces septentrionalis — prairie skink
Hypsiglena torquata — nightsnake
=== Threatened reptiles ===
Apalone spinifera — spiny softshell
Coluber constrictor flaviventris — eastern yellow-bellied racer
Crotalus oreganus — western rattlesnake
Elaphe gloydi — eastern foxsnake
Elaphe spiloides — grey ratsnake
Emydoidea blandingii (Great Lakes / St. Lawrence population) — Blanding's turtle
Heterodon platirhinos — eastern hog-nosed snake
Pituophis catenifer deserticola — Great Basin gophersnake
Regina septemvittata — queen snake
Sistrurus catenatus — massasauga
Sternotherus odoratus — stinkpot
Thamnophis butleri — Butler's gartersnake
Thamnophis saurita (Atlantic population) — eastern ribbonsnake
=== Reptiles of special concern ===
Charina bottae — rubber boa
Chrysemys picta bellii (intermountain–Rocky Mountain population) — western painted turtle
Coluber constrictor mormon — western yellow-bellied racer
Eumeces skiltonianus — western skink
Graptemys geographica — northern map turtle
Lampropeltis triangulum — milksnake
Thamnophis saurita (Great Lakes population) — eastern ribbonsnake
== Amphibians ==
=== Extirpated amphibians ===
Ambystoma tigrinum (Great Lakes population) — tiger salamander
=== Endangered amphibians ===
Acris crepitans — northern cricket frog
Ambystoma texanum — small-mouthed salamander
Ambystoma tigrinum (southern mountain population) — tiger salamander
Ascaphus montanus — Rocky Mountain tailed frog
Rana pipiens (southern mountain population) — northern leopard frog
Rana pretiosa — Oregon spotted frog
=== Threatened amphibians ===
Ambystoma jeffersonianum — Jefferson salamander
Bufo fowleri — Fowler's toad
Desmognathus ochrophaeus — Allegheny Mountain dusky salamander
Dicamptodon tenebrosus — coastal giant salamander
Spea intermontana — Great Basin spadefoot
=== Amphibians of special concern ===
Ascaphus truei — coast tailed frog
Bufo boreas — western toad
Bufo cognatus — Great Plains toad
Gyrinophilus porphyriticus — spring salamander
Plethodon idahoensis — Coeur d'Alene salamander
Rana aurora — red-legged frog
Rana pipiens (western boreal/prairie populations) — northern leopard frog
== Fish ==
=== Extirpated fish ===
Erimystax x-punctatus — gravel chub
Polyodon spathula — paddlefish
=== Endangered fish ===
Acipenser transmontanus — white sturgeon
Catostomus catostomus subsp. — Salish sucker
Coregonus huntsmani — Atlantic whitefish
Coregonus reighardi — shortnose cisco
Gasterosteus sp. — benthic Enos Lake stickleback
Gasterosteus sp. — benthic Paxton Lake stickleback
Gasterosteus sp. — benthic Vananda Creek stickleback
Gasterosteus sp. — limnetic Enos Lake stickleback
Gasterosteus sp. — limnetic Paxton Lake stickleback
Gasterosteus sp. — limnetic Vananda Creek stickleback
Lampetra richardsoni var. marifuga — Morrison Creek lamprey
Moxostoma hubbsi — copper redhorse
Notropis anogenus — pugnose shiner
Noturus stigmosus — northern madtom
Rhinichthys cataractae subsp. — Nooksack dace
Salmo salar (Inner Bay of Fundy populations) — Atlantic salmon
Salvelinus fontinalis timagamiensis — aurora trout
=== Threatened fish ===
Ammocrypta pellucida — eastern sand darter
Anarhichas denticulatus — northern wolffish
Anarhichas minor — spotted wolffish
Cottus confusus — shorthead sculpin
Cottus paulus — pygmy sculpin
Cottus sp. (St. Mary and Milk River populations) — eastslope sculpin
Erimyzon sucetta — lake chubsucker
Hybognathus argyritis — western silvery minnow
Lampetra macrostoma — Vancouver lamprey
Lepisosteus oculatus — spotted gar
Notropis percobromus — carmine shiner
Osmerus spectrum — Lake Utopia dwarf smelt
Percina copelandi — channel darterm
=== Fish of special concern ===
Acipenser medirostris — green sturgeon
Anarhichas lupus — Atlantic wolffish
Coregonus kiyi kiyi — Upper Great Lakes kiyi
Cottus hubbsi — Columbia sculpin
Esox americanus vermiculatus — grass pickerel
Fundulus diaphanus (Newfoundland population) — banded killifish
Fundulus notatus — blackstripe topminnow
Lepomis gulosus — warmouth
Macrhybopsis storeriana — silver chub
Minytrema melanops — spotted sucker
Moxostoma carinatum — river redhorse
Myoxocephalus thompsonii (Great Lakes–Western St. Lawrence populations) — deepwater sculpin
Notropis bifrenatus — bridle shiner
Opsopoeodus emiliae — pugnose minnow
== Arthropods ==
=== Extirpated arthropods ===
Callophrys (Incisalia) irus — frosted elfin
Euchloe ausonides — island marble
Plebejus melissa samuelis — Karner blue
=== Endangered arthropods ===
Apodemia mormo (southern mountain population) — Mormon metalmark
Bombus affinis - rusty-patched bumble bee
Bombus bohemicus - gypsy cuckoo bumble bee
Brychius hungerfordi - Hungerford's crawling water beetle
Cicindela patruela - Northern Barrens tiger beetle
Coenonympha nipisiquit — maritime ringlet
Copablepharon fuscum — sand-verbena moth
Erynnis persius persius — eastern Persius duskywing
Erynnis martialis - mottled duskywing
Euphydryas editha taylori — Taylor's checkerspot
Gomphus ventricosus - skillet clubtail
Hemileuca sp. - bogbean buckmoth
Hesperia ottoe — Ottoe skipper
Papaipema aweme — Aweme borer
Icaricia saepiolus insulanus — island blue
Prodoxus quinquepunctellus — five-spotted bogus yucca moth
Satyrium semiluna — half-moon hairstreak
Schinia avemensis — gold-edged gem
Schinia bimatris — white flower moth
Somatochlora hineana - Hine's emerald
Stylurus amnicola - riverine clubtail
Stylurus laurae - Laura's clubtail
Stylurus olivaceus - olive clubtail
Tegeticula corruptrix — non-pollinating yucca moth
Tegeticula yuccasella — yucca moth
=== Threatened arthropods ===
Apodemia mormo (prairie population) — Mormon metalmark
Euphyes vestris (western population) — dun skipper
Hesperia dacotae — Dakota skipper
Oarisma poweshiek — Poweshiek skipperling
Satyrium behrii columbia — Behr's hairstreak, columbia subspecies
=== Arthropods of special concern ===
Danaus plexippus — monarch
Limenitis weidemeyerii — Weidemeyer's admiral
Polites sonora — Sonora skipper
== Molluscs ==
=== Extirpated molluscs ===
Alasmidonta heterodon — dwarf wedgemussel
Cryptomastix devia — Puget Oregonian snail
=== Endangered molluscs ===
Allogona townsendiana — Oregon forestsnail
Epioblasma torulosa rangiana — northern riffleshell
Epioblasma triquetra — snuffbox
Haliotis kamtschatkana — northern abalone
Lampsilis fasciola — wavy-rayed lampmussel
Obovaria subrotunda — round hickorynut
Physella johnsoni — Banff Springs snail
Physella wrighti — hotwater physa
Pleurobema sintoxia — round pigtoe
Prophysaon coelureum — blue-grey taildropper slug
Ptychobranchus fasciolaris — kidneyshell
Simpsonaias ambigua — mudpuppy mussel
Villosa fabalis — rayed bean
=== Threatened molluscs ===
Hemphillia dromedarius — dromedary jumping-slug
=== Molluscs of special concern ===
Gonidea angulata — Rocky Mountain ridged mussel
Lampsilis cariosa — yellow lampmussel
Nearctula sp. — threaded vertigo
Ostrea conchaphila — Olympia oyster
== Vascular plants ==
=== Extirpated vascular plants ===
Collinsia verna — spring blue-eyed mary
Desmodium illinoense — Illinois tick-trefoil
=== Endangered vascular plants ===
Abronia umbellata — pink sand-verbena
Actaea elata — tall bugbane
Adiantum capillus-veneris — southern maidenhair fern
Agalinis aspera — rough agalinis
Agalinis gattingeri — Gattinger's agalinis
Agalinis skinneriana — Skinner's agalinis
Ammannia robusta — scarlet ammannia
Antennaria flagellaris — stoloniferous pussytoes
Aristida basiramea — forked three-awned grass
balsamorhiza deltoidea — deltoid balsamroot
Betula lenta — cherry birch
Braya longii — Long's braya
Buchnera americana — bluehearts
Camissonia contorta — contorted-pod evening-primrose
Carex lupuliformis — false hop sedge
Carex juniperorum — juniper sedge
Castanea dentata — American chestnut
Castilleja levisecta — golden paintbrush
Chimaphila maculata — spotted wintergreen
Cirsium pitcheri — Pitcher's thistle
Collomia tenella — slender collomia
Coreopsis rosea — pink coreopsis
Cryptantha minima — tiny cryptanthe
Cypripedium candidum — small white lady's-slipper
Drosera filiformis — thread-leaved sundew
Eleocharis equisetoides — horsetail spike-rush
Epilobium densiflorum — dense spike-primrose
Epilobium torreyi — brook spike-primrose
Frasera caroliniensis — American columbo
Gentiana alba — white prairie gentian
Geum peckii — eastern mountain avens
Isoetes engelmannii — Engelmann's quillwort
Isotria medeoloides — small whorled pogonia
Isotria verticillata — large whorled pogonia
Juglans cinerea — butternut
Juncus kelloggii — Kellogg's rush
Lespedeza virginica — slender bush-clover
Liparis liliifolia — purple twayblade
Lipocarpha micrantha — small-flowered lipocarpha
Lotus formosissimus — seaside bird's-foot lotus
Lotus pinnatus — bog bird's-foot trefoil
Lupinus densiflorus — dense-flowered lupine
Lupinus lepidus var. lepidus — prairie lupine
Lupinus rivularis — streambank lupine
Magnolia acuminata — cucumber tree
Meconella oregana — white meconella
Microseris bigelovii — coast microseris
Minuartia pusilla — dwarf sandwort
Morus rubra — red mulberry
Opuntia humifusa — eastern prickly pear cactus
Orthocarpus barbatus — Grand Coulee owl-clover
Orthocarpus bracteosus — rosy owl-clover
Panax quinquefolius — American ginseng
Pedicularis furbishiae — Furbish's lousewort
Phacelia ramosissima — branched phacelia
Physematium obtusum — blunt-lobed woodsia
Plantago cordata — heart-leaved plantain
Platanthera leucophaea — eastern prairie fringed-orchid
Platanthera praeclara — western prairie fringed-orchid
Polygala incarnata — pink milkwort
Psilocarphus brevissimus (southern mountain population) — dwarf woolly-heads
Psilocarphus elatior — tall woolly-heads
Pycnanthemum incanum — hoary mountain-mint
Ranunculus alismifolius var. alismifolius — water-plantain buttercup
Rotala ramosior — toothcup
Salix jejuna — barrens willow
Sanicula arctopoides — bear's-foot sanicle
Silene scouleri grandis — coastal Scouler's catchfly
Silene spaldingii — Spalding's campion
Solidago speciosa — showy goldenrod
Stylophorum diphyllum — wood-poppy
Symphyotrichum frondosum — short-rayed alkali aster
Tephrosia virginiana — Virginia goat's-rue
Tonella tenella — small-flowered tonella
Trichophorum planifolium — bashful bulrush
Trillium flexipes — drooping trillium
Triphora trianthophora — nodding pogonia
Triphysaria versicolor versicolor — bearded owl-clover
Tripterocalyx micranthus — small-flowered sand-verbena
Triteleia howellii — Howell's triteleia
Viola pedata — bird's-foot violet
=== Threatened vascular plants ===
Aletris farinosa — colicroot
Azolla mexicana — Mexican mosquito-fern
Bartonia paniculata paniculata — branched bartonia
Braya fernaldii — Fernald's braya
Buchloe dactyloides — buffalograss
Calochortus lyallii — Lyall's mariposa lily
Camassia scilloides — wild hyacinth
Carex sabulosa — Baikal sedge
Castilleja rupicola — cliff paintbrush
Celtis tenuifolia — dwarf hackberry
Cephalanthera austiniae — phantom orchid
Chenopodium subglabrum — smooth goosefoot
Cirsium hillii — Hill's thistle
Corydalis scouleri — Scouler's corydalis
Dalea villosa var. villosa — hairy prairie-clover
Eleocharis tuberculosa — tubercled spike-rush
Enemion biternatum — false rue-anemone
Eurybia divaricata — white wood aster
Gentianopsis virgata subsp. victorinii — Victorin's gentian
Gymnocladus dioicus — Kentucky coffee-tree
Halimolobos virgata — slender mouse-ear-cress
Hydrastis canadensis — goldenseal
Hydrocotyle umbellata — water-pennywort
Hymenoxys herbacea — lakeside daisy
Iris lacustris — dwarf lake iris
Iris missouriensis — western blue flag
Isoetes bolanderi — Bolander's quillwort
Justicia americana — American water-willow
Lachnanthes caroliana — redroot
Liatris spicata — dense blazing star
Limnanthes macounii — Macoun's meadowfoam
Lophiola aurea — golden crest
Phlox speciosa subsp. occidentalis — showy phlox
Polemonium vanbruntiae — van Brunt's Jacob's-ladder
Polystichum lemmonii — Lemmon's holly fern
Polystichum scopulinum — mountain holly fern
Ptelea trifoliata — common hoptree
Sabatia kennedyana — Plymouth gentian
Salix chlorolepis — green-scaled willow
Sanicula bipinnatifida — purple sanicle
Sericocarpus rigidus — white-top aster
Smilax rotundifolia (Great Lakes plains population) — round-leaved greenbrier
Symphyotrichum anticostense — Anticosti aster
Symphyotrichum laurentianum — Gulf of St. Lawrence aster
Symphyotrichum praealtum — willowleaf aster
Symphyotrichum prenanthoides — crooked-stem aster
Symphyotrichum sericeum — western silvery aster
Tradescantia occidentalis — western spiderwort
Vaccinium stamineum — deerberry
Viola praemorsa subsp. praemorsa — yellow montane violet, praemorsa subspecies
Yucca glauca — soapweed
=== Vascular plants of special concern ===
Achillea millefolium var. megacephalum — large-headed woolly yarrow
Armeria maritima subsp. interior — Athabasca thrift
Arnoglossum plantagineum — tuberous Indian-plantain
Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum — American hart's-tongue fern
Astragalus robbinsii var. fernaldii — Fernald's milk-vetch
Bidens amplissima — Vancouver Island beggarticks
Cicuta maculata var. victorinii — Victorin's water-hemlock
Clethra alnifolia — sweet pepperbush
Deschampsia mackenzieana — Mackenzie hairgrass
Dryopteris arguta — coastal wood fern
Fraxinus quadrangulata — blue ash
Hibiscus moscheutos — swamp rose-mallow
Isoetes prototypus — prototype quillwort
Juncus caesariensis — New Jersey rush
Lilaeopsis chinensis — eastern lilaeopsis
Potamogeton hillii — Hill's pondweed
Psilocarphus brevissimus (prairie population) — dwarf woolly-heads
Psilocarphus elatior (prairie population) — tall woolly-heads
Rosa setigera — climbing prairie rose
Salix brachycarpa var. psammophila — sand dune short-capsuled willow
Salix silicicola — felt-leaf willow
Salix turnorii — Turnor's willow
Solidago houghtonii — Houghton's goldenrod
Solidago riddellii — Riddell's goldenrod
Tanacetum huronense var. floccosum — floccose tansy
== Mosses ==
=== Extirpated mosses ===
Ptychomitrium incurvum — incurved grizzled moss
=== Endangered mosses ===
Bartramia stricta — rigid apple moss
Bryoandersonia illecebra — spoon-leaved moss
Entosthodon rubiginosus — rusty cord-moss
Fabronia pusilla — silver hair moss
Fissidens pauperculus — poor pocket moss
Scouleria marginata — margined streamside moss
=== Threatened mosses ===
Bartramia halleriana — Haller's apple moss
Pterygoneurum kozlovii — alkaline wing-nerved moss
=== Mosses of special concern ===
Bryoerythrophyllum columbianum — Columbian carpet moss
Entosthodon fascicularis — banded cord-moss
Fissidens exilis — pygmy pocket moss
Syntrichia laevipila — twisted oak moss
== Lichens ==
=== Endangered lichens ===
Erioderma pedicellatum (Atlantic population) — boreal felt lichen
Heterodermia sitchensis — seaside centipede lichen
=== Threatened lichens ===
Leptogium rivulare — flooded jellyskin
=== Lichens of special concern ===
Erioderma pedicellatum (boreal population) — boreal felt lichen
Nephroma occultum — cryptic paw
Sclerophora peronella (Nova Scotia population) — frosted glass-whiskers |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_wars_of_the_Tetrarchy | Civil wars of the Tetrarchy | The civil wars of the Tetrarchy were a series of conflicts between the co-emperors of the Roman Empire, starting from 306 AD with the usurpation of Maxentius and the defeat of Severus to the defeat of Licinius at the hands of Constantine I in 324 AD.
== Background ==
The Tetrarchy was the administrative division of the Roman Empire instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD, marking the end of the Crisis of the Third Century and the recovery of the Roman Empire. The first phase, sometimes referred to as the Diarchy ("the rule of two"), involved the designation of the general Maximian as co-emperor – firstly as Caesar (junior emperor) in 285, followed by his promotion to Augustus in 286. Diocletian took care of matters in the Eastern regions of the Empire while Maximian similarly took charge of the Western regions. In 293, feeling more focus was needed on both civic and military problems, Diocletian, with Maximian's consent, expanded the imperial college by appointing two Caesars (one responsible to each Augustus) – Galerius and Constantius Chlorus.
The senior emperors jointly abdicated and retired in 305 AD, allowing Constantius and Galerius to be elevated in rank to Augusti. They in turn appointed two new Caesars, Severus in the west under Constantius, and Maximinus Daza in the east under Galerius.
== Opening gambits ==
The death of Constantius at Eburacum (now York) in 306 AD saw the first crack in the political edifice of the Tetrarchy. Rather than accepting the elevation of Severus from Caesar to Augustus, the troops at Eburacum elevated Constantius' son, Constantine, to the position of Augustus. Galerius, the senior emperor, was sent a portrait of Constantine wearing a crown of laurels; by accepting this symbol, Galerius would be acknowledging Constantine as heir to his father's throne. Constantine passed off responsibility for his unlawful ascension on his army, claiming they had "forced it upon him". Galerius was put into a fury by the message; he almost set the portrait on fire. His advisers calmed him, and argued that outright denial of Constantine's claims would mean certain war. Galerius was compelled to compromise: he granted Constantine the title "Caesar" rather than "Augustus" (the latter office went to Severus instead). Wishing to make it clear that he alone gave Constantine legitimacy, Galerius personally sent Constantine the emperor's traditional purple robes. Constantine accepted the decision, knowing that it would remove doubts as to his legitimacy.
This act motivated Maxentius, the son of Maximian, to also declare himself Emperor at Rome in 306 AD. Galerius, worried that Maxentius might inspire even more claims to the throne, ordered Severus to swiftly put down the usurpation. Severus moved from his capital, Mediolanum, towards Rome, where Maximian had come out of retirement and become Maxentius' co-emperor. The soldiers in the invasion army had previously served under Maximian, and upon arriving at Rome they switched sides and supported their old commander. Abandoned, Severus fled to Ravenna, an impregnable position: in March or April 307, Maximian convinced him to surrender in exchange for leniency. Despite Maximian's assurance, Severus was displayed as a captive and later imprisoned at Tres Tabernae, near Rome.
The joint rule of Maxentius and Maximian in Rome was tested further when Galerius himself marched to Italy in the summer of 307 with an even larger army. Some time during the invasion, Severus was put to death by Maxentius, probably at Tres Tabernae (the exact circumstances of his death are not certain). The usurpers' strong position in Italy prompted Galerius to open negotiations, during which Maxentius repeated the strategy he had used with Severus: attracted by the promise of large sums of money and the authority of Maximian, many soldiers defected from the invasion army. Galerius was forced to withdraw, plundering Italy on his way. Maxentius' reign over Italy and Africa was thus firmly established. Beginning in 307 already, he tried to arrange friendly contacts with Constantine, and in the summer of that year, Maximian travelled to Gaul, where Constantine married his daughter Fausta and was in turn appointed Augustus by the senior emperor. However, Constantine tried to avoid breaking with Galerius, and did not openly support Maxentius during the invasion.
In 308, probably April, Maximian tried to depose his son in an assembly of soldiers in Rome; surprisingly to him, the present troops remained faithful to his son, and he had to flee to Constantine.
In the conference of Carnuntum in the autumn of 308, Maxentius was once again denied recognition as legitimate emperor, and Licinius was appointed Augustus with the task of regaining the usurper's domain.
In 310, Maximian rebelled against Constantine while the emperor was on campaign against the Franks. Maximian had been sent south to Arles with part of Constantine's army to defend against attacks by Maxentius in southern Gaul. In Arles, Maximian announced that Constantine was dead and took up the imperial purple. He offered bribes to any soldiers who would support him as emperor, but most of Constantine's army remained loyal and Maximian was compelled to leave. Constantine soon heard of the rebellion, abandoned his campaign against the Franks, and moved quickly to southern Gaul, where he confronted the fleeing Maximian at Massilia. The town was better able to withstand a longer siege than Arles, but it made little difference as loyal citizens opened the rear gates to Constantine. Maximian was captured, reproved for his crimes, and stripped of his title for the third and last time. Constantine granted Maximian some clemency but strongly encouraged his suicide. In July 310, Maximian hanged himself.
== War of Constantine and Maxentius ==
By the middle of 310, Galerius had become too ill to involve himself in imperial politics. His final act survives: a letter to the provincials posted in Nicomedia on 30 April 311, proclaiming an end to the persecutions of Christians, and the resumption of religious toleration. He died soon after the edict's proclamation, destroying what little stability remained in the tetrarchy. Maximinus mobilized against Licinius, and seized Asia Minor. A hasty peace was signed on a boat in the middle of the Bosphorus. While Constantine toured Britain and Gaul, Maxentius prepared for war. He fortified northern Italy, and strengthened his support in the Christian community by allowing it to elect a new Bishop of Rome, Eusebius.
Maxentius' rule was nevertheless insecure. His early support dissolved in the wake of heightened tax rates and depressed trade; riots broke out in Rome and Carthage; and Domitius Alexander was able to briefly usurp his authority in Africa. By 312, he was a man barely tolerated, not one actively supported, even among Christian Italians. In the summer of 311, Maxentius mobilized against Constantine while Licinius was occupied with affairs in the East. He declared war on Constantine, vowing to avenge his father's death. To prevent Maxentius from forming an alliance against him with Licinius, Constantine forged his own alliance with Licinius over the winter of 311–12, and offered him his sister Constantia in marriage. Maximinus considered Constantine's arrangement with Licinius an affront to his authority. In response, he sent ambassadors to Rome, offering political recognition to Maxentius in exchange for a military support. Maxentius accepted. According to Eusebius, inter-regional travel became impossible, and there was military buildup everywhere. There was "not a place where people were not expecting the onset of hostilities every day".
Constantine's advisers and generals cautioned against preemptive attack on Maxentius; even his soothsayers recommended against it, stating that the sacrifices had produced unfavourable omens. Constantine, with a spirit that left a deep impression on his followers, inspiring some to believe that he had some form of supernatural guidance, ignored all these cautions. Early in the spring of 312, Constantine crossed the Cottian Alps with a quarter of his army, a force numbering about 40,000. The first town his army encountered was Segusium (Susa, Italy), a heavily fortified town that shut its gates to him. Constantine ordered his men to set fire to its gates and scale its walls. He took the town quickly. Constantine ordered his troops not to loot the town, and advanced with them into northern Italy.
At the approach to the west of the important city of Augusta Taurinorum (Turin, Italy), Constantine encountered a large force of heavily armed Maxentian cavalry. In the ensuing battle Constantine's army encircled Maxentius' cavalry, flanked them with his own cavalry, and dismounted them with blows from his soldiers' iron-tipped clubs. Constantine's armies emerged victorious. Turin refused to give refuge to Maxentius' retreating forces, opening its gates to Constantine instead. Other cities of the north Italian plain sent Constantine embassies of congratulation for his victory. He moved on to Milan, where he was met with open gates and jubilant rejoicing. Constantine rested his army in Milan until mid-summer 312, when he moved on to Brixia (Brescia).
Brescia's army was easily dispersed, and Constantine quickly advanced to Verona, where a large Maxentian force was camped. Ruricius Pompeianus, general of the Veronese forces and Maxentius' praetorian prefect, was in a strong defensive position, since the town was surrounded on three sides by the Adige. Constantine sent a small force north of the town in an attempt to cross the river unnoticed. Ruricius sent a large detachment to counter Constantine's expeditionary force, but was defeated. Constantine's forces successfully surrounded the town and laid siege. Ruricius gave Constantine the slip and returned with a larger force to oppose Constantine. Constantine refused to let up on the siege, and sent only a small force to oppose him. In the desperately fought encounter that followed, Ruricius was killed and his army destroyed. Verona surrendered soon afterwards, followed by Aquileia, Mutina (Modena), and Ravenna. The road to Rome was now wide open to Constantine.
Maxentius prepared for the same type of war he had waged against Severus and Galerius: he sat in Rome and prepared for a siege. He still controlled Rome's praetorian guards, was well-stocked with African grain, and was surrounded on all sides by the seemingly impregnable Aurelian Walls. He ordered all bridges across the Tiber cut, reportedly on the counsel of the gods, and left the rest of central Italy undefended; Constantine secured that region's support without challenge. Constantine progressed slowly along the Via Flaminia, allowing the weakness of Maxentius to draw his regime further into turmoil. Maxentius' support continued to weaken: at chariot races on 27 October, the crowd openly taunted Maxentius, shouting that Constantine was invincible. Maxentius, no longer certain that he would emerge from a siege victorious, built a temporary boat bridge across the Tiber in preparation for a field battle against Constantine. On 28 October 312, the sixth anniversary of his reign, he approached the keepers of the Sibylline Books for guidance. The keepers prophesied that, on that very day, "the enemy of the Romans" would die. Maxentius advanced north to meet Constantine in battle.
Maxentius organized his forces – still twice the size of Constantine's – in long lines facing the battle plain, with their backs to the river. Constantine's army arrived at the field bearing unfamiliar symbols (the "Chi-Rho") on either its standards or its soldiers' shields. According to Lactantius, Constantine was visited by a dream the night before the battle, wherein he was advised "to mark the heavenly sign of God on the shields of his soldiers...by means of a slanted letter X with the top of its head bent round, he marked Christ on their shields." Eusebius describes another version, where, while marching at midday, "he saw with his own eyes in the heavens a trophy of the cross arising from the light of the sun, carrying the message, In Hoc Signo Vinces or 'Conquer By This'"; in Eusebius's account, Constantine had a dream the following night, in which Christ appeared with the same heavenly sign, and told him to make a standard, the labarum, for his army in that form. Eusebius is vague about when and where these events took place, but it enters his narrative before the war against Maxentius begins. Eusebius describes the sign as Chi (Χ) traversed by Rho (Ρ), or ☧ a symbol representing the first two letters of the Greek spelling of the word Christos or Christ. The Eusebian description of the vision has been explained as a "solar halo", a meteorological phenomenon which can produce similar effects. In 315 a medallion was issued at Ticinum showing Constantine wearing a helmet emblazoned with the Chi-Rho, and coins issued at Siscia in 317/18 repeat the image. The figure was otherwise rare, however, and is uncommon in imperial iconography and propaganda before the 320s.
Constantine deployed his own forces along the whole length of Maxentius' line. He ordered his cavalry to charge, and they broke Maxentius' cavalry. He then sent his infantry against Maxentius' infantry, pushing many into the Tiber where they were slaughtered and drowned. The battle known as the Battle of the Milvian Bridge was brief: Maxentius' troops were broken before the first charge. Maxentius' horse guards and praetorians initially held their position, but broke under the force of a Constantinian cavalry charge; they also broke ranks and fled to the river. Maxentius rode with them, and attempted to cross the bridge of boats, but he was pushed by the mass of his fleeing soldiers into the Tiber, and drowned.
Constantine entered Rome on 29 October. He staged a grand adventus in the city, and was met with popular jubilation. Maxentius' body was fished out of the Tiber and decapitated. His head was paraded through the streets for all to see. After the ceremonies, Maxentius' disembodied head was sent to Carthage; at this Carthage would offer no further resistance.
== War of Licinius and Maximinus Daza ==
Meanwhile, to the east, on Galerius' death in 311 the eastern provinces were divided between Maximinus Daza and Licinius. Daza was unhappy that Licinius had been made senior emperor by Galerius, and took the first available opportunity to declare himself as emperor. Licinius held the eastern European provinces, while Daza took possession of the Asiatic provinces.
In 312, while Constantine was fighting Maxentius, Daza was busy campaigning against the Armenians. He had returned to Syria by February 313 when he discovered the alliance that had been forged by Constantine and Licinius in Mediolanum. Deciding to take the initiative, Daza left Syria with 70,000 men and reached Bithynia, although harsh weather he encountered along the way had gravely weakened his army. In April 313, he crossed the Bosporus and went to Byzantium, which was held by Licinius' troops. Undeterred, he took the town after an eleven-day siege. He moved to Heraclea, which he captured after a short siege, before moving his forces to the first posting station. With a much smaller body of men, possibly around 30,000, Licinius arrived at Adrianople while Daza was still besieging Heraclea. On 30 April 313, the two armies clashed at the Battle of Tzirallum, and in the ensuing battle Daza's forces were crushed. Ridding himself of the imperial purple and dressing like a slave, Daza fled to Nicomedia. Believing he still had a chance to come out victorious, Daza attempted to stop the advance of Licinius at the Cilician Gates by establishing fortifications there. Unfortunately for Daza, Licinius' army succeeded in breaking through, forcing Daza to retreat to Tarsus where Licinius continued to press him on land and sea. The war between them only ended with Daza's death in August 313.
== Wars of Constantine and Licinius ==
After Maxentius' defeat, Constantine gradually consolidated his military superiority over his rivals in the crumbling Tetrarchy. In 313, he met Licinius in Milan to secure their alliance by the marriage of Licinius and Constantine's half-sister Constantia. During this meeting, the emperors agreed on the so-called Edict of Milan, officially granting full tolerance to "Christianity and all" religions in the Empire. The document had special benefits for Christians, legalizing their religion and granting them restoration for all property seized during Diocletian's persecution. It repudiates past methods of religious coercion and used only general terms to refer to the divine sphere – "Divinity" and "Supreme Divinity", summa divinitas. The conference was cut short, however, when news reached Licinius that his rival Maximinus had crossed the Bosporus and invaded European territory. Licinius departed and eventually defeated Maximinus, gaining control over the entire eastern half of the Roman Empire. Relations between the two remaining emperors deteriorated, though, and in 316, hostilities were prompted by Constantine's appointment of his brother-in-law, Bassianus, as Caesar. Bassianus was discovered to be intriguing against Constantine, perhaps at the prodding of his own brother Senecio, a close associate of Licinius. When Constantine demanded that Licinius hand over Senecio, Licinius refused. Constantine marched against Licinius, and the two fought against one another in the war of Cibalae, with Constantine being victorious. They clashed again in the Battle of Campus Ardiensis in 317, and agreed to a settlement in which Constantine's sons Crispus and Constantine II, and Licinius' son Licinianus were made caesars.
In 320, Licinius reneged on the religious freedom promised by the Edict of Milan in 313 and began to oppress Christians anew. It became a challenge to Constantine in the west, climaxing in the great civil war of 324. Licinius, aided by Goth mercenaries, represented the past and the ancient Pagan faiths. Constantine and his Franks marched under the standard of the labarum, and both sides saw the battle in religious terms. Supposedly outnumbered but fired by their zeal, Constantine's army emerged victorious in the Battle of Adrianople. Licinius fled across the Bosphorus and appointed Martius Martinianus, the commander of his bodyguard, as Caesar, but Constantine next won the Battle of the Hellespont, and finally the Battle of Chrysopolis on 18 September 324. Licinius and Martinianus surrendered to Constantine at Nicomedia on the promise their lives would be spared: they were sent to live as private citizens in Thessalonica and Cappadocia respectively, but in 325 Constantine accused Licinius of plotting against him and had them both arrested and hanged; Licinius's son (the son of Constantine's half-sister) was also eradicated. Thus Constantine became the sole emperor of the Roman Empire, ending the civil wars of the Tetrarchy. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_of_Science,_St._Louis | Academy of Science, St. Louis | The Academy of Science, St. Louis (sometimes rendered as Academy of Science - St. Louis) is a non-profit organization in St. Louis, Missouri, dedicated to science literacy and education. Founded in 1856 by a group of scientists and businessmen, including George Engelmann and James B. Eads, the Academy has been involved in many science-related activities in the city.
The Academy was long known for its study collections, library, and museums—most notably the Museum of Science and Natural History in Clayton, Missouri, which operated from 1959 until about 1990. The organization gave its books to local college libraries, while some of its study collections were absorbed by the St. Louis Science Center, which the Academy helped to raise funds for.
Today, the Academy works to expand scientific outreach, education, resource sharing, and the recognition of scientific accomplishment.
== History ==
=== Early years ===
In the 1830s, a Western Academy of Natural Sciences in St. Louis was founded as a counterpart to the Eastern Academy of Natural Sciences. It aimed to explore the West and discover natural resources.
In 1856, the Academy was reorganized into the Academy of Science of St. Louis by 15 founding members, including a dozen physicians, a lawyer, an engineer and a businessman. The new Academy held its first meeting on March 10, 1856, and pledged to advance science in what was then the rapidly growing city of St. Louis. More specifically, the Academy's mission was to promote "Zoology, Botany, Geology, Mineralogy, Paleontology, Ethnology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Meteorology, Comparative Anatomy, and Physiology."
==== Founders ====
Dr. George Engelmann, a physician and the Academy's first president and a prominent amateur botanist, helped plan the renowned Missouri Botanical Garden.
Frederick Adolphus Wislezenus, a doctor and an accomplished observer of Western natural history, helped found the Missouri Historical Society.
Karl Andreas Geyer, a naturalist, was also a strong influence on the organization.
James B. Eads, a self-taught engineer, who built the Eads Bridge over the Mississippi River;
Attorney Nathaniel Holmes, who acquired numerous publications from other science societies for the Academy;
Charles P. Chouteau, owner of the American Fur Trading Co., who studied the region's natural history and contributed to the museum's collections.
Benjamin Shumard, who assisted in Missouri's first exhaustive geological survey; Simon Pollak, who helped found the Missouri School for the Blind;
Moses Linton, a St. Louis University Medical School teacher, who first published the St. Louis Medical and Surgical Journal;
William M. McPheeters (1815-1905), a St. Louis Medical College and Missouri Medical College teacher;
Moses M. Pallen, a St. Louis University teacher who served as St. Louis' health officer;
Charles A. Pope, a St. Louis Medical College Dean, who allowed Academy members to meet and house their collections and library in one of the college's buildings;
Hiram A. Prout, who came to teach medicine and became an expert paleontologist;
Charles W. Stevens, a St. Louis Medical College teacher, who became superintendent of the St. Louis County Insane Asylum;
W. H. Tingley, a physician;
John H. Watters, a St. Louis Medical College and Missouri Medical College teacher.
=== First century (1856-1956) ===
Academy members started a museum collection, maintained a library, published a journal, and corresponded with leading scientists of the day, providing information concerning the lands that lay adjacent and to the west of St. Louis.
Early members of the Academy collected natural history specimens for their society. These items were stored and made available to the public in various museums throughout the Academy's history. Choteau and Wislizenus accumulated botanical, zoological and geological specimens from the vast and little-known regions of the American West. In later years, collectors such as Henry M. Whelpey (Native American artifacts) and Stratford Lee Morton (minerals, sea shells and fossils) donated their collections to the Academy.
For many years, the Academy published one of the world's most respected scientific journals, Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis. Scientific societies of the eastern United States and in Europe were eager to receive copies of Transactions, which contained papers on the natural history and geology of the American West. Outstanding scientist and Academy member African-American Charles Henry Turner, a devoted entomologist, published over 50 papers on subjects in neurology, invertebrate ecology and animal behavior in the Academy's world-renowned Transactions.
=== Second century (1956-) ===
In 1958, the Academy sold its building at 4642 Lindell Boulevard, leaving the organization temporarily homeless. That same year, Murl Deusing, curator of education at the Milwaukee Public Museum, was hired to become the Academy's director at an annual salary of $12,000 a year ($133,910 today). His offices were to be in the academy's planned museum in Oak Knoll Park in Clayton, Missouri.
This was to be the fourth Academy museum: the St. Louis Museum of Science and Natural History. It was partially funded through a $50,000 gift from J. Lionberger Davis, a St. Louis lawyer and banker who had previously given objects worth "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to the Saint Louis Art Museum. The donation to the Academy helped the organization qualify for a $45,000 grant from the trust fund of one A. P. Greensfelder, whose grant specified that it be disbursed only after the Academy raised another $135,000. Academy president Stratford Lee Morton said at the time that he hoped to raise a total of $500,000 for the academy's proposed museum of science and industry and museum of Ozark-area natural history.
In 1959, the academy installed part of its collections in two stone mansions in the park and opened the museum. The academy paid just $1 per year in rent, but was responsible for upkeep on the buildings. The museum, which was free to enter, was immediately popular with the public. Its informal science classes drew thousands of children, while exhibits such as an Egyptian mummy and an adult gorilla skeleton attracted adults as well. Its study collections included local rocks and minerals; fossil mollusks; archeological items; herpetology; and antique lamps, lighting equipment, and radios. Archival holdings at the museum included two linear feet of meeting minutes and other Academy documents from 1856 to 1941.
But within a few years, the academy was struggling to fund its maintenance. Similar funding problems with the Saint Louis Zoo and the Saint Louis Art Museum led city leaders in 1969 to propose a tax levy to support all three institutions. When voters approved the levy in 1971, control of the museum and its collection passed to a Board of Commissioners. The museum was eventually closed and part of the collection was transferred to the new Saint Louis Science Center. In the late 1980s, the Academy helped lead the campaign to build the new science center, which opened in 1992.
Throughout its history, the Academy has promoted important scientific work and continues to be a staunch supporter of mathematics and science education. Academy-sponsored lectures, exhibits and television productions have been an important part of the St. Louis area's educational scene.
The Academy promotes science and increasing science literacy among students and the general public. More than 600 professional scientists have volunteered through the Academy to speak at elementary and secondary schools, universities, civic and youth organizations and other community groups. Many also serve as mentors for the over 450 students who are members of the Junior Academy of Science of St. Louis, for students in the sixth through twelfth grades in the St. Louis Area. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_operas_by_Antonio_Vivaldi | List of operas by Antonio Vivaldi | This is a complete list of operas by Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741). He claimed to have composed 94 operas, but fewer than 50 titles have been identified, of which the scores of only 20 or so survive, wholly or in part. Moreover, the practice of reviving works under a different title and of creating pasticci has confused musicologists.
All of Vivaldi's operatic works are described as dramma per musica, roughly equivalent to opera seria.
Key: music completely lost; music preserved (at least in part)
51 items are listed.
== List of operas == |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Post | The Washington Post | The Washington Post (locally known as The Post and, informally, WaPo or WP) is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area and is considered a newspaper of record in the United States. In 2023, the Post had 130,000 print subscribers and 2.5 million digital subscribers, both ranking third among American newspapers after The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. In 2025, the number of print subscribers sank below 100,000 for the first time in 55 years.
The Post was founded in 1877. In its early years, it went through several owners and struggled financially and editorially. In 1933, financier Eugene Meyer purchased it out of bankruptcy and revived its health and reputation; his successors Katharine and Phil Graham, Meyer's daughter and son-in-law, bought out several rival publications and continued this work. The Post's 1971 printing of the Pentagon Papers helped spur opposition to the Vietnam War. Reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein led the investigation into the break-in at the Democratic National Committee, which developed into the Watergate scandal and the 1974 resignation of President Richard Nixon. In October 2013, the Graham family sold the newspaper to Nash Holdings, a holding company owned by Jeff Bezos, for US$250 million.
The newspaper has won 76 Pulitzer Prizes, second only to The New York Times. Washington Post journalists have received 18 Nieman Fellowships and 368 White House News Photographers Association awards. Well-known for its political reporting in the U.S., it is one of the few American newspapers that still operate foreign bureaus, with international breaking news hubs in London and Seoul.
== Bureaus and circulation ==
As of 2021, the newspaper had 21 foreign bureaus: Baghdad, Beijing, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Cairo, Dakar, Hong Kong, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jerusalem, London, Mexico City, Moscow, Nairobi, New Delhi, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Seoul, Tokyo, and Toronto. The newspaper has local bureaus in Maryland (Annapolis, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, and Southern Maryland) and Virginia (Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun County, Richmond, and Prince William County). In 2009, the newspaper closed three U.S. regional bureaus—in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City—as part of an increased focus on Washington, D.C.–based political stories and local news.
The Washington Post does not print an edition for distribution outside the East Coast. In 2009, the newspaper ceased publication of its National Weekly Edition due to shrinking circulation. The majority of its newsprint readership is in Washington, D.C., and its suburbs in Maryland and Northern Virginia. As of March 2023, the Post's average printed weekday circulation was 139,232, making it the third-largest newspaper in the country by circulation.
For many decades, the Post had its main office at 1150 15th Street NW. This real estate remained with Graham Holdings when the newspaper was sold to Jeff Bezos' Nash Holdings in 2013. Graham Holdings sold 1150 15th Street, along with 1515 L Street, 1523 L Street, and land beneath 1100 15th Street, for $159 million in November 2013. The Post continued to lease space at 1150 L Street NW. In May 2014, The Post leased the west tower of One Franklin Square, a high-rise building at 1301 K Street NW in Washington, D.C. The Post has its own ZIP Code, 20071.
== History ==
=== 19th century ===
The newspaper was founded in 1877 by Stilson Hutchins (1838–1912); in 1880, it added a Sunday edition, becoming the city's first newspaper to publish seven days a week.
In April 1878, about four months into publication, The Washington Post purchased The Washington Union, a competing newspaper which was founded by John Lynch in late 1877. The Union had only been in operation about six months at the time of the acquisition. The combined newspaper was published from the Globe Building as The Washington Post and Union beginning on April 15, 1878, with a circulation of 13,000. The Post and Union name was used about two weeks until April 29, 1878, returning to the original masthead the following day.
In 1889, Hutchins sold the newspaper to Frank Hatton, a former Postmaster General, and Beriah Wilkins, a former Democratic congressman from Ohio. To promote the newspaper, the new owners requested the leader of the United States Marine Band, John Philip Sousa, to compose a march for the newspaper's essay contest awards ceremony. Sousa composed "The Washington Post". It became the standard music to accompany the two-step, a late 19th-century dance craze, and remains one of Sousa's best-known works. In 1893, the newspaper moved to a building at 14th and E streets NW, where it would stay until 1950. This building combined all functions of the newspaper into one headquarters – newsroom, advertising, typesetting, and printing – that ran 24 hours per day.
In 1898, during the Spanish–American War, the Post printed Clifford K. Berryman's classic illustration Remember the Maine, which became the battle-cry for American sailors during the War. In 1902, Berryman published another famous cartoon in the Post – Drawing the Line in Mississippi. This cartoon depicts President Theodore Roosevelt showing compassion for a small bear cub and inspired New York store owner Morris Michtom to create the teddy bear. Wilkins acquired Hatton's share of the newspaper in 1894 at Hatton's death.
=== 20th century ===
After Wilkins died in 1903, his sons John and Robert ran the Post for two years before selling it in 1905 to John Roll McLean, owner of the Cincinnati Enquirer. During the Wilson presidency, the Post was credited with the "most famous newspaper typo" in D.C. history according to Reason magazine; the Post intended to report that President Wilson had been "entertaining" his future-wife Mrs. Galt, but instead wrote that he had been "entering" Mrs. Galt.
When McLean died in 1916, he put the newspaper in a trust, having little faith that his playboy son Edward "Ned" McLean could manage it as part of his inheritance. Ned went to court and broke the trust, but, under his management, the newspaper slumped toward ruin. He bled the paper for his lavish lifestyle and used it to promote political agendas. During the Red Summer of 1919 the Post supported the white mobs and even ran a front-page story which advertised the location at which white servicemen were planning to meet to carry out attacks on black Washingtonians.
In 1929, financier Eugene Meyer, who had run the War Finance Corp. since World War I, secretly made an offer of $5 million for the Post, but he was rebuffed by Ned McLean. On June 1, 1933, Meyer bought the paper at a bankruptcy auction for $825,000 three weeks after stepping down as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. He had bid anonymously, and was prepared to go up to $2 million, far higher than the other bidders. These included William Randolph Hearst, who had long hoped to shut down the ailing Post to benefit his own Washington newspaper presence.
The Post's health and reputation were restored under Meyer's ownership. In 1946, he was succeeded as publisher by his son-in-law, Philip Graham. Meyer eventually gained the last laugh over Hearst, who had owned the old Washington Times and the Herald before their 1939 merger that formed the Times-Herald. This was, in turn, bought by and merged into the Post in 1954. The combined paper was officially named The Washington Post and Times-Herald until 1973, although the Times-Herald portion of the nameplate became less and less prominent over time.
The merger left the Post with two remaining local competitors, the Washington Star (Evening Star) and The Washington Daily News. In 1972, the two competitors merged, forming the Washington Star-News.
After Graham died in 1963, control of The Washington Post Company passed to his wife, Katharine Graham (1917–2001), who was also Eugene Meyer's daughter. Few women had run prominent national newspapers in the United States, and Katharine Graham said that she was particularly anxious about assuming this role. She served as publisher from 1969 to 1979. Graham took The Washington Post Company public on June 15, 1971, in the midst of the Pentagon Papers controversy. A total of 1,294,000 shares were offered to the public at $26 per share. By the end of Graham's tenure as CEO in 1991, the stock was worth $888 per share, not counting the effect of an intermediate 4:1 stock split.
Graham also oversaw the Post company's diversification purchase of the for-profit education and training company Kaplan, Inc. for $40 million in 1984. Twenty years later, Kaplan had surpassed the Post newspaper as the company's leading contributor to income, and by 2010 Kaplan accounted for more than 60% of the entire company revenue stream. Executive editor Ben Bradlee put the newspaper's reputation and resources behind reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who, in a long series of articles, chipped away at the story behind the 1972 burglary of Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate complex in Washington. The Post's dogged coverage of the story, the outcome of which ultimately played a major role in the resignation of President Richard Nixon, won the newspaper a Pulitzer Prize in 1973.
In 1972, the "Book World" section was introduced with Pulitzer Prize-winning critic William McPherson as its first editor. It featured Pulitzer Prize-winning critics such as Jonathan Yardley and Michael Dirda, the latter of whom established his career as a critic at the Post. In 2009, after 37 years, with great reader outcries and protest, The Washington Post Book World as a standalone insert was discontinued, the last issue being Sunday, February 15, 2009, along with a general reorganization of the paper, such as placing the Sunday editorials on the back page of the main front section rather than the "Outlook" section and distributing some other locally oriented "op-ed" letters and commentaries in other sections. However, book reviews are still published in the Outlook section on Sundays and in the Style section the rest of the week, as well as online.
Donald E. Graham, Katharine's son, succeeded her as a publisher in 1979. In 1995, the domain name washingtonpost.com was purchased. That same year, a failed effort to create an online news repository called Digital Ink launched. The following year, it was shut down, and the first website was launched in June 1996.
=== Jeff Bezos era (since 2013) ===
In August 2013, Jeff Bezos purchased The Washington Post and other local publications, websites, and real estate for US$250 million, transferring ownership to Nash Holdings LLC, Bezos's private investment company. The paper's former parent company, which retained some other assets such as Kaplan and a group of TV stations, was renamed Graham Holdings shortly after the sale.
Nash Holdings, which includes the Post, is operated separately from technology company Amazon, which Bezos founded and where he is as of 2022 executive chairman and the largest single shareholder, with 12.7% of voting rights.
Bezos said he has a vision that recreates "the 'daily ritual' of reading the Post as a bundle, not merely a series of individual stories..." He has been described as a "hands-off owner", holding teleconference calls with executive editor Martin Baron every two weeks. Bezos appointed Fred Ryan (founder and CEO of Politico) to serve as publisher and chief executive officer. This signaled Bezos' intent to shift the Post to a more digital focus with a national and global readership.
In 2015, the Post moved from the building it owned at 1150 15th Street to a leased space three blocks away at One Franklin Square on K Street. Since 2014 the Post has launched an online personal finance section, a blog, and a podcast with a retro theme. The Post won the 2020 Webby People's Voice Award for News & Politics in the Social and Web categories.
In 2017, the newspaper hired Jamal Khashoggi as a columnist. In 2018, Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi agents in Istanbul.
In 2018, Monica Hesse was appointed the paper's first ever gender columnist. 17 days later, the Post published "Why can’t we hate men?", a #MeToo-inspired op-ed written by Suzanna Danuta Walters, the director of women’s studies at Northeastern University. Some media outlets objected to it, including The Atlantic, the American Enterprise Institute, The National Review, Quillette, and the Washington Post itself. Six months after Hesse's appointment, the Post published Amber Heard's op-ed, "I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change." This article ultimately led to a lawsuit filed in 2019 by Johnny Depp against Amber Heard for defamation. After a 7-week jury trial, Heard was found liable for defaming Depp, who received $15 million in damages.
In October 2023, the Post announced it would cut 240 jobs across the organization by offering voluntary separation packages to employees. In a staff-wide email announcing the job cuts, interim CEO Patty Stonesifer wrote, "Our prior projections for traffic, subscriptions and advertising growth for the past two years — and into 2024 — have been overly optimistic". The Post has lost around 500,000 subscribers since the end of 2020 and was set to lose $100 million in 2023, according to The New York Times. The layoffs prompted Dan Froomkin of Presswatchers to suggest that the decline in readership could be reversed by focusing on the rise of authoritarianism (in a fashion similar to the role the Post played during the Watergate scandal) instead of staying strictly neutral, which Froomkin says places the paper into an undistinguished secondary role in competition with other contemporary media. As part of the shift in tone, in 2023 the paper closed down the "KidsPost" column for children, the "Skywatch" astronomy column, and the "John Kelly's Washington" column about local history and sights, which had been running under different bylines since 1947.
In May 2024, CEO and publisher William Lewis announced that the organization would embrace artificial intelligence to improve the paper's financial situation, telling staff it would seek "AI everywhere in our newsroom."
In June 2024, Axios reported the Post faced significant internal turmoil and financial challenges. Lewis quickly generated controversy with his leadership style and proposed restructuring plans. The abrupt departure of executive editor Sally Buzbee and the appointment of two white men to top editorial positions sparked internal discontent, particularly given the lack of consideration for the Post's senior female editors. Additionally, Lewis' proposed division for social media and service journalism was met with resistance from staff. Reports alleging Lewis' attempts to influence editorial decisions, including pressuring Buzbee to drop a story about his past ties to a UK phone hacking scandal, and offering NPR's media correspondent an exclusive interview about the Post's future in exchange for not publishing similar allegations, further impacted the newsroom's morale. Staffers also became worried about Lewis' drinking and uninvolved role in the newsroom. Lewis continued to grapple with declining revenue and readership, and sought strategies to regain subscribers lost since the Trump era.
Later that month, the paper ran a story allegedly exposing a connection between incoming editor Robert Winnett and John Ford, a man who "admitted to an extensive career using deception and illegal means to obtain confidential information." Winnett withdrew from the position shortly thereafter.
In January 2025, the Post announced it will layoff 4% of its staff, less than 100 people. Newsroom employees will not be affected.
Also in January 2025, the Post scrapped the paper's "gender columnist" role and reassigned Hesse from the Style/Power section to the Opinions section after Post editors rejected an article she recently submitted. This change was confirmed by Hesse herself in an article she wrote in March 2025.
On January 14, 2026, as part of the court case United States v. Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones, the FBI raided the apartment of a Post journalist, Hannah Natanson, and seized her phone, two laptops, and a smartwatch. Investigators said to Natanson that the focus of the probe was not her but Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a system administrator with top-secret security clearance, under investigation for taking home classified intelligence reports. The day after, the Post's editorial board called the search an "aggressive attack on the press freedom of all journalists".
On February 4, 2026, it was announced that around 300 Post employees would be laid off. The paper's sports and books coverage are expected to be closed entirely, and its local news coverage will be substantially cut. Additionally, their daily news "Post Reports" podcast, which ran for seven years, has been suspended. Several foreign bureaus were closed, and at least one correspondent in Ukraine was laid off. According to The New York Times, in the week following these job cuts, more than 60,000 readers cancelled their digital subscriptions. The layoffs were driven by a reported $100 million of losses in 2024, subscriber drops following the paper's refusal to endorse a presidential candidate in the 2024 US election, and falling search traffic from AI tools.
On February 7, 2026, it was announced that Will Lewis, the paper's publisher, would step down and be replaced in the interim by Jeff D'Onofrio, who served as the company's chief financial officer. The Washington Post Guild employees union welcomed the change in leadership, stating that Lewis will be remembered for "the attempted destruction of a great American journalism institution", and urged Bezos to "sell the paper to someone willing to invest in its future".
==== Suppression of views Bezos disfavors ====
In January 2025, editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned from The Washington Post. In a blog post titled "Why I'm quitting the Washington Post", she said the paper refused to run a cartoon that criticized the relationship between American billionaires and President Donald Trump, a decision she called "dangerous for a free press". The post and cartoon sparked conversations about the paper's ownership under Bezos.
In February 2025, Bezos announced that the opinion section of the Post would publish only pieces that support "personal liberties and free markets". David Shipley, The Post's opinion editor, resigned after trying to persuade Bezos to reconsider the new direction. Within two days of the announcement, it was reported that more than 75,000 digital subscribers had canceled their subscriptions. The following month, publisher Will Lewis killed a column by Opinion columnist and editor Ruth Marcus criticizing the new direction. Marcus resigned, ending her 40-year tenure with the newspaper.
In the aftermath of the killing of Charlie Kirk, the Post fired columnist and founding global opinion editor Karen Attiah in September 2025, citing violations of its social media policy. According to Attiah, she was punished for "speaking out against political violence, racial double standards, and America's apathy toward guns", arguing the US "accepts and worships" gun violence. Politico noted that only one post mentioned Kirk, which referenced his prior claim that Black women "do not have the brain processing power" to be taken seriously. Attiah said her posts "made clear that not performing over-the-top grief for white men who espouse violence was not the same as endorsing violence against them", and described being pushed out after 11 years of service "for doing my job as a journalist" as a deeply "cruel 180". She was the last Black full-time writer at the opinion desk.
== Political positions ==
=== 20th century ===
In 1933, financier Eugene Meyer bought the bankrupt Post, and assured the public that neither he nor the newspaper would be beholden to any political party. But as a leading Republican who had been appointed Chairman of the Federal Reserve by Herbert Hoover in 1930, his opposition to Roosevelt's New Deal colored the paper's editorials and news coverage, including editorializing news stories written by Meyer under a pseudonym. His wife Agnes Ernst Meyer was a journalist from the other end of the spectrum politically. The Post ran many of her pieces including tributes to her personal friends John Dewey and Saul Alinsky.
In 1946, Meyer was appointed head of World Bank, and he named his son-in-law Phil Graham to succeed him as Post publisher. The post-war years saw the developing friendship of Phil and Kay Graham with the Kennedys, the Bradlees and the rest of the "Georgetown Set", including many Harvard University alumni that would color the Post's political orientation. Kay Graham's most memorable Georgetown soirée guest list included British diplomat and communist spy Donald Maclean.
The Post is credited with coining the term "McCarthyism" in a 1950 editorial cartoon by Herbert Block. Depicting buckets of tar, it made fun of Sen. Joseph McCarthy's "tarring" tactics, i.e., smear campaigns and character assassination against those targeted by his accusations. Sen. McCarthy was attempting to do for the Senate what the House Un-American Activities Committee had been doing for years—investigating Soviet espionage in America. The HUAC made Richard Nixon nationally known for his role in the Hiss/Chambers case that exposed communist spying in the State Department. The committee had evolved from the McCormack-Dickstein Committee of the 1930s.
Phil Graham's friendship with John F. Kennedy remained strong until they died in 1963. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover reportedly told the new President Lyndon B. Johnson, "I don't have much influence with the Post because I frankly don't read it. I view it like the Daily Worker."
Ben Bradlee became the editor-in-chief in 1968, and Kay Graham officially became the publisher in 1969, paving the way for the aggressive reporting of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate scandals. The Post strengthened public opposition to the Vietnam War in 1971 when it published the Pentagon Papers. In the mid-1970s, some conservatives referred to the Post as "Pravda on the Potomac" because of its perceived left-wing bias in both reporting and editorials. Since then, the appellation has been used by both liberal and conservative critics of the newspaper.
=== 21st century ===
In the PBS documentary Buying the War, journalist Bill Moyers said in the year before the Iraq War there were 27 editorials supporting the Bush administration's desire to invade Iraq. National security correspondent Walter Pincus reported that he had been ordered to cease his reports that were critical of the administration. According to author and journalist Greg Mitchell: "By the Post's own admission, in the months before the war, it ran more than 140 stories on its front page promoting the war, while contrary information got lost".
On March 23, 2007, Chris Matthews said on his television program, "The Washington Post is not the liberal newspaper it was [...] I have been reading it for years and it is a neocon newspaper". It has regularly published a mixture of op-ed columnists, with some of them left-leaning (including E. J. Dionne, Dana Milbank, Greg Sargent, and Eugene Robinson), and some of them right-leaning (including George Will, Marc Thiessen, Michael Gerson and Charles Krauthammer).
Responding to criticism of the newspaper's coverage during the run-up to the 2008 presidential election, former Post ombudsman Deborah Howell wrote: "The opinion pages have strong conservative voices; the editorial board includes centrists and conservatives; and there were editorials critical of Obama. Yet opinion was still weighted toward Obama." According to a 2009 Oxford University Press book by Richard Davis on the impact of blogs on American politics, liberal bloggers link to The Washington Post and The New York Times more often than other major newspapers; however, conservative bloggers also link predominantly to liberal newspapers.
Since 2011, the Post has been running a column called "The Fact Checker" that the Post describes as a "truth squad". The Fact Checker received a $250,000 grant from Google News Initiative/YouTube to expand production of video fact checks.
In mid-September 2016, Matthew Ingram of Forbes joined Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept, and Trevor Timm of The Guardian in criticizing The Washington Post for "demanding that [former National Security Agency contractor Edward] Snowden ... stand trial on espionage charges".
In February 2017, the Post adopted the slogan "Democracy Dies in Darkness" for its masthead.
In February 2025, Jeff Bezos announced that the paper's opinion pages would endorse "personal liberties and free markets" to the exclusion of other views. According to the NPR, the announcement suggested the Post was adopting a libertarian line. In October 2025, columnist Marc Thiessen stated that the paper's opinion section was now conservative.
==== Political endorsements ====
In the vast majority of U.S. elections, for federal, state, and local office, the Post editorial board has endorsed Democratic candidates. The paper's editorial board and endorsement decision-making are separate from newsroom operations. Until 1976, the Post did not regularly make endorsements in presidential elections. Since it endorsed Jimmy Carter in 1976, the Post has endorsed Democrats in presidential elections, and has never endorsed a Republican for president in the general election, although in the 1988 presidential election, the Post declined to endorse either Governor Michael Dukakis (the Democratic candidate) or Vice President George H. W. Bush (the Republican candidate). The Post editorial board endorsed Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012; Hillary Clinton in 2016; and Joe Biden in 2020. In 2024, the Post controversially announced that it would no longer publish presidential endorsements.
While the newspaper predominantly endorses Democrats in congressional, state, and local elections, it has occasionally endorsed Republican candidates. It endorsed Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich's unsuccessful bid for a second term in 2006. In 2006, it repeated its historic endorsements of every Republican incumbent for Congress in Northern Virginia. The Post editorial board endorsed Virginia's Republican U.S. Senator John Warner in his Senate reelection campaign in 1990, 1996 and 2002; the paper's most recent endorsement of a Maryland Republican for U.S. Senate was in the 1980s, when the paper endorsed Senator Charlies "Mac" Mathias Jr. In U.S. House of Representatives elections, moderate Republicans in Virginia and Maryland, including Wayne Gilchrest, Thomas M. Davis, and Frank Wolf, have enjoyed the support of the Post; the Post also endorsed Republican Carol Schwartz in her campaign in Washington, D.C.
===== 2024 discontinuation of presidential endorsements =====
Eleven days before the 2024 presidential election, CEO and publisher William Lewis announced that the Post would not endorse a candidate for 2024. It was the first time since the 1988 presidential election that the paper did not endorse the Democratic candidate. Lewis also said that the paper would not make endorsements in any future presidential election. Lewis stated that the paper was "returning to our roots" of not endorsing candidates, and explained that the move was "a statement in support of our readers' ability to make up their own minds", and "consistent with the values the Post has always stood for and what we hope for in a leader: character and courage in service to the American ethic, veneration for the rule of law, and respect for human freedom in all its aspects." Sources familiar with the situation stated that the Post editorial board had drafted an endorsement for Kamala Harris, but that it had been blocked by order of the Post's owner Jeff Bezos.
The move was criticized by former executive editor Martin Baron, who considered it "disturbing spinelessness at an institution famed for courage", and suggested that Bezos was fearing retaliation from 2024 Republican candidate Donald Trump that could impact Bezos's other businesses if Trump were elected. Editor-at-large Robert Kagan and columnist Michele Norris resigned in the wake of the decision, and editor David Maraniss said that the paper was "dying in darkness", a reference to the paper's current slogan. Post opinion columnists jointly authored an article calling the decision to not endorse a "terrible mistake", and it was condemned by the Washington Post Guild, a union unit representing Post employees. More than 250,000 people (about ten percent of the Post's subscribers) cancelled their subscriptions, and three members of the editorial board left the board, though they remain with the Post in other positions. An endorsement of Harris was subsequently published by the paper's humorist Alexandra Petri, who explained that "if I were the paper, I would be a little embarrassed that it has fallen to me, the humor columnist, to make our presidential endorsement", and that "I only know what's happening because our actual journalists are out there reporting, knowing that their editors have their backs, that there's no one too powerful to report on, that we would never pull a punch out of fear."
Condemning the Post's decision, several columnists, including Will Bunch, Jonathan Last, Dan Froomkin, Donna Ladd and Sewell Chan, described it as an example of what historian Timothy Snyder calls anticipatory obedience. Snyder himself criticized the decision, asserting that "'do not obey in advance' is the main lesson of the twentieth century." Andrew Koppelman, in an opinion piece for The Hill, sarcastically praised the Post for "show[ing] us a glimpse of the authoritarian dystopia that Trump wants".
== Incidents and concerns ==
=== "Jimmy's World" fabrication ===
In September 1980, a Sunday feature story appeared on the front page of the Post titled "Jimmy's World" in which reporter Janet Cooke wrote a profile of the life of an eight-year-old heroin addict. Although some within the Post doubted the story's veracity, the paper's editors defended it, and assistant managing editor Bob Woodward submitted the story to the Pulitzer Prize Board at Columbia University for consideration. Cooke was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing on April 13, 1981. The story was subsequently found to be a complete fabrication, and the Pulitzer was returned.
=== Private "salon" solicitation ===
In July 2009, amid an intense debate over health care reform, Politico reported that a health-care lobbyist had received an "astonishing" offer of access to the Post's "health-care reporting and editorial staff". Post publisher Katharine Weymouth had planned a series of exclusive dinner parties or "salons" at her private residence, to which she had invited prominent lobbyists, trade group members, politicians, and business people. Participants were to be charged $25,000 to sponsor a single salon, and $250,000 for 11 sessions, which were closed to the public and to the non-Post press.
The idea drew swift criticism as an apparent ploy to allow insiders to purchase face time with Post staff. Weymouth quickly canceled the salons, saying, "This should never have happened." White House counsel Gregory B. Craig reminded officials that under federal ethics rules, they need advance approval for such events. Post Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli, who was named on the flier as one of the salon's "Hosts and Discussion Leaders", said he was "appalled" by the plan, adding, "It suggests that access to Washington Post journalists was available for purchase."
=== China Daily advertising supplements ===
Dating back to 2011, The Washington Post began to include "China Watch" advertising supplements provided by China Daily, an English language newspaper owned by the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party, on the print and online editions. Although the header to the online "China Watch" section included the text "A Paid Supplement to The Washington Post", James Fallows of The Atlantic suggested that the notice was not clear enough for most readers to see. Distributed to the Post and multiple newspapers around the world, the "China Watch" advertising supplements range from four to eight pages and appear at least monthly. According to a 2018 report by The Guardian, "China Watch" uses "a didactic, old-school approach to propaganda."
In 2020, a report by Freedom House, titled "Beijing's Global Megaphone", criticized the Post and other newspapers for distributing "China Watch". In the same year, 35 Republican members of the U.S. Congress wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice in February 2020 calling for an investigation of potential FARA violations by China Daily. The letter named an article that appeared in the Post, "Education Flaws Linked to Hong Kong Unrest", as an example of "articles [that] serve as cover for China's atrocities, including ... its support for the crackdown in Hong Kong." According to The Guardian, the Post had already stopped running "China Watch" in 2019.
=== Felicia Sonmez ===
In 2020, The Post suspended reporter Felicia Sonmez after she posted a series of tweets about the 2003 rape allegation against basketball star Kobe Bryant after Bryant's death. She was reinstated after over 200 Post journalists wrote an open letter criticizing the paper's decision. In July 2021, Sonmez sued The Post and several of its top editors, alleging workplace discrimination; the suit was dismissed in March 2022, with the court determining that Sonmez had failed to make plausible claims.
In June 2022, Sonmez engaged in a Twitter feud with fellow Post staffers David Weigel, criticizing him over what he later described as "an offensive joke", and Jose A. Del Real, who accused Sonmez of "engaging in repeated and targeted public harassment of a colleague". Following the feud, the newspaper suspended Weigel for a month for violating the company's social media guidelines, and the newspaper's executive editor Sally Buzbee sent out a newsroom-wide memorandum directing employees to "Be constructive and collegial" in their interactions with colleagues. The newspaper fired Sonmez, writing in an emailed termination letter that she had engaged in "misconduct that includes insubordination, maligning your co-workers online and violating The Post's standards on workplace collegiality and inclusivity." The Post faced criticism from the Post Guild after refusing to go to arbitration over the dismissal, stating that the expiration of the Post's contract "does not relieve the Post from its contractual obligation to arbitrate grievances filed prior to expiration."
=== Lawsuit by Covington Catholic High School student ===
In 2019, Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann filed a defamation lawsuit against the Post, alleging that it libeled him in seven articles regarding the January 2019 Lincoln Memorial confrontation between Covington students and the Indigenous Peoples March. A federal judge dismissed the case, ruling that 30 of the 33 statements in the Post that Sandmann alleged were libelous were not, but allowed Sandmann to file an amended complaint as to three statements. After Sandmann's lawyers amended the complaint, the suit was reopened on October 28, 2019.
In 2020, The Post settled the lawsuit brought by Sandmann for an undisclosed amount.
=== Op-eds and columns ===
Several Washington Post op-eds and columns have prompted criticism, including a number of comments on race by columnist Richard Cohen over the years, and a controversial 2014 column on campus sexual assault by George Will.
The Post's decision to run an op-ed by Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a leader in Yemen's Houthi movement, was criticized by some activists on the basis that it provided a platform to an "anti-Western and antisemitic group supported by Iran."
In 2022, actor Johnny Depp successfully sued ex-wife Amber Heard for an op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post where she described herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse two years after she had publicly accused him of domestic violence.
=== Criticism by elected officials ===
Speaking on behalf of President Nixon, White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler infamously accused The Washington Post of "shabby journalism" for their focus on Watergate only to apologize when the damning reporting on Nixon was proved correct.
45th/47th president Donald Trump repeatedly spoke out against The Washington Post on his Twitter account, having "tweeted or retweeted criticism of the paper, tying it to Amazon more than 20 times since his campaign for president" by August 2018. In addition to often attacking the paper itself, Trump used Twitter to blast various Post journalists and columnists.
During the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Senator Bernie Sanders repeatedly criticized The Washington Post, saying that its coverage of his campaign was slanted against him and attributing this to Jeff Bezos' purchase of the newspaper. Sanders' criticism was echoed by the socialist magazine Jacobin and the progressive journalist watchdog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. Washington Post executive editor Martin Baron responded by saying that Sanders' criticism was "baseless and conspiratorial".
=== Fossil fuel advertising ===
A 2023 investigation by The Intercept, The Nation, and DeSmog found that The Washington Post creates and publishes advertising ("advertorial") for the fossil fuel industry. Journalists who cover climate change for the Post said they were concerned that conflicts of interest with the companies and industries that caused climate change and obstructed action would reduce the credibility of their reporting on climate change and cause readers to downplay the climate crisis.
== Organization ==
=== Executive officers and editors ===
Major stockholders
Stilson Hutchins (1877–1889)
Frank Hatton and Beriah Wilkins (1889–1905)
John R. McLean (1905–1916)
Edward (Ned) McLean (1916–1933)
Eugene Meyer (1933–1948)
The Washington Post Company (1948–2013)
Nash Holdings (Jeff Bezos) (since 2013)
Publishers
Stilson Hutchins (1877–1889)
Beriah Wilkins (1889–1905)
John R. McLean (1905–1916)
Edward (Ned) McLean (1916–1933)
Eugene Meyer (1933–1946)
Philip L. Graham (1946–1961)
John W. Sweeterman (1961–1968)
Katharine Graham (1969–1979)
Donald E. Graham (1979–2000)
Boisfeuillet Jones Jr. (2000–2008)
Katharine Weymouth (2008–2014)
Frederick J. Ryan Jr. (2014–2023)
William Lewis (2024–2026)
Jeff D'Onofrio (since 2026)
Executive editors
James Russell Wiggins (1955–1968)
Ben Bradlee (1968–1991)
Leonard Downie Jr. (1991–2008)
Marcus Brauchli (2008–2012)
Martin Baron (2012–2021)
Sally Buzbee (2021–2024)
Matt Murray (since 2024)
=== Journalists ===
Current journalists at The Washington Post include: Yasmeen Abutaleb, Dan Balz, Will Englund, Marc Fisher, Robin Givhan, David Ignatius, Ellen Nakashima, Ashley Parker, Sally Quinn, Michelle Singletary, Ishaan Tharoor, and Joe Yonan.
Former journalists of The Washington Post include: Scott Armstrong, Melissa Bell, Ann Devroy, Edward T. Folliard, Malvina Lindsay, Mary McGrory, Christine Emba, Walter Pincus, and Bob Woodward.
=== Publishing service ===
Arc XP is a department of The Washington Post, which provides a publishing system and software for news and media organizations such as the Boston Globe, Le Parisien, The Irish Times, Libération, Dallas Morning News, The Globe and Mail, Record, Graham Media Group, and Sky News.
Mary Jordan was the founding editor, head of content, and moderator for Washington Post Live, the Post's editorial events business, which organizes political debates, conferences and news events for the media company. This includes "The 40th Anniversary of Watergate" in June 2012, that featured key Watergate figures including former White House counsel John Dean, Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, and reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, which was held at the Watergate hotel. Regular hosts include Frances Stead Sellers. Lois Romano was formerly the editor of Washington Post Live.
=== Unions ===
In 1975, the Washington Post pressmen's union went on strike. The Post hired replacement workers to replace the pressmen's union, and other unions returned to work in February 1976.
In 1986, during negotiations between the Post and the Newspaper Guild union over a new contract, five employees, including Newspaper Guild unit chairman Thomas R. Sherwood and assistant Maryland editor Claudia Levy, sued the Post for overtime pay, stating that the newspaper had claimed that budgets did not allow for overtime wages.
In June 2018, over 400 employees of The Washington Post signed an open letter to the owner Jeff Bezos demanding "fair wages; fair benefits for retirement, family leave and health care; and a fair amount of job security." The open letter was accompanied by video testimonials from employees, who alleged "shocking pay practices" despite record growth in subscriptions at the newspaper, with salaries rising an average of $10 per week, which the letter claimed was less than half the rate of inflation. The petition followed on a year of unsuccessful negotiations between The Washington Post Guild and upper management over pay and benefit increases.
As of 2023, the Washington Post Guild represented around 1,000 staff members at the Post. In December 2023, more than 750 journalist and staffers at the Post went on strike, accusing the company of refusing to "bargain in good faith" on issues including issues including pay increases, pay equity, remote work policies, and mental health resources. Later the same month, the Washington Post Guild won a new three-year contract with the paper, ending 18 months of negotiations.
In May 2025, a majority of technology workers at the Post voted to unionize as the Washington Post Tech Guild, representing more than 300 engineering, product design, and data workers at the Post. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakshouka | Shakshouka | Shakshouka is a Maghrebi dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion, and garlic, commonly spiced with cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Shakshouka is a popular dish throughout North Africa and the Middle East.
== Etymology ==
Shakshuka is a word for "mixture" in Algerian Arabic, and "mixed" in Tunisian Arabic. The Oxford English Dictionary describes the English version of the word as being borrowed from more than one origin: an onomatopoeic Maghribi Arabic word, related to the verb shakshaka meaning "to bubble, to sizzle, to be mixed up, to be beaten together", and the French word Chakchouka, which was borrowed into English in the nineteenth century, and which itself had been borrowed into French from Algerian Arabic.
== History ==
Gil Marks, while noting some similarities with the Ottoman dish menemen, suggests that shakshouka evolved from şakşuka which spread to the Maghreb through the influence of the Ottoman Empire. Anthony Buccini noted similarities between a wider range of vegetable stews. He and Noam Sienna conclude that both shakshouka and menemen, among other dishes like piperade and ratatouille, are members of a wider family of vegetable stews of common ancestry appearing throughout the western Mediterranean.
The migration of Maghrebi Jews in the 1950s brought the dish to Israel, where it was subsequently widely adopted. The dish was not previously associated with Palestinian or Levantine cuisine. Shakshouka began appearing in Israeli restaurants in the 1990s.
== Variations ==
Many variations of the basic sauce are possible, varying in spice and sweetness. Some cooks add preserved lemon, salty sheep milk cheeses, olives, harissa or a spicy sausage such as chorizo or merguez. Shakshouka is made with eggs, which are commonly poached but can also be scrambled, like in the Turkish menemen.
In Algeria, shakshouka is commonly eaten as a side dish, and there are countless variations of it, each with their own unique blend of ingredients. One such variation is hmiss, which is often served alongside traditional kesra bread. Hmiss typically includes grilled peppers, tomatoes, and garlic. In Tunisia, a similar dish called slata meshouia is enjoyed, but it differs from hmiss with the addition of onions, cumin and tuna.
In Syria, jaz maz is a similar eggs-and-tomatoes dish, it is sometimes referred to as shakshouka.
In Morocco, there is a dish referred to as bīḍ w-maṭiša (بيض ومطيشة "egg and tomato").
In Egypt, the dish features the typical poached eggs in a spiced tomato-based sauce but with some variations in ingredients. The base consists of sautéed onions, garlic, and chopped bell peppers cooked until softened. Chopped tomatoes or tomato paste is then added, along with spices such as cumin, paprika, and chili powder. Once the sauce thickens, eggs are cracked directly into the mixture and poached until the whites are set but the yolks remain runny. It is garnished with fresh herbs like parsley and cilantro, sometimes also a sprinkle of domiati cheese. The dish is commonly enjoyed with warm eish baladi, and is a popular choice for breakfast in the country.
Some variations of shakshouka can be made with lamb mince, toasted whole spices, yogurt and fresh herbs. Spices can include ground coriander, caraway, paprika, cumin and cayenne pepper. Tunisian cooks may add potatoes, broad beans, artichoke hearts or courgettes to the dish. The North African dish matbukha can be used as a base for shakshouka.
Because eggs are the main ingredient, it often appears on breakfast menus in English-speaking countries, but in the Arab world as well as Israel, it is also a popular evening meal, and, like hummus and falafel, is a Levantine regional favorite. On the side, pickled vegetables and North African sausage called merguez might be served, or simply bread, with mint tea.
In Jewish culture, a large batch of tomato stew may be made on Friday for the Sabbath dinner and the leftovers used on Sunday morning to make a breakfast shakshouka with eggs. In Andalusian cuisine, the dish is known as huevos a la flamenca; this version includes chorizo and serrano ham. In Italian cuisine, there is a version of this dish called uova in purgatorio (eggs in purgatory) that adds garlic, basil or parsley. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand | Thailand | Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, and formerly known as Siam until 1939, is a country located in mainland Southeast Asia. It shares land borders with Myanmar to the west and northwest, Laos to the east and northeast, Cambodia to the southeast, and Malaysia to the south. Its maritime boundaries include the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea, as well as maritime borders with Vietnam, Indonesia, and India. Thailand has a population of nearly 66 million people and covers an area of approximately 513,115 km2 (198,115 sq mi). The country's capital and largest city is Bangkok.
Archaeological evidence indicates that humans have inhabited the area of present-day Thailand for at least 40,000 years. Indigenous ethnic groups include the Mon, Khmer, and Malay people. The Tai people are believed to have originated from the Điện Biên Phủ region since the 5th century and began migrating into the territory of modern Thailand between the 8th and 10th centuries. During the classical historical period, major kingdoms such as Sukhothai, Lan Na, and Ayutthaya were established. The Sukhothai Kingdom is regarded as the beginning of Thai history, while the Ayutthaya Kingdom, founded in 1350 CE, became a regional power replacing the Khmer Empire. European contact began in 1511 CE when Portuguese envoys arrived in Ayutthaya. The Ayutthaya Kingdom flourished until its complete destruction during the 1765–1767 Burmese–Siamese War by the Burmese forces under the Konbaung dynasty in 1767.
After the fall of Ayutthaya, King Taksin reunified the kingdom and established the Thonburi Kingdom, which lasted only 15 years before he was overthrown by Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I), the founder of the Chakri dynasty. King Rama I established the Rattanakosin Kingdom and moved the capital to Bangkok in 1782. During the era of Western imperialism, Siam remained the only country in Southeast Asia to avoid colonisation by European powers, although it ceded territory, trade rights, and legal privileges through several unequal treaties. The governance system evolved into an absolute monarchy centralised under the rule of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). Siam adapted to international relations during the imperialist era and joined World War I on the side of the Allies, a political decision aimed at revising the effects of unequal treaties and enhancing Siam's international status.
Following the Siamese revolution of 1932 by the Khana Ratsadon (lit. 'People's Party'), Siam transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a parliamentary constitutional monarchy and was officially renamed Thailand. During World War II, the country was under the military dictatorship of Plaek Phibunsongkhram and allied with the Empire of Japan as part of the Axis powers, but Thailand did not become a defeated nation due to the underground Free Thai Movement's "Declaration of Peace", which was recognised by the Allies. During the Cold War, Thailand became a key major non-NATO ally of the United States and played a major role in countering communism in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and other proxy wars. Thailand also joined the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). Despite brief periods of liberal democracy in the 1970s and 1990s, Thailand alternated between liberal democracy and military dictatorship.
Since the 2000s, Thailand has experienced political conflict between supporters and opponents of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra (in office 2001–2006), leading to the 2006 and 2014 coup d'états. Today, Thailand operates under the 2017 Constitution and a coalition government following the 2019 Thai general election, as well as political demonstrations demanding democracy and monarchy reform. The current constitutional structure still allows de facto political influence by the Royal Thai Armed Forces. Thailand has also faced border tensions from the 2008–2011 Cambodian–Thai border crisis extending to the 2025 Cambodia–Thailand border crisis involving territorial disputes and military clashes.
Currently, Thailand is recognised as a developing country and holds significant geopolitical importance in Southeast Asia. It is a unitary state governed under a parliamentary system with a bicameral legislature comprising the elected House of Representatives and the appointed Senate. Thailand is a member of the United Nations, a major non-NATO ally of the United States, and a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as a regional power. The Royal Thai Armed Forces are among the largest military forces in Southeast Asia. Thailand's economy is the second-largest in the region and the 23rd globally by purchasing power parity, ranking 29th by gross domestic product. Thailand is classified as a newly industrialised country, with manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism being the main economic sectors.
== Etymology ==
Thailand was known by outsiders before 1939 as Siam. According to George Cœdès, the word Thai (ไทย) means 'free man' in the Thai language, "differentiating the Thai from the natives encompassed in Thai society as serfs". According to Chit Phumisak, Thai (ไท) simply means 'people' or 'human being'; his investigation shows that some rural areas used the word "Thai" instead of the usual Thai word khon (คน) for people. According to Michel Ferlus, the ethnonyms Thai-Tai (or Thay-Tay) would have evolved from the etymon *k(ə)ri: 'human being'.
Thais often refer to their country using the polite form prathet Thai (Thai: ประเทศไทย). They also use the more colloquial term mueang Thai (Thai: เมืองไทย) or simply Thai; the word mueang, archaically referring to a city-state, is commonly used to refer to a city or town as the centre of a region. Ratcha Anachak Thai (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย) means 'kingdom of Thailand' or 'kingdom of Thai'.
Etymologically, its components are: ratcha (Sanskrit: राजन्, rājan, 'king, royal, realm'), ana- (Pali āṇā 'authority, command, power', itself from the Sanskrit आज्ञा, ājñā, of the same meaning), and -chak (from Sanskrit चक्र cakra- 'wheel', a symbol of power and rule).
The Thai National Anthem (Thai: เพลงชาติ), written by Luang Saranupraphan during the patriotic 1930s, refers to the Thai nation as prathet Thai (Thai: ประเทศไทย). The first line of the national anthem is: prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai (Thai: ประเทศไทยรวมเลือดเนื้อชาติเชื้อไทย), 'Thailand is founded on blood and flesh'.
The former name Siam may have originated from Sanskrit श्याम (śyāma, 'dark') or Mon ရာမည (rhmañña, 'stranger'), probably the same root as Shan and Assam. The word Śyâma is possibly not the true origin, but a pre-designed deviation from its proper, original meaning. Another theory is the name derives from the Chinese calling this region 'Xian'.
The ancient Khmers used the word Siam to refer to people settled in the west Chao Phraya River valley surrounding the ancient city of Nakhon Pathom in the present-day central Thailand; it may probably originate from the name of Lord Krishna, which also called Shyam, as in the Wat Sri Chum Inscription, dated 13th century CE, mentions Phra Maha Thera Sri Sattha came to restore Phra Pathommachedi at the city of Lord Krishna (Nakhon Pathom) in the early era of the Sukhothai Kingdom.
The signature of King Mongkut (r. 1851–1868) reads SPPM (Somdet Phra Poramenthra Maha) Mongkut Rex Siamensium (Mongkut, King of the Siamese). This usage of the name in the country's first international treaty gave the name Siam official status, until 24 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand.
== History ==
=== Prehistory and origins ===
There is evidence of continuous human habitation in present-day Thailand from 20,000 years ago to the present day. The earliest evidence of rice growing is dated at 2,000 BCE. Areas comprising what is now Thailand participated in the Maritime Jade Road, as ascertained by archeological research. The trading network existed for 3,000 years, between 2000 BCE to 1000 CE. Bronze appeared c. 1,250–1,000 BCE. The site of Ban Chiang in northeast Thailand currently ranks as the earliest known centre of copper and bronze production in Southeast Asia. Iron appeared around 500 BCE.
The Kingdom of Funan was the first and most powerful Southeast Asian kingdom at the time (2nd century BCE). The Mon people established the principalities of Dvaravati and Kingdom of Hariphunchai in the 6th century. The Khmer people established the Khmer empire, centred in Angkor, in the 9th century. Tambralinga, a Malay state controlling trade through the Malacca Strait, rose in the 10th century. The Indochina peninsula was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India from the time of the Kingdom of Funan to that of the Khmer Empire.
The Thai people are of the Tai ethnic group, characterised by common linguistic roots. Chinese chronicles first mention the Tai peoples in the 6th century BCE. While there are many assumptions regarding the origin of Tai peoples, David K. Wyatt, a historian of Thailand, argued that their ancestors who at present inhabit Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, India, and China came from the Điện Biên Phủ area between the 5th and the 8th century.
Thai people began migrating into present-day Thailand gradually from the 6th to 11th century, which Mon and Khmer people occupied at the time. Thus Thai culture was influenced by Indian, Mon, and Khmer cultures. Tai people intermixed with various ethnic and cultural groups in the region, resulting in many groups of present-day Thai people. Genetic evidences suggested that ethnolinguistics could not accurately predict the origins of the Thais. Sujit Wongthes argued that Thai is not a race or ethnicity but a culture group.
According to French historian George Cœdès, "The Thai first enter history of Farther India in the eleventh century with the mention of Syam slaves or prisoners of war in Champa epigraphy", and "in the twelfth century, the bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat" where "a group of warriors" are described as Syam, though Cham accounts do not indicate the origins of Syam or what ethnic group they belonged to. The origins and ethnicity of the Syam remain unclear, with some literature suggesting that Syam refers to the Shan people, the Bru people, or the Brau people. However, mainland Southeast Asian sources from before the fourteenth century primarily used the word Syam as an ethnonym, referring to those who belonged to a separate cultural category different from the Khmer, Cham, Bagan, or Mon. This contrasts with the Chinese sources, where Xian was used as a toponym.
=== Early Tai confederate cities (691 BCE – 13th century CE) ===
Theoretically, Tai-Kadai-speaking people formed as early as the 12th century BCE in the middle of the Yangtze basin. Some groups later migrated south to Guangxi. However, after several bloody centuries against Chinese influence in Guangxi between 333 BCE and the 11th century, hundreds of thousands of Tais were killed, thus, Tai people began to move southwestward along the rivers and over the lower passes into the mountain north of Southeast Asia and river valleys in present-day Assam of India. Some evidence indicates that the ancestors of Tai people migrated en masse southwestwards out of Yunnan only after the 1253 Mongol invasion of Dali; however, it is not generally accepted.
Tais defeated indigenous tribes and emerged as the new power in the new region. As a result, several Tai city-states were established, scattered from Điện Biên Phủ in present-day northwestern Vietnam and highland Southeast Asia to northeastern India.
According to the Simhanavati legend given in several chronicles, the first Tai city-state in northern Thailand, Singhanavati, was founded around the 7th century. However, several modern geology and archaeology studies found that its centre, Yonok Nahaphan, dates from 691 BCE–545 CE; this roughly coincides with the establishment of Shan States, another Tai's federated principalities in the present-day northeast Myanmar. as well as Muang Sua (Luang Prabang) in the east.
After Singhanavati was submerged below Chiang Saen Lake due to an earthquake in 545, the survivors then founded a new seat at Wieng–Prueksha. The kingdom lasted for another 93 years.
In addition to Singhanavati, another northern principality probably related to the Tai people, Ngoenyang, was established as the successor of Singhanavati in 638 by Lavachakkaraj, also centred in Wieng–Prueksha (present-day Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai). Its seat was moved to Chiang Mai in 1262 by King Mangrai, which considered the foundation of the Lan Na kingdom. Mangrai unified the surrounding area and also created a network of states through political alliances to the east and north of the Mekong. His dynasty would rule the kingdom continuously for the next two centuries. Lan Na expanded its territory southward and annexed the Mon Hariphunchai of Dvaravati in 1292.
In the late tenth century, Tai people began to migrate further south to the present-day upper central Thailand. Around the 1100s period, several cities in this area, such as Songkwae, Sawankhalok, and Chakangrao, were ruled by the Tai people, eventually launching several battles against the pre-existing Mon of Lavo, who had been falling under Chenla and Khmer influences since the 7th century, thus bringing the establishment of the Tai people's independent state, Sukhothai Kingdom, in the upper Chao Phraya River valley in 1238.
The earliest conflict between Tai people and the preexisting ethnics was recorded in the mid-4th century when the ruler of Singhanavati, Pangkharat, forcibly lost the seat at Yonok to King Khom from Umongasela (present-day Fang). He then fled to Vieng Si Tuang (เวียงศรีทวง; present-day Wiang Phang Kham, Mae Sai district) but had to send tributes to Yonok annually until his son, Phrom, took back Yonok and expelled King Khom from Umongasela. Phrom also marched the troops south to occupy Chakangrao from the enemy as well as founding the city of Songkwae. Some historians suggest that Lavo's capital, Lopburi, was once seized by Phrom. In contrast, Tai people instead established relationships with Mon via royal intermarriages.
=== Mon and Lavo Kingdoms (5th century CE – 1388 CE) ===
The Chao Phraya River in what is now central Thailand had once been the home of the Mon Dvaravati culture, which prevailed from the seventh century to the tenth century. Samuel Beal discovered the polity among the Chinese writings on Southeast Asia as "Duoluobodi". During the early 20th century, archaeological excavations led by George Coedès found Nakhon Pathom Province to be a centre of Dvaravati culture. The two most important sites were Nakorn Pathom and U Thong (in modern Suphan Buri Province). The inscriptions of Dvaravati were in Sanskrit and Mon using the script derived from the Pallava alphabet of the South Indian Pallava dynasty.
It is believed that the Dvaravati borrowed Theravada Buddhism through its contacts with Sri Lanka, while the ruling class participated in Hindu rites. Dvaravati art, including the Buddha sculptures and stupas, showed strong similarities to those of the Gupta Empire of India. The eastern parts of the Chao Phraya valley were subjected to a more Khmer and Hindu influence as the inscriptions are found in Khmer and Sanskrit.
Dvaravati was a network of city-states paying tribute to more powerful ones according to the mandala political model. Dvaravati culture expanded into Isan as well as south as far as the Kra Isthmus. Dvaravati culture lost its influence around the tenth century when they submitted to the more unified Lavo-Khmer polity.
Around the tenth century, the city-states of Dvaravati merged into the mandalas of: Lavo (modern Lopburi) and Suvarnabhumi (modern Suphan Buri). According to a legend in the Northern Chronicles, in 903, a king of Tambralinga invaded and took Lavo and installed a Malay prince on the Lavo throne. The Malay prince was married to a Khmer princess who had fled an Angkorian dynastic bloodbath. The son of the couple contested the Khmer throne and became Suryavarman I (1006–1050), thus bringing Lavo under Khmer domination through marital union. Suryavarman I also expanded into the Khorat Plateau (later styled "Isan"), constructing many temples.
After the Angkor lost Lavo to Suphannabhum princes in 1052, the younger prince Chandrachota claimed the throne. His son, Narai I, moved Lavo's seat to Ayodhya in the 1080s. This resulted in the throne of Lavo's Lavaburi being vacant from 1087 to 1106 (or ruled by unknown kings), Si Satchanalai king, Kesariraja who is of Mon's Chaliang and Tai's Chiang Saen lineages, took over the seat. An attempt to re-expand influence to Lavo by the Angkor occurred in 1181 when Jayavarman VII appointed his lineage Narupatidnavarman to govern Lavapura. Due to this political pressure, a Tai ruler Sri Thammasokkarat
(ศรีธรรมโศกราช), who was also from Si Satchanalai, fled to Nakhon Si Thammarat. Sri Thammasokkarat married to princess of Dhanyapura (Dong Mae Nang Mueang in the present-day Nakhon Sawan province), and their descendants ruled Tambralinga until the late 13th century. The Customs of Cambodia of Zhou Daguan, as an official delegation sent by the Yuan dynasty to Angkor from 1296 to 1297, says the Siamese people exerted significant influence over Lavo's Lavapura and appeared in huge numbers in the Angkorian capital of Yaśodharapura.
Prang Sam Yot was built during this period. However, Lavapura was probably taken back by a Tai royal from Phraek Si Racha (แพรกศรีราชา; present-day Sankhaburi) in the 13th century. During this era, Angkor's power waned due to the weak rule and feuding began in the Angkor.
All of the turmoil, as mentioned earlier, also led to the independence declaration of the Sukhothai Kingdom in 1238.
==== The earliest evidence mentioning the Siamese ====
The earliest evidence to mention the Siam people are stone inscriptions found in Angkor Borei of Funan (K.557 and K.600), dated 661 CE, the slave's name is mentioned as "Ku Sayam" meaning "Sayam female slaves" (Ku is a prefix used to refer to female slaves in the pre-Angkorian era), and the Takéo inscriptions (K.79) written in 682 during the reign of Bhavavarman II of Chenla also mention Siam Nobel: Sāraṇnoya Poña Sayam, which was transcribed into English as: the rice field that was given to the poña (noble rank) who was called Sayam (Siam).
The Song Huiyao Jigao (960–1279) indicate Siamese people settled in the west central Thailand and their state was called Xiān guó (Chinese: 暹國), while the eastern plain belonged to the Mon of Lavo (Chinese: 羅渦國), who later fell under the Chenla and Khmer hegemony around the 7th–9th centuries. Those Mon political entities, which also included Haripuñjaya in the north and several city-states in the northeast, are collectively called Dvaravati.
However, the states of Siamese and Lavo were later merged via the royal intermarriage and became Ayutthaya Kingdom in the mid-14th century, while the southwestern Isan principalities, centred in Phanom Rung and Phimai, later pledged allegiance to Siamese's Ayutthaya during the reign of Borommarachathirat II (r. 1424–1448). The remaining principal city-states in Isan region became Lan Xang around 1353 after the twin cities of Muang Sua (Luang Prabang) and Vieng Chan Vieng Kham (Vientiane) became independent following the death of the Sukhothai king Ram Khamhaeng.
According to the Wat Kud Tae inscription (K.1105), dated c. 7th century, during the period that the eastern Mon entity, Lavo, was strongly influenced by the Chenla, the Siamese in the west also established a royal intermarriage with Chenla as Sri Chakatham, prince of Sambhuka (ศามภูกะ, in the present-day Ratchaburi province), married to a princess of Isanavarman I, and two mandalas then became an ally. After Chenla sieged Funan and moved the centre to Angkor, both Siamese and the Angkorian eventually marched the troops to attack Vijaya of Champa in 1201 during the reign of Jayavarman VII, as recorded in the Cho-Dinh inscription (C.3).
=== Sukhothai Kingdom (1238–1438) ===
After the decline of the Khmer Empire and Kingdom of Pagan in the early 13th century, various states thrived in their place. The domains of Tai people existed from the northeast of present-day India to the north of present-day Laos and to the Malay Peninsula. During the 13th century, Tai people had already settled in the core land of Dvaravati and Lavo Kingdom to Nakhon Si Thammarat in the south. There are, however, no records detailing the arrival of the Tais.
Around 1240, Pho Khun Bang Klang Hao, a local Tai ruler, rallied the people to rebel against the Khmer. He later crowned himself the first king of Sukhothai Kingdom in 1238. Mainstream Thai historians count Sukhothai as the first kingdom of Thai people. Sukhothai expanded furthest during the reign of Ram Khamhaeng (r. 1279–1298). However, it was mostly a network of local lords who swore fealty to Sukhothai, not directly controlled by it. He is believed have invented Thai script and Thai ceramics were an important export in his era. Sukhothai embraced Theravada Buddhism in the reign of Maha Thammaracha I (1347–1368).
=== Ayutthaya Kingdom (1351–1767) ===
According to the most widely accepted version of its origin, the Ayutthaya Kingdom rose from the earlier, nearby Lavo Kingdom and Suvarnabhumi with Uthong as its first king. Ayutthaya was a patchwork of self-governing principalities and tributary provinces owing allegiance to the King of Ayutthaya under the mandala system. Its initial expansion was through conquest and political marriage.
Before the end of the 15th century, Ayutthaya invaded the Khmer Empire three times and sacked its capital Angkor. Ayutthaya then became a regional power in place of the Khmer. Constant interference of Sukhothai effectively made it a vassal state of Ayutthaya and it was finally incorporated into the kingdom. Borommatrailokkanat brought about bureaucratic reforms which lasted into the 20th century and created a system of social hierarchy called sakdina, where male commoners were conscripted as corvée labourers for six months a year. Ayutthaya was interested in the Malay Peninsula but failed to conquer the Malacca Sultanate, which was supported by the Chinese Ming dynasty.
European contact and trade started in the early-16th century, with the envoy of Portuguese duke Afonso de Albuquerque in 1511. Portugal became an ally and ceded some soldiers to King Rama Thibodi II. The Portuguese were followed in the 17th century by the French, Dutch, and English. Rivalry for supremacy over Chiang Mai and the Mon people pitted Ayutthaya against the Burmese Kingdom. Several wars with its ruling Taungoo dynasty starting in the 1540s in the reign of Tabinshwehti and Bayinnaung were ultimately ended with the capture of the capital in 1570. Then a brief period of vassalage to Burma until Naresuan proclaimed independence in 1584 followed.
Ayutthaya sought to improve relations with European powers for many successive reigns. The kingdom especially prospered during cosmopolitan Narai's reign (1656–1688), when some European travellers regarded Ayutthaya as an Asian great power, alongside China and India. However, growing French influence later in his reign was met with nationalist sentiment and eventually led to the Siamese revolution of 1688. Despite the revolution, overall relations remained stable, with French missionaries still actively preaching Christianity.
After a bloody period of dynastic struggle, Ayutthaya entered what has been called the Siamese "golden age", a relatively peaceful episode in the second quarter of the 18th century where art, literature, and learning flourished. There were seldom foreign wars, apart from conflict with the Nguyễn lords for control of Cambodia starting around 1715. The last fifty years of the kingdom witnessed bloody succession crises, where there were purges of court officials and able generals for many consecutive reigns. In 1765, a combined 40,000-strong force of Burmese armies invaded it from the north and west. The Burmese under the new Alaungpaya dynasty quickly rose to become a new local power by 1759. After a 14-month siege, the capital city's walls fell and the city was burned in April 1767.
=== Thonburi Kingdom (1767–1782) ===
The capital and many of its territories lay in chaos after the war. The former capital was occupied by the Burmese garrison army and five local leaders declared themselves overlords, including the lords of Sakwangburi, Phitsanulok, Pimai, Chanthaburi, and Nakhon Si Thammarat. Chao Tak, a capable military leader, proceeded to make himself a lord by right of conquest, beginning with the legendary sack of Chanthaburi. Based at Chanthaburi, Chao Tak raised troops and resources, and sent a fleet up the Chao Phraya to take the fort of Thonburi. In the same year, Chao Tak was able to retake Ayutthaya from the Burmese only seven months after the fall of the city.
Chao Tak then crowned himself as Taksin and proclaimed Thonburi as temporary capital in the same year. He also quickly subdued the other warlords. His forces engaged in wars with Burma, Laos, and Cambodia, which successfully drove the Burmese out of Lan Na in 1775, captured Vientiane in 1778 and tried to install a pro-Thai king in Cambodia in the 1770s. In his final years there was a coup, supposedly caused by his "insanity", and eventually Taksin and his sons were executed by his longtime companion General Chao Phraya Chakri (the future Rama I). He was the first king of the ruling Chakri dynasty and founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom on 6 April 1782.
=== Rattanakosin Kingdom and modernisation (1782–1932) ===
Under Rama I (1782–1809), Rattanakosin successfully defended against Burmese attacks and put an end to Burmese incursions. He also created suzerainty over large portions of Laos and Cambodia. In 1821, Briton John Crawfurd was sent to negotiate a new trade agreement with Siam – the first sign of an issue which was to dominate 19th century Siamese politics. Bangkok signed the Burney Treaty in 1826, after the British victory in the First Anglo-Burmese War.
Anouvong of Vientiane, who mistakenly held the belief that Britain was about to launch an invasion of Bangkok, started the Lao rebellion in 1826, which was suppressed. Vientiane was destroyed and a large number of Lao people were relocated to Khorat Plateau as a result. Bangkok also waged several wars with Vietnam, where Siam successfully regained hegemony over Cambodia.
From the late 19th century, Siam tried to rule the ethnic groups in the realm as colonies. In the reign of Mongkut (1851–1868), who recognised the potential threat Western powers posed to Siam, his court contacted the British government directly to defuse tensions. A British mission led by Sir John Bowring, Governor of Hong Kong, led to the signing of the Bowring Treaty, the first of many unequal treaties with Western countries. This, however, brought trade and economic development to Siam. The unexpected death of Mongkut from malaria led to the reign of underage King Chulalongkorn, with Somdet Chaophraya Sri Suriwongse (Chuang Bunnag) acting as regent.
Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910) initiated centralisation, set up a privy council, and abolished slavery and the corvée system. The Front Palace crisis of 1874 stalled attempts at further reforms. In the 1870s and 1880s, he incorporated the protectorates up north into the kingdom proper, which later expanded to the protectorates in the northeast and the south. He established twelve krom in 1888, which were equivalent to present-day ministries. The crisis of 1893 erupted, caused by French demands for Laotian territory east of Mekong.
Thailand is the only Southeast Asian state never to have been colonised by a Western power, in part because Britain and France agreed in 1896 to make the Chao Phraya valley a buffer state. Not until the 20th century could Siam renegotiate every unequal treaty dating from the Bowring Treaty, including extraterritoriality. The advent of the monthon system marked the creation of the modern Thai nation-state. In 1905, there were unsuccessful rebellions in the ancient Patani area, Ubon Ratchathani, and Phrae in opposition to an attempt to blunt the power of local lords.
The Palace Revolt of 1912 was a failed attempt by Western-educated military officers to overthrow the Siamese monarchy. Vajiravudh (r. 1910–1925) responded by propaganda for the entirety of his reign, which promoted the idea of the Thai nation. In 1917, Siam joined the First World War on the side of the Allies. In the aftermath, Siam had a seat at the Paris Peace Conference and gained freedom of taxation and the revocation of extraterritoriality.
=== Military dictatorship era (1932–1973) ===
A period of wasteful spending by King Vajiravudh followed by the Great Depression brought economic hardships on Thailand, with sharply falling rice prices, a significant reduction in public spending, eroded confidence in the monarchy, and discontent among aristocratic supporters all contributing to the destabilisation of the Chakri dynasty. These conditions spurred on the bloodless Siamese revolution of 1932, in which the Khana Ratsadon movement forced King Prajadhipok to sign the country's first constitution, thereby ending centuries of feudal and absolute monarchy. Power was partially ceded to a democratic government, but it would not last a year before the rise of significant military influence in Thai political affairs.
In 1933, Prime Minister Phraya Mano led a counter-revolutionary rebellion to reinstate an absolute monarchy under Prajadhipok. This was soon followed by a military coup that installed Phraya Phahon – a leader of the 1932 revolution – as Prime Minister. Prajadhipok's conflict with the government eventually led to his abdication, and the new military-led government selected Switzerland-raised Ananda Mahidol to be the new king.
The armed wing of Khana Ratsadon gradually came to dominate Siamese politics. Military strongman Plaek Phibunsongkhram, often known as "Phibun", became premier in 1938 and launched a campaign of political repression that saw the execution of both Monarchists and pro-democracy Liberals. His government adopted Thai nationalist, pro-Westernisation, anti-royalist, Irredentist, anti-Chinese and anti-French policies.
In 1939, Phibun changed the country's name from "Siam" to "Thailand". This coincided with the rise of fascist ideology in Thailand, with the name change reflecting policies that prioritised the needs of ethnic Thais over those of minorities like the Thai Chinese. Phibun was an admirer of Benito Mussolini, and he imposed twelve Thai cultural mandates requiring citizens to obey nationalist norms such as saluting the flag, knowing the national anthem, speaking only Thai, and wearing Western clothing.
In October 1940, months after fall of France to Nazi Germany, Phibun launched an opportunistic invasion of French Indochinese territories lost to the French Empire during the reign of King Chulalongkorn. The invasion was a success, with Thailand additionally gaining some Lao and Cambodian territories.Japan, which had also been invading French Indochinese territories, brokered a ceasefire that forced France to give up several territories to Thailand.
On 8 December 1941, the Japanese Empire launched an invasion of Thailand, and fierce fighting broke out in Southern Thailand before Phibun ordered an armistice and joined the Axis powers just five hours later. Japan was granted free passage through Thai territory, and on 21 December Thailand and Japan signed a military alliance, with a secret protocol wherein the Japanese government agreed to help Thailand gain further territories throughout southeast Asia.
The Thai government then declared war on the United States and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom, whose colony Malaya was under immediate threat from Thai forces, responded in kind, but the United States refused to declare war and ignored Thailand's declaration. The Free Thai Movement was launched both in Thailand and abroad to oppose the Thai government and Japanese occupation. After the war ended in 1945, Phibun was ousted and Thailand signed formal agreements to end the state of war with the Allies. In June 1946, King Ananda was found dead under mysterious circumstances, and his younger brother Bhumibol Adulyadej ascended to the throne.
This period of Liberal rule was brief, with Phibun launching another military coup to take power in 1947. In his second term as Prime Minister, Phibun pursued an alliance with the United States by undertaking a campaign of domestic anti-communism, aiding the US invasion of Korea, and helping to establish the US-aligned Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1954. Following a tour of Europe and the US in 1955 where he was impressed by democratic practices like freedom of speech, Phibun began to democratise Thai politics by allowing new political parties and trade unions to form, opening public forums, granting amnesty to former political opponents, and preparing Thailand for its first free elections. However, these practices likely aroused opposition to Phibun's dictatorial legacy, and the US supported his final ouster in 1957.
Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat took power by coup in 1957, and he proceeded to reverse Phibun's democratic reforms and ban the Khana Ratsadon party from politics. His rule from 1959 to 1963 was autocratic; he built his legitimacy around the god-like status of the monarch and by channelling the government and public's loyalty to the king. Though Phibun had been criticised for his close relationship to the United States, Sarit also aligned himself with them and militarily supported the United States invasion of Vietnam in 1961, leading a simultaneous campaign of anti-communist mass killings in Thailand that continued under his successor Thanom Kittikachorn.
The Sarit and Thanom periods coincided with significant modernisation and Westernisation of Thai society. Rapid urbanisation occurred as the rural populace sought work in growing cities like Bangkok. Economic development and public education enabled the rise of an urban middle class. The growth of this economy based on wage labour rather than subsistence agriculture resulted in increased class consciousness and sympathies to the Communist Party of Thailand, while university-educated students formed movements against the military dictatorship.
=== Transition toward democracy (1973–2001) ===
In October 1973, a popular democratic uprising against the Thanom government began to bring about an end to Thailand's military regime. In response to mass killings of protesters, King Bhumibol installed Sanya Dharmasakti as Prime Minister, marking the first time that the king had intervened in Thai politics directly since 1932. The aftermath of the event marked a short-lived parliamentary democracy, often called the "era when democracy blossomed" (ยุคประชาธิปไตยเบ่งบาน).
With new democratic institutions limited in their capability to solidify power and pass reforms, the three years after the uprising were marked by political and economic instability. Right-wing fears of a Communist takeover of Thailand grew following the captures of South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos by Communist insurgents. These factors culminated in the Thammasat University massacre in October 1976, in which police and right-wing mobs massacred students protesting the return of Thanom Kittikachorn to Thai politics. A military coup d'état on that day brought Thailand a new ultra-right-wing military government which cracked down on media outlets, government officials, and intellectuals, engendering a Communist insurgency. Another military coup the following year installed a more moderate military government, which offered amnesty to some Communist fighters in 1978.
Military figure Prem Tinsulanonda was appointed Prime Minister from in 1980. He oversaw the beginning of a period of significant economic growth and democratisation throughout the 1980s. Prem's premiership was often referred to as "premocracy" because it involved semi-democratic practices such as a Parliament composed of an all-elected House and an all-appointed Senate. Prem's constitutionalist political approach aided with a transition away from military rule and a negotiated end to the Communist insurgency by 1983. He maintained political stability via a close relationship with King Bhumibol, who helped to foil two military coups in attempts against Prem in 1981 and in 1985.
In 1988, Thailand saw its first freely-elected prime minister since the 1976 coup. Chatichai Choonhavan ruled for 3 years before being overthrown in a coup that ushered in two years of military rule under the National Peace Keeping Council. One of the coup leaders, Suchinda Kraprayoon, was nominated as prime minister for the majority coalition government after the March 1992 general election. This caused a popular demonstration in Bangkok, which ended with a bloody military crackdown known as Black May. The King intervened in the event, granting amnesty to the belligerents and forcing the resignation of Suchinda.
Free elections were once again held in September 1992, bringing the neoliberal Democrat Party to power. Power passed between various neoliberal parties throughout the decade, who all had a hand in drafting the 1997 "People's Constitution." Spurred on by the events of Black May, the constitution explicitly acknowledged several human rights and established several government and electoral accountability measures, including the creation of a fully-elected bicameral legislature.
=== Shinawatra era (2001–present) ===
The neoliberal government's attempt to peg the Thai baht to the United States dollar induced the 1997 Asian financial crisis, crashing regional economies and ending nearly 40 years of uninterrupted economic growth in Thailand. To cover a shortage of foreign currency and investments, which had come primarily from Japan, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's government took out a $17 billion International Monetary Fund loan in US dollars. To satisfy the conditions of the loan, Thailand underwent a series of austerity measures until the loan was repaid in 2003.
The crisis brought on the ascendancy of the populist Thai Rak Thai party, whose base consisted primarily of indebted rural workers. Its prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra governed from 2001 until 2006. His policies were successful in reducing rural poverty and providing universal healthcare. However, Thaksin was viewed by opponents among the Thai upper and upper middle classes as a corrupt populist who was destroying the middle class in order to favour himself and the rural poor. Additionally, his rural poverty policies directly conflicted with King Bhumibol's recommendations, drawing the ire of royalists, a powerful faction in Thailand. Thaksin also faced crises in the form of the South Thailand insurgency, which escalated starting from 2004, and the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami which claimed around 8,000 lives in Thailand.
Massive protests against Thaksin led by the reactionary People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) started in his second term as prime minister, and the monarchy and the military eventually agreed to oust him. The crisis peaked in 2005 with a series of controversies surrounding Buddhist and monarchic institutions, and the army dissolved Thaksin's party with a coup d'état in 2006 and banned over a hundred of its executives from politics. After the coup, a military government was installed for one year.
The military government faced significant resistance, with protesters frequently storming government buildings and elements within the military threatening yet another coup. In 2007, a civilian government led by the Thaksin-aligned People's Power Party (PPP) was elected. Another protest led by PAD ended with the dissolution of PPP, and the Democrat Party led a coalition government in its place. The pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) protested both in 2009 and in 2010, the latter of which ended with a violent military crackdown causing more than 70 civilian deaths.
After the general election of 2011, the populist Pheu Thai Party won a majority. Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin's younger sister, became prime minister. The People's Democratic Reform Committee organised another anti-Shinawatra protest after the ruling party proposed an amnesty bill which would benefit Thaksin. Yingluck dissolved parliament and a general election was scheduled, but her decision was invalidated by the Constitutional Court. The crisis ended with another coup d'état in 2014.
The ensuing National Council for Peace and Order, a military junta led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, led the country until 2019. Civil and political rights were restricted, and the country saw a surge in lèse-majesté cases. Political opponents and dissenters were sent to "attitude adjustment" camps; this was described by academics as indicating the return of fascism to Thailand. Bhumibol, the longest-reigning Thai king, died in 2016, and his son Vajiralongkorn ascended to the throne. The referendum and adoption of Thailand's current constitution happened under the junta's rule. The junta bound future governments to a 20-year national strategy 'road map' it laid down, effectively locking the country into military-guided democracy.
In 2019, the junta agreed to schedule a general election. General Prayut continued his premiership with the support of an elected Palang Pracharath Party coalition in the House and junta-appointed Senate, despite allegations of election fraud. An extended two-year period of pro-democracy protests were subsequently triggered by distrust in the election as well as increasing royal prerogative, democratic and economic regression under monarchy-supported military rule, retaliatory dissolution of the pro-democracy Future Forward Party, regressive policies on political issues like women's and labour rights, forced disappearances and deaths of political activists like Wanchalearm Satsaksit, and various political corruption scandals including 1MDB. The protests brought forward unprecedented demands to reform the monarchy and the highest sense of republicanism in the country's history.
In May 2023, Thailand's reformist opposition – the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) and Thaksin's populist Pheu Thai Party – won the general election, ending 9 years of royalist-military rule under Prayut. On 22 August 2023, Srettha Thavisin of the Pheu Thai party became Thailand's new prime minister, while the ex-PM and party figurehead Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Thailand after years in self-imposed exile from the military regime. Thavisin was later dismissed from his prime ministerial role on 14 August 2024 by the Constitutional Court for "gross ethics violations". He was succeeded by Thaksin's daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who spent a year in office before the Constitutional Court ordered her removal over a controversial phone call with Cambodia's president. The Court then ordered the arrest of Thaksin in September 2025.
== Geography ==
Totalling 513,120 square kilometres (198,120 sq mi), Thailand is the 50th-largest country by total area. Thailand comprises several distinct geographic regions, partly corresponding to the provincial groups. The north of the country is the mountainous area of the Thai highlands, with the highest point being Doi Inthanon in the Thanon Thong Chai Range at 2,565 metres (8,415 ft) above sea level. The northeast, Isan, consists of the Khorat Plateau, bordered to the east by the Mekong River. The centre of the country is dominated by the predominantly flat Chao Phraya river valley, which runs into the Gulf of Thailand. Southern Thailand consists of the narrow Kra Isthmus that widens into the Malay Peninsula.
The Chao Phraya and the Mekong River are the indispensable water courses of rural Thailand. Industrial scale production of crops use both rivers and their tributaries. The Gulf of Thailand covers 320,000 square kilometres (124,000 sq mi) and is fed by the Chao Phraya, Mae Klong, Bang Pakong, and Tapi Rivers. It contributes to the tourism sector owing to its clear shallow waters along the coasts in the southern region and the Kra Isthmus. The eastern shore of the Gulf of Thailand has the kingdom's premier deepwater port in Sattahip and its busiest commercial port, Laem Chabang. Phuket, Krabi, Ranong, Phang Nga and Trang, and their islands, all lay along the coasts of the Andaman Sea.
=== Climate ===
Thailand's climate is influenced by monsoon winds that have a seasonal character (the southwest and northeast monsoon). Most of the country is classified as Köppen's tropical savanna climate. The majority of the south, as well as the eastern tip, have a tropical monsoon climate. Parts of the south also have a tropical rainforest climate.
A year in Thailand is divided into three seasons. The first is the rainy or southwest monsoon season (mid–May to mid–October), which is caused by southwestern wind from the Indian Ocean.
Rainfall is also contributed by Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and tropical cyclones, with August and September being the wettest period of the year. The country receives a mean annual rainfall of 1,200 to 1,600 mm (47 to 63 in).
Winter or the northeast monsoon occurs from mid-October until mid-February. Most of Thailand experiences dry weather with mild temperatures. Summer or the pre-monsoon season runs from mid-February until mid-May.
Due to their inland position and latitude, the north, northeast, central and eastern parts of Thailand experience a long period of warm weather, where temperatures can reach up to 40 °C (104 °F) during March to May, in contrast to close to or below 0 °C (32 °F) in some areas in winter.
Southern Thailand is characterised by mild weather year-round with less diurnal and seasonal variations in temperatures due to maritime influences. It receives abundant rainfall, particularly during October to November. Thailand is among the world's ten countries that are most exposed to climate change. In particular, it is highly vulnerable to rising sea levels and extreme weather events.
=== Biodiversity and conservation ===
National parks in Thailand are defined as an area that contains natural resources of ecological importance or unique beauty, or flora and fauna of special importance. Thailand's protected areas include 156 national parks, 58 wildlife sanctuaries, 67 non-hunting areas, and 120 forest parks. They cover almost 31 per cent of the kingdom's territory. The parks are administered by the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (DNP) of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE). The Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi is the second largest zoo in Asia. The largest national park of Thailand is Kaeng Krachan National Park.
Thailand has a mediocre but improving performance in the global Environmental Performance Index (EPI), with an overall ranking of 91 out of 180 countries in 2016. The environmental areas where Thailand performs worst (i.e., highest-ranking) are air quality (167), environmental effects of the agricultural industry (106), and the climate and energy sector (93), the later mainly because of a high CO2 emission per kWh produced. Thailand performs best (i.e., lowest-ranking) in water resource management (66), with some major improvements expected for the future, and sanitation (68). The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6.00/10, ranking it 88th globally out of 172 countries.
The population of elephants, the country's national symbol, has fallen from 100,000 in 1850 to an estimated 2,000. Poachers have long hunted elephants for ivory and hides, and now increasingly for meat. Young elephants are often captured for use in tourist attractions or as work animals, where there have been claims of mistreatment. In 1989, the government banned the use of elephants for logging, leading many elephant owners to move their domesticated animals to the tourism industry.
Poaching of protected species remains a major problem. Tigers, leopards, and other large cats are hunted for their pelts. Many are farmed or hunted for their meat, which supposedly has medicinal properties. Although such trade is illegal, the well-known Bangkok market Chatuchak is still known for the sale of endangered species. The practice of keeping wild animals as pets affects species such as Asiatic black bear, Malayan sun bear, white-handed lar, pileated gibbon, and binturong.
== Politics and government ==
Prior to 1932, Thai kings were feudal or absolute monarchs. During Sukhothai Kingdom, the king was seen as a Dharmaraja or 'king who rules in accordance with Dharma'. The system of government was a network of tributaries ruled by local lords. Modern absolute monarchy and statehood was established by Chulalongkorn when he transformed the decentralised protectorate system into a unitary state. On 24 June 1932, Khana Ratsadon (People's Party) carried out a bloodless revolution which marked the beginning of constitutional monarchy.
Thailand has had 20 constitutions and charters since 1932, including the latest and current 2017 Constitution. All constitutions state that the politics is conducted within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, but the de facto form of government has ranged from military dictatorship to electoral democracy. Thailand's current form of government is part democracy and part dictatorship; many terms are used to describe it. Thailand has had the fourth-most coups in the world. "Uniformed or ex-military men have led Thailand for 55 of the 83 years" between 1932 and 2009. Most recently, the military junta self-titled as the National Council for Peace and Order ruled the country between 2014 and 2019.
Government is separated into three branches:
The legislative branch: the National Assembly is composed of the Senate, the 200-member indirectly elected upper house and House of Representatives, the elected 500-member lower house. Its most recent election is the 2023 general election. The coalition led by Pheu Thai Party currently holds the majority. The 2024 Thai Senate election was the first senate election held under the current constitution in the process criticised as "the most complicated election in the world". The senate is allegedly dominated by Bhumjaithai Party-affiliated senators.
The executive branch consisting of the Prime Minister of Thailand, the head of government, and other cabinet members of up to 35 people. The Prime Minister was elected by the House of Representatives. The current constitution mandates that prime ministers are to be considered from candidates nominated by political parties before the election. The current prime minister is Anutin Charnvirakul, a member of the Bhumjaithai Party.
The judiciary is supposed to be independent of the executive and the legislative branches, although judicial rulings are suspected of being based on political considerations rather than on existing law.
Military and bureaucratic aristocrats fully controlled political parties between 1946 and the 1980s. Most parties in Thailand are short-lived. Between 1992 and 2006, Thailand had a two-party system. Later constitutions created a multi-party system where a single party cannot gain a majority in the house.
A hereditary monarch serves as Thailand's head of state. The current King of Thailand is Vajiralongkorn (Rama X), who has reigned since October 2016. The powers of the king are limited by the constitution and he is primarily a symbolic figurehead. However, the monarch still occasionally intervenes in Thai politics, as all constitutions pave the way for customary royal rulings. Some academics outside Thailand, including Duncan McCargo and Federico Ferrara, noted extraconstitutional role of the monarch through a "network monarchy" behind the political scenes. The monarchy is protected by the severe lèse majesté law, even though the people's attitude towards the institution varies from one reign to another.
The kings are protected by lèse-majesté laws which allow critics to be jailed for three to fifteen years. After the coup d'état in 2014, Thailand had the highest number of lèse-majesté prisoners in the nation's history. Human rights in Thailand has been rated not free on the Freedom House Index since 2014. On August 7, 2024, Thailand's Constitutional Court banned the victors of the 2023 parliamentary elections, the Move Forward Party and all of its leaders from politics for its proposal to reform the lèse-majesté law, arguing it posed a threat to the constitutional order. The Economist criticised the move as an example of "lawfare" and pointed to the dissolution of its predecessor party, Future Forward in 2020, as the latest example of how an "alliance of conservative forces in Thailand—including monarchists, the army and a handful of business tycoons—has sought to suppress opposition".
On the Freedom in the World 2024 Report for Thailand, their status improved from not free to partly free due to competitive parliamentary elections and the formation of a new governing coalition by what had been a major opposition party, though unelected senators ensured that the party with the most votes was excluded.
=== Administrative divisions ===
Thailand is a unitary state; the administrative services of the executive branch are divided into three levels by National Government Organisation Act, BE 2534 (1991): central, provincial and local. Thailand is composed of 76 provinces (จังหวัด, changwat), which are first-level administrative divisions. There are also two specially governed districts: the capital Bangkok and Pattaya. Bangkok is at provincial level and thus often counted as a province. Each province is divided into districts (อำเภอ, amphoe) and the districts are further divided into sub-districts (ตำบล, tambons). The name of each province's capital city (เมือง, mueang) is the same as that of the province. For example, the capital of Chiang Mai Province (Changwat Chiang Mai) is Mueang Chiang Mai or Chiang Mai. All provincial governors and district chiefs, which are administrators of provinces and districts respectively, are appointed by the central government. Thailand's provinces are sometimes grouped into four to six regions, depending on the source.
=== Foreign relations ===
Siam's and Thailand's way of conducting foreign relations has long been described as "bamboo bending with the wind", of policies that are "always solidly rooted, but flexible enough to bend whichever way the wind blows in order to survive", or adaptable and pragmatic. In order to secure independence, it sought to pit one great power against the others so that it would be dominated by none.
During the Cold War, Thailand sought to prevent the spread of communism so it joined the United States, including participating in SEATO alliance, sending expeditions to Korea and Vietnam, and offering the US to use its base. Thailand is one of the five founding members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), initially to safeguard against communism. The end of Vietnam War was a turning point in Thai foreign policy and afterwards it sought to improve relations with Communist China and its now-Communist neighbours. Thailand remains an active member of ASEAN and seek to project its influence in it. Thailand has developed increasingly close ties with other members, with progressing regional co-operation in economic, trade, banking, political, and cultural matters.
In the 2000s, Thailand had taken an active role on the international stage and participated fully in international and regional organisations. It is a major non-NATO ally and Priority Watch List Special 301 Report of the United States. When East Timor gained independence from Indonesia, Thailand contributed troops to the international peacekeeping effort. As part of its effort to increase international ties, Thailand had reached out to such regional organisations as the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
During Thaksin Shinawatra's premiership, negotiations for several free trade agreements with China, Australia, Bahrain, India, and the US were initiated. Thaksin sought to position Thailand as a regional leader, initiating various development projects in poorer neighbouring countries. More controversially, he established close, friendly ties with the Burmese dictatorship. Thailand joined the US-led invasion of Iraq, sending a humanitarian contingent until September 2004. Thailand also had contributed troops to reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.
In April 2009, the 2008–2013 Cambodian–Thai border crisis brought troops on territory immediately adjacent to the 900-year-old ruins of Cambodia's Preah Vihear Hindu temple near the border.
After the 2014 coup, Thailand leaned more towards China. Growing Chinese influence and capital inflow caused some members of parliament to raise the concern about "economic colony" under China after many concessions.
During the Israel-Gaza war in 2023, at first Thailand's prime minister stated that his government strongly condemns the attack against Israel and extends its deepest condolences to the government and the people of Israel but the government later changed its position and announced that Thailand adopted a neutral stance in this conflict. 28 Thai nationals were killed in this conflict.
=== Armed forces ===
The Royal Thai Armed Forces (กองทัพไทย; RTGS: Kong Thap Thai) constitute the military of the Kingdom of Thailand. It consists of the Royal Thai Army (กองทัพบกไทย), the Royal Thai Navy (กองทัพเรือไทย), and the Royal Thai Air Force (กองทัพอากาศไทย). It also incorporates various paramilitary forces.
The head of the Thai Armed Forces (จอมทัพไทย, Chom Thap Thai) is the king, although this position is only nominal. The armed forces are managed by the Ministry of Defence of Thailand, which is headed by the Minister of Defence (a member of the cabinet of Thailand) and commanded by the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters, which in turn is headed by the Chief of Defence Forces of Thailand. Thai annual defence budget almost tripled from US$1.98 billion in 2005 to US$5.88 billion in 2016, accounting for approximately 1.4% of GDP. Thailand ranked 16th worldwide in the Military Strength Index based on the Credit Suisse report in September 2015.
The military is also tasked with humanitarian missions, such as escorting Rohingya to Malaysia or Indonesia, ensuring security and welfare for refugees during Indochina refugee crisis.
According to the constitution, serving in the armed forces is a duty of all Thai citizens. Thailand still use active draft system for males over the age of 21. They are subjected to varying lengths of active service depending on the duration of reserve training as Territorial Defence Student and their level of education. Those who have completed three years or more of reserve training will be exempted entirely. The practice has long been criticised, as some media question its efficacy and value. It is alleged that conscripts end up as servants to senior officers or clerks in military cooperative shops. In a report issued in March 2020, Amnesty International charged that Thai military conscripts face institutionalised abuse systematically hushed up by military authorities.
Critics observed that Thai military's main objective is to deal with internal rather than external threats. Internal Security Operations Command is called the political arm of the Thai military, which has overlapping social and political functions with civilian bureaucracy. It also has anti-democracy mission. The military is also notorious for numerous corruption incidents, such as accusation of human trafficking, and nepotism in promotion of high-ranking officers. The military is deeply entrenched in politics. Most recently, the appointed senators include more than 100 active and retired military.
Thailand is the 75th most peaceful country in the world, according to the 2024 Global Peace Index.
== Economy ==
The economy of Thailand is heavily export-dependent, with exports accounting for more than two-thirds of gross domestic product (GDP). Thailand exports over US$105 billion worth of goods and services annually. Major exports include cars, computers, electrical appliances, rice, textiles and footwear, fishery products, rubber, and jewellery.
Thailand is an emerging economy and is considered a newly industrialised country. Thailand had a 2017 GDP of US$1.236 trillion (on a purchasing power parity basis). Thailand is the second largest economy in Southeast Asia after Indonesia. Thailand ranks midway in the wealth spread in Southeast Asia as it is the fourth richest nation according to GDP per capita, after Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia.
Thailand functions as an anchor economy for the neighbouring developing economies of Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. In the third quarter of 2014, the unemployment rate in Thailand stood at 0.84% according to Thailand's National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB).
In 2017, the Thai economy grew an inflation-adjusted 3.9%, up from 3.3% in 2016, marking its fastest expansion since 2012. High public spending, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompted the authorities to raise Thailand's public debt ceiling from 60% to 70% of GDP.
As of 2024, Thailand struggles with low productivity, poor education, high household debt, low private investment and slow economic growth, with an economic research group forecasted an annual GDP growth of below 2% in the next decades without structural reforms.
As of 2025, The Bank of Thailand's economic outlook page projects Thai GDP growth of around 2.2% in 2025 and 1.6% in 2026, noting that growth in the first half of 2025 was supported by front‑loaded exports to the U.S. ahead of tariff hikes, while the second half is expected to slow as higher U.S. tariffs bite.
=== Income and wealth disparities ===
Thais have median wealth per one adult person of $1,469 in 2016, increasing from $605 in 2010. In 2016, Thailand was ranked 87th in Human Development Index, and 70th in the inequality-adjusted HDI.
In 2017, Thailand's median household income was ฿26,946 per month. Top quintile households had a 45.0% share of all income, while bottom quintile households had 7.1%. There were 26.9 million persons who had the bottom 40% of income earning less than ฿5,344 per person per month. During the 2013–2014 Thai political crisis, a survey found that anti-government PDRC mostly (32%) had a monthly income of more than ฿50,000, while pro-government UDD mostly (27%) had between ฿10,000 and ฿20,000.
In 2014, Credit Suisse reported that Thailand was the world's third most unequal country, behind Russia and India. The top 10% richest held 79% of the country's assets. The top 1% held 58% of the assets. The 50 richest Thai families had a total net worth accounting to 30% of GDP. Bank of Thailand reported that during 2006–16, Thailand's top 5% largest companies had 85% of all corporate revenue in the nation, and only 6% of the country's companies were in export industries, which made up 60% of the country's GDP.
In 2016, 5.81 million people lived in poverty, or 11.6 million people (17.2% of population) if "near poor" is included. The proportion of the poor relative to total population in each region was 12.96% in the Northeast, 12.35% in the South, and 9.83% in the North. In 2017, there were 14 million people who applied for social welfare (yearly income of less than ฿100,000 was required). In the first quarter of 2023, Thai household debts totalled 14.6 trillion baht or 89.2% of GDP; the average debt per household was approximately 500,000 baht. In 2016, there were estimated 30,000 homeless persons in the country.
=== Exports and manufacturing ===
The economy of Thailand is heavily export-dependent, with exports accounting for more than two-thirds of gross domestic products (GDPs). Major exports include cars, computers, electrical appliances, rice, textiles and footwear, fishery products, rubber, and jewellery. In 2022, Thailand's export of goods is worth roughly US$290 billion while its import worth roughly US$305 billion.
Substantial industries include electric appliances, components, computer components, and vehicles. Thailand's recovery from the 1997–1998 Asian financial crisis depended mainly on exports, among various other factors. As of 2012, the Thai automotive industry was the largest in Southeast Asia and the 9th largest in the world. The Thailand industry has an annual output of near 1.5 million vehicles, mostly commercial vehicles.
Most of the vehicles built in Thailand are developed and licensed by foreign producers, mainly Japanese and American. The Thai car industry takes advantage of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) to find a market for many of its products. Eight manufacturers, five Japanese, two US, and Tata of India, produce pick-up trucks in Thailand. As of 2012, due to its favourable taxation for 2-door pick-ups at only 3–12% against 17–50% for passenger cars, Thailand was the second largest consumer of pick-up trucks in the world, after the US. In 2014, pick-ups accounted for 42% of all new vehicle sales in Thailand.
=== Tourism ===
Tourism makes up about 6% of the country's economy. Prior to the pandemic, Thailand was the world's eighth most visited country according to the World Tourism rankings compiled by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation. In 2019, Thailand received 39.8 million international tourists, ahead of United Kingdom and Germany and was the fourth highest in international tourism earning 60.5 billion US dollars.
Thailand was the most visited country in Southeast Asia in 2013, according to the World Tourism Organisation. Estimates of tourism receipts directly contributing to the Thai GDP of 12 trillion baht range from 9 per cent (1 trillion baht) (2013) to 16 per cent. When including the indirect effects of tourism, it is said to account for 20.2 per cent (2.4 trillion baht) of Thailand's GDP.
Asian tourists primarily visit Thailand for Bangkok and the historical, natural, and cultural sights in its vicinity. Western tourists not only visit Bangkok and surrounding areas; many travel to the southern beaches and islands. The north is the chief destination for trekking and adventure travel with its diverse ethnic minority groups and forested mountains. The region hosting the fewest tourists is Isan. To accommodate foreign visitors, a separate tourism police with offices were set up in the major tourist areas and an emergency telephone number.
Thailand ranks as the worlds fifth largest medical tourism destination in spending, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, attracting over 2.5 million visitors in 2018, and is number one in Asia. The country is popular for the growing practice of sex reassignment surgery (SRS) and cosmetic surgery. In 2010–2012, more than 90% of medical tourists travelled to Thailand for SRS. Prostitution in Thailand and sex tourism also form a de facto part of the economy. Campaigns promote Thailand as exotic to attract tourists. One estimate published in 2003 placed the trade at US$4.3 billion per year or about 3% of the Thai economy. It is believed that at least 10% of tourist dollars are spent on the sex trade.
=== Agriculture and natural resources ===
Forty-nine per cent of Thailand's labour force is employed in agriculture. This is down from 70% in 1980. Rice is the most important crop in the country and Thailand had long been the world's leading exporter of rice, until recently falling behind both India and Vietnam. Thailand has the highest percentage of arable land, 27.25%, of any state in the Greater Mekong Subregion. About 55% of the arable land area is used for rice production.
Agriculture has been experiencing a transition from labour-intensive and transitional methods to a more industrialised and competitive sector. Between 1962 and 1983, the agricultural sector grew by 4.1% per year on average and continued to grow at 2.2% between 1983 and 2007. The relative contribution of agriculture to GDP has declined while exports of goods and services have increased.
Furthermore, access to biocapacity in Thailand is lower than world average. In 2016, Thailand had 1.2 global hectares of biocapacity per person within its territory, a little less than world average of 1.6 global hectares per person. In contrast, in 2016, they used 2.5 global hectares of biocapacity—their ecological footprint of consumption. This means they use about twice as much biocapacity as Thailand contains, resulting in a deficit.
=== Informal economy ===
In 2012, it was estimated that informal workers comprised 62.6% of the Thai workforce. The Ministry of Labour defines informal workers to be individuals who work in informal economies and do not have employee status under a given country's Labour Protection Act (LPA). The informal sector in Thailand has grown significantly over the past 60 years over the course of Thailand's gradual transition from an agriculture-based economy to becoming more industrialised and service-oriented. Between 1993 and 1995, ten per cent of the Thai labour force moved from the agricultural sector to urban and industrial jobs, especially in the manufacturing sector. It is estimated that between 1988 and 1995, the number of factory workers in the country doubled from two to four million, as Thailand's GDP tripled.
While the Asian financial crisis that followed in 1997 hit the Thai economy hard, the industrial sector continued to expand under widespread deregulation, as Thailand was mandated to adopt a range of structural adjustment reforms upon receiving funding from the IMF and World Bank. These reforms implemented an agenda of increased privatisation and trade liberalisation in the country, and decreased federal subsidisation of public goods and utilities, agricultural price supports, and regulations on fair wages and labour conditions. Many migrant farmers took jobs in sweatshops and factories with few labour regulations and often exploitative conditions. Those that could not find formal factory work, including illegal migrants and the families of rural Thai migrants, are under the regulation imposed by the structural adjustment programmes. Scholars argue that the economic consequences and social costs of Thailand's labour reforms in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis fell on individuals and families rather than the state.
Informal labour in entertainment, nightlife, and the sex industry face additional vulnerabilities, including recruitment into circles of sexual exploitation and human trafficking. A 2012 study found that 64% of informal workers had not completed education beyond primary school. Many informal workers are also migrants, only some of which have legal status in the country. The informal labour sector is also not recognised under the Labour Protection Act (LPA). Thai social security policies fail to protect against workplace accidents and unemployment and retirement insurance. Many informal workers are not legally contracted for their employment, and many do not make a living wage. Tens of thousands of migrants from neighbouring countries face exploitation in a few industries, especially in fishing where slave-like conditions have been reported.
=== Science and technology ===
Thailand ranked 45th in the Global Innovation Index in 2025. The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation and its agencies oversees the development of science, technology, and research in Thailand. According to the National Research Council of Thailand, the country devoted 1.1% of its GDP to the research and development of science in 2019, with over 166,788 research and development personnel in full-time equivalent that year.
== Infrastructure ==
=== Transportation ===
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) operates all of Thailand's national rail lines. Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal and Bangkok (Hua Lamphong) are the main termini of intercity routes. Phahonyothin and ICD Lat Krabang are the main freight terminals. As of 2025 SRT had 4,507 km (2,801 mi) of track, all of it metre gauge. Nearly all is single-track (2702.1 km), although some important sections around Bangkok are double (1,234.9 km or 767.3 mi) or triple-tracked (107 km or 66 mi), and there are plans to extend this.
Rail transport in Bangkok includes long-distance services. There are four rapid transit rail systems in the capital: the BTS Skytrain, MRT, SRT Red Lines, and the Airport Rail Link. In Bangkok, there were two failed rapid rail projects Lavalin Skytrain and Bangkok Elevated Road and Train System, before Mass Rapid Transit Master Plan in Bangkok Metropolitan Region was endorsed by the cabinet on 27 September 1994 and implemented from 1995 to the present.
Thailand has 390,000 kilometres (240,000 miles) of highways. As of 2017, Thailand has over 462,133 roads and 37 million registered vehicles, 20 million of them motorbikes. A number of undivided two-lane highways have been converted into divided four-lane highways. Within the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, there are a number of controlled-access highways. There are 4,125 public vans operating on 114 routes from Bangkok alone. Other forms of road transport includes tuk-tuks, taxis—with over 80,647 registered taxis nationwide as of 2018, vans (minibus), motorbike taxis, and songthaews.
As of 2012, Thailand has 103 airports with 63 paved runways, in addition to 6 heliports. The busiest airport in the country is Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport.
=== Energy ===
75% of Thailand's electrical generation is powered by natural gas in 2014. Coal-fired power plants produce an additional 20% of electricity, with the remainder coming from biomass, hydro, and biogas. Compared to other ASEAN's countries, Thailand is the largest importer of gas in weight. In 2022, Thailand's oil and gas production dropped by 19% and 17%, respectively.
The government, in 2018, has developed an Alternative Energy Development Plan 2018–2037 (AEDP 2018). The plan defines goals for the increase of renewable energy to almost 30,000 MW by 2037.
== Demographics ==
Thailand had a population of 65.95 million on 8 Jan 2025. There were 64,953,661 Thai nationals and 997,549 non-Thai residents. Thailand's first census in 1909 found the population to be 8.2 million. Thailand's population is largely rural, concentrated in the rice-growing areas of the central, northeastern, and northern regions. About 44.2% of Thailand's population lived in urban areas as of 2010, slowly increasing from 29.4% in the 1990 census and 31.1% in the 2000 census.
Thailand's government-sponsored family planning programme resulted in a dramatic decline in population growth from 3.1% in 1960 to around 0.4% today. In 1970, an average of 5.7 people lived in a Thai household; in 2022, the average Thai household size was 3 people. Now, more than 20% of its population is aged over 60 and has a low birth rate, posing economic challenges. The sex ratio between male and female is 1.05, with Thailand having slightly more males. Thailand's total fertility rate declined to 1.0 in 2024. This ranks Thailand among countries with ultra-low fertility rates.
=== Ethnic groups ===
As of 2010, Thai people make up the majority of Thailand's population (95.9%). The remaining 4.1% of the population are Burmese (2.0%), others (1.3%), and unspecified (0.9%).
According to genetic research, the present-day Thai people were divided into three groups: the northern group (Khon Mueang) are closely related to the Tai ethnic groups in southern China, the northeastern group (Isan people) are mixed Tai and several Austroasiatic-speaking ethnic groups, while the central and southern groups (formerly called Siamese) strongly share genetic profiles with the Mon people.
According to the Royal Thai Government's 2011 Country Report to the UN Committee responsible for the International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, available from the Department of Rights and Liberties Promotion of the Thai Ministry of Justice, 62 ethnic communities are officially recognised in Thailand. Twenty million Central Thai (together with approximately 650,000 Khorat Thai) made up approximately 20,650,000 (34.1 per cent) of the state's population of 60,544,937 at the time of completion of the Mahidol University Ethnolinguistic Maps of Thailand data (1997).
The 2011 Thailand Country Report provides population numbers for mountain peoples ('hill tribes') and ethnic communities in the Northeast and is explicit about its main reliance on the Mahidol University Ethnolinguistic Maps of Thailand data. Thus, though over 3.288 million people in the Northeast alone could not be categorised, the population and percentages of other ethnic communities c. 1997 are known for all of Thailand and constitute minimum populations. In descending order, the largest (equal to or greater than 400,000) are a) 15,080,000 Lao (24.9 per cent) consisting of the Thai Lao (14 million) and other smaller Lao groups, namely the Thai Loei (400–500,000), Lao Lom (350,000), Lao Wiang/Klang (200,000), Lao Khrang (90,000), Lao Ngaew (30,000), and Lao Ti (10,000); b) six million Khon Muang (9.9 per cent, also called Northern Thais); c) 4.5 million Pak Tai (7.5 per cent, also called Southern Thais); d) 1.4 million Khmer Leu (2.3 per cent, also called Northern Khmer); e) 900,000 Malay (1.5%); f) 500,000 Nyaw (0.8 per cent); g) 470,000 Phu Thai (0.8 per cent); h) 400,000 Kuy/Kuay (also known as Suay) (0.7 per cent), and i) 350,000 Karen (0.6 per cent). Thai Chinese, including those of significant Chinese origins, are 14% of the population, while Thais with partial Chinese ancestry comprise up to 40% of the population. Thai Malays also represent 3% of the Thai population's heritage, with the remainder consisting of Mons, Khmers, and various "hill tribes".
Increasing numbers of migrants from neighbouring Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, as well as from Nepal and India, have pushed the total number of non-national residents to around 3.5 million as of 2009, up from an estimated 2 million in 2008. Some 41,000 Britons and 20,000 Australians live in Thailand.
=== Population centres ===
=== Language ===
Thai is the official language. It is a Kra–Dai language closely related to Lao, Shan in Myanmar, and numerous smaller languages spoken in an arc from Hainan and Yunnan south to the Chinese border. It is the principal language of education and government and spoken throughout the country. The standard is based on the dialect of the central Thai people, and it is written in the Thai alphabet, an abugida script that evolved from the Khmer alphabet.
Sixty-two languages were recognised by the Royal Thai Government. For the purposes of the national census, four dialects of Thai exist; these partly coincide with regional designations, such as Southern Thai and Northern Thai.
The largest of Thailand's minority languages is the Lao dialect of Isan spoken in the northeastern provinces. In the far south, Kelantan-Pattani Malay is the primary language of Malay Muslims. Varieties of Chinese are also spoken by the large Thai Chinese population, with the Teochew dialect best-represented. Numerous tribal languages are also spoken, including many Austroasiatic languages such as Mon, Khmer, Lawa and Mlabri; Austronesian languages such as Cham, Moken and Urak Lawoi'; Sino-Tibetan languages like Akha and Karen; and other Tai languages such as Phu Thai, and Saek. Hmong is a member of the Hmong–Mien languages, which is now regarded as a language family of its own.
=== Religion ===
The country's most prevalent religion is Theravada Buddhism, which is an integral part of Thai identity and culture. Active participation in Buddhism is among the highest in the world. Thailand has the second-largest number of Buddhists in the world after China. According to the 2018 National Statistical Office data, 93.46% of the country's population self-identified as Buddhists.
Muslims constitute the second largest religious group in Thailand, comprising 5.37% of the population in 2018. Islam is concentrated mostly in the country's southernmost provinces: Pattani, Yala, Satun, Narathiwat, and part of Songkhla, which are predominantly Malay, most of whom are Sunni Muslims. Christians represented 1.13% of the population in 2018, with the remaining population consisting of Hindus and Sikhs, who live mostly in the country's cities. There is also a small Jewish community in Thailand dating back to the 17th century.
The constitution does not name an official state religion, and provides for freedom of religion. There have been no widespread reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice. Thai law officially recognises five religious groups: Buddhists, Muslims, Brahmin-Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians. However, some laws are inspired from Buddhist practices, such as banning alcohol sales on religious holidays.
=== Education ===
In 1995, as minister of education, Sukavich Rangsitpollaid let out his plans for educational reform in Thailand. The reform was considered a landmark movement after nearly 100 years of education under the previous system. Thailand's youth literacy rate was 98.1% in 2015. Education is provided by a school system of kindergartens, primary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools, numerous vocational colleges, and universities. Education is compulsory up to and including age 14, while the government is mandated to provide free education through to age 17. Issues concerning university entrance have been in constant upheaval for a number of years. The country is also one of the few that still mandates uniform up to the university years, which is still a subject of ongoing debate.
In 2013, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology announced that 27,231 schools would receive classroom-level access to high-speed internet. However, the country's educational infrastructure was still underprepared for online teaching, as smaller and more remote schools were particularly hindered by COVID-19 restrictions.
The number of higher education institutions in Thailand has grown over the past decades to 156 officially. The two top-ranking universities in Thailand are Chulalongkorn University and Mahidol University. Thai universities' research output is still relatively low, even though the country's journal publications increased by 20% between 2011 and 2016. Thailand has the second highest number of English-medium private international schools in Southeast Asian Nations. Cram schools are especially popular for university entrance exams.
Students in ethnic minority areas score consistently lower in standardised national and international tests. This is likely due to unequal allocation of educational resources, weak teacher training, poverty, and low Thai language skill, the language of the tests. As of 2020, Thailand was ranked 89th out of 100 countries globally for English proficiency. Thailand is the third most popular study destination in ASEAN. The number of international degree students in Thailand increased by 9.7 times between 1999 and 2012, from 1,882 to 20,309 students. Most of international students come from neighbour countries like China, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.
=== Health ===
Thailand ranks world's sixth, and Asia's first in the 2019 Global Health Security Index of global health security capabilities in 195 countries, making it the only developing country on the world's top ten. Thailand had 62 hospitals accredited by Joint Commission International. In 2002, Bumrungrad became the first hospital in Asia to meet the standard.
Health and medical care is overseen by the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), with total national expenditures on health amounting to 4.3 per cent of GDP in 2009. Non-communicable diseases form the major burden of morbidity and mortality, while infectious diseases including malaria and tuberculosis, as well as traffic accidents, are also important public health issues.
In December 2018, the interim parliament voted to legalise the use of cannabis for medical reasons, making Thailand the first Southeast Asian country to allow the use of medical cannabis.
== Culture ==
Thai culture and traditions incorporate influences from India, China, Cambodia, and the rest of Southeast Asia. Thailand's national religion, Theravada Buddhism, is central to modern Thai identity. Thai Buddhism has evolved over millennia from the Mon kingdom of Dvaravati in Central Thailand (6th–11th century). Nowadays it includes many regional beliefs originating from Hinduism, animism, as well as ancestor worship. The official calendar in Thailand is based on the Eastern version of the Buddhist Era (BE). The ancient Thai identity originates from the Tai-speaking groups who migrated from southern China to Southeast Asia in 6th to 11th century. The Tai brought the Thai language and established city-states. They mixed with the existing Austro-Asiatic groups like the Mon and Khmer while absorbing their cultures and beliefs in the Chao Phraya Basin. The prevalent culture of Central Thailand formed the basis of the modern Thai identity. This was spread nationwide by the Phibun regime to assimilate the ethnic groups in the 1940s.
Several ethnic groups mediated change between their traditional local culture, national Thai, and global cultural influences. Overseas Chinese also form a significant part of Thai society, particularly in and around Bangkok. Thai Chinese businesses prosper as part of the larger bamboo network.
Respect for elderly and superiors (by age, position, monks, or certain professions) is Thai mores, reflecting in many classes of honorifics. Wai is a familiar Thai greeting, and is generally offered first by a person who is younger or lower in social status and position. Older siblings have duties to younger ones.
Taboos in Thai culture include touching someone's head or pointing with the feet, as the head is considered the most sacred and the foot the lowest part of the body.
=== Art ===
The origins of Thai art were influenced by Buddhist art and by scenes from the Indian epics. Traditional Thai sculpture almost exclusively depicts images of the Buddha, being very similar with the other styles from Southeast Asia. Traditional Thai paintings usually consist of book illustrations, and painted ornamentation of buildings such as palaces and temples.
Thai art was influenced by indigenous civilisations of the Mon and other civilisations. By the Sukothai and Ayutthaya periods, Thai had developed into its own unique style and was later further influenced by the other Asian styles, mostly by Sri Lankan and Chinese. Thai sculpture and painting, and the royal courts provided patronage, erecting temples and other religious shrines as acts of merit or to commemorate important events.
Traditional Thai paintings showed subjects in two dimensions without perspective. The size of each element in the picture reflected its degree of importance. The primary technique of composition is that of apportioning areas: the main elements are isolated from each other by space transformers. This eliminated the intermediate ground, which would otherwise imply perspective. Perspective was introduced only as a result of Western influence in the mid-19th century. Monk artist Khrua In Khong is well known as the first artist to introduce linear perspective to Thai traditional art.
The most frequent narrative subjects for paintings were or are: the Jataka stories, episodes from the life of the Buddha, the Buddhist heavens and hells, themes derived from the Thai versions of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and scenes of daily life. Some of the scenes are influenced by Thai folklore instead of following strict Buddhist iconography.
=== Architecture ===
The Ayutthaya Kingdom movement is designed to display might and riches. The temples in Ayutthaya seldom built eaves stretching from the masterhead. Buddhist temples in Thailand are known as "wats", from the Pāḷi vāṭa, meaning an enclosure: a temple has an enclosing wall that divides it from the secular world. Wat architecture demonstrates many differences in layout and style, but they all adhere to the same principles.
=== Literature ===
Thai literature has had a long history. Even before the establishment of the Sukhothai Kingdom there existed oral and written works.
During the Sukhothai Kingdom, most literary works were written in simple prose with certain alliteration schemes. Major works include King Ram Khamhaeng Inscription describing life at the time, which is considered the first literary work in Thai script, but some historians questioned its authenticity. Trai Phum Phra Ruang, written in 1345 by King Maha Thammaracha I, expounds Buddhist philosophy based on an extensive study with reference to over 30 sacred texts and could be considered the nation's first piece of research dissertation.
During the Ayutthaya Kingdom, new poetic forms were created, with different rhyme schemes and metres. It is common to find a combination of different poetic forms in one poetic work. Lilit Yuan Phai is a narrative poem describing the war between King Borommatrailokkanat of Ayutthaya and Prince Tilokaraj of Lan Na. One literary work is Kap He Ruea, composed by Prince Thammathibet in the nirat tradition. Traditionally, the verse is sung during the royal barge procession and has been the model for subsequent poets to emulate. The same prince also composed the greatly admired Kap Ho Khlong on the Visit to Than Thongdaeng and Kap Ho Khlong Nirat Phrabat. The Thonburi period produced Ramakien, a verse drama contributed by King Taksin the Great.
During the 18th century Rattanakosin period, which still fought with the Burmese, many of the early Rattanakosin works dealt with war and military strategy. Some examples are Nirat Rop Phama Thi Tha Din Daeng, Phleng Yao Rop Phama Thi Nakhon Si Thammarat. There were also verse recitals with musical accompaniment, such as Mahori telling the story of Kaki and Sepha, relating the story of Khun Chang Khun Phaen. Other recitals include Sri Thanonchai. The Thai poet Sunthorn Phu is known as "the bard of Rattanakosin" (Thai: กวีเอกแห่งกรุงรัตนโกสินทร์). Sunthorn Phu is best known for his epic poem Phra Aphai Mani, a versified fantasy-adventure novel, a genre of Siamese literature known as nithan kham klon (Thai: นิทานคำกลอน).
Some of the most well-known modern Thai writers include Kukrit Pramoj, Kulap Saipradit, (penname Siburapha), Suweeriya Sirisingh (penname Botan), Chart Korbjitti, Prabda Yoon, and Duanwad Pimwana.
=== Music and dance ===
Aside from folk and regional dances (southern Thailand's Menora and Ramwong, for example), the two major forms of Thai classical dance drama are Khon and Lakhon nai. In the beginning, both were exclusively court entertainments, and it was not until much later that a popular style of dance theatre, likay, evolved as a diversion for common folk. Folk dance forms include dance theatre forms like likay, numerous regional dances (ram), the ritual dance ram muay, and homage to the teacher, wai khru. Both ram muay and wai khru take place before all traditional muay Thai matches.
The three primary classical ensembles are the Piphat, Khrueang sai, and Mahori. Mahori employ small ching hand cymbals.
=== Media ===
Thai films are exported and exhibited in Southeast Asia. Thai cinema has developed its own unique identity.
The Thai heist thriller film Bad Genius (2017) was one of the most internationally successful Thai films; it broke Thai film earning records in several Asian countries, Bad Genius won in 12 categories at the 27th Suphannahong National Film Awards, and also won the Jury Award at the 16th New York Asian Film Festival with a worldwide collection of more than $42 million.
Shutter (2004) was one of the best-known Thai horror movies and was recognised worldwide. Films such as Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (2003) and Tom-Yum-Goong (2005), starring Tony Jaa, feature distinctive aspects of Thai martial arts "Muay Thai". Thailand television dramas, known as Lakorn, have become popular in Thailand and regionally.
The entertainment industries are estimated to have directly contributed $2.1 billion in GDP to the Thai economy in 2011. They also directly supported 86,600 jobs. Amongst several dance-pop artists who have made internationally successful are Lisa, Violette Wautier, Illslick, and Tata Young.
=== Cuisine ===
Thai cuisine is one of the most popular in the world. Common ingredients include garlic, lemongrass, kaffir lime, galangal, turmeric, coriander, and coconut milk. Each region of Thailand has its specialities: kaeng khiao wan (green curry) in the central region, som tam (green papaya salad) in the northeast, khao soi in the north, and massaman curry in the south.
In 2017, seven Thai dishes appeared on a list of the "World's 50 Best Foods"—an online worldwide poll by CNN Travel. Thailand had more dishes on the list than any other country. They were: tom yam goong (4th), pad Thai (5th), som tam (6th), massaman curry (10th), green curry (19th), Thai fried rice (24th) and nam tok mu (36th). Two desserts were also listed in CNN's 50 Best Desserts Around The World: mango sticky rice and tub tim krob.
The staple food in Thailand is rice, particularly jasmine rice, which forms part of almost every meal. Thailand is a leading exporter of rice, and Thais consume over 100 kg of milled rice per person per year. Thailand is also the world leader in edible insect industry and well known for its street food; Bangkok is sometimes called the street food capital of the world.
=== Units of measurement ===
Thailand generally uses the metric system, but traditional units of measurement for land area are used, and imperial units of measurement are occasionally used for building materials. Years are numbered as B.E. (Buddhist Era) in educational settings, civil service, government, contracts, and newspaper datelines. However, in banking, and increasingly in industry and commerce, standard Western year (Christian or Common Era) counting is the standard practice.
=== Sports ===
Muay Thai (lit. 'Thai boxing') is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. Muay Thai became widespread internationally in the late-20th to 21st centuries. Famous practitioners include Buakaw Banchamek, Samart Payakaroon, and Apidej Sit-Hirun. Association football has overtaken Muay Thai as the most widely followed sport in Thailand. The Thailand national football team has played the AFC Asian Cup six times and reached the semifinals in 1972. The country has hosted the Asian Cup twice, in 1972 and in 2007 (along with Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam for the 2007).
Volleyball is rapidly growing as one of the most popular sports. The women's team has often participated in the World Championship, World Cup, and World Grand Prix Asian Championship. They have won the Asian Championship twice and the Asian Cup once. Takraw is a sport native to Thailand in which the players hit a rattan ball and are only allowed to use their feet, knees, chest, and head to touch the ball. Sepak takraw is a form of this sport which is similar to volleyball. A rather similar game but played only with the feet is buka ball.
Rugby is also a growing sport in Thailand with the Thailand national rugby union team rising to be ranked 61st in the world. Thailand became the first country in the world to host an international 80 welterweight rugby tournament in 2005. Thailand has also attracts golfers from Japan, Korea, and Western countries. There are more than 200 world-class golf courses nationwide. For basketball, the Chang Thailand Slammers won the 2011 ASEAN Basketball League Championship. The Thailand national basketball team had its most successful year at the 1966 Asian Games where it won the silver medal.
The Lumpinee Boxing Stadium originally sited at Rama IV Road near Lumphini Park hosted its final Muay Thai boxing matches on 8 February 2014 after the venue first opened in December 1956. On 11 February 2014, the stadium was relocated to Ram Intra Road due to the new venue's capacity. Thammasat Stadium in Bangkok was built for the 1998 Asian Games. Rajamangala National Stadium is the biggest sporting arena in Thailand, with a capacity of around 50,000. |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Mendes | Sam Mendes | Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is an English film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was knighted in the 2020 New Years Honours List. In 2000, Mendes was awarded the Shakespeare Prize by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation in Hamburg, Germany. In 2005, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Directors Guild of Great Britain. In 2008, The Daily Telegraph ranked him number 15 in their list of the "100 most powerful people in British culture".
Born in Reading to a Trinidadian Catholic father and an English Jewish mother, Mendes grew up in North London. He read English at Peterhouse at Cambridge University, and began directing plays there before joining Donmar Warehouse, which became a centre of 1990s London theatre culture. In theatre, he is known for his dark re-inventions of the stage musicals Cabaret (1993), Oliver! (1994), Company (1995), and Gypsy (2003).
He directed an original West End stage musical for the first time with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2013). For his work on the London stage, Mendes has received five Laurence Olivier Awards for Company, Twelfth Night and The Ferryman and for his work on Broadway he has earned two Tony Awards for Best Direction of a Play for his work on The Ferryman in 2019, and The Lehman Trilogy in 2022.
In film, he made his directorial debut with the drama American Beauty (1999), which earned him the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Director. He has since directed the films Road to Perdition (2002), Jarhead (2005), Revolutionary Road (2008), and the James Bond films Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015). For the war film 1917 (2019), he received the BAFTA Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Director, as well as his second Academy Award nominations for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. Most recently, Mendes produced Academy Award nominated film Hamnet.
Mendes is currently developing a set of four individual but interconnected films entitled The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, based on the lives of each of the members of the Beatles.
== Early life and education ==
Mendes was born on 1 August 1965 in Reading, Berkshire. He is the son of Valerie Mendes (born Barnett), a publisher and author, and Jameson Peter Mendes, a university professor. His father is a Roman Catholic of Portuguese descent from Trinidad and Tobago, and his mother is an English Jew. His grandfather was the Trinidadian writer Alfred Hubert Mendes.
Mendes's parents divorced when he was three years old, after which Mendes and his mother settled in Primrose Hill in North London. He attended Primrose Hill Primary School and was in the same class as future Foreign Secretary David Miliband and author Zoë Heller. In 1976, the family relocated to Woodstock near Oxford, where Mendes's mother found work as a senior editor at Oxford University Press. Mendes was educated at Magdalen College School where he met future theatre designer Tom Piper, who went on to work with Mendes on a National Theatre revival of Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party.
Mendes had an early interest in cinema and applied to the University of Warwick (then the only university in the UK that offered an undergraduate film course), but was turned down. He was then accepted by Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he graduated with first-class honours in English. Having developed a passion for theatre only in his late teens, Mendes became a member of the Marlowe Society at Cambridge and directed several plays. His first play was David Halliwell's Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs, and one of his later productions was Cyrano de Bergerac with Tom Hollander and Jonathan Cake among the cast members. During his time at Cambridge, Mendes also became enthusiastic about cinema in earnest. He cited Paris, Texas, Repo Man and True Stories as three "seminal film moments" that influenced his stage and film career.
Mendes was noted as a "brilliant schoolboy cricketer" by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, scoring 1,153 runs at 46 and taking 83 wickets at under 16 for Magdalen College School in 1983 and 1984. He also played cricket for Cambridge University Cricket Club, and in 1997 played for Shipton-under-Wychwood in the final of the Village Cricket Cup, the only winner of the Academy Award for Best Director to have played at Lord's.
== Career ==
=== Stage career ===
==== Early work ====
After graduating from Cambridge in 1987, Mendes was hired as assistant director at the Chichester Festival Theatre. In September 1987, Mendes made his professional directing debut with a double bill of two Anton Chekhov plays, The Bear and The Proposal. In 1989, he was appointed the inaugural director of the Minerva Theatre.
In 1989, following the abrupt departure of director Robin Phillips, Mendes took over a production of Dion Boucicault's London Assurance at Chichester. Later that year, Mendes made his West End debut at the Aldwych with a production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, starring Judi Dench. London Assurance then transferred to the West End following a six-month run at Chichester, opening at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. The successes of the plays established Mendes as a theatre director of national renown.
==== Donmar Warehouse (1990–2002) ====
In 1990, Mendes was appointed artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse, a Covent Garden studio space previously used by the Royal Shakespeare Company. He spent two years overseeing the redesign of the theatre, which formally opened in 1992 with the British premiere of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. Mendes's tenure at the Donmar saw its transformation into one of the most successful and fashionable playhouses in London.
In 1993, Mendes staged an acclaimed revival of John Kander and Fred Ebb's Cabaret starring Jane Horrocks as Sally Bowles and Alan Cumming as Emcee. The production was approached with a fresh concept, differing greatly from both the original 1966 production directed by Harold Prince and the famed film version, directed by Bob Fosse. This production opened at the Donmar and received four Olivier Award nominations including Best Musical Revival, before transferring promptly to Broadway where it played for several years at the Kit Kat Club (i.e. the Stephen Sondheim Theater). The Broadway cast included Cumming once again as Emcee, with Natasha Richardson as Sally, Mary Louise Wilson as Fraulein Schneider, John Benjamin Hickey as Cliff, and Ron Rifkin as Herr Schultz. Cumming, Richardson, and Rifkin all won Tony Awards for their performances.
1994 saw Mendes stage a new production of Lionel Bart's Oliver!, produced by Cameron Mackintosh. Mendes, a longtime fan of the work, worked in close collaboration with Bart and other production team members, William David Brohn, Martin Koch and Anthony Ward, to create a fresh staging of the well-known classic. Bart added new musical material and Mendes updated the book slightly, while the orchestrations were radically rewritten to suit the show's cinematic feel. The cast included Jonathan Pryce (after much persuasion) as Fagin, Sally Dexter as Nancy, and Miles Anderson as Bill Sikes. Mendes, Pryce and Dexter received Olivier Award nominations for their work on Oliver!.
Mendes also directed productions of David Hare's The Blue Room in 1998, starring Nicole Kidman; Richard Greenberg's Three Days of Rain in 1999, with Colin Firth, David Morrissey and Elizabeth McGovern; as well as his farewell duo in 2002, Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night, both headed by Simon Russell Beale, Helen McCrory, Emily Watson and Mark Strong. He stepped down as artistic director of the Donmar in December 2002 and was succeeded by Michael Grandage.
==== After the Donmar (2002–present) ====
In 2003, Mendes directed a revival of the musical Gypsy. Originally, he planned to stage this production in London's West End with an eventual Broadway transfer, but when negotiations fell through, he brought it to New York. The cast included Bernadette Peters as Rose, Tammy Blanchard as Louise and John Dossett as Herbie.
Mendes also directed the 2013 Olivier Award-nominated stage adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which ran in London's West End until January 2017. It starred Douglas Hodge as Willy Wonka, followed by Alex Jennings and Jonathan Slinger who later took over the role.
In 2014, Mendes directed Simon Russell Beale in King Lear by William Shakespeare at the National Theatre, London. Mendes directed Jez Butterworth's The Ferryman for the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2017, before transferring to the West End later that year and Broadway in 2018, for which he won an Olivier Award and Tony Award for Best Director.
In 2018, Mendes directed The Lehman Trilogy by Stefano Massini in an English adaptation by Ben Power for the National Theatre, London starring Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles. In 2019 the play played a season at the Park Avenue Armory in New York before returning for another London season in the West End. The play made its Broadway transfer in 2020 briefly but was stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The play resumed performances in 2021 and went on to receive eight Tony Award nominations winning five awards including Best Play and Best Director of a Play.
=== Film career ===
==== American Beauty to Away We Go (1999–2009) ====
In 1999, Mendes made his film directorial debut with American Beauty, starring Kevin Spacey. He had been approached by Steven Spielberg, who was impressed by his productions of Oliver! and Cabaret. The film grossed $356.3 million worldwide. The film won the Golden Globe Award, the BAFTA Award and the Academy Award for Best Picture. Mendes won the Golden Globe Award, Directors Guild of America Award, and the Academy Award for Best Director, becoming the sixth director to earn the Academy Award for his feature film debut.
Mendes's second film, in 2002, was Road to Perdition, which grossed US$181 million. As of October 2023, the aggregate review score on Rotten Tomatoes is currently 81%; critics praised Paul Newman for his performance. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Newman; it won for Best Cinematography.
In 2003, Mendes established Neal Street Productions, a film, television and theatre production company he would use to finance much of his later work. In 2005, Mendes directed the war film Jarhead, in association with his production company Neal Street Productions. The film received mixed reviews, with a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 61%, and a gross revenue of US$96.9 million worldwide. The film focused on the boredom and other psychological challenges of wartime.
In 2008, Mendes directed Revolutionary Road, starring his then-wife, Kate Winslet, along with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kathy Bates. In a January 2009 interview, Mendes commented, about directing his wife for the first time: "I would open my eyes in the morning and there Kate would be, going, 'Great! You're awake! Now let's talk about the second scene.'" Mendes's comedy-drama Away We Go opened the 2009 Edinburgh International Film Festival. The film follows a couple (John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph) searching North America for the perfect community in which to settle down and start a family. The film was well received by critics but performed poorly at the box office.
In 2010, Mendes co-produced a critically acclaimed documentary film Out of the Ashes that deals with cricket in Afghanistan. On 5 January 2010, news broke that Mendes was employed to direct the 23rd Eon Productions instalment of the James Bond franchise. The film, Skyfall, was subsequently released on 26 October 2012, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Bond films. Mendes had been employed as a consultant on the film when it was in pre-production, and had remained attached to the project during the financial troubles of MGM. The film was a major critical and commercial success, becoming the 14th film to gross over $1 billion worldwide.
In 2012, Mendes's Neal Street Productions produced the first series of the BBC One drama series, Call the Midwife, following it with a second season which began transmission in early 2013.
==== Skyfall, Empire of Light, and The Beatles biopic film series (2013–present) ====
After the success of Skyfall, Mendes was asked if he was returning to direct the next Bond film. He responded, "I felt I put everything I possibly could into this film and it was the Bond film I wanted to make. And if I felt I could do the same again, then absolutely I would consider doing another one. But it is a big task and I wouldn't do it unless I knew I could." It was reported that one reason Mendes was reluctant to commit was that one proposal involved making two films back-to-back, based on an idea by Skyfall writer John Logan, which would have resulted in Mendes and other creative personnel being tied up with filming for around four years. It was reported in February 2013 that this idea had since been shelved and that the next two films would be stand-alone. Mendes said in an interview with film magazine Empire in March 2013 that "it has been a very difficult decision not to accept Michael and Barbara's very generous offer to direct the next Bond movie." He cited, amongst other reasons, his commitments to the stage version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and King Lear.
However, on 29 May 2013, it was reported that Mendes was back in negotiations with producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli to direct the next Bond film, going back on his previous comments. Wilson and Broccoli were willing to postpone production of the film to ensure Mendes's participation. On 11 July 2013, it was announced that Mendes would direct the 24th James Bond film, Spectre; it was released in October 2015. This made him the first filmmaker since John Glen to direct two Bond films consecutively. In April 2016, Mendes was named as the president of the jury for the 73rd Venice International Film Festival.
Mendes's next film, war epic 1917, was released by Universal Pictures on 25 December 2019 in the US and on 10 January 2020 in the UK. Based in part on an account told to Mendes by his paternal grandfather, Alfred Mendes, it chronicles the story of two young British soldiers in the spring of 1917 at a critical point during World War I. Mendes went on to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Director for his achievement in directing; in his acceptance speech, he saluted his grandfather, as well as acknowledging the contribution to cinema of fellow nominee Martin Scorsese, who was nominated for The Irishman.
On 25 January 2020, he won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film, following which he was installed by the press as the favourite to win the Academy Award for Best Director at the then approaching 92nd Academy Awards. However that plaudit went instead to Bong Joon-ho for the South Korean film Parasite. The two directors had shared the honours for directing at the 25th Critics' Choice Awards several weeks prior.
In 2022, his next feature was the romantic drama Empire of Light, starring Olivia Colman and Micheal Ward.
In February 2024, it was reported that Mendes would produce and direct four separate feature films about each member of the Beatles, to be released in April 2028. Collectively titled, The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, these will be the first Beatles biopics to have full cooperation from Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison. The films will star Paul Mescal (McCartney), Barry Keoghan (Starr), Joseph Quinn (Harrison), and Harris Dickinson (Lennon).
In April 2025, Mendes's first television documentary film What They Found was aired on BBC Two on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. It was made in collaboration with the Imperial War Museum, and depicts the discovery of the camp using original footage and testimonies of two British Army cameramen. Mendes said the documentary aimed to give "a unique perspective on the discovery of the horrors of Belsen and the reality of the Holocaust." The producers said the film was intended as a historical record at a time when the awareness of the Holocaust had been declining among younger generations.
== Filmmaking style and techniques ==
=== Influences ===
Mendes has listed Stanley Kubrick, the Coen brothers, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Wim Wenders, Howard Davies, David Lynch, Peter Brook, Ingmar Bergman, Orson Welles, and Francis Ford Coppola as amongst his cinematic and theatrical influences. He cited Paris, Texas, Repo Man and True Stories as three "seminal film moments" that influenced his stage and film career, and is also heavily influenced by British comedy acts such as Monty Python, The Goons, Tommy Cooper, and Morecambe and Wise.
=== Style and themes ===
Much of his film directing techniques were informed by his background in theatre, which consisted of meticulous attention to detail, slow pacing, pictorialist composition, close collaborations with actors, use of tranquil atmosphere, periods of wordless visual storytelling, and long takes. Even though he was widely known for his use of long takes in Spectre and 1917, he has used them since American Beauty. His first two films established a reputation for him of utilising a visual style that was considered formalist and classical, preferring to shoot and stage scenes with theatrical-style mise-en-scene and use of chiaroscuro. His third film, Jarhead, which would mark the first of a long-time collaboration between him and cinematographer Roger Deakins, served as a stylistic departure from the former two films as it relied heavily on a grittier feel with improvised dialogue and looser handheld close-ups. Despite this, it shared a similar attention to detail and flawed characters.
Although he has tackled a variety of genres over the course of his career, Mendes has frequently explored themes of family and isolation in his work. The protagonists in his films are realistically flawed and struggle to fit in a world that is hostile towards them, a theme that was initially established in American Beauty and would be further explored in his subsequent films, including Skyfall and Spectre, and 1917. The exploration of such themes are owed to his early childhood experiences, particularly with his parents, with the most direct being his grandfather and his mother serving as inspirations for the characters of Schofield and Hilary Small in 1917 and Empire of Light, respectively.
In an interview in 2014, Mendes explained his reasoning for exploring such themes: "If you are doing a play or a film, you have to have a secret way in if you are directing it. Sometimes it’s big things. American Beauty, for me, was about my adolescence. Road to Perdition was about my childhood. Skyfall was about middle-age and mortality."
== Personal life ==
Mendes has been married to British Classical musician Alison Balsom since 5 January 2017. Their daughter was born in September 2017. Mendes has a son, actor Joe Anders, born on 22 December 2003, from his marriage to actress Kate Winslet, and a stepson born in March 2010 from Balsom's previous relationship with conductor Edward Gardner. Mendes had a stepdaughter, Mia Threapleton, from Winslet's first marriage to filmmaker Jim Threapleton.
Mendes was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2020 New Years Honours List for services to drama.
In 2009, Mendes signed a petition in support of film director Roman Polanski, calling for his release after Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl.
== Favourite films ==
In 2012, Mendes participated in the Sight & Sound film polls of that year. Held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, contemporary directors were asked to select ten films of their choice.
== Works ==
=== Film ===
Director
Executive producer
Starter for 10 (2006)
The Kite Runner (2007)
Out of the Ashes (2010) (Documentary)
Blood (2012)
=== Television ===
Executive producer
=== Theatre ===
==== West End ====
==== Broadway ====
== Awards and honours ==
Directed Academy Award performances
Under Mendes' direction, these actors have received Academy Award nominations (and wins) for their performances in their respective roles. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.